Patel's pace

Exhibiting his well-known speed and driving dexterity, daredevil Rustom Patel picked up the title and trophy as the "Gulf Fastest Rider of the Day” at the Gulf Autocross for two-wheelers at the Godrej grounds at Vikhroli in Bombay on March 12, 2006.

Patel, short in stature but tall in competition skill and success, outclassed other riders to take first place in five different classes of two-wheelers, and took second and third spot in two more categories as well! The event was sponsored by Gulf Oil Corporation and organized by Sportscraft. "Autocross is a time trial exercise in the finer nuances of driving, where the rider is timed to the hundredth of a second. The capabilities of both man and machine are put to the ultimate test. It is for those who have a penchant for speed and daredevilry. Basic driving skills like braking and negotiating sharp curves are needed,” explains Sportscraft’s Shrikant Karani who is chairman of the organizing committee.

In the motorcycles 160 cc upto 250 cc, Patel riding a Karizma generated calculated bursts of speed and exercised precision control as he went around the gravel laden, dusty course to clock 2:13.75 sec, while the second placed competitor Badal Doshi came in at 2:28.85 sec. In the fastest event of the day, Patel timed 2:13.17 sec in the 80-150 cc (two stroke) group, beating Poona rider Pinkesh Thakkar by 0.79 sec! In the variety of vehicles Patel was at ease with were the TVS Victor, Suzuki Fiero, Kinetic Honda, LML Vespa, etc.

At the Gulf Autocross (from left): Rustom Patel, Pouruchisty Elavia, Shernaz Patel

In the Scooters above 80 cc upto 110 cc ladies class, Shernaz Patel stood first, riding a Kinetic Honda. "Though it is not easy to effect sharp turns on a scooter, particularly in muddy conditions, it must be said that most scooterists came through the exercise admirably,” notes Sportscraft. Among the lady scooterists was Pouruchisty Elavia.

Taking second spot in the motorcycles 110 cc to 125 cc group was Sarosh Mulla, who also came third in the motorcycles upto 250 cc class. Freddy Elavia on a LML Vespa secured third place in the scooters above 110 cc upto 160 cc class.

By virtue of his performance at the Gulf Autocross, Patel wins a place in the Gulf Dirt Track National Championship, with its first round in Mangalore on April 15-16, 2006, as per a press release from Sportscraft. Dirt Track is a spectacular in-stadia event with a mass start, done on any surface, with no jumps. The prize money for each leg is over Rs 90,000 while championship awards for the overall winners are in the range of Rs 2,50,000. Besides Mangalore, the other four legs will be at Coimbatore, Nagpur, Nasik and Jaipur, running through till December 2006, making it a grueling competition.