Lotus Rally on 21-22 Nov.

Thursday, 20 November 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Lotus Rally is once again being held after a lapse of five years by the Ceylon Motor Sports Club (CMSC) and the Kandy Off Road Adventure Club (KORAC) on 21 and 22 November. The rally, which will begin in Colombo, will consist of three stages, with the Colombo-Eheliyagoda stage being the first followed by the Eheliyagoda-Kurunegala leg.

The Lotus Rally special committee enjoying a well-deserved picnic lunch after a hard morning’s motoring. The members are Gerald Ebell, George Philips, Tissa Seneviratne and Nihal Canakeratne

Stage 3 will see competitors roam around the hill country from Kurunegala all the way to a grand finish in Kandy. Competitors will drive from sea level to the picturesque hill country climbing more than 5000 feet above sea level. Winners will get to watch the Formula One races in Singapore. The event categories are Cars up to 1000cc, up to 1400cc, Up to 1600cc and over 1600cc, trucks and jeeps up to 3000cc, trucks and jeeps over 3000cc, Masters-Open, Bikes-Open and Ladies’-Open. The CMSC Lotus Rally was first conducted in 1958 and is currently the oldest recorded rally in the country. It was last conducted in 2009. Chief Rally Plotters of the CMSC Shafraz Junaid, Mudith Maddumarachchi, Akhri Ameer, Ryan Todd and Mahen Hurulle said that the rally will be both strenuous and competitive. Both driver and navigator will be kept on their toes as the rally winds itself through diverse terrain. The 2009 event commenced at the Galle Face Hotel at 6 p.m. with the first stage ending after 150km in Ratnapura. The second stage wound from Ratnpura up to the site where the famous movie ‘Bridge on the River Kwai’ was shot - the Kitulg

ala Rest House. Stage 3 began with competitors going further upcountry and ending at the Hanwella Resthouse by 4 p.m. The rally ended at the Parliament car park in Battaramulla, with the final awards presented by Yoshitha Rajapaksa. Entries for the 2014 Lotus Rally have now opened and entry forms can be collected from the CMSC office in Colombo by contacting Mahendra on 0727645081, Mahesh Weerasinghe in Kandy on 0777592100 or emailing [email protected].