6 Nights in the Desert Storm: A Trip to Hell and Back

Middle age is a rather interesting time to be in. Every day you get up with a sense of purpose. But as the day passes, you’re sucked into the same old routine, the daily rigmarole of everything plain. The life, universe and everything has nicely fallen into place.

It was on one such day that two middle-aged men decide to change it all, albeit temporarily. Enter the Desert Storm rally.

 

With a little belly, but growing enthusiasm; a little receding hair-line, but a lot of passion; we landed up in Sardarshahar in the Churu district of Rajasthan. An otherwise sleepy town (that can be located on Google Maps only when zoom levels are almost 100%!) it comes to life once every year when the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm (DS) rally descends upon it!

6 Nights in the Un-pardoning Desert of Thar

Upon arriving in Sardarshahar, our driver introduced me to the competitors. From a four time champion, to the rookie winner of Raid De Himalaya, the rally had them all. I was all starry eyed, much like a little boy invited to a Kodak Theatre for the Oscars! Adding to the thrill was dramatic recount of stories from our driver who had toppled the car in the last rally and was ousted from the competition. Needless to say I was scared but the determination grew in equal measure.

Sharp at 8 PM, we found ourselves at the start line for the first overnight leg of the journey that was going to last the next 24 hours, with only a four hour gap! The importance of leg one is paramount as the first day itself separates the ‘ran’ from the ‘also-ran’. Night driving and no human in sight is a perfect mix for cars to get lost or stuck, and teams to be get so behind on time, that it becomes difficult to eventually catch up with the top 10. The first leg is also extremely taxing as you are still not familiar with the route, or the ways to follow the route book; and to keep up the pace with 10 hours of driving behind you (the drive from Delhi to Sardarshahar takes approx. 7-8 hours and we had some car repair stops on the way), and 24 ahead of you can be daunting – but also the most rewarding.

Through the villages, sand dunes, car skidding and the adrenalin rush, Desert Storm is a perfect test of determination, grit and friendship. When the team right ahead of you in the competition gets stuck in the sand, do you extend a helping hand or leave the driver to push the 2000 kilo machine stuck in the sand single-handedly? That’s when you decide to lose the race, and win some friends.

 

The rally, over its course, takes us from Sardarshahar to Bikaner to Jaisalmer, then back to Bikaner and eventually finishing in Jaipur. While the car travels 3000 kilometers in distance and goes over dunes; it’s the human journey which moves the mountains and beliefs or disbelieves about one’s personal ability; about ones drive, and ones passion! As you wake up every night at 1 Am or 3 Am to start a new circuit and a new day – you start stronger, you start with a new determination and you start with a will you never thought you possessed. As you see the start flag go up and the start count come to zero, you feel all the pain and fatigue melt away; and as go through the six nights and seven days conquering the dunes, the sand, the en-route carcass and the rough rocky terrains, you know you have finally become men! And when competitors start looking up at your car’s performance in the daily result update – then you know you have arrived at the rally stage!

 

What are the Types of Rallies?

Speed Rally: Rallies where the winner is the one who completes the circuit in least amount of time akin to a F1.

Time, Speed, Distance (TSD): The winner in this rally is the one who completes the circuit closest to accurate time, as determined by the speed chart that you get for individual circuits. So completing a circuit behind time (say by 2 minutes), gets you a 2 minute penalty; but completing a circuit early (again, let’s say 2 minutes), gets you 2X penalty, i.e., 4 minutes. Penalties over various circuits are totaled up and the team with the least penalty wins the TSD rally.

 

There are other ways of non-compliance, route de-tour, etc. that can fetch you hefty penalties too! A rally is managed, apart from a speed chart, by the ‘route book’, which comprises 450-500 directions that guide you from start to finish.

The Route

Sardarshahar - Bikaner – Jaisalmer - Bikaner - Jaipur. Approximately 3000 kilometres.

Who Can Participate?

Anybody can! There are three versions of the rally:

1. Xtreme (The speed rally)
2. Ndure (TSD Rally)
3. Xplore (Beginners Rally)

The requirement for Xtreme and Ndure rally is a 4X4 Vehicle.

When is it?

The rally is held in February every year, the registrations open around November. The fee is usually 50K per entry (for 2 people) which includes hotel stay and invitation to the rally ball. Fuel charges are over and above and borne by the participants.

Registration is online, and requires one to have FMSCI License. 

Any car is welcome in the rally. Check this link for more details.

What Should my Fitness Levels be?

Physical fitness is important but it’s mental endurance and agility which will see you to the finish line.

What Gadgets are Allowed?

Rally allows the use of certain gadgets which helps the navigator. You need a satellite enabled GPS system. Terra trip is one of the advanced ones. You also require a Rally TSD Calculator.

Or you can avoid all of this and make use of new age smart phone apps that are able to roll all of this into one. RallyGDP is one such app. Great, but takes some time to get used to it.