Drivers

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Like all great stories and adventures, this too started at a bar. Raj and I were sitting at a bar called The Bucket List in Bondi Beach, Sydney Australia. We had gone to attend the World Cricket Championship in Melbourne, on our bi-annual boys trip. The rest of our posse was running late (as they usually do) and Raj and I were on our 2nd "Judgement". For the inquiring minds, a "Judgement" is the most calorie efficient drink, named after my compadre, Raj "skinny jeans" Judge, and is two shots of vodka, lime and rocks. 40 calories and some punch! But I digress. The conversation drifted to amazing adventures, memories and Raj started to recount the drive that his dad did from London to Delhi in an Austin in the 1950s. He talked about how he just took his car...and drove.

As Raj and I talked, "we should do one of these" I blurted out. And the conversation ended there as Sammy and Ash walked over to our side of the bar.

That evening, back in our hotel room, I Google'd World’s Most Gut-Wrenching Rally" and out popped "Peking to Paris".

The more I read about it, the more exotic and interesting it looked. I chatted with Raj again and we started dreaming about cars and vintage goggles with a scarf flying through the air. At that point, it was clear, we were gonna go for it. Small problem, we had never rallyed before... I mean... never.

We decided that the best way to figure out what car to enter is to see what cars finish. So like any good researchers, we decided to fly all the way to Paris to meet the 2016 rally as it finished. Annette at ERA was amused that these two crazy Californians would fly all the way to Paris from San Francisco, just to meet the finishers. It was a brilliant move as it is there we decided to race a Bentley. The car was iconic, a strong finisher, and spoke to the spirit of adventure; the force that was propelling Raj and I.

We want to dedicate our race to two amazing men that we have been inspired by all of our lives:

Lieutenant Colonel Suresh Chander Sharma Guleri

He grew up in Dharamsala, in the nothern hills of India. His father was a lawyer who ran a very strict household, and the siblings were taught to focus on studies from the get go. But young Suresh was an adventurer at heart and "to see the world" he joined the Indian Army at the age of 21. He was commissioned as an officer of the Indian Army IC7799 and fought in the 1962 war against China, 1965 and 1972 wars against Pakistan as part of the 9th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment.

The Punjab Regiment is the only infantry regiment with a naval galley as an insignia. It marks the readiness to serve overseas reflecting eight overseas campaigns by 1824. By the age of 35, Lt. Col. Guleri was commanding the 9th Punjab Regiment, and true to his regimental insignia, was always ready to travel anywhere. Tim drives the race in his honor.

Colonel Harcharan Singh Judge

He was born in 1910 and grew up in Lahore, Panjab. He was the eldest son of a large Sikh family that prized strong Sikh values. A valedictorian graduate of the prestigous Lahore University and captian of the rowing team, he was recruited into India's Intelligence Bureau at an early age. After World War II, he was attached to the infamous Poonch Brigade in the 2nd Battalion of the Sikh Regiment with the rank of Colonel. He often told stories of counter intellgence missions and adventures across enemy borders in each of India's wars. His eldest son, Manjeet is also an adventurer. Manjeet moved to the U.S. by freight ship at the age of 16 and drove from London to India in the 1950s. Inspired by his father's adventurous drive, Raj dedicates his race in his grandfather's honor.

Jo Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal (He who cries God is Truth, is Ever Happy) (Sikh) Bol Jawala Ma Ki Jai (Victory to Goddess Jawala) (Dogra)