Ali-Mustafa combine wins Hornbill Rally

SK Ajgar Ali and co-driver Mohammad Mustafa clinched the top honours with a cumulative time penalty of 10 seconds in the 6th JK Tyre Hornbill Rally here Wednesday.

Former Raid-de-Himalaya winner Along Aier and co-driver Chandan Sen finished second with a penalty of 17 seconds, while Chidanand Murthy and Sathish Gopalakrishnan were third in 22 seconds in the Pro-Expert category.

In the Pro-Stock Class, Nitoka Chopi and co-driver Philip Lam finished on the top with a cumulative penalty of five minutes, 6 seconds ahead of Kezhaletuo and Bodevi Shuya (9:53) and Mikrio Kayina and Arun Kayina (14:14).

Darshana Sen Gupta and Ranjana Bhajanka walked away with top honours in the all-ladies class with a penalty of 25 minutes, 47 seconds while in the Couple Class, Atsase Sangtam and co-driver Asenla KR finished on top clocking 1 hour, 37 minutes and 12 seconds.

Honours in the two-wheeler category went to Saptrishi Basu and navigator Diptojyoti Ghosh (20 seconds), followed by Udya Ganguly and Rajkumar Mundra (31 seconds) and Mukesh Thakkar and Subhranshu Hazra (1:43).

The event, covering a distance of 130 kms, was organised by Nagaland Adventure and Motor Sports Association with support from JK Tyre and the Government of Nagaland, coinciding with the World famous Hornbill Festival.

Sanjay Sharma, Head- Motorsports, JK Tyre and Industries Ltd flagged-off the rally that traversed the hilly terrain passing through the beautiful landscapes of Kezoma, Kedima, Kisama and Naga Heritage village before finishing at the IG Stadium here.

Nagaland and Manipur Governor Ashwani Kumar gave away the prizes.