Chandigarh, September 18, 2019: Come September 21 and the hills of the Shivalik range will reverberate with the deep roar of engines eating away the miles at a monitored pace.
The Old Cottonian Association, an alumni association of the famed Bishop Cotton School, Shimla, is all set to organize the fifth edition of the Shivalik Hill Drive (SHD) from Chandigarh to Shimla.
A Time Speed Distance (TSD) event, the drive will cover nearly 130 kilometres over a route that will be made known to the participants an hour before the flag off.
The event aims to combine the individual spirit of competition with our love for nature as the participants make their way through some of the lesser known roads on a stretch widely frequented by people in the North.
The SHD will raise money for the Festival of Differently Abled Children (FODA), an annual event organized by the Bishop Cotton School on its campus. This year, the SHD coincides with FODA.
The drive will be flagged off by Punjab Sports Minister, Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi, at 8:30 am on September 21 from Manohar Infrastructure and Constructions, Mullanpur, near Punjab – Chandigarh barrier.
It will culminate at Bishop Cotton School campus with the declaration of the winners. The maximum average speed of vehicles during the drive has been set at 45 kmph with strict adherence to traffic regulations.
Says Rana Sodhi, “Its great to see that the OCA have gone out of their way to ensure that participants strictly follow the traffic rules and regulations. The event will act as a catalyst to sensitize the public about the importance of following traffic rules in their day to day lives.”
So far 45 teams have registered for the event, entries for which will close at 6 PM on September 20. The drive is open for participation to all. It has four categories viz, Old Cottonians, Ladies, Families, and Professional Rally Drivers with prizes to be given away in each.
Owners of any four-wheeler (Cars/ Jeeps) irrespective of make or type can participate. The participating teams will be required to pay an entry fee ranging from Rs 5000 to Rs 8000 depending on the number of people riding a vehicle.
The entry fee includes drive registration charges, high tea, night stay at Koti Resorts, dinner on September 21, and breakfast on Sunday, September 22.
The participants will be provided a Road Book containing instructions regarding the route to be followed.
These will be in the form of standardized diagrams indicating relevant landmarks vide instruction numbers, with distances between these instructions, and relevant total distances.
The Road Book will not disclose the location of the Marshals or Time Control points on the Route of the drive.
Also known as Regularity Drive, a Time Speed Distance event involves much greater control as it aims to cover each segment of the course in a specified time at a specified speed.
Contestants usually compete in teams composed of a driver and navigator.
The last four editions of the Shivalik Hill Drive have been huge successes with participants drawn from across the country.