INDIA in F1

Author: David Bodapati

  • MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championships, champions

    MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championships, champions

    Madras Motorsports Club (MMSC) is the only organisation in India which owns a Motorsports facilty accredited by FIA and FIM that is active for almost all the 52 Sundays in any given Calendar Year!

    They are also the only Club who are capable of, and who have been conducting road racing championships for both two-wheeler and four-wheeler competitions since the historic days of Sholavaram fame. One of the five oldest clubs in India who discovered and promoted motorsports, MMSC, is at the forefront of promoting racing in India, is an understatement.

    Here we try to put together and compile a list of all the Racing Nationals approved by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (fmsci) for posterity.

    2021 Motorcycle Nationals – MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2021

    Round 1: MMRT Tarmac; Preview; Friday; Saturday; Sunday

    Round 2: MMRT Tarmac; Preview; Friday; Saturday; Sunday

    2020 – Two Week-ends – Four Rounds

    2019

    2018

    2017

    2016

    2015

    https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/decision-tree/
  • National Champions 2020: All 9 motorsports disciplines

    National Champions 2020: All 9 motorsports disciplines

    As on 26 Feb 2021

    FMSCI Indian National Championships – 2020

    1. MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship

    2. JK Tyre  FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship

    3. FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship

    4. MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship

    5. MRF MOGRIP FMSCI National Supercross Championship

    6. MRF MOGRIP FMSCI National Rally Championship 2W

    7. MMS FMSCI National Karting Championship

    8. MMS Indian National Karting X30 Championship

    9. MMSC FMSCI Indian National 2W Drag Championship

    10. FMSCI Indian National Rally Sprint Championship 2020

    1. National Racing Championship (NRC): 2W Champions for 2020

    1. Pro-Stock 301-400cc – Rider: KY Ahamed (Chennai, TVS Racing). Team: TVS Racing. Manufacturer: TVS.

    2. Pro-Stock 165cc Open – Rider: Jagan Kumar (Chennai, TVS Racing). Team: TVS Racing. Manufacturer: TVS.

    3. Novice (Stock 165cc) – Rider: Mohan Babu (Chennai, Privateer). Team: Sparks Racing. Manufacturer: Yamaha

    4. Girls (Stock 165cc) – Rider: Anne Jennifer (Chennai, Sparks Racing). Team: Gusto Racing. Manufacturer: Yamaha.

    2. JK Tyre National Racing Championship 2020

    LGB Formula 4: 1. Champ: Sandeep Kumar, Dark Don Racing –66 points;

    2. Ashwin Datta, Dark Don Racing –63 points;

    3. Vishnu Prasad, MSport –54 points

    Novice Cup: 1. Champion: Amir Sayed, Msport – 120 points;

    2. Dhruvin Gajjar, DTS Racing –49 points;

    3. Aman Chaudhary, DTS Racing –46 points.

    Ladies Class: 1. Champion: Anushriya Gulati, Ahura Racing;

    2. Mira Erda; 3. Phoebe Nongrum.

    Rookie Class: 1. Champion: Anushriya Gulati, Ahura Racing, 77 points.

    3. Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) for 4-wheelers

    1. 1. Gaurav Gill; 2. Karna Kadur; 3. Fabid Ahmer.

    2.Co-Drivers: 1. Musa Sherif; 2. Nikhil Pai; 3. Eldo Chacko.

    3. INRC2: 1. Sahil Khanna 78; 2. Dean Mascarenhas 77; 3. Rahul Kantharaj 62;

    4. Co-drivers: 1. Vidit Jain 83; 2. Shruptha Padival 77; 3. Vivek Bhatt 66;

    5. INRC2 Team: 1. Snap Racing; (Sahil Khanna 117; Lakshay 24) Total=141;

    6. INRC3: 1. Fabid Ahmer 98; 2. Aditya Thakur 90; 3. Maninder Singh Prince 86;

    7.Co-drivers: 1. Eldo Chacko 98; 2. Virender Kashyap 90; 3. Vinay Kumar Padmashali 86;

    8. INRC3 Team: 1. Snap Racing; (Maninder 77; Amer Beg 7; Arjun Rao 7) Total =91.

    9. INRC4: 1. Vaibhav Marathe 68; 2. Mujeeb Rehman 65; 3. Rohit Iyer 55;

    10. Co-drivers: 1. Suhan MK (68); 2. Goutham CP (65); 3. Manjunath (62);

    4. National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2020

    1. Indian Touring Cars: Driver – Arjun Balu (Coimbatore, Race Concepts, 151 points). Team – FB Motorsport (262)

    2. Super Stock: Driver – Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram, Performance Racing, 154). Team – Race Concepts (289).

