by NR INDRAN / INT

Kohima, Nagaland: The 37-year-old veteran rally driver from Chandigarh, Sunny Sidhu emerged as the leader at the 5th JK Tyre Hornbill International Motor Rally 2011 in Nagaland. Sunny was competing for the Autocross event with participation from countries like UK, Japan, Thailand & Laos on the course of 100 kms, competing for prize money of Rs 20,000. Sunny said, “I’m extremely happy with my win as I was participating in this rally for the first time. The competition was tough and the track was nice and had a mixture of sweeping and tight corners and for a quick time you had to get your clean lines in the corners” he said.

Mr. Hari Singh, five-time National Rally Champion and Asia Zone Rally winner & Manager-Motorsports, JK Tyre & Industries Limited flagged off the rally which saw more than 100 cars  and motorcycles battling, including competitors from UK, Japan, Thailand & Laos, starting from the Indira Gandhi stadium in Kohima. The two-day rally, covering a distance of 100 kilometers traversed through different parts of Kohima district and touched parts of the historic battle ground of the Battle of Kohima, which was one of the fiercest battles of the World War II.

The Time, Speed, Distance (TSD) rally which was organized by the Nagaland Adventure and Motor Sports Association (NAMSA) and sponsored by the Government of Nagaland saw Sanjay Takle, along with his navigator Satish Gopalkrishnawas the winner of the 4 Wheeler TSD rally, bagging a prize of Rs 50,000. He said, “The event was fantastic and I had a great come back this year.I thank the sponsors and the organisers for organsing such a great event.Competing with Sunny Sidhu and Chandrashekhar Mouli is not an easy task but then I put in my best and made it to the finish line first,” he further added.

Mr. Sanjay Sharma, Head-Motorsport, JK Tyre & Industries Limited said, “We are extremely delighted to be associated with the Hornbill International Motor Rally for five years now. JK Tyre has always been investing in tapping motorsport talents from every corner of the country and this rally has further accelerated the craze not only amongst the motorsport lovers of India but also of neighboring countries.”

The rally coincides with the famous Hornbill Festival of Nagaland, a seven-day extravaganza of cultural performances, ethnic food courts, handlooms and handicrafts bazaars, film and art festivals, fashion shows and national rock contest.

JK Tyre has always been closely associated with the world of sports. Almost three decades back the company laid down a long term and sustained approach to promote Motorsport. Participating in this form of the sport has helped the company in continuously updating its products to meet the challenges of grueling Indian conditions. The sport at that time in India was perceived for elite but JK Tyre took upon itself to package and redesign the sport to suit the masses. The company not only made the sport affordable but also equivalent to International operating standards. JK Tyre’s foray into Motorsport was a well thought out strategic decision to not only use and develop this virgin branding platform but also to realize the dreams of making India a force in the field of motor sport.

The company recently made the biggest announcement in the history of Indian motorsports by launching the JK Racing Asia Series. The series has been running successfully since 2001 and is in sync with JK Tyre’s philosophy of identifying and developing young racing talents to become future world champions. The JK Racing Asia Series consists of 18 races spread across six rounds and acts as a support race for Formula 1 World Championship on three occasions- including the season opener in Malaysia followed by Singapore and ultimately the inaugural

Indian GP- ensuring great exposure for racers and teams at a global level. The remaining three rounds will be held during the Asian Festival of Speed (AFOS) in China, Malaysia and Indonesia

The Racing and Karting programme by JK Tyre has been the breeding ground for the country’s motorsport talents like Narain Karthikeyan, Armaan Ebrahim, Karun Chandhok, Aditya Patel and other new emerging talents

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