Kargil: Arindam Saikia from Team Polaris shot into the lead after a snow-hit Day 2 in the 20th Raid de Himalaya here on Thursday.
Arindam, who was trailing in the 14th place after Day 1, jumped to the top position on the highly challenging
climb to Penzi La, where the temperature hovered around -16 degree Celsius.
Himanshu Arora of Harjee Rallying, a Delhi-based rallying club, moved to second place in his Maruti Gypsy. The Raid will draw to a close on 14 October.
Amitrajit Ghosh of Team Mahindra, who was leading after the first day, suffered two flaps during the day’s demanding stages and lost several minutes. His teammate Philippos Mathai too slipped from his overnight
second position to fall behind.
The rallyists were faced with snow, ice and slippery conditions all through the day. They endured their most harrowing moments at Penzi La in the Ladakh region, at a height of 4,400 meters, known as the
gateway to Zanskar.
On the route from Panikhar to Penzi La, almost every single biker suffered at least one fall. Fortunately, all of them finished the day without any serious injury.
Among bikers, R Nataraj, riding for Team TVS in the Xtreme Moto, took a solid lead after the second day. Imran Pasha is second, followed by Vishwas SD.
For the first time in its 20-year history, Raid de Himalaya began from Kargil on 10 October. A total of 75 teams took the start in the various categories, including Raid Xtreme, comprising Xtreme 4X4, Xtreme
Moto and Extreme Alpine.