One of the most-awaited events in motorsports saw the lights turn green as the Eastern Motor Sports Automobile Associates (Emsaa) and Veedol present Calcutta By Night ’24 Safe Night, Safe Drive was flagged off recently under the guidelines of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) in association with Urbana and with The Telegraph as media partner.
This was a night car rally in the time-speed-distance, or TSD, format, where participants had to reach specific time control points in specified times after reading off the route from maps that were handed over to them when the cars were flagged off. The Calcutta By Night rally had been conceptualised by eminent motorsport and vintage car enthusiast Partha Sadhan Bose in 1994 and Emsaa has a rolling trophy in his honour.
Being a time-speed-distance rally, cars of all shapes and sizes could participate
The event was supported by 91.9 Friends FM as the radio partner, Topsel Toyota, Anmol Biscuits, Coca-Cola, AMRI Hospitals and IHA Foundation as NGO Partner.
According to Emsaa chairman Deborshi Sadhan (Billy) Bose, the rally carried a message about Calcutta being a safe city, hence Safe Night, Safe Drive was part of its name. He said: “We want to promote motorsports in eastern India and it is interesting to note that with 45 entries, competitors have shown that Calcutta’s nightlife can go beyond lounge bars, restaurants and the movies. The eagerness and the excitement of the participants was worth experiencing.”
Motor Sports Association of Eastern India (MSAEI) led by Saurav Chatterjee as the COC (Clerk of the Course, the main person responsible for the rally course) ensured that there was surprise and excitement for the drivers every 100-odd metres. The marshal support was given by Eastern Indian Marshals Association. The advisor organisations were the Automobile Association of Eastern India, JustSportz and Kolkata On Wheels.
Organisers and sponsors assemble before the first flagoff with car number 1
To make sure of the widest possible participation, there were entries under six categories: Professionals, Amateur, Ladies, Couple, Clubs and Corporate. The event was held over Saturday and Sunday. After registration and scrutiny of the cars and the briefing for the participants at Urbana, the cars were flagged off around 8pm by Veedol MD Arijit Basu, IHA Foundation head Satnam Singh Ahluwalia and Emsaa vice chairman Shinjini Bose.
The first leg was a sort of warm-up for the tougher second leg. Leg 1 with a coffee break at Topsel Toyota ended quickly and the participants returned to Urbana for dinner. Leg 2, which started at 10.30pm, tested driving and navigational skills and resulted in a close battle in the Professionals category. It proved to be a challenge of a different level and even tricker in the dark as it started raining and winds competed with the cars for pace. The EIMA marshals gave yeoman’s service as they stood outdoors in the dark, rainy night to ensure that the event runs smoothly.
The event finished at 2.45am on Sunday morning with the last of the participants coming in. Remarkably, of the 45 entries altogether, 42 finished the course. Corporate entries included those from The Shrachi Group, The Telegraph and Veedol, and Club Entries came from Calcutta Club, Dalhousie Institute and Lake Club. The ladies team of Suvasree Dutt and Debadrita Bose gave the men’s teams a run for their money.
The winners were announced on Sunday afternoon to widespread cheers and the prizes were given. The overall and category winners were as follows:
Overall
1st and winner of the Partha Sadhan Bose Rolling Trophy: Sudip Kumar Ghosh and Arindam Ghosh
2nd: Subhankur Saha and Soham Pal
Deborshi Sadhan Bose, chairman, EMSAA
3rd: Souradeep Dutta and Rudrangsho Dey
4th: Sk Ajgar Ali and Sk
Ibrahim Ali
5th: Barna Barman and Prasenjit Roy
Ladies: Suvasree Dutt and Debadrita Bose
Couple: Sunita Prasad and Barun Chowdhury
Club: The father-son duo of Subhajit Kumar and Vikramjit Kumar from Dalhousie Institute
Corporate: Sudip Kumar Ghosh and Arindam Ghosh
Amateur: Maharshi Ghosh and Ayan Das
Professionals: Subhankur Saha and Soham Pal
Participants being briefed about the rally by Saurav Chatterjee
Emsaa chairman Deborshi Sadhan Bose thanked MLA Debasish Kumar and Bidhannagar mayor Krishna Chakraborty for their help in organising the event, as well as the police in both Calcutta and Bidhannagar for their cooperation.
Finally, Veedol got the gathering engrossed with an automobile quiz set by Joydip Sur. A special mention was given to Satavisha Roy of Urbana.
Bose also announced that Emsaa has started working on an event called the Motorsports Premier League and the dates will be announced shortly. Veedol MD Arijit Basu was encouraging and assured of continued support for the upcoming events alongwith Satnam Singh Ahluwalia.
The countdown to next year’s event is on!