Takale,Mohammed win Mahindra Spice Escape TSD Rally

City-based rally driver Sanjay Takale and his Tamil Nadu-based navigator Mustafa Mohammed won the Mahindra Spice Escape TSD rally that concluded on Sunday in Kochi. The 410-km Kochi-Munnar-Kochi rally,under the Time Speed and Distance format,saw the pair,driving the SUV Original Equipment class,pick up only 2 minutes 27 seconds penalty to win the category. The pair of Shanmuga and Armugan managed a penalty of 4 minutes 44 seconds to bag the second spot.

The two-day rally was flagged off from Holiday Inn Resort in Kochi on Saturday with the rallyists covering 190-km to reach Munnar. The return route was slightly different,crossing past the famous Idukki dam with 32 participants from Kolkata,Hyderabad,Bangalore,Mysore,Erode,Coimbatore,Kochi,Goa and Pune. There were 10 cars in Takale-Mustafa’s class.Takale said the rally was an important experience for the upcoming Raid-de-Himalaya that begins on October 9 when he defends his title.

The rally was conducted in four classes-SUV with terra trip,SUV without terra trip OE,cars with terra trip and cars without terra trip. “Driving without the terra trip in the TSD rally is very difficult because there could be errors in taking the turns and chances of getting lost are more,” Takale said.