Bengaluru, Nov 16 (DHNS): Chilly weather, incessant drizzle, uneven roads, the chaos of public vehicles... nothing stopped 39 motorcycle-borne soldiers of the Indian Army from setting six Guinness world records on Sunday.

Popularly known as ‘Tornadoes’, the team of the Army Service Corps (ASC) Centre and College, Bengaluru, achieved the extraordinary feat in different motorcycle display categories on the isolated roads at NICE site office near Sompura on Mysore Road here.
Led by Lieutenant Colonel K K Nair and consisting of two officers, three junior commissioned officers and 33 other ranks, the Tornadoes navigated through zigzag routes and uneven surfaces with humps, as they rode into record books.

Four soldiers — in the separate individual category — displayed stunts by riding the motorcycle in different styles for a distance of 19 km. It was an absolutely nonstop ride on a difficult terrain. The motorcycle display included sitting on front mudguard, standing on the motorcycle, kneeling down on the seat and lying on motorcycle seat.

There were some tense moments, too, as the public vehicles which were stopped at the toll gate were allowed in, posing a hurdle to the smooth ride.

This did not, however, deter Rupnar Dilip P to complete the distance in record 39.47 minutes by sitting on the mudguard with hands stretched out. M Sasi Raja made it in 18.40 minutes by standing on the bike, while Shewale Ravindra completed the distance of 19 km in 24.16 minutes, lying prone on the motorcycle seat. Captain Bunny Sharma finished the ride in 28.22 minutes, kneeling down on the seat.

32 men on three bikes
It was all about practice, concentration and courage. A total of 32 soldiers on three motorcycles formed a human pyramid and completed a distance of one kilometre in record 56.23 seconds. This was followed by another fast-moving human pyramid of 12 men on two motorcycles, who covered the same distance in 48.72 seconds.

The ‘Tornadoes’ have a history of holding seven world records and six national records of varying degree of complexity and fortitude, unparalleled in the history of sports and adventure. In fact, the team has found a place in the Guinness Book of Records and Limca Book of Records on more than one occasion and has broken its own records time and again.

Lieutenant General S P S Katewa, Commandant ASC Centre and College, B K Dixit, Additional Chief Conservator of Forest and Chief Evaluation Officer, Karnataka Evaluation
Authority, and Brigadier Rajeev Minocha, Commandant ASC Centre (South), who witnessed the event, appreciated the team.