Dust Devils

These guys do what man has been up to for ages, edging ahead of the others, through chariot-races, archery contests and even hamster-racing, but this one8217;s big on entertainment, big on money.

According to Nazir Hoosein, president of the Himalayan Rally Association, organisers of the event, 8220;It won8217;t be bigger than cricket, but it will surely bring in lots of money once more sponsors get in. The next step is to get the World Rally Championship out here.8221;

PR talk? Over-optimism? Not entirely. To get a feel of the event, of the scale of things, of an altogether different sporting culture, you8217;d have had to be there at the rally service park some way from anywhere in Warasgaon, about an hour from Pune.

It8217;s a barren patch of land surrounded by brown Sahyadri hills, where competing cars come to get serviced and to regroup before resuming their race.

There8217;s loud techno blaring from loudspeakers, fancy hospitality tents and campers for the team crews, the very latest of automotive thingummies, and Portajohns and jennys. The Japanese cook sushi for their crew, while the Italians swallow pasta. 8220;We get nearly everything we need from outside. The cars are shipped, the fuel also comes from abroad and so do the spares. It8217;s like a rock band, except that we drive,8221; says Team ADVAN-PIAA8217;s Japanese driver Fumio Nutahara in halting English, as his colleagues take apart his car the minute he comes in after the first half of the day. All with the help of doodads that hoist the car up in seconds, and help change tyres by sucking out stubborn nuts in a jiffy.

The smell of grease and petrol permeates the air, while crew members wait for their respective team cars to blast in. And pit girls, hired specially for the event by an Indian tyre company, laze in the sun. 8220;It8217;s tough travelling all the while, but we do it because we love it,8221; says Karamjit Singh from Malaysia, who races for Proton Pert.

The sophisticated set-up, including a helipad, does generate a sense of incongruity, like sky-blue Aryan pupils on an Oriental. Which is all the more evident as villagers gather across the countryside to look uncomprehendingly at the shiny blurrs that pass them by in mushroom clouds of dust.

But,says Anthony Rodrigues, who handles motor sport for event sponsor MRF, 8220;Awareness will steadily come in once people know about the nuances of this sport. It8217;s on television and the papers, and a start has been made.8221;

Undoubtedly yes, a beginning has been made even if it caters just to a rarefied niche. The event ended with liberal splashes of champagne and without any major boo-boos, which is what the organisers were praying for. Now they wait for bigger things, for the day when winner Armin Kremer will be at least half as famous as Michael Schumacher.

RALLY ROUTE
8226;The Federation Internationale Automobile FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship is about a rung below the World Rally Championship
8226;The latter is to rallying what Formula One is to closed-circuit racing
8226;The APRC had teams from Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia
8226;The cars ran 250 km over three days
8226;The last APRC event was run in India in 1991
8226;The final legs of the Indian National Rally Championship were also run alongside the high profile event