    3. MRF Saloon Car Series: Diljith TS (Thrissur, 113).

    4. Formula LGB 1300: Driver – Tijil Rao (Bengaluru, 122). Team – Momentum Motorsport (215).

    6. MRF MoGrip National Rally Championship for 2W

    1. Overall champion: Samuel Jacob

    8. Indian National X30 Karting Championship

    1. Senior Class: Surya Varathan, Coimbatore
    2. Junior Class: Ruhaan Alva, Bengaluru
    3. Cadet Class: Ishaan Madesh, Bengaluru

    9. Indian National Drag Championship 2w 2020:

    1. Hemanth Muddappa (Mantra Racing, Above 1051cc and 851-1050cc);

    2. Aiyaz (Pvt, 361-550cc and 131-165cc);

    3. J Bharath Raj (Rulexx Rockers Racing, Up to 165cc, 226-360cc);

    4. Ann Jennifer (Sparks Racing, Girls).

    4. 2-Stroke: Aiyaz (131-165cc); Mohammed Rafiq (2S, Up to 130cc).

    10. FMSCI Indian National Rally Sprint Championship 2020

    PROMOTER = Motorsport INC

    1. Group A Upto 800cc Class:

    1. Sinan Francis (Ernakulam) KTM-EXC450 = 101 points

    2. Sarath Mohan, Suzuki RMX450z, Mallapuram = 80 points

    3. Vishwas SD (Bengaluru) Suzuki ?, = tied on 76 points

    3. Badal S Doshi (Pune) Vishwas SD (Bengaluru) Suzuki RMX450z, = tied on 76 points

    2. Group B 131cc to 165cc:

     1. Pavan BK (Bengaluru) Hero Impulse  = 130;

    2. Ishan Chandra (Mangalore) Hero Impulse = 122;

    3. Vinay Prasad = 84.

    3. Group B 261cc to 400cc Class:

    1. Sudeep Kottary (Mangalore) Duke 390 = 150;

    2. Sajeesh Reghunathan = 104;

    3. Uday Ganguli = 84.

    4. Group B Upto 130cc Class:

    1. Noldin Thomas (Ernakulam) Yamaha-YBX = 116;

    2. Rakesh Kumar V =115;

    3. Durgesh =93.

    5. Group B 166cc to 260cc Class:

    1. Sachin D (Bengaluru) TVS Apache = 150;

    2. Yuvakumar = 90;

    3. Sanjay Somashekar = 87.

    6. Ladies Class: 1. Ryhana Bee (Chennai) Hero Impulse = 136;

    2. Tanika Shanbhag (Satara) Hero Impulse = 119;

    3. Dimpy A = 79.

    7. Bullet Class:

    1. Suhail Ahmed (Bengaluru) Himalayan = 125;

    2. Devaraj Venkatesh Himalayan = 11;

    3. Sarath Kumar = 81.

    8. Scooter Class:

    1. Karthik Naidu (Bengaluru) TVS N-Torq = 143;

    2. Pinkesh Thakkar (Pune) Aprilla-SR125 = 105;

    3. Goutham N = 90.

  • Narain Karthikeyan, Maini bro’s descend on Meco Kartopia

    Narain Karthikeyan, Maini bro’s descend on Meco Kartopia

    Bengaluru, 20 Dec 20: Narain Karthikeyan, the first Formula One driver from India, descended on to the Garden City at the Meco Kartopia track where Arjun Maini, spent innumerable laps during his karting days. He is now here as part of NK Racing, Narain’s team, for which he is the mentor. Arjun Maini and his younger brother Kush Maini are taking part in the Rotax Max National Karting Championship Rounds here on Sunday. Afer Narain, Karun Chandhok, followed the well-laid path, and proved his mettle becoming the second Indian to enter the world of Formula 1.

    Now as India waits for their third man in F1, we have some of the greatest talent, India has ever-produced, with Jehan Daruvala and Arjun Maini, competing at the highest level, is search of the elusive goal, in the world of motorsports.

    And then suddenly, Narain Karthikeyan, Arjun Maini and Kush Maini descend, on to the humble Meco Kartopia, that supports and works as a gateway to bigger things in motorsports by offering a karting track, gets to see the return of its stars. Arjun Maini, grew into the top echelons after establishing and sustaining his fundamentals in karting. And here, he is once again, in Bengaluru, with a “new coach” that is none other than Narain Karthikeyan.

