Back in 1999, it started with just 19 teams. More than a decade on, the Raid flaunted 175 teams this year. Known as one of the most difficult rallying events in the world, the Raid-de-Himalaya has gained cult status in the global motorsport fraternity, and beyond. The 12th Maruti Suzuki Raid-de-Himalaya was flagged off on the 10th of October from Shimla with 43 X-treme category four-wheelers, and 42 teams in the X-Treme bikes – the balance teams being in the less intense Adventure Trail.

On the first leg of the Raid itself, however, a setback was encountered. On Stage 3, a bridge – between the Sunnupul-Chail section – that had been completed recently showed cracks, which were serious enough to pose a threat to the Raid participants. The stage was thus cancelled – cutting the first leg down to only two stages, instead of the planned five. Setbacks are part and parcel of the Raid however, and thereon, the action only got hotter as the rally progressed.

This year saw a different start to the event. As opposed to in the past, the participants didn’t head straight to Manali on the first day itself. For the first leg, the rally moved from Shimla to the river beds of Nalagarh in the Shivalik range, and then headed back to Shimla for the night halt. For the second leg, the rallyists were faced with traditional torture en route to Manali. The third day took participants to Kaza in the Spiti Valley, while leg four saw the teams visit the stunning Komik monastery. The remaining two legs required the teams to cross high altitude passes such as Baralacha La, before heading back to Manali.

After 8 days, 6 legs, and about 2,000 kilometres, Ashish Moudgil took victory not only in the X-Treme 2 Wheeler category, but he also beat Raid stalwart and multiple Raid winner Suresh Rana to the finish line. Rana, being navigated by Ashwin Nayak, nevertheless took his 6th Raid victory in the X-Treme 4 Wheeler category piloting his trusty steed – the Maruti Gypsy.

Captain Sameer Pande of Delhi, with his navigator Honey Narula, tried his best to match Rana’s pace, but had to settle for 2nd position. Third saw an intense battle between Harpreet Singh Bawa from Chandigarh and Randeep Miglani from Delhi – with Bawa taking 3rd on the final leg.

On the bikes, Gurinder S. Rahal from Montreal and Stefan Rosner from Austria secured the second and third positions respectively. The only woman competing in X-treme two wheeler category, Austrian Klaudia Honeder, did one better than her 5th place finish in 2008 to come in 4th in her third Raid-de-Himalaya.

The Raid is all about the sheer experience, and trying to find the limit of both the machine and oneself – that’s what the mad men and women who participate in rallies like this are really there for. And, in the end, it epitomizes the phrase, ‘it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, but how you play the game that matters.’ Because whether you win or not, or even manage to finish or not, there’s always an element of satisfaction and completeness that the Raid showers on you.