Sachin Singh Wins 5th Maruti Suzuki Mughal Rally

The fourth edition of the 2016 Maruti Suzuki FMSCI National Super League TSD (Time-Speed-Distance) Rally Championship (MS-NStsdRC) – the Mughal Rally has been successfully concluded in Jammu on August 22. The prize distribution ceremony  was held in the presence of Farook A Shah (IAS), secretary of tourism, J&K along with Sushma Chandra (IAS) and Madhurendra Malu, regional manager, Punjab and J&K, Maruti Suzuki India Limited. 

Sachin Singh and his navigator M Prakash won the 2016 Mughal Rally in their Maruti Suzuki Swift. Singh was leading the first leg of the championship. The first runner-ups were Ganesh Moorthy and his co-driver M Mustafa, driving their S-Cross. Moorthy's team was at the third spot in the first leg, but managed to acquire the second as the rally concluded. While Subir Roy and his navigator Nirav Mehta stood at the third spot in their Swift. The winners received a cash reward of Rs 40,000, while the first and second runner-ups have received Rs 25,000 and Rs 15,000 respectively. 

Final results with total penalties:

Sachin Singh and M Prakash (Swift) – 00:07:45

Ganesh Moorthy and M Mustafa (S-Cross) –  00:07:56

Subir Roy and Nirav Mehta (Swift) – 00:08:18

Delighted over his victory, Sachin Singh commented, “It was wonderful to be rallying in such a beautiful and quaint location. We are glad to have overcome each round successfully and look forward to the upcoming motorsport challenges.”

The Mughal Rally was supposed to happen in Srinagar, but sadly due to the unrest the rally took place in Jammu. The participants in the 2016 Mughal Rally had to cover picturesque and challenging locations in this part of J&K. The leg two of the rally was around 435km long and the participants had to cover approximately 800km combined in the two legs. The second leg was more challenging than the first one as the participants had to travel through Patnitop and some of the Peer Panjal ranges along with quaint places such as Reasi and Gool in Jammu. 

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Congratulating the winners, Madhurendra Malu said, “Our heartiest congratulations to participants for their commendable performance! The active involvement in this event is a clear reflection of the passion of the participants towards motorsports. It is motivating for us too. The Maruti Suzuki Mughal Rally is a shorter-format rally, which opens doors for more people to participate and test their motorsport skills. We follow Time-Speed-Distance (TSD) format which is the safest form of rallying and encourages safe driving, a key focus area for Maruti Suzuki. I would also take this opportunity to extend our special thanks to the J&K tourism department for their full-fledged support in successful completion of the rally.”

Now only two rallies are left in the MS-NStsdRC, namely -- the Gujarat Rally and the Arunachal Rally. Speaking of the overall results, rallyists Karthick Maruthi and his navigator S. Shankar Anand, driving the Vitara Brezza are still leading the 2016 MS-NStsdRC and will be defending their lead in the following rallies. At the prize distribution ceremony of the 2016 Mughal Rally, the manufacturer  announced that it will soon start Autocross rallies in India, probably by this year.