Gaurav Chiripal, Raj Singh Rathore start favourites

Dirang (Arunachal Pradesh): India Baja champions Gaurav Chiripal and runner-up Raj Singh Rathore are expected to battle for top honours at the fourth edition of the JK Tyre Arunachal Festival of Speed here this weekend.

Chiripal and Rathore were engaged in an intense tussle at the Baja in the demanding sand dunes of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. They will be keen to take their rivalry to the next level in an entirely different setting now.

Other accomplished rallyists from the country will also be in action in the three-day multi-discipline racing event, set to begin in the backdrop of the picturesque Dirang Valley on Saturday.

Ten-time Raid De Himalaya champion Suresh Rana and seven-time Desert Storm winner Sunny Sidhu will be the men to watch out for, along with national autocross champion Amanpreet Ahluwalia and INRC regulars Sandeep Sharma and Sanjay Agarwal.

As many as 30 entrants will line up for the first stage, the Autocross.

The championship will involve three categories in off-road racing — Autocross, Sprint and Hill Climb, and on the first day, will see participants tackle a 6.8 km-long dirt track on the first day.

In the second stage, they will face a 9-km stretch through the forested hills here. The last stage will consist of an 8-km dirt track and a 1-km tarmac section.

Said North-East, Motorsports Club of Arunachal president Lhakpa Tsering said: “The Arunachal Festival of Speed not only gives a chance for upcoming rallyists in the region to rub shoulders with the best in the country but also offer the fans here world class racing action.”