Most of the participants for The Statesman Vintage and Classic Car Rally held on Sunday were from Delhi-NCR region, but there were a handful of outstation participants too.
One of them was Kashif Siddiqui, who drove his 1948 Willys military jeep. “I have been coming for this rally for the past five years. For any vintage car enthusiast the Statesman rally is the most prestigious one. In the past I drove the vehicle, but this time I let my wife do the honours,” said Kashif.
“I was scared initially, as I am not used to driving such heavy vehicles, but once we got started it was smooth sailing all the way,” said Niha, Kashif’s wife, with a confident smile. “We drove this jeep all the way from Chandigarh to Delhi, just for the rally,” she added.
Another outstation participant was Amarjeet Singh Sodhi, also from Chandigarh, who drove to Delhi with his wife to participate in the vintage rally. “I have been participating in vintage rallies back in Chandigarh regularly, but this is the first time that I have been a part of the Statesman Rally,” he said.
He came in his red 951 Fiat 500 C Topolino, which he bought in 1970, the year he got married. “We went for our honeymoon in this car, so this is our honeymoon car,” Amarjeet said with a beaming smile.
“I really enjoyed participating in the Statesman rally and will definitely be coming again next year,” he said.
The vintage enthusaist who covered the greatest distance to participate in the Rally was Daman Thakore, who came all the way from Ahmedabad. He got his 1932 Chevrolet Phaeton on a truck till Manesar and drove it from there to Delhi.
“It cost me quite a fortune to get this car all the way to Delhi, but I am not complaining, because this was the first time I was coming to participate in what according to me is the most prestigious vintage rally in the country, so no regrets.”
He added, “I have had a great experience participating in the Statesman Rally. The judging has been absolutely impartial and top notch. I also got to meet more ‘crazy’ people like myself, which was absolutely great. And it goes without saying that I will be coming again for the Statesman Rally next year.”
The out-of-towners are taking back beautiful memories about the Statesman rally and are confident of making it again next year.