Raghuram C G <raghuram.cg@gmail.com> writes about his experience of Desert Storm 2010 as a navigator:

Thanks to a couple of folks in the fraternity, I got an opportunity to navigate in the Desert Storm 2010 last month.Yes, its been a while since the event happened, but never too late to write up a report, especially when an event is so tiring as this one.

For folks from INRC, the Desert storm is a completely different ball game and requires a different mind set , not to mention the obvious requirement - endurance and willpower in large quantities

This time , I was navigating for Anil Sharma, a.k.a 'Panditji', A 25 year veteran in motorsport and winner of the Raid De Himalaya in 2009 in the cars category.

Feb 11thThursday

So reached Delhi and completed Documentation and also familiarised with the GPS which was going to be with us for the next 6 days to make sure that we dont get lost!! Thanks Moosa and Sudev for those tips.

Feb 12th Friday

This was scrutiny day and reached the Great India Place mall in Noida well in advance and we were among the first cars there for scrutiny, completed everything by late afternoon and headed back home.Found out that there were 37 competitors in Extreme and we had 3 Vitaras in the fray, remaining were Gypsies in both the T1 and T2 classes.

Feb 13th Saturday

The day was free for us, so spent the time making pace notes for the SS01 - using the road book, just. Learnt that we were competition # 15, Maruti Gypsy in T2 category and part of Team Thunderbolt.marking some important stuff in the Road Book for SS01, little did I realise that I would not have an opportunity to use it in that detail, nevertheless, I was pretty nervous considering that the stages were so long and it was imperative that we dont get lost, so was taking all precautions to avoid getting lost!!

Feb14th Sunday - Ceremonial Start

Finally, the day has come, After the customary drivers briefing at the Noida Golf Club,headed to the GIP Mall for the Flag Off.We were flagged off at noon and we had a regroup at Shakunt Resort on the Delhi - Jaipur Highway. This was roughly 130 odd kms and actual start of the rally was from here. Reached here without any glitches and let the vehicles in the hands of the service crew to do all the checks.The flag off for us was at midnight and we had a 70 km transport before the start of SS01. Butterflies in the stomach.

Rest of the time was spent in chit chat and most importantly familiarising with the GPS operations from the veterans of the Desert Storm.Had good dinner and almost all of us were drowsy, but keeping awake given that the start was at 12 midnight. Some competitors chose to take rest, while some of them, like us just kept awake till the moment arrived.At the same time, met up with some familiar faces.Finally , the moment arrives and we are flagged off at midnight.We had a transport of 72 kms before start of SS01 (Wildcat). Reached stage start without any hitches, used the transport to learn more about the GPS unit.

SS01 (Wildcat)
This was the moment, new car, new terrain, new driver and in the dead of the night.Given the amount of variables, I was pretty pretty nervous.Anyway, the strategy was to get to finish without getting lost , at the cost of being a bit slow, so the next 53 kms was going to be an experience of a lifetime.  We took start at 0137 hours, and boy the first 100 metres, I was coming to grips reading the road book and GPS at the same time on the bouncy track,- and what do I see - two pairs of buttocks of the neelgais(remember sudev's pic from recce?) running ahead of us! Wow, what a start. So after the temporary distraction, realised that I had to hold the GPS as well as the book hard enough, otherwise both would fall off from my hand. Started giving the calls to Panditji and had to limit myself to just easy , medium and tight alongwith the direction.The terrain was very rough, vehicle bouncing and pitching, expected as this was a dry river bed.It was very important to keep on the track, because frequently on both sides there were deep trenches and a fall into those meant end of rally. The terrain was rough, hard in some places, some places with water and many places - the grit track.Many twist and turns - which meant that, one had to be spot on with the GPS, otherwise, they would end up being lost.We had our couple of moments where we took the wrong track, but being vigilant on the GPS meant, we were back on track. Thanks to Panditji's adept handling of a particular reverse, we would have got stuck.On the way, we saw a couple of gypsies stuck as well as the Vitaras. This section also had a few Stop and Go (vehicle has to come to a complete halt) when crossing a tarmac or public road and DZ/FZ where everyone has to travel at a max speed of 30 kph. There were a few stretches where the bushes made it difficult to find the track, but GPS to the rescue here. It was prudent to have kept the roadbook beside so that one could double check with the GPS.we crossed the NH 15 below and continued on the stage without any hitches, except once when we went off track and were about to be stuck, but for presence of mind of Panditiji who was able to take a U turn rather than attempt a reverse to join the track.We encountered some rocky sections in the stage.Thanks to the lights and the GPS - we were able to make it in one shape to stage finish - a personal victory for me, since I was very skeptical about the night stage.

