Forty teams from Mumbai are among the 90 teams that will be testing their driving skills in the Himalayan terrain during the Nazir Hoosein Memorial Drive (NHMD). The Nazir Hoosein Memorial Drive, which is also endorsed by the IARC, will run from November 8-13.
Organised by Team Firefox, the drive will see the community of Himalayan Rally ex-participants, volunteers, officials and motorsports aficionados coming together to pay tribute to Indian motorsport legend Nazir Hoosein. As it pays homage to the founder of the fabled Himalayan Rally, the Nazir Hoosein Memorial Drive will fittingly re-trace the route of the 1981 Himalayan Rally, and kick off from Delhi on November 8 – exactly 40 years after the 1981 event.
The 40 teams from Mumbai had collected for a ceremonial flag off from the historic Liberty theatre late last week.
Gautam Singhania, Chairman and Managing Director of the Raymond Group, also member of the FIA and World Motor Sport Council (WMSC), was the chief guest of the event. Carrying a longstanding passion for motorsport, he’s been a central figure in the racing scene in India.
Also present was Aranka Hoosein, daughter of Nazir Hoosein and Hormazd Sorabjee, a former participant and organiser.
Reflecting on the legacy of the Himalayan Rally, Sorabjee said: “What the Himalayan Rally achieved was really way ahead of its time. In terms of rally organisation it was tough. At that time there were no mobile phones and this set new standards of radio communication. It was just the quality of having an international event of that stature which really set it apart,”
“The Himalayan Rally was actually way ahead of its time. If you think about it, the 1980s for the auto industry was pre-Maruti. It was an age of Ambassadors and Fiats and when you saw those rally cars on the road, it was like something extraterrestrial at point,” he added.