Living On The Edge

Treacherous mountains. Impossible terrain. A gruelling motor race. The Maruti Suzuki Raid de Himalaya—a cross-country motorsport rally that cuts through some of the world’s highest roads and passes— is a test of endurance and strength like no other.

- Vivek Mukherji

What started 18 years ago as an idea of a cross-country motor race high in the Himalaya has today become one of the most iconic motorsports events in India. On the Indian motorsports calendar, the Maruti Suzuki Raid de Himalaya has become one of the most anticipated races of the year for a very different breed of racers who want to punish themselves beyond the ordinary. The challenges that the Raid throws at the participants lie at the heart of its appeal for those who like to explore the spaces that lie on the other side of the comfort zone.

Spanish footballer Xavi Hernandez once said, “The result is an imposter.” In a different place, and certainly in a very different context, his words ring true for a majority of the participants in the Raid. More than the final outcome, they come to the highest motor race in the world to see how far they can push themselves in hostile conditions.

Racing on fearsome tracks hewn high up in the mountains is just a part of the punishing week-long routine. Mere survival behind the wheels of a car or astride a motorcycle doing racing speeds at oxygen-starved altitudes in frigid sub-zero temperatures compounded further by sleep deprivation and fatigue induced by the long stages every day pushes these men and women so close to the edge that a simple mistake is fraught with enormous risk, with potentially lethal consequences. Steep drops, rocks, boulders and ice connive to catch out erring drivers and riders— there are no soft landings in the Raid.

The third day of the 18th Maruti Suzuki Raid de Himalaya served as a sobering reminder of the risks involved when Subhamoy Paul, taking part in the Motoquad category, lost his life after crashing heavily on the 76-km special stage between Losar in Spiti Valley and Gramphoo in Lahaul. The Xtreme category was terminated at the end of the leg under a pall of gloom as a mark of respect for the fallen comrade.