Took service at end of stage, the crew did not report any major issues and we had a long transport ahead of us.

It was around 3am in the morning of 15th February

We had a 300 km transport ahead of us and had two more stages to finish before we check in to a hotel. So that was going to be pretty tiring to say the least.Reached Teja Garden well in advance and took some rest (sitting in the vehicle).The stage start was right opposite to us , so all we had to do now was to wait.First car to flag off was at 1030 hrs and we were at Teja Garden at 0700 hrs.Spent the time discussing the events that happened to everyone in the SS01, at this time , Sunny Sidhu was first , followed by Rana. The only activity to be completed was to get the tracks loaded for the day into the GPS , which was not going to be easy since I did not have my laptop, finally got the tracks loaded with the help of few officials and had breakfast, which was pretty good and organised in Teja Garden itself.Some folks slept on the lawn itself, while we were waiting for SS02 start and busy chatting, trying to stay awake

SS02 (Twister)
First car takes start at 1030, and returns back within some time , turns out that a gate was closed .After official intervention, cars restart again.btw, this was desert territory.The entire 54 kms were going to be twists and turns and admist sand dunes , this was going to be fun and getting lost was easy, because all around you were only sand dunes. Took start and this time , I was focussing more on the GPS to make sure we are on the track, Panditji drove this stage with aplomb. The whole section was full of crests and downs combined with undulating surface.We kept decent pace and completed this stage without any issues.Though it was very Sandy, the gypsy in the capable hands of panditji did not get stuck anywhere - we just kept moving.The section had its share of S&G as well as DZ/FZ.

We were tired now at the end of this stage, it was ~1300 hrs(15th Feb), but no solace,after a transport of 50kms , we had a 77 km Competitive section

SS03 (Never Ending Saga)
What an apt name - we took start at 1400 hrs and here I made a mistake,I got distracted by a phone call and we lost the route just after start, we were get back on , but two cars already overtook us.Darn!a - Anyway, this stage was actually same as SS02 , but with addition of 20 more kilometers of similar terrain.But there was a catch, at around the 20th kilometre, there was a junction where the GPS would show two tracks, one leading to SS02 start and one the actual SS03 - one had to keep an eye here. Did that bit slowly at the junction and proceeded on - basically being a repeat, I was relying only on the GPS.It was hot and stuffy, we were in the vehicle for 24 hours now and really wanted to take a shower and good rest. But we were far away , and inspite of all this, I was enjoying this.Completed stage without any issues, proceeded to service.After another 80kms of transport, reached the end of Leg 1 at Bikaner at around 1800 hrs (feb15)- Phew!!.
We were checked into the opulent Hotel Laxmi Niwas . Couldnt wait to take a shower . Got some stuff checked up at service and checked into the room.That was good.
Had dinner and started the hunt for getting tracks loaded, managed to get that and retired to bed.Learnt that there were more attritions, but didnt get to the specifics.

Feb 16th

Next day was an early start - at 630 am!.At start of transport, everyone was in for a surprise, the scrutiny team was there and busy levying fines on everyone because some mudflaps were missing, some lights not working etc...Wow - should have been prepared, we didnt have a mudflap and one tail lamp wasnt working

SS04 (Dust to Glory)
After a short transport, this was a 30 km stage.This was basically a flat and hard surface stage, a fast one.A treat for INRC drivers actually! . THis was just outside of Bikaner.Yes, this section was sandy too and at one spot, due to a misjdgement, took the wrong turn, and we were in for it - it was so sandy, so sandy that any attempt to reverse or stop would mean that we would be stuck there.Pesence of mind saved the day here, Panditji continued to drive on the wrong route, and spotted a quick right turn which would take us back to the track, that I spotted using the GPS.There was also a tricky Stop and Go , which could make you take the wrong route, but we were safe.After that moment, it was pretty uneventful.Completed the stage and proceeded towards SS05 - we had 180 kms of transport on NH15 towards Jaisalmer

