Raid de Himalaya preview: Rana, TVS riders favourite for win

The 19th edition of the Raid will be flagged off on October 7, with the first leg from Manali to Kaza taking place the following day.

Five more legs will follow over as many days, with competitors crossing Pang, Kargil and Pensi-Lah before finally arriving in Leh on October 14.

In all, competitors will cover a total distance of 2,000km. Around one-third of that distance will be timed in form of special stages, while there will be penalties for not completing the transport stages within the stipulated time period.

Most of the terrain will be in form of gravel, while there will be plenty of tarmac stages as well. Low temperatures, heavy wind and prolonged driving hours will all add to the challenge.

Those who make it to the finish line after six gruelling days of rallying with be rewarded in the prize distribution ceremony in Leh on October 15.

Rana the top driver in Xtreme Cars

As always, the Raid de Himalaya will be divided into three categories. The Xtreme Cars and Xtreme Bikes cars categories are reserved for professional rallyists, while amateur drivers can take on the Adventure Trials category which follows a slightly toned-down route.

10-time Raid de Himalaya winner Suresh Rana will against be the man to beat in the Xtreme Cars category. Equipped with a factory-prepared Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara and a winning streak dating back to last year’s Desert Storm, it would be hard for anyone to beat Rana at his own game.

However, there are several other drivers who could challenge the Manali-born driver for victory. Among Maruti’s own-stable there will be former Dakshin Dare winner Sandeep Sharma, who will be driving an S-Cross.

Samrat Yadav would be another man to watch out for. Having impressed as a privateer at this year’s Dakshin Dare, he has been signed up by Maruti as a factory driver.

Meanwhile, former MRF and Mahindra INRC driver Philippos Matthai will make his Raid debut this year. Given the extensive experience he has in rallying, he could potentially stage an upset. 

TVS riders headline Xtreme Bikes category

TVS will field several factory riders in the Xtreme Bikes category, with R Nataraj and Abdul Wahid Tanveer riding the RTR 450.

Nataraj arrives fresh off victories in Desert Storm and Dakshin Dare. Raid de Himalaya remains the only cross-country rally in India that he is yet to conquer.

In his path would be TVS stablemate Tanveer. The 26-year-old has won a free entry to the 2018 Dakar Rally thanks to an initiative by the organisers, but needs to prove the Indian manufacturer that he is ready for an event of such a magnitude.

Rajendra R E, Imran Pasha and Aishwarya Pissay - who has impressed his performance in both races and rallies recently - will also be riding for TVS, albeit the less powerful RTR 200.

Several privateer riders will also be competing in the Xtreme Bikes category, taking the field up to 43 entries.