44 retirements in 2017 Raid de Himalaya

Raid is widely recognised as India’s toughest motorsport event - and arguably one of the most challenging cross-country rallies in the world - due to treacherous terrain and adverse weather conditions.

In any given year, the majority of the field would fail to make it to the finish. However, the numbers of retirees this year were particularly high.

Most competitors were caught out in the first two legs, which ran from Gramphoo to Losar and back. The field was cut short to 32 competitors in the first-third of the event - less than half the 67 who started the rally from Manali.

More retirements would follow in the next four stages, leaving only 10 drivers and 13 riders to take the chequered flag.

TVS Racing’s Abdul Wahid Tanveer, who claimed his second successive win in the Xtreme Bikes category, admitted that it was easy to fall prey to the tricky terrain.

“It was very difficult. Last year also we had the same stages, but this time it was too rough and too rocky,” he told Motorsport.com.

11-time Raid de Himalaya winner Suresh Rana, however, felt that the competitors had only themselves to blame for taking an aggressive approach from the very beginning.

“Everybody was aware that the first two legs were tough. It was out in the open,” the Maruti Suzuki factory driver told Motorsport.com. “Drivers should realise that you can’t win a cross-country rally in one day. Survival is more important.

“The first few days should be spent understanding the terrain and the behaviour of the car. If you break your car on the first day, you’ll end up spending the rest of the rally fixing it.

“Raid is a long rally and you can gain time on any of the days. That’s the strategy one should have.“

“When I myself saw so many drivers retiring early on, I changed my driving style and went into ‘safe mode.’ From there on, the aim was to keep the car in one piece till the end.”