    Coming to the news, Arjun Maini, took part and won the first two rounds of the Indian National Rotax Max Karting Championship where Narain Karthikeyan’s Team NK Racing Academy made a dominant debut winning three podiums, including two victories.

    The team founded and operated by India’s first Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan made a strong revival in 2020 year winning multiple single seater Natonal Championships between 2006 and 2010. The CRG affiliated factory team using the KT2 chassis set the pace all through the two rounds which concluded here on Sunday. This was the first front row lockout for CRG under the senior category in the championship in India.

    CRG, the Italian Kartng giant have previously supported several Formula One drivers like Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Nico Rosberg and many more in their karting days.

    The team ran an array of talented drivers led by rapid LMP2 and former F2 Driver Arjun Maini with his brother Kush Maini, Britsh F3 championship Runner-up. The team also ran academy rookie drivers Divy Nandan and David Ryan, who were getting stronger throughout the weekend and made a remarkable impression with their performance. Sohil Shah, the Natonal Novice cup champion was the reserve driver for the team who also had an impressive run during Round 2 of the championship.

    The weekend started with a bang , the team seeing the pace in qualifying for Round 1 and locking out the front row by the Maini brothers and 9th and 11th for Divy Nandan and David Ryan respectively. It was a very similar story in the Round 2 of the championship where a remarkable performance by Arjun Maini led to him taking the top step in the championship with the exception being,

    Sohil Shah brought in place for Kush Maini. The team also took a significant lead in the team and constructors championship as the result.

    NK Racing Academy is proudly supported by Usha International, Exgel Motorsport and Turtle Wax.

  • 4w Racing: Indian National Racing Champions 2020

    4w Racing: Indian National Racing Champions 2020

    Chennai, 21 Dec 2020: List of National Champions of 2020 in MRF fmsci Indian National Racing Championship as declared on 21 Dec 2020 through the Media Officer, MMSC after final audited results of the last round at 3.30pm

    INDIA In F1, provides here, for ready reference, a list of all the National champions of 2020 season in all the disciplines which are officially honoured with the status of National Championships by the Federation of Indian Motor Sports Clubs in India.

    National Racing Championship

    Pro-Stock 301-400cc – Rider: KY Ahamed (Chennai, TVS Racing). Team: TVS Racing. Manufacturer: TVS.

    Pro-Stock 165cc Open – Rider: Jagan Kumar (Chennai, TVS Racing). Team: TVS Racing. Manufacturer: TVS.

    Novice (Stock 165cc) – Rider: Mohan Babu (Chennai, Privateer). Team: Sparks Racing. Manufacturer: Yamaha

    Girls (Stock 165cc) – Rider: Anne Jennifer (Chennai, Sparks Racing). Team: Gusto Racing. Manufacturer: Yamaha.

    One-Make EVENTS (These two are support events which does not enjoy a National Championship status):

    TVS Open: Abhishek Vasudev (Bengaluru). Novice: Navaneeth Kumar (Puducherry). Girls: Jagruti Kiran Penkar (Kalyan). Media: Zaran Mody.

    Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – Open (NSF 250R): Sarthak Chavan (Pune). Novice (CBR 150R): Shyam Sundar (Chennai).

    List release by MMSC Media Officer after correction on Monday. This list supersedes all other published before.

  • Champ Ahamed’s radiator is legal: Pro-Stock 301-400cc category

    Champ Ahamed’s radiator is legal: Pro-Stock 301-400cc category

    Chennai, 21 Dec 2020: TVS Racing’s KY Ahamed from Chennai was declared rider champion in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc category of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2020 which concluded at the MMRT, on Sunday.

    The result was withheld last evening due to a protest questioning the legality of a part (radiator) used in Ahamed’s motorcycle. The Race Direction, following a scrutiny of the vehicle, turned down the protest, declaring the part (radiator) legal and that the modification was in line with the prescribed technical regulations.

    Chennai-based Ahamed, 23, who had two wins, finished with a tally of 121 points in the championship, just five ahead of Bengaluru’s Anish Damodar Shetty (Race Concepts). Shetty, 26, had four wins in eight starts, but drew blank in two races in the final round which cost him dear.

    The list of National champions of 2020 season:

    Pro-Stock 301-400cc – Rider: KY Ahamed (Chennai, TVS Racing). Team: TVS Racing. Manufacturer: TVS.

    Pro-Stock 165cc Open – Rider: Jagan Kumar (Chennai, TVS Racing). Team: TVS Racing. Manufacturer: TVS.

