On June 28, rallyists from all parts of the country will race to Pir Ki Gali, the the highest point on the Mughal Road. Pir Ki Gali is at an elevation of 11,500 feet (4,100 meters) approximately. The Mughal Road was the historic track used by Emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan to traverse Kashmir to go to Lahore. ‘Gali’, which commonly implies ‘street’ in Hindi, is used in the Gujjar dialect of Kashmir for ‘mountain pass’.
On June 29, the second hill climb battle will come into play when the competitors race to Sinthan Pass, at an altitude of 12,450 feet (3748 meters). The Sinthan Pass is on National Highway 1B, connecting Kishtwar and Anantnag. Even during the height of summer, the hill climb up to Sinthan Pass is lined with walls of snow. It is open from April to September.
Talat Parvez, Director Tourism Kashmir, said he was enamoured by the The Pikes Peak Hill Climb, one of the most popular motorsport events in the USA. “This race is on the international events calendar of Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the governing bodies for international motor sporting events. They call it the ‘Race to the Clouds’. We realized that Pir Ki Gali on Mughal Road and Sinthan Pass offer the same challenge to motorsport enthusiasts. This year, we have entries from almost all parts of the country for the hill climb, and it has the potential of becoming an international challenge,” said Pervez.
On June 27, the pre-event scrutiny will be held in Srinagar to ensure that the cars, SUVs and motorcycles of the competitors comply with stringent rallying and safety regulations. The architect of the hill climb race is Himalayan Motorsport, the premier Shimla-based motorsport club which has organizes the Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya. The Raid, held in awe by rallyists across the world, is the only Indian event listed on the FIA calendar. The Mughal Rally started in 2010, when the Mughal Road was a quagmire of deep mud and rocks. It is now a smooth, double laned highway which will be formally opened by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on June 25.
“The format of the event has changed from a rally to a hill climb because of the way the track has changed,” said Vijay Parmar, the President of Himalayan Motorsport. “Rallying is on dirt track, which we see in the Raid. With the road almost fully tarmac here, we now have a fantastic hill climb challenge,” he revealed.
Himalayan Motorsport has seen average top speeds on this stretch go up from a mere 55 kmph in 2010 to almost 170 kmph in 2012. “We see this rally becoming one of the fastest hill climbs in the world. At around 30 kilometers each, the four hill climb stages on Peer Ki Gali and Sinthan Pass will require great skill and concentration to master," Parmar stated.
The Mughal Rally will race the 67 kilometer stretch of the Mughal Road in about 45 minutes. The rally will be flagged off from the Royal Springs Golf Course by the J&K Tourism Minister Ghulam Ahmad Mir on June 28. It will proceed to Jammu over the Mughal Road for the night halt.
June 29 will see the rally return via the lesser known areas of Reasi, Salal, Gool to Ramban, and finally taken on the hill climb to Sinthan Pass, to end in Srinagar. With greater peace in the valley, the Mughal Rally has boosted tourism in the region. The Mughal Rally 2013 has 26 teams in the Xtreme (4X4) category, which is all about speed. The Enduro category, which runs on the Time-Speed-Distance (TSD) format, has 35 teams in the fray. Each team comprises a driver and a navigator. In the Xtreme (Moto) category, there are 10 bikers competing for the top spot this year.
