50 rally teams get ready for Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare

Fifty teams, including one from Australia, are taking part in the second edition of the Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare, a motor rally in south India covering Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, that would be flagged off in Bangalore tomorrow.

Fifty teams, including one from Australia, are taking part in the second edition of the Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare, a motor rally in south India covering Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, that would be flagged off in Bangalore on Tuesday.

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Last year, there were 30 participants. This year, the two-wheeler category, which will see 20 teams in action, has also been added to the five-day event, which was a three-day affair in the inaugural edition.

The four-wheeler competition would see teams from parts of the country, including Manali, Kolkata, Hyderabad besides Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and the Australian participant in his Suzuki Grand Vitara.

The event, spread over 20 stages, would traverse through forests, Mysore, coffee and tea estates in Madikeri, Coimbatore and Munnar and culminate in Ernakulam on June 12, covering 1800 km, compared to 1390 km in the maiden edition.

The event would have two categories -- "Ultimate" for the experienced, professional participants and "Endurance Trial" for amateurs.

"The Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare is an attempt to bring motorsport action to the doorstep of our customers in south India," Maruti Suzuki's Chief General Manager (Marketing), Shashank Srivastava, told reporters in Bangalore on Monday.