    Novice (Stock 165cc) – Rider: Mohan Babu (Chennai, Privateer). Team: Sparks Racing. Manufacturer: Yamaha

    Girls (Stock 165cc) – Rider: Anne Jennifer (Chennai, Sparks Racing). Team: Gusto Racing; Manufacturer: Yamaha.

  • Naveen joins Narain Karthikeyan and Arjun Maini for Asian LeMans

    Naveen joins Narain Karthikeyan and Arjun Maini for Asian LeMans

    Mumbai, December 22: A star-studded lineup of Indian drivers, including Narain Karthikeyan, Arjun Maini and Naveen Rao, will spearhead Racing Team India’s campaign in the 2021 Asian Le Mans Series in February, with an eye on competing in the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in France later in the year.  
    Racing Team India shall create history by becoming the first team of all-Indian drivers to compete globally in the world of endurance racing, according to a press release from the team on Tuesday.

    The Asian Le Mans Series, to be held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on February 5-6 and February 19-20, comprises of four races spread over the two race weekends, with each race lasting four hours. The Indian team will drive an ORECA 07 car in the LMP2 class, and have technical support from the Championship-winning Algarve Pro Racing Team.
    Padma Shri Awardee and India’s first Formula One driver Narain was delighted at getting another shot at Le Mans. “I have been dreaming of going back to Le Mans for a few years now. This is probably the most exciting project in my career as a racing driver,” Narain said. “We have a young and fledgling team and it will no doubt be a big test for us, but I am confident of doing well,” he added.
    Gautam Singhania, who is a member of the FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile) World Motor Sport Council and is also an accomplished racing driver himself, will lead Racing Team India.
    Bangalore-based Arjun Maini’s experience in endurance racing will come in handy for the team, having driven for Algarve Pro Racing Team in the 2020 European Le Mans Series (ELMS). 
    He knows what it takes to do well in a competition like this and vows to focus on doing his job by taking little steps. “I am glad to be back to racing so soon after the 2020 European Le Mans season, and I do believe that Algarve Pro Racing Team, the defending Asian Le Mans Series champions, gives us the best possible chance of securing an entry to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”
    Naveen Rao, who is the reigning 2020 IMSA Prototype Challenge champion, looks forward to driving as part of Racing Team India. “I’m super excited to be partnering with Narain and Arjun to bring the first-ever Racing Team India to Le Mans!  Le Mans has a magical quality and is the dream of many kids to be a part of.”
    Cyrille Taesch Wahlen, CEO of the Asian Le Mans Series, welcomed Racing Team India into its fold. “Having an Indian flagged LMP2 team is not only a first for the Asian Le Mans Series, but it is also a first for ACO racing around the world.  We have a growing supporter base in India, and now they have a team to support! I wish the team all the best and look forward to seeing them in Abu Dhabi,”
    Racing Team India is also very proud to be associated with JK Tyre, as one of our inaugural partners. JK Tyre has been and continues to be the largest supporter of Indian motorsport for over 50 years. They have been instrumental in developing and supporting both Narain and Arjun over the past two decades and their commitment to the Racing Team India program demonstrates their commitment to the future of the sport as well.

    From Left: Naveen Rao, who has been taking part in the endurance races in Abu Dhabi, has put up an Indian team in the final round and now has brought together two of India’s biggest drivers to prepare for Le Mans 24hr – An INdiaInF1 image
  • Jagan, the bike racing hero crowned National champion for 9th time

    Jagan, the bike racing hero crowned National champion for 9th time

    Chennai, 20 Dec 2020: Humble and lanky, Jagan Kumar is a giant in the Indian Racing scene. On Sunday, he added one more National title to his glittering collection when he swept to title triumph in the Pro-Stock 165cc Open category in the second and final round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2020 concluded at the MMRT, here on Sunday.

    Another, Chennai youngster Mohan Babu topped the Novice (Stock 165cc) class to win his maiden National Championship.

    Jagan, 31, picked up his ninth National title, including the 125cc in 2009 and eight in the 165cc Open class. For Babu, a 21-year old Purchase Executive in a Chennai firm, it was his maiden National title. Another Chennai racer, Ann Jennifer had won the Girls title on Saturday.

    The championship results in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc category are withheld following a technical protest which was subsequently thrown out. However, the decision has been appealed and a final verdict is awaited. (Editor’s note: Appeal was rejected and Ahamed was declared champion on 21st Dec)

    Jagan, following two consecutive wins this weekend, led team-mate KY Ahamed by four points going into Race-4 today. “I decided to take it easy and go for points instead. I am delighted to win the title after missing it last year,” said Jagan who had won the 165cc title seven times in a row (2012-18). He did just enough in the final race to finish fourth behind Mathana Kumar (Eneos Honda Erula Racing), last year’s champion Sarath Kumar (RACR Castrol Power Racing) and Ahamed. Jagan finished on 138 points to Ahamed’s 137.

