Dakshin Dare, Leg 3: Rana leads in cars, Nataraj takes over bikes top spot

After completing the Shimoga leg, participants traversed through Karnataka’s oldest dam, Vani Vilasa Sagara, covering a total distance of 382 km of which 103 km was timed, divided into three stages.

Along with the three stages, an additional 3 km special stage was run in Hosadurga attracting thousands of spectators.

The third leg's route full of twists and turns proved to be a challenge for all the drivers and riders. Rana, who has won the Raid de Himalaya a record nine times, completed the leg in 4hr33m66s.

He was seven minutes clear of his nearest rival and last year’s winner Sandeep Sharma (co-driver Karan Arya). While Rana was driving a factory-modified Grand Vitara, Sharma was equipped with the less powerful, but lighter Gypsy.

Jasmohan Saini (co-driver Vikram Thakur) made inroads in Leg 3 to move up to third with a time of 4hr50m35s, four minutes clear of fourth place Sanjay Agarwal (co-driver Venu).

It was tight between Anwar Khan (co-driver Shadab Parvez) and G Sidhu (co-driver Karanpreet Mattu) - both separated by mere 0.95s for fifth and sixth place respectively.

Nataraj takes over bikes lead

In the Extreme Bikes category, TVS rider T Nataraj took over the lead from Leg 2 leader Abdul Wahed, covering the distance in 3hr35m45s.

Wahed retired in Leg 3 with Sanjay Kumar in second, 14 minutes away from Nataraj, as only the top two riders completed the leg under four hours mark.

Febin Jose finished third, ahead of Eshank Rudrappa and Akash Aithal, the latter two remarkably separated by only 0.05s over the line.

Extreme Cars Standings (Leg 3): 

Extreme Bikes Standings (Top 10):