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.