    Earlier, a very nervous Babu, in just his second season at the National level, did just enough to top the Novice championship after his main rival, Bengaluru’s Ullas Santrupt (RACR Castrol Power Racing) drew blank in both the races today, thus squandering a three-point advantage.

    “It has been very tough for me this year, trying to put together funds for the championship. We took a loan and my office contributed a little. So, I managed to race. I spent a sleepless night thinking about today’s race. I was very nervous, but somehow managed to finish second. Today is the happiest day in my life,” said a highly emotional Babu who topped the category with 123 points, ahead of Ullas Santrupt (108).

    The results (Provisional – all 6 laps unless mentioned):

    Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race-3): 1. Anish Damodar Shetty (Race Concepts) (11mins, 44.035secs); 2. Rajini Krishnan (RACR Castrol Power Racing) (11:44.322); 3. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (11:45.386). Race-4: 1. Rajini Krishnan (11:49.668); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing) (11:50.210); 3. Amarnath Menon (SpeedUp Racing) (11:50.321).

    Pro-Stock 165cc (Race-3): 1. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) (12:11.699); 2. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (12:15.860); 3. S Mathana Kumar (Eneos Honda Erula Racing) (12:15.937). Race-4 (5 laps due to delayed start): 1. S Mathana Kumar (10:39.908); 2. Sarath Kumar (RACR Castrol Power Racing) (10:44.093); 3. KY Ahamed (10:45.776).

    Novice (Stock 165cc, Race-4): 1. Navaneeth Kumar (Rulexx Rockers Racing) (13:08.467); 2. Mohan Babu P (Pvt, Chennai) (13:08.659); 3. Alwin Sundar (AS Motorsports) (13:09.147).

    TVS One-Make Championship – Open (RTR 310, Race-4): 1. Aditya Rao (Bengaluru) (11:46.052); 2. Vishwadev Muraleedharan (Coimbatore) (11:52.507); 3. Kishoar VS (Coimbatore) (11:55.485). Novice (RTR 200, Race-3): 1. Sudheer Sudhakar (Delhi) (13:16.909); 2. Teja TVR (Hyderabad) (13:17.317); 3. Navaneeth Kumar (Puducherry) (13:18.803). Race-4: 1. Navaneeth Kumar (13:19.991); 2. Sudheer Sudhakar (13:20.028); 3. Alwin Sundar (13:20.028). Media (5 laps): 1. Zaran Mody (11:26.925); 2. Anis Shaik (11:32.884); 3. Azaman Chothia (11:33.003).

    Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – Open (NSF 250R, Race-2, 8 laps): 1. Sarthak Chavan (Pune) (14:59.511); 2. Samuel Martin (Bengaluru) (15:11.383); 3. Mohsin Peramban (Mamallapuram) (15:14.057). Novice (CBR 150, Race-2): 1. Shyam Sundar (Chennai) (13:30.923); 2. Ikshan Shanbhag (Satara) (13:31.338); 3. Vivek Rohit Kapadia (Belgaum) (13:31.410).

  • Facile victory for Gill; Mujeeb redeems last-minute loss; Dean, Aditya win: INRC Ro2

    Facile victory for Gill; Mujeeb redeems last-minute loss; Dean, Aditya win: INRC Ro2

    By Samikshan Dutta

    Itanagar, 20 Dec 2020: Celebrated Indian rallyist Gaurav Gill continued his winning streak, claiming Rally of Arunachal, Round 2 of the Champions Yacht Club -FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship 2020 here on Sunday.

    The JK Tyre driver with Musa Sherif started off from where he left and after recording a stellar victory in Round 1 at the same time place two days back posted a total time of 42:15.00 minutes to win the rally and finish the Arunachal leg with a grand double.

    Driving in a XUV300, the three-times APRC champion looked in top form and dominated the rally right from the word go. He opened up a considerable gap of around 1:51 minutes in the first two night stages on Saturday evening, held onto his lead throughout and mixed aggression with caution perfectly to win all the six special stages including four night stages to consolidate his position at the top of the leaderboard.

    His teammate Amitrajit Ghosh along with co-driver Ashwin Naik clinched the second place after posting a total time of 43.48.1 minutes. Amitrajit driving in XUV300, who has been battling car issues for more than a year now, was impeccable behind the wheels and drove with great precision for his first podium finish of the season. 