SS05 (Ground Zero - Close to Pokhran)
So this stage was again 80kms and we have been in the car now from 6am. It was 1400 hrs and this was presumably the section where one could get lost, since there were multiple tracks in different parts of the stage.Took start and in the beginnning itself, one can get so confused because of the multiple tracks, it is so important to rely on the GPS.I just kept telling go straight, whereas, going straight didnt look like the right way, eventually it was, but it was confusing. At the 8th km, there is a large rocky area and a step, which was in the road book too, but I missed it while looking only at the GPS, so we had one of our moments there. The remaining part was interspersed with sandy and hard surfaces and had to rely on GPS quite a bit. The stage had its share of S&G as well as DZ/FZ.The section also comprised of deep ruts in many places, so one had to watch out, still keep the speed.many sandy sections did give us a scare and some fast paced lake beds was a welcome change for both the vehicle and us.Few embankments and Grit tracks were encountered , but no issues. Finished with a decent time and now a 100 km transport to Jaisalmer

Reached fort Rajwada palace in Jaisalmer at around 1700 hrs, checked into the room-again, very luxurious and nice. Took a refreshing shower and went back to check the vehicle with the service crew. Visited the bazaar in Jaisalmer and got back for dinner.Luckily was able to load the tracks onto gps with help of a fellow competitor.

17th Feb

Next day start was at reasonable 830 am and we were thrown almost strainght in to competition.

SS06 (Bad Max)
After a short transport from Jaisalmer, this was another 90Km stage with Tarmac in the beginning for 8 kms.This was a challenging stage, very rough and undulating and many parallel tracks, so was a challenge to keep the car on the track.Not to mention some HT lines being strung onto the pylons right next to the track.At some places it was very very rough and we were bouncing in the car!!.This was followed by a mix of Sandy section and some very flat straights, but many parallel tracks to confuse everyone.We did decent speeds here, never had to reverse, but moved away from the track for few times, able to join quickly.One thing in the Desert Storm, the GPS never tells if you going in the right direction, it tells you are going on the right track, so if you are not careful - you will probably be heading back to Stage Start .at around the 50th KM, we were on the lake bed, the road book said head towards the buildings and the track was ours to choose, we followed the GPS blindly!.There were a few rocky sections and a couple of S&G.Many times we crossed Grit roads and it really confuses everyone, because there are so many tracks, I would say this was the navigators stage.We did OK here except for the finish, where we overshot a bit, had to reverse and take a left towards finish.
So technically this was halfway mark for the rally and we were probably 12th or 13th at this point(overall Extreme)

After this stage was the monstor transport of 500km to end with another 60Km stage before we retired for the night at the camp in Bhuj. After an uneventful transport on super smooth roads - why cant the roads be like these all over india, just like a carpet and no traffic , except for the one off army vehicles.

We reached SS07 start at 430 pm, we hadnt had proper lunch and were pretty tired, but we had the night stage to finish and reach the campsite.

SS07 (Twilight Zone)
After 2 days of day rallying, we got back to night again. This was a 60km stage and basically in the little Rann, which meant hard packed lake bed, many bushes and as many tracks, so a navigational challenge.This was a stage with a Passage Control too, so we had to stop and take the seal, otherwise we would incur a penalty of 60 minutes.We also heard here that there were attritions plenty, but we are all tired to know more details. Its been a long day and we still have a night stage and a 60km transport.This is really a test of everyone's endurance.

So we take start and within a few kms, realise that the navigator light is hampering the view for the driver, due to the glare,I guess we should have put some translucent material onto it, the earlier one had falled off, so I bend it down towards me and hold my hand over it, I still need to see the roadbook as well as see the GPS, after sometime, my hand is getting hot holding the bulb down, added to that condition is the dust unsettled by other cars is not settling down, so its like a haze in front of us, no visibility and just the gps to our aid.What a situation. We still continue,albiet a bit slow in some places.It also seems like we are going in circles, because the dust is just everywhere now and is not settling.We manage not to lose the track, just deviating a bit here and there, but its hard for anyone to just go straight listening to your navigator, when you cant see a thing.Finally we make it to service, the last few kms were really a challenge.We also get to the Passage Control properly, some folks missed it.

After this, we move to The Camp and have dinner , which was kind of OK, the tents were good and we get to bed by 11pm, again, tomorrow is an early start at 630 am

Feb 18th

SS 08(The Beach)
WELL a nice name for sure, but not so nice things happen to us on this stage. I guess we lost it here.Took start at 645am, we had a 120 km transport, which itself was a true test of navigation.There were so many turns,if not for careful sync between Road Book and GPS, we could get lost here too!Reached the stage start, quite nervous here because, the entry and exit points are where we could get stuck. This was a short stage of 26kms. We take start at 930 am and enter the beach without any issues,encounter a very rocky section, take it at full blast, hear a loud thud and then something rubbing against something, we continue only to see the engine temperature soaring at over the H mark.We continue, thinking it will come down,but no respite, and the smell of hot coolant is in the cabin , we stop , I run towards the sea, fill some water, meanwhile panditji has opened the radiator, it lets out a blast of steam, we fill water, one bottle isnt enough, I run again and fill water, put it in the radiator.We then crank, the temp has fallen down, we proceed. Just near where Maj Brar was stuck, we see the temp needle again at H, we stop, again fill water and we find out that the fan belt isnt there, its cut.So that was the noise, after the rocky section, mystery solved.We proceed to compelte the stage with great difficulty at the finish to reach service , they replace the fan belt and we move on to the next stage which is 120 kms long!! The longest for the rally.

