Eleventh and Twelfth Days – Ratnagiri to Mahad, Mahad to Alibagh – 15th and 16th August

Rickshaw rally ready to enter Mumbai

The CEAT Mumbai Xpress Autorickshaw Rally 2007 moved into the final stage of the rally by the end of Thursday after completing the penultimate two legs of their epic 1921km journey across India. On early Wednesday morning, the participants joined celebrations for the Indian Day of Independence at a local school in Ratnagiri, before setting out on the days stage to Mahad. Mahad is situated 180km from Mumbai and has become a centre of attraction in the region because of its beautiful surroundings and pleasant climate. Surrounded by the Sahyadri mountain range, and with the Savitri and Gandhari rivers flowing through, it is the ideal getaway

After the morning ceremony the teams began to cross the mountains once again, although the roads were in a much better condition than the previous days and the only problems for a few of the racers were the mad lorry drivers who often blocked two lanes on the roads. In the early afternoon the team Smokey and the Pandit had a crash with a motorcyclist while trying to overtake a truck. Luckily no one was hurt in the incident although it emerged the motorcyclist was on his way to his engagement party, and unfortunately for him, by Hindu tradition, the crash is a rather bad omen for his marriage. All the vehicles reached their destinations by 7pm giving the participants time to rest before the next days penultimate leg.

An easy 120 km drive awaited the teams on Thursday between Mahad and Alibagh, allowing most of the teams to reach their destination by lunch time. As the race headed towards Mumbai, more and more traffic began to present problems for the participants with lorries and buses trying to force the three-wheelers off the road. By this stage though the drivers were skilled enough to handle these obstacles and made their way to Alibagh without incident.

The teams are now set to face the final showdown on Friday 17th August, when the last 80 km leg of the rally will be flagged off in Alibagh. The rickshaws will enter Mumbai from the direction of Belapur, and drive though the chaotic Mumbai metropolitan traffic to reach their final destination at Juhu beach. Though it is not permitted for autorickshaws to drive on the final section of the road, the Mumbai authorities kindly permitted the race to travel through the city, provided they stay in a convoy.

The CEAT Mumbai Xpress Autorickshaw Rally will end with a glamorous party with many of Mumbai's prominent personalities expected to show up.

Pictures can be found here:

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The route:

The Indian Autorickhaw Challenge team is sending out a press release on a daily basis.

For more information Contact:
Aravind Bremanandam, Lead organizer
Phone: +91-44-421-43343
E-mail at:admin@indianarc.com