TVS Racing’s Syed Asif Ali was declared the winner of Gulf Monsoon Scooter Rally held in Navi Mumbai on July 10, 2016. Riding a TVS Wego, Ali sped through the rough water logged terrain and braved the weather to effortlessly overtake the defending champion Shamim Khan. He thwarted Shamim Khan’s bid for a record fifth crown in the Gulf Monsoon Scooter Rally.
The Bangalore rider won with with 32.43 seconds in penalties. Khan, of Team Mahindra, astride a Mahindra Gusto, was placed second, with 33.36 seconds in penalties, while Erimal Shekharan from Navi Mumbai, astride a Yamaha Alpha, was third in 34.18 seconds.
Incidentally former champions Rustom Patel, Manjeet Singh Bassan and Avtar Singh did not find place among the top five finishers.
In a field of 53 riders, and on a course one would dread taking his two or four-wheeler through, Syed Asif Ali proved a class above, beating Khan in the third and last stage of the rally with judicious riding over the water-logged stretches along the backwoods of Navi Mumbai. Syed Asif Ali produced the right bursts of speed to pip Khan by 1.33 seconds.
Seshraj Yadav, astride a Yamaha Alpha, and Bhopal’s Muzaffar Ali, also astride a TVS Wego, were fourth and fifth respectively.
Syed Asif Ali, Shamim Khan and Erimal Shekharan finish in that order in the class for FSG upto 160cc four stroke. “This time the course was really tough. In addition to the slushy areas we had a couple of trucks coming in our way and forcing us to slow down. It did not rain heavily during the race, but, still it was challenging,” said Syed Asif Ali after the event.
Heavy rain over the last few days made riding on the gravel-laden, winding course dicey. Under the circumstances, riders had to exercise extreme control while negotiating the steep inclines, hairpin bends and water-logged stretches they encountered. Some of them took a tumble or two, some even damaged their scooters and had to even withdraw.
Like last year, Nidhi Shukla of Team Ceat, astride a Honda Activa, was the best lady rider, completing the course in 45.20 seconds.
Former champion Manjeet Singh Bassan, though failing to finish among the top five riders, however, won Class S2 for scooters 111cc upto 160 2 stroke in 37.14 seconds. Special mention must be made about the first-timers who went through the motions with aplomb.
Mohsin Mehbook Khan, astride a Yamaha Alpha, was the best of the lot, finishing in 37.18 seconds. For his gallant efforts he was awarded the late Firdosh Vajifdar trophy.
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