2017 Dakshin Dare: Nataraj in cruise control, Rana and Samrat to slug it out

Heavy rains prevailed during Leg 4 of the 2017 Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare. The timed section had to be shortened by 5km. To make matters worse the latter part of the stage had a dense fog cover hampering visibility for all. The participants had to endure a tough transport stage to Kolhapur as well which had several waterlogged areas. The day ended with the final SSS in the heart of Kolhapur city.

Suresh Rana’s lead in the Ultimate Cars category has been cut down to just 38 seconds thanks to Samrat Yadav’s exemplary driving. The two of them will jostle for the win in the final stage as third placed Sandeep Sharma is 16 minutes behind Rana. Gaurav Chiripal, Gurinder Singh Sidhu and Harvinder Singh Bhola will contest for fourth spot as just four minutes separate the three of them.

With the final stage left, R Nataraj is all set to win the Dare for the second year running as he has built a lead of two and a half minutes. Teammate Abdul Wahid Tanveer sits comfortably in second as he is seven minutes clear of Sanjay Kumar. RE Rajendra and Srinivasa continue to stay inside the top five.

The final leg of the rally takes place in Bhor, on the outskirts of Pune. A 78km stage remains with the cars tackling it twice before heading to the finish line in Chakan, Pune.