    “First of all, it feels good to be rallying again more than anything.


    Defending champion Chetan Shivram (&Rupesh Kholay) of Yokohama Tyres who had a DNF in the last round, started the round with a stock engine car and despite driving a vehicle with different specs did well to finish the overall 13th to take valuable leg points and hope for a turnaround in fortunes in the remaining rounds.

    Karna Kadur of MRF Tyre also continued his good run and after finishing runner-up in the opening round claimed the third place. Along with Nikhil V Pai, Karna was constantly pushing Amitrajit but eventually had to contend with third place with a total time of 44:57.3 minutes. His place on the podium also secured his second position on the points table. 

    In the INRC 2 category, it was Dean Mascarenhas (& Shruptha Padival who took the top honours by completing the six special stages with a total time of 45:38.6 minutes followed by Snap Racing’s Sahil Khanna (&Vidit Jain) who took 47.42.0 minutes,

     to finish the rally. Rahul Kanthraj (along with co-driver Vivek Y Bhat) ended up in third place with an overall time of  47:48.8 minutes.

    Aditya Thakur (&Virendra Kashyap) of Team Nutulapati won the top place in INRC 3, after clocking a total time 47.24.5 minutes followed by Fabid Ajmer (&Eldo Chacko) who took 47:30.8 minutes to finish the rally. Last round’s INRC 3 winner, Maninder Singh Prince and his navigator Vinay Padmasali made it to the third place on the podium with a total time of 48:06.4 minutes.

    Mujeeb Rahman (& Goutham CP) won the top prize in the INRC 4 category with 50.42.300 minutes, while last year’s winner Vaibhav Marathe & his co-driver Suhan.M.K, driving for Yokohama Tyres won the second place with a total time of 51:28.500 minutes. Rohith Iyer (&M.Manjunath) took the third podium after registering a time of 54:21.600 minutes.
    In the Junior INRC category, Harikrishna Wadia (& Chirag Thakur) claimed the top position for their performance of 48:28.21 minutes, followed by Team Yokohama’s Arjun (& Shanmuga S N) who took 48:58.9 minutes to complete their campaign. Pragathi Gowda and her co-driver Deeksha Balakrishna of Team Vasundhara impressed yet again as they finished in third place with a total time of 49:37.7 minutes.

    Provisional Unaudited final classification:

    Overall: 1. Gaurav Gill /Musa Sherif (42 minutes, 15.000 seconds); 2. Amittrajjit Ghosh/Ashwin Naik (43:48.100); 3. Karna Kadur/Nikhil Pai (44: 57.300);

    INRC2: 1. Dean Mascarenhas/ Shruptha Padival (45:38.600); 2. Sahil Khanna /Vidit Jain (47:42.000); 3. Rahul Kantharaj/ Vivek Bhat (47:45.800);

    INRC3: 1. Aditya Thakur/ Virender Kashyap (47:21.500); 2. Fabid Ahmer/ Eldo Chacko (47:30.800); 3. Maninder Singh Prince/ Vinay Padmashali (48:06.400);

    INRC4: 1. Mujeeb Rehman/ Goutham CP (50:42.300); 2. Vaibhav Marathe/ Suhan MK (51:28.800); 3. Rohith Iyer/ GM Manjunath (54:21.600).

  • Lanusanen, proves a point with an old engine sans `Fitness Certificate’; wins INRC4

    Lanusanen, proves a point with an old engine sans `Fitness Certificate’; wins INRC4

    By David Bodapati

    Itanagar, 19 Dec. 20: Lanusanen Pongener, son of Mr T. Temsu Ao and member of Team Anumolu, powered by MRF, created history by winning a round in the Champions Yacht Club MRF Indian National Rally Championship to become the first Naga to earn the honours in the highly-competitive 33-year history of the National Championship, when he partnered with navigator Lokaranjan to win the INRC4 class in the first round which concluded here, near Chimpu and Hollangi, on Thursday.

    Driving a Honda City, shod on specially prepared MRF tyres, the talented driver, had a new navigator Lokaranjan HJ from Bengaluru, calling his pace notes and miraculously turned the tables in two-day National event. Lanusanen represents his home club Amam in Nagaland events and is also associated with NAMSA, the Nagaland Adventure and Motor Sports Club.

