Abhisake Mishra clinches Desert Storm Rally title

Udaipur: Abhisake Mishra was crowned the new champion of the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm Rally after he pipped seasoned Harpreet Singh Bawa by a huge margin of 39 minutes and 59 seconds in the Xtreme category. It is maiden Desert Strom title for Team Perfect`s Mishra, who finished seventh last year. Mishra annexed the title with a timing of 9:55:20 seconds while Bawa, an individual participant, clocked 10:35:19 seconds to finish second. Sandeep Sharma, who also participated as an individual, finished third with a timing of 11:05:33 seconds."I am very happy that I have won the title defeating some more experienced drivers like Rana and Sidhu. It`s my first rally win and major part of the credit goes to my Maruti service team," an elated Mishra said. "Desert Storm rally tests the grit and determination of a rallyist. His character and stamina. Sometimes you have to go really fast and sometimes you have to brave the sand dunes and the carters. It`s more about mental strength," Mishra, who has competed in the rally in bikers` category in the past, said.Yesterday, all the three top drivers in the Xtreme category, defending champion Suresh Rana of Team Thunderbolt, winner of this year`s edition of `Raid De Himalayas` Major A S Brar and 2008 Desert edition champion Sunny Sidhu of Team Godwin were disqualified on technical grounds. PTI