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About Us:
Himalayan Rally Association
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By one of Life's strange paradoxes, the Himalayan Rally Association was born in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1977. As a visitor to the famous Safari Rally, Nazir Hoosein, at the time an active participant in National events in India, declared: "We can hold such an event in India." One cannot blame those on the international rallying scene for their skepticism: rallying in India was in a pre-historic stage as compared to the international rallying scene and no infrastructure worth mentioning existed anywhere outside the metro cities.
Three strenuous years later, in 1980, the 1st Himalayan Rally started from Bombay and wound it's way north through the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, UP, Delhi, Himachal. The Starters List was the best that the rally world could send and was never quite equaled again. Sad to say, politics ruined the event and even Mrs. Indira Gandhi's famous charm and promises for "roses, roses all the way" in the future could not wipe out the misgivings of the foreign teams and it took many years of hard work and ever improving status before overseas competitors returned with any degree of confidence.
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Return they did: the Himalayan Rally became synonymous for a grueling, exhausting and even hair-raising 5 day run through the Himalayan regions. What made everything worthwhile was the pristine and breathtaking beauty of the Himalayan backdrop. There was no doubting the motto of the HRA - "A Challenge".
The next year the event started from Delhi and after a long transport run climbed through Corbett Park to the lovely town of Nainital. From Nainital through the Kumaon hills to Garwhal and Mussoorie and to Shimla in Himachal Pradesh. Looking back now, it must have taken tremendous courage on the part of many of our Indian competitors to have tackled the route at all in their Padminis and Ambassadors: many overseas competitors must certainly have been intimidated not only by the only-one-vehicle-at-a-time terrain but also at the normal driving style of an average Indian encountered everywhere on the route. Don't forget, this was before the time stages were closed to traffic!!
But improvement was rapid, and as the rally conformed more and more to FIA standards, the Himalayan run was confined to Himachal Pradesh, stages closed to traffic, radios installed at all controls and on the route - in short, the 11th Himalayan Rally in 1990 was run on par with any in the world, minus of course the frills.
Unfortunately rising costs brought the Himalayan Rally to a standstill. 2002 saw the HRA revived through the organization of the MRF INDIA RALLY 2002, held in the lovely garden city of Bangalore.
Having become a round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship in 2003, the MRF INDIA RALLY moved it's venue to Pune, a rapidly growing city within 2.5 hours drive of the megacity of Mumbai. Pune has the advantage of wide roads, comparatively less traffic and good weather. The event ran around the beautiful Lake City area of Panshet. It attracted 11 entries from the APRC, and 15 in the INRC.
The 2004 event ran around the historic Saswad and Mulshi areas. There were 12 APRC entrants, and 17 INRC. The APRC included entries from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, China and Malaysia. The event's unique feature were two Super Special stages held in the grounds of the Deccan College, and the spectator viewership exceeded the organisers' wildest expectations.
The weather in December is perfect: warm without being uncomfortable during the day and delightfully cool by night. The MRF INDIA RALLY demonstrates Indian hospitality at it's best, offering participants, teams, service crew and spectators a warm welcome and many opportunities to interact with the people of Pune.
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