Ready for a Reliability Trial?
H. Kishie Singh

This year, the Raid de Himalaya will have the Reliability Trial Category, in which your family car can participate. — Photo by Roopinder Singh

ALL these years, if you had read the fine print of your insurance policy, under the heading "Limitation as to use: clause ‘e’ reads, the policy covers use of vehicle for any purpose other than speed testing and reliability trials." You may have wondered how you could speed test your Amby or even consider it for a reliability trial. Because of lack of speed and reliability, this clause was largely ignored.

The new breed of cars has changed all that. Clause ‘e’ today is meaningful.

This year for the first time, Himalayanmotor Sport, organisers of the Raid de Himalaya, have introduced the Reliability Trial Category.

Simply put, it means that the car you drive every day can be taken for a motor sport event.

The reliability trial will run on much the same roads as the X-treme category but the speeds will be restricted. It will be a TDS event, where time, distance and speed all go together. It will be a test of driving skills, meeting time schedules, navigational skills (not at all difficult, if you know how!). The organisers give you two co-ordinates i.e. time and distance, you have to figure out the speed. Keeping safety as the foremost consideration, speeds could be as low as 35-40 km p.h. This also ensures you don’t break your car. The family car is safe! You could also be given speed and distance and then you would have to figure out the time to be taken from point A to B. A calculator can come in handy here.

There is still the speed-competitive category referred to as the X-treme category. To pass the scrutiny test for this category, your car must have a roll cage, 4-point seat belts and a host of other stringent safety features laid down. This costs money and chances are you would have had to cut your dashboard, drill holes, remove seats. A lot of people, would-be rallyists, were deterred by chopping up the family car and then bash it around during the rally. At the end of it all, the car would need extensive and expensive repairs to bring it to a roadworthy conditon. It would really never be a family car again.

Now all that has changed. Your family car can go on a Reliability Trial. It must be a stock car i.e. as it left the showroom. No additional fitments are allowed. The only exception would be fog lights, tyres suited to the terrain and a sump guard. This should be bolted on, not welded. Fog lights were mentioned not spot lights. You could encounter fog during the day on the high passes. Spot lights are not good for fog, only for night driving. There will be no night driving. This is for everyone’s safety and convenience.

Give your family car the once-over, pay your entry fee which includes board and lodging, and you are ready for the Raid de Himalaya’s Reliability Trial! Keep in mind, that your insurance policy won’t cover your escapade in the Raid de Himalaya.

A word about the route. It takes you into Central Asia over the Himalayas — a land of high-altitude cold deserts, massive mountains, blue skies. It also means driving across the roof of the world and crossing three passes over 16,000 feet above sea level: the Baralacha La at 16,400 feet, Nakee La at 16,300 feet and Lachu Lung La at 16,600 feet. This is the drive of a lifetime.

The event is from October 6 to October 11, 2003. For more information, log onto www.rdh4.com