India's leading rallyist Suresh Rana will the driver to watch as Gaurav Gill will not defend his title at the Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare Rally, which was flagged off here today amidst much fanfare.
Reigning champion Gill will miss the action as his side, Team Mahindra has decided to the skip the event.
Gill's Team Mahindra teammate Lohit Urs, who had finished second in the last edition, will also be missing from the action.
Overall, 147 motor racing enthusiasts will traverse through a multitude of dirt, tarmac, gravels and slippery tracks in different categories over the next five days, covering a gruelling distance of 2000 km.
Dakshin Dare will witness motorists race across dense forests, river beds, hill stations, wind mill farms, hair-pin bends, and tea & coffee plantations before the rally concludes here on August 9.
The Rally will have night halts at tourist hot spots such as Mysore, Ooty and Coimbatore while it traverses through exotic locations of Chikmagalore, Waynad, Palani, Kodaikanal, Pollachi, Valparai among others.
The relentless monsoon showers in the region will, without doubt, prove to be daunting as the rallyists battle the curving, narrow roads snaking along Western Ghat and Nilgiris.
Early morning tomorrow, the rally will head to Mysore for a night halt before proceeding to Ooty on Tuesday for the second leg and then on to Coimbatore for the third and fourth legs ahead of the final run back to Bangalore on August 9.