    Lanu, as he is popularly known in South India, where he took part in most of the rallies for the last three years, overcame many odds and difficulties and rose like a phoenix, to print the name of Nagaland in INRC Hall of Fame, the list adorned by some great drivers in India. Due to some technical issues for using a engine more than 15-years without proper ‘Fitness Certificate’, he was excluded from the `Start List’ which forced him to run from pillar to post to get a Stamp paper for an affidavit assuring ‘safety’, when all the cars were at the start of Special Stage 1. Miraculously, a `driver-friendly’ steward, allowed him to take the start after 48min and then Car Number 30, became the winning car in his class. INRC4 is the entry class of the 4 categories in the national championship but above Gypsy Challenge and Arunachal Cup. In the second round that concluded on Dec 20, Lanu finished fourth to lead the championship in INRC4 in the current standings.

    Lanusanen, left, and co-driver Lokaranjan from Bengaluru with the trophies in Itanagar on 19 Dec 2021. Photo by arrangement/CYC release

    He successfully completed the two night stages of Round 1 on the highway, and was second in the standings at the end of Day 1, when his co-driver, Lokaranjan HJ from Bengaluru, sensed victory and advised him to be patient as they were in with a Podium chance. And with about 4km before the flying finish of the last Special Stage on Day 2 on Dec 17, the Class leader Mujeeb fell on the wayside, leaving Lanu and Lokranjan, deserving winners of Round 1 INRC4.

    The first two rounds were held back-to-back with a day’s rest, and Lanusanen, behind the wheel of a Honda City, put Nagaland in the Indian map of Car Rallying, winning against all odds and even without his regular navigator Amrit from Coorg in Karnataka, and after finding that his tyres were wobbling on the way to the start and many other technical issues. “When the going gets tough, the tough get going,’’ he quipped sporting a smile and pointing to the slogan on the walls of the Chimpu Parade camp which hosted the cars as Service Park. He was able to make it to the stage on time as the rally was stopped to take a pregnant lady to the hospital.

    “Only now I got a sponsor through the hard work of promoter Vamsi Merla. He persuaded a Telugu NRI from USA, and my Tyres from MRF and all the expenses for transporting the car and service of the car. So from AP to AP (Andhra to Arunachal), for a driver from Nagaland and co-driver from Bengaluru by a sponsor from USA, mine is a unique winning story of integrating the seven sisters into the mainland through sport,’’ said Lanu.

    “The people of Nagaland and all the North East have many talents and champions but we are not included in the mainstream. Time has come to build bridges and change it by showcasing huge talents and skills. I feel very proud to win this round despite all the confusion, anger and frustration my co-driver made me relax and taught me how to be patient. I thank Champions Yacht Club for identifying me as potential talent, MRF for specialised tarmac tyres and specially Mr Anumolu Ramakrishna, my sponsor, who blindly believed in my capabilities even though we never met. I am eager to meet him in the next round in Bengaluru or Hampi,’’ concluded Lanu.

    Nagaland Adventure and Motor Sports Association president Ruguo Desmo Kesiezie said: “Lanu is the first from our state to take part in the National Rally events. Though we have local rallies, they are not part of the Nationals. We are proud of his achievement and hope to produce many more drivers from the state. We also have some riders and drivers in the National Racing in Chennai but Lanu is the first rally driver to win a round in the nationals in INRC4 class.’’

  • Gaurav Gill wins Rally of Arunachal: INRC Round 1

    Gaurav Gill wins Rally of Arunachal: INRC Round 1

    By Samikshan Dutta

    Itanagar, 17 Dec 2020: Ace Indian rallyist Gaurav Gill began his Champions Yacht Club-FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship 2020, with a bang winning the Rally of Arunachal in style here on Thursday.

    Gaurav driving on JK Tyre took a total of 56:55.200 minutes to complete eight special stages and record a victory by a margin of an impressive 4:25.700 minutes over Karna Kadur. Dean Mascarenhas finished third overall with a time of 1:02:30.500 hour.

    The three-time APRC champion was in his ominous best and even a flat tyre on final stage could not stop him from underlining his supremacy in the opening round.

    Gaurav along with co-driver Musa Sherif got off to a thrilling start and after opening up a considerable lead on the opening day which witnessed four thrilling night stages; it was all about driving safe and bringing his XUV300 home.

    However that did not stop him from going full throttle and he drove like a man possessed to win three on day four to increase his lead further. On the final stage, he had a flat tyre just two kilometres away from the flying start but he still managed to finish which was enough for him to draw the first blood.

    “It was a great start to the season. The stages were really fast and I enjoyed driving here. The car has been fantastic and there is absolutely nothing I could complain about. We made some adjustments to the car from last year and it has worked wonders. And all I could say is, me behind the wheels of a car like this on tarmac is just the perfect combination,” an ecstatic Gaurav Gill said.

