Nadir Magsi clinches desert challenge

Veteran driver records fastest time in Jhal Magsi rally.

JHAL: Nadir Magsi, driving a 4.5litre Land Cruiser, clinched the A category of the Jhal Magsi Desert Challenge 2011 followed by Qasim Saidhi and Ronnie Patel.

Nadir, the favourite to win the rally, did not disappoint his home crowd and completed the 194-kilometre track in two hours, three minutes and 40 seconds -- the fastest time across the four categories. Saidhi recorded a time of two hours, three minutes and 40 seconds while Patel took two hours, six minutes and 35 seconds.

There were few surprises as the three drivers, top in qualifying, completed the podium in their category that saw six of the 13 participants getting a Did Not Finish (DNF) including the Turkish duo of Burcu Cetinkaya and her navigator Cicek Guney.

The B category was won by Rana Sumair Noon with a 3.0litre Toyota Vigo with a time of two hours, 18 minutes and 19 seconds. Syed Asif Imam finished in second place while Abbas Akbar came in third. Four of the 10 drivers in the category failed to finish.

Hasan Ali Magsi topped the times in the C category followed by Mukesh Chawla and Mahmood Majeed while 6 of the 13 participants recording DNFs. Mohammad Rafiq finished first followed by Aminullah Khan and Muhammad Hasnain Haider to complete the winners of the D category, which featured the 1.3litre Jimny, and saw eight DNFs in a total of 15 drivers.

‘It was difficult to even finish’

Nadir said the track was as difficult as it gets. “It was a very difficult track,” Nadir told The Express Tribune. “I had to be very careful and drove cautiously in the mud and river. It’s easy to get carried away but even crossing the finish line is an achievement.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2011.