….......where driving became fun at its best
Members of the Management Club and their guests had a rare opportunity of enjoying a fun filled day packed with surprises aplenty on Saturday 10th September at the TMC Fun Rally on Wheels that was organised by TMC Galle Face Hotel with 3M Lanka and Lucas batteries as their co-sponsors for the event.
The participants who gathered near Green Path opposite the National Art Gallery in Colombo were flagged off by the TMC officials after they were briefed about what they were expected to do on the way to a destination that was not revealed to them until they came to the last part of the rally sheets they were issued with.
The rally route plotted by Damascene Fernando and his team from the Classic Car Club, had many thrills and mysteries as expected as navigators were kept busy looking for answers to the clues while the drivers had to keep to the required pace to finish the course within the specified time duration.
TMC Fun rally 2011 saw both male and female navigators, some of them very young while some others - not so young, running out of their cars to a recently-opened coffee shop down Wijerama Mawatha to buy a type of coffee to find out what its price was during the initial part of the course.
They showed the same enthusiasm when they were seen bolting into an abandoned garage along J'pura Hospital Road, looking for the make of a rickety old, corroded 2 sri car half way through and later into a cemetery to find out dates of birth of some who had been laid to rest years back.
They also had to tackle a few interesting brain teasers, on some stretches of the route where they were not expected to look for clues form the roadside.
The organisers had made it difficult for participants to share and compare their answers - by issuing two different rally sheets to alternate cars.
A notable feature this year was an all female entry, a car that was seen whizzing past others apparently on some stretches of the route they were very familiar with !
Upon reaching the destination - Thotupola at Piliyandala - the participants were greeted with some melodious music dished out by Tony Hopman and his combo while the rally sheets were tabulated by Damascene and his team "Team Fernando" led by Dayan Fernando together with his wife Aloka and baby Inesh, - were declared winners of TMC Fun Rally and were awarded the TMC Fun Rally 2011 Trophy sponsored by IMS rent a car services along with some valuable gift packs from 3M Lanka and Lucas
The runners up Trophy went to Ravin de Silva while Henry de Silva and Janaka Sumithratachchi were placed 3rd.
Nalin Jayasinghe ( with his wife) and the Mangaleshwaran family were placed fourth and fifth respectively
A fashion show by a bevy of glamour girls form Rozanne Dias's Modelling School displaying some casual wear and colourful evening dresses added the finishing touches to a memorable day after a few games for kids as well as for adults kept them occupied way beyond lunch time.
All those who were part of TMC's Fun Rally 2011 had many pleasant memories to carry away and a majority of them had already resolved to take part next year too.
Such enthusiasm was certainly the result of the manner in which the route had been plotted for this rally where participants had to drive approx 35 km to finally get to Thotupola at Piliyandala having started off at Green Path, Colombo 7! The event this year was co sponsored by 3M Lanka and Lucas Batteries.
3M Lanka who are well known for their Car care products are planning to launch their "Do it yourself" product range for cars which will be available at all Super Markets in the near future.
Lucas batteries that has a substantial market share in the country with a large number of dealers in the Northern and Eastern provinces adding to their numbers in the recent past is being marketed by Klevenberg (Pte) Ltd who provide 24 hours road-side assistance for their customers in Colombo and suburbs. |
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