Suresh Rana and CS Santosh win the 14th edition of Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm Rally

Jodhpur, 10 April 2016: The 14th edition of the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm Rally came to an end today at Jodhpur, with Suresh Rana and his navigator Ashwin Naik emerging winners. They were followed by Amanpreet Ahluwalia and Virendra Kashyap, and at the third position were Niju Padia and his navigator Nirav Mehta. Covering 2100 kms in 7 days, the participants drove through some challenging terrains across the Thar Desert.

Winner of the Xtreme Moto Category – Suresh Rana & Ashwin Naik

The winner of the XTreme bike category was CS Santosh, the only Indian to participate at Dakar and the country’s finest off road motorcyclist. He bagged the top slot at 11:19:28 hrs followed by Aravind KP at 11:28:06 hrs. R Nataraj was at 3rd position with 12:35:30 Hrs.

Winner of the Xtreme Bike category – C.S Santosh

Suresh Rana, who drove a Grand Vitara said, “This was one of my toughest motorsport rally. The scorching heat of the desert and new rally routes added to the difficulties.”

CS Santosh, who has little more to prove in the Indian circuit, having previously won almost everything there is to win said, “I couldn’t be happier. I feel at home when I am rallying, and the difficult terrains of the desert are an added joy to conquer. This has been an extremely challenging and satisfying year so far. I would work hard to continue this winning streak.”

In the NDure category, SK Ajgar Ali & MK Mohammed Musthfa bagged the top slot at 00:23:12 hrs. In the Xplore category, Pratap & his navigator T Nagarajan won the first prize with a total penalty of 00:02:01 hrs.

The complete results are as follows:

XTreme Cars:
1. Suresh Rana & AshwinNaik – 12:52:03 hrs
2. Amanpreet Ahluwalia & Virender Kashyap – 14:02:11 hrs
3. Niju Padia & Nirav Mehta – 14:05:41 hrs

NDure Cars:
1. SK Ajgar Ali & MK Mohammed Musthafa – 00:23:12 hrs
2. Vishnu Singh & Adithya Anthony – 00:42:13 hrs
3. Jagmeet Gill & Chandan Sen – 00:58:06 hrs.

Xplore Cars:
1. Pratap & T Nagarajan – 00:02:01 hrs
2. Rajesh Chalana & Arindam Ghosh – 00:03:20 hrs
3. Karthick Maruthi & S Sankar Anand – 00:03:39 hrs

Moto Quad:
1. C.S Santosh – 11:19:28 Hrs
2. Aravind KP – 11:28:06 Hrs
3. R Nataraj – 12:35:30 Hrs