Ceat flags off 22,000km rally from Mumbai to Magadan, Siberia

Ceat Tyres has announced the title sponsorship of the extreme overland pioneers, Wander Beyond Boundaries (WBB), as they embark on a historic 22,000km overland drive from Mumbai to Magadan in Siberia, traversing five countries and six time zones.

The flag-off ceremony was done by Arnab Banerjee, MD and CEO, Ceat, at RPG House, Mumbai for this expedition. Led by WBB founder Nidhi Salgame, an experienced extreme terrain driver, the expedition will see Indian vehicles equipped with Ceat tyres venturing into the Pole of Cold, the coldest inhabited place on Earth. This expedition will also celebrate India’s manufacturing prowess and the indomitable spirit of Indians.

Lakshmi Narayanan B, chief marketing officer at CEAT, added, “Ceat believes in pushing the boundaries and this expedition provides us the opportunity to not only support this historic endeavour by Wander Beyond Boundaries but also to showcase the performance of Ceat tyres as the team will tackle challenging terrains while travelling 22,500km from India to Siberia.”

Salgame said, “Our association with Ceat goes back to WBB expeditions Zanskar and Beyond in Ladakh and Nagaland Offroad. Given the diversity of terrain – dirt track, rock, gravel, streams – the Ceat All-Terrain Tyres performed rather well and adapted brilliantly. It is indeed an honour and privilege to be embarking on Road to Siberia. An expedition that’s epic, historic and doubly thrilling for me especially because this time, we’re an all-Indian team, in Indian vehicles on Indian tyres!”

The diverse team of eight professionals from Bengaluru, Hubli, Hyderabad and Pune, include driving enthusiasts from varied backgrounds such as doctors, interior decorators, and an organic farmer. The expedition will follow a thrilling route starting from Mumbai, entering Nepal through the land border at Sanauli in Uttar Pradesh, reaching Kathmandu, and then moving on to Tibet. Stops include the iconic Everest Base Camp and the ancient Chinese city of Pingyao, among others, before reaching Beijing. From there, they will venture into Mongolia’s challenging offroad tracks before entering southern Siberia.

The team will cross the world’s largest freshwater lake, Lake Baikal, on the Trans-Siberian route and continue east to Yakutsk in the Sakha Republic. The journey will then take them through the notorious Road of Bones, leading to Magadan, with a detour to Oymyakon, known as the Pole of Cold, the coldest inhabited place on Earth. The vehicles will finally be shipped back to India from Vladivostok.

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