The first-ever India-Asean Car Rally begins today, with four Cambodian taxi drivers among a national team of 12, who will motor their way from India through eight countries to their final stop in Indonesia.
The rally, hosted by the government of India to promote tourism in the region, begins in Guwahati, India, with a total of 33 vehicles and more than 100 participants from 11 countries.
Spending two-and-one-half weeks on the road and driving over 8,000 km, the teams will travel through Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore before finishing in Indonesia.
David Harrington, a racing expert hired by the Ministry of Tourism to manage the Cambodian team, said that finding professional or experienced Cambodian drivers with a passport, driver’s license, driving experience—and the luxury of going three weeks without pay—was difficult.
Faced with little time to put a team together, Harrington picked four taxi drivers to join.
“At first I was apprehensive because they are taxi drivers,” Harrington said. “But when I met them they were well-presented.”
Over the past two years, Harrington has been trying to promote motor sports in Cambodia. During the Khmer New Year in April, he organized the “Wat Phnom Grand Prix” go-kart race in Phnom Penh.
All expenses for the rally will be paid by the Indian government, Harrington said.
Team member and taxi driver Kim Heng said costs were the least of his concerns. “I am worried about driving on the right [side of the road], since I’m used to driving on the left,” Kim Heng said, anxious that the Indian-provided 4WDs, in which they intend to traverse the continent, could have right-side steering wheels.
Cambodia’s team will drive three vehicles. Each driver will alternate every two hours on the road, Harrington said.
