Sandeep and Varun win the 6th Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare 2014

The 6th Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare concluded its thrilling journey after covering over 2,000 km in a span of five days.

On the fifth and final day, Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare 2014 made its way towards the west coast driving through the beautiful countryside to finally
reach Goa. On their way to the Arabian, stood the final Windmill leg of the rally - the last chance for the drivers to win the coveted competition. The four stages of the day were set in the hills of Koppal district which formed a scenic route, with dense clouds coverwhile the cars brought in the thunder. A dirt track running up and down the slopes with gravel and slushy corners made for the ultimate adrenaline pumping finale. Altogether the drivers drove a total distance of 500 km across the four stages bringing the final day to an exciting end.

The top honours for the entire rally went to Team Maruti's Sandeep Sharma and Varun Davessar in the extreme category registering a total time of 3:41:26, in their Maruti Gypsy. Sanjay Agarwal and Venu Ramesh Kumar also from Team Maruti, driving a Maruti Gypsy, kept their momentum going to retain their second spot with a time of 3:42:49. Defending champion of Dakshin Dare 2013, Amanpreet Ahluwalia and Sudeep Halder displayed exemplary driving skills and determination to finish the rally at 3rd position with a time of 3:44:56, after being 8th on the second day. Suresh Rana a legend in the motoring circuit continued to push his Maruti Gypsy, to finish fourth with a total time of 3:47:01.

In the Extreme Bike category, Mohit Verma edged out Nataraj to grab the first place finishing the rally with the overall time of 3:29:15. The defending champion of 2013, Nataraj (3:33:30) and Pramod Joshua (3:35:37) stood second and third respectively.

Team Maruti drivers Karthick Maruti and Sankar Anand driving Maruti Suzuki's Ertiga came first in Endurance category with a total penalty time of just 2:13. The second spot went to Sachin Singh and Prathima who finished with a penalty time of 2:51. Again in third place were Ganesh Moorthy and T. Nagarajan of Team Maruti finishing at 3:10.

"The rally touched new heights with the new route throwing up unexpected and daunting challenges. The skill and the spirit showcased by the participants has been exemplary. It's great to see the Maruti Suzuki teams being on the podium positions in both Extreme and Endurance categories. It's a testament to the fact that Maruti vehicles are suitable for any kind of terrain and can come out on top each time. We hope to see next year's Dakshin Dare to raise the bar higher," said Manohar Bhat, VP, Marketing, Maruti Suzuki.

Final Results
Extreme Cars: Sandeep Sharma/Varun Davessar (3:41:26), Sanjay Agarwal/Venu Ramesh Kumar (3:42:49), Aman Preeth/Sudeep Halder (3:44:56)
Extreme Bikes: Mohit Verma (3:29:15), Nataraj (3:33:30), Pramod Joshua (3:35:37)
Endurance: Karthick Maruthi/Shankar Anand (2:13), Sachin Singh/Pratima (2:51), Ganesh Moorthy/Nagarajan (3:10)

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