By B David

Bengaluru, September 1, 2025: Indore’s Vinod Singh and Agra’s Shailendra Singh drove their 1300cc Maruti Gypsy to a breakthrough victory, sealing their first-ever Overall title in the Motorsport Inc fmsci 14th Dakshin Dare Rally, which wound its way through 2000 km of tough terrain before finishing at Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, on Sunday night.

Palakkad’s Adith KC and co-driver Harish KN (Team VMM) stormed into second place on the final day in a Honda City, with teammates Aieman Ahmed/Sagar M taking third in a Polo 1.6. Shillong’s Phoebe Dale Nongrum, alongside Venu Ramesh Kumar, finished fourth overall in cars while also clinching the Ladies’ Class title, ahead of rally veteran Vamcy Merla and ace navigator Ashwin Naik.

VM Motorsports bagged the Team Championship in cars, with four entries in the top five. TR2 Racing Indiaclaimed the team honours in the bikes category.

Rajendra Rules Bikes, Aishwarya and Phoebe Lead the Ladies

Multiple national champion Rajendra RE (Petronas TVS Racing) conquered the bike category, edging defending champion Dhritimaan Singh (TR2 Racing KTM 450) after a relentless five-day battle. Sanjay Somashekar (VM Motorsports) secured third.

Making a strong comeback, Aishwarya Pissay — India’s only FIM world champion — dominated the Ladies’ class in the two-wheeler section aboard her Petronas TVS Racing machine. The Micro Labs–R9 Stables rider also impressed with a top-10 overall finish, beating more than 20 male competitors. “This rally is part of my motorsport roots since 2016. Returning after eight years and winning again was nostalgic and fulfilling,” said Pissay.

In cars, Phoebe Dale Nongrum underlined her growing stature by outpacing a dozen men to top the Ladies’ category in her JK Tyre–shod Polo.

Five Days, Dust and Determination

The 14th edition of Dakshin Dare tested crews with dusty trails, punishing heat and tricky terrain. The rally featured 18 cars and 32 bikes, with competitors covering 350 km of timed stages across five days.

Reflecting on his maiden title, Vinod Singh said: “We kept our focus and pushed through the dust, heat and long hours. Huge thanks to my co-driver Shailendra and our tuners Dr. Perk and Kapil Thakur for preparing a machine that could take a beating and still deliver.”