text: Insanely difficult motorsport events are becoming more popular all the time - here's a new one which is being described as "the Paris-Dakar of India". The Great Arc event has been devised by Sevenoaks-based company ROARR, which also runs the Jewel of India and the Himalaya Classic Rally.\n\nThe new event pays homage to William Lambton and Sir George Everest, the two leaders of the Great Trigonometric Survey of India. The Survey was begun by Lambton and took decades to complete; Lambton died long before the end of the process and was succeeded by his assistant Everest, after whom the world's highest mountain was subsequently named.\n\nThe Great Arc Rally will follow their route from the southern tip of the subcontinent to Hathiopaon in the north, where Everest spent many years calculating the results of the survey. The sting in the tail is that competitors in two of the classes - for 4x4s and motorbikes - will have to go in as straight a line as possible up the spine of India. That means creating river crossings and beating a path through jungles, among other adventures.\n\nCompetitors in the third class, for classic vehicles (anything built before 1975), will be given a less stressful route, sticking to roads and tracks at all times.\n\nThe event will start in October 2007 and last for 21 days. Entry fees are £14,850 for a car and two drivers or £7425 for a bike and rider. Food, accommodation, route guidance, telemetry, medical services and mechanical backup are all included in the fee. If you want to enter the 4x4 class but don't want to bring a vehicle with you, ROARR will hire you a local jeep.