Will the 1903 Humber and the 1911 Triumph find stablemates in Pakistan? A difficult question to answer off the cuff, as not much is known about the motoring specifics in Pakistan, but change is in the air, with the Vintage and Classic Car Club of India, the Motorsports Association of India, and the Western India Automobile Association join hands to undertake the first ever Indo-Pakistan Vintage Car Rally later this year!
The historic and path-breaking feat will see both vintage and modern cars undertake a journey from New Delhi to Islamabad, crossing the Wagah border in what will be the first Indian motorcade to enter Pakistan in more than 50 years.
The rally will follow the regulations of a Touring Assembly, as required under the International Sporting Code of FIA. There will be a simultaneous start from the major metros in India, from where the cars will proceed to Delhi. After a day in Delhi for assembly and a ceremonial flag-off, the next day the cars will proceed to Islamabad, where the motorcade will be received by the Pakistan Prime Minister.
The proposed date for the assembly and ceremonial start in Delhi is December 18, 2004, and the run to Islamabad will commence on December 19, with an overnight halt. Entries will be restricted to approximately 50 vintage and 50 modern cars.
Mr. Nitin Dossa, Chairman of the VCCCI, who has already made several visits to Islamabad to lay the grounds for this mega-venture is confident that the event will soon develop into a major friendship exercise and tourist attraction between the two countries, going on to strengthen the subcontinent's claim towards grabbing a bigger share of the world motorsports pie.
Under the stewardship of Mr. Nazir Hoosein, President of the Motorsports Association of India (MAI), the country has already hosted a leg of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship and is poised to get on the World Rally map. There are also positive indications of India getting on the F1 circuit soon and in this current scenario, when it can be safely said that motorsports is booming in India, the move to open up the borders with Pakistan comes at an opportunate time.
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