SS09 (Tropic of Cancer)
We have a 120 km transport and another 120km of Competitive stage and then 90 km transport to reach The camp for the night halt.Wow, another test of endurance.
This 120 km stage was very much similar to SS07, infact, one half of SS07 was being used, but running in reverse. The bushes and dry lake beds, alongwith some ruts added to the excitement here, so much so that we went straight after the PC instead of left, had to retrace a bit. We also deviated a bit from the track, there are so many fork lefts and fork rights, its a challenge to take the right path, even with the gps, at one point, while trying to joing the track, we hit a stone, the inner rim was damaged and we had to change the wheel.Lost time here.We also finished in the track parallel to the track, the last 5 kms were really confusing, with so many track and so many bushes, we found it difficult to get onto the right track.Nevertheless, we completed the stage and the Leg, another 120 km of transport would take us to the camp for some rest.Though the vehicle was overheating in the morning, it was fine now and we had slipped below the rankings due to the puncture , wherein folks behind overtook us.The bushes and multiple tracks were a big challenge here.

We reach the camp at around 5pm , ask service crew to do final checks, we are just 2 stages away from finish, unfortunately due to the problem at SS 08 and 09, we are not doing good in the rankings. Spent some time chatting and also getting the stages for the next day uploaded.

While doing that we learn that SS11 is cancelled due ot water logging, so it was only one stage next morning and then onto Udaipur - I guess everyone of us wanted to reach udaipur!, man 5 days of torture, one to go - but we signed up for this.We check the results, have dinner and get to sleep, because we have to get up at 230 am next morning. Wow!!

Feb 19th

SS10 (Quake Zone)
We manage to wake up at 230 am, get ready and take start at 0345.Road book said 5 kms of straight tarmac and then a 90 right into the Rann. We do the exact same thing and are shocked to see Buwals Gypsy in the water uptil the cabin, Nakul waving to us and tellign us not to take that line.Man, the gypsy was half submerged in the water, what an unfortunate thing to happen and Buwal was runnign 2nd, behind 1st by just 47 seconds.
Anyway, we continued with the same issue of dust not settling and at around the quarter mark, the extra headlights become dim,we continue for some time,thinking that its the light, after sometime, we notice that the main headlights are gone too, we are still 30km from finish.THis is a 60km stage, basically the SS06 running in reverse.with the main headlights gone, I remove the Miners torch and we drive in the chill for 20kms with my hand holding the torch out of the window and one hadn clasping the GPS - I will never forget these 20kms in my life. We reach the Passage Control and get the seal and continue, at this time, the engine starts misfiring, we are unable to understand what could have happened to the vehicle which was runnign perfectly, tried all the usual practices, no avail, finally at 5km before finish, the vehicle gives up - just stops. I am seeing stars (literally), I havent seen so many stars in the sky, the vehicle refuses to start and panditji says - we are done with DS2010 !!. We try to find out what has happened, many cars pass us, we think we can take help towing, but decide against that. After some more tinkering, we figure out that the battery is dead,due to a loose connection, we fix that, but the only way to start is by push starting, finally we get some help and start the vehicle, we have lost a lot of time, but can still make Udaipur in the stipulated time.We start moving, only ot notice that the engine is overheating yet again. So, we cant go full blast now. So we take a jerry can and fill water in it, every 50 kms, I would get off , fill the radiator and move. Finally we limp into Udaipur - Hotel Radisson Plaza and hand over the time card. again a luxurious room awaits us.

We narrate our unfortunate story to folks and get to the room to grab some much needed rest for the mind and body. We refresh and attend the PD. The PD was well organised and was a good event.

We are 14th overall, but we finished, given our circumstances in stage 08 and 10,and our plight in the transport to Udaipur, even a finish had appeared bleak.

Overall, I enjoyed everybit of the 6 days, I met some very nice people,liked the food and stay at the hotels and happy to see the camaraderie between everyone, inspite of being competitors.

Kudos to Northern Motorsport for organising such an event, would love to do it again