    Karna Kadur on MRF Tyres overcame initial hiccups which involved a tailspin on ss2 to make his way to the podium. Karna driving a Volkswagen Polo who won the final stage of the round clocked a total time of 1 hour: 01 min:2.9 secs. Karna and his navigator Nikhil V Pai who ended the opening day in second place showed great grit to stave off a fierce challenge from Dean (& co-driver Shruptha Padival).

    Dean who finished third claimed victory in his category too, INRC 2. Sahil Khanna & Vidit Jain of Snap Racing took the second place in INRC 2 category with an overall time of 01:03:25.900 hour followed by Rahul Kanthraj & Vivek Y Bhatt who took a total time of 1:06:34.300 hour to complete the round.

    Defending champion Team Yokohama’s Chetan Shivram’s title defence took a great hit as he crashed out of the round in the first stage only due to engine failure. He started off well and in the first few kilometers was a treat to watch but mid-way into the stage his car stalled, crashing his hopes. The malfunction could cost him dear as he is likely to miss out of Round 2 as well which will be held at the same place on December 19th.

    While it was business as usual for the big guns, it was the young Bengaluru women’s team of Pragathi Gowda and co-driver Deeksha Balakrishna who impressed everyone with their performance on their debut outing. Representing Team Vasundhara, an all-women’s rally team, Pragathi posted a total time of 01:07:53.400 hour to not only win the women’s category ahead of her teammate and veteran Bani Yadav (& Subhkiran Pal Kaur Brar), she also won the Junior INRC Category beating the likes of Arjun Rao and Rakshith Iyer. She finished fourth in the INRC 3 category and ended ninth on the overall standing.

    Maninder Singh Prince along with co-driver Vinay Kumar posted a total time of 01:05:49.700 hour to clinch the INRC 3 category, while Fabid Ahmer (&Eldo Chacko) won the second place for their total time of 01:06:05.700 hour. Aditya Thakur and his co-driver Virender Kashyap of Team Nutulapati took 01:07:07.700 hour to complete the rally and take the third position.


    Provisional Results

    1. Gaurav Gill/ Musa Sherif; (56;55.200 minutes); 2. Karna Kadur/Nikhil Pai (1:01:2.9 hour); 3. Dean Mascarenhas /Shruptha Padival (1:02:30.500 hour)

    INRC2: 1. Dean Mascarenhas /Shruptha Padival(01:02:30.500 hour); 2. Sahil Khanna/Vidit Jain (01:03:25.900 hour); 3. Rahul Kantharaj/ Vivek Y Bhatt (1:06:34.300 hour).

    INRC3: 1. Maninder Singh Prince/ Vinay Kumar (01:05:49.700 hour); 2.  Fabid Ahmer/Eldo Chacko (01:06:05.700 hour); 3. Aditya Thakur/ Virender Kashyap (01:07:07.700 hour);

    INRC4: 1. Lanusanen Pongenar/ Lokaranjan HJ (1:18:03.200 hour); 2. Khyati Mody/ Sagar Mallappa (1:22:53.500 hour); 3. Rohit Iyer/ Manjunath (1:33:11.000 hour);

    Overall Leading: 1. Gaurav Gill/ Musa Sherif (Delhi/Mangalore) XUV300; (00 hour, 56 minutes; 55.200seconds); 2. Karna Kadur/ Nikhil Pai (Bengaluru) VW Polo (1:01:2.9sec); 3. Dean Mascarenhas /Shruptha Padival (Mangaluru- VW Polo) (1:02:30.500);

    INRC2: 1. Dean Mascarenhas /Shruptha Padival (Mangaluru – VW Polo) (01:02:30.500); 2. Sahil Khanna/Vidit Jain (Gurgaon/Noida – Snap Racing, VW Polo) (01:03:25.900); 3. Rahul Kantharaj/ Vivek Y Bhatt (Bengaluru – Polo) (1:06:34.300).

    INRC3: 1. Maninder Singh Prince/ Vinay Kumar (01:05:49.700); 2.  Fabid Ahmer/Eldo Chacko (Kerala- Polo) 01:06:05.700); 3. Aditya Thakur/ Virender Kashyap (Himachal Pradesh – Polo) (01:07:07.700);

    INRC4: 1. Lanusanen Pongenar/ Lokaranjan HJ (Nagaland/Bangalore – Honda City) (1:18:03.200); 2. Khyati Mody/ Sagar Mallappa (Mumbai/Bengaluru – Honda City) (1:22:53.500); 3. Rohit Iyer/ Manjunath (Mysore/Bengaluru – Esteem) (1:33:11.000);