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Author: David Bodapati
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Over 200 entries as MMRT set for grand finale of Indian National bike championship
Chennai, 12 Dec 2018: The 2018 MRF MMSC Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship is set for a thrilling finish with close battles for the titles in various categories as the fifth and final round, boasting of over 200 entries, starts at the Madras Motorsports Race Trust (MMRT) circuit, here on Friday with 21 races, besides qualifying sessions, to be run over three days.The final round is organised by Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI).
The card includes One-Make Championships by Honda (Talent Cup – CBR 250 Open and CBR 150 for Novice) and TVS (Apache 310 Open and Apache 200 for Novice), besides a support event, the Alisha Abdullah Inter-College Star Race (Formula LGB 1300) which will have a 11-car grid comprising college students, including 16-year old Deepika from Krishnagiri, and in a first, transgender Apsara Reddy, also a journalist, as a guest driver who will race on Sunday.
It has been a season of surprises and close races. More notably, MRF Tyres provided a huge boost to the championship by offering slick tyres for the two top categories, the Super Sport 165cc and the Pro-Stock 301-400cc. The slick tyres met with unanimous approval of the riders who were able to put in faster lap times due to the higher grip levels, especially through the corners.
Also, the initiative of Madras Motor Sports Club to unearth fresh talent has been an unqualified success with ever-increasing number of entries from first-timers competing in the Stock 165cc category. With about 50 Novice riders in the fray, MMSC introduced heats to arrive at the final grid for the point-scoring race. Hyderabad teenager Karthik Mateti of Sparks Racing and team-mate Aditya Rao from Bengaluru, exerted dominance to head the leaderboard with 86 and 70 points, respectively, winning three of the four races between them.
Similarly, Honda and TVS attracted over 20 entries apiece for in both Open and Novice categories. The TVS race for girls also proved popular with about 15 riders on the grid. Also to be run is the final round of the TVS Media championship.
While the titles in all the National Championship categories are still up for grabs, much of the attention will be on the premier Super Sport 165cc double-header. With a maximum of 50 points on offer, another bitter fight between TVS Racing and Honda Ten10 riders is on the cards. TVS Racing’s Jagan Kumar (148 points), eyeing his seventh title, enjoys a healthy lead over team-mate KY Ahamed (128). Honda Ten10 rider, Rajiv Sethu, has much work to do as he trails Ahamed by 23 points.
The two races this weekend in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc category will also be closely watched. As many as four are riders in contention for the title. Leading the pack is Hyderabad’s Satyanarayana Raju (119 points), just ahead of his Gusto Racing team-mate Amarnath Menon (118) from Kozhikode. Behind the duo are Chennai’s Prabhu Arunagiri of Team Alisha Abdullah (114) and Hyderabad’s Peddu Sriharsha (91) of Sparks Racing.
Likewise, it is a four-pronged battle for the title in the Pro-Stock 165cc category where Bengaluru-based Anish Shetty (131 points) of Honda Ten10 Racing leads, ahead of Chennai’s Kevin Kannan (115, Rockers Racing). Not far behind the two leaders are Coimbatore’s Senthil Kumar (106, Honda Ten10 Racing) and Hyderabad’s Rahil Pilarishetty (94, Sparks Racing).
The National Championship for girls has been dominated by Chennai riders Ann Jennifer (Sparks Racing) who won three of the four races for a tally of 75 points, Shruthi Nagarajan (Apex Racing Academy) with 63, and Ryhana Bee (Sparks Racing) with 55.
About Madras Motor Sports Club
The Madras Motor Sports Club has been the pioneer in developing and promoting motorsport in India since 1953, and we look to further improve in the years to come. It is the club’s endeavor to provide more opportunities for competitors, and to this end, it has chalked out various progressive programmes. From the days of Sholavaram , MMSC built its own racetrack which was inaugurated in 1979 and secured its FIA Grade-2 international certification in 2014, making it the only club which owns such a facility that has been further upgraded with international-standard Paddock, complete with VIP hospitality suites, 20 spacious garages and a separate Paddock on the western side with its own circuit. The club has organised the Porsche Super Cup, Formula Campos, Formula Asia, Asian touring car championships, Formula 3, Tata Prima Truck racing championship, the FIM Asia Road Racing Championships (2-wheelers) besides a host of other motorsport events over the years. The club also has active participation for its events from vehicle manufacturers who also use the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) extensively for testing their products.
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Mahindra Racing’s Futuristic All-New M5Electro Race Car Makes Its India Debut
Mumbai, 10 Dec 2018: Mahindra Racing’s M5Electro race car made its India debut today, in full race livery, days ahead of the start of the 2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship– Season 5.
The first race is scheduled on December 15 in Ad Diriyah, Saudi Arabia with a total of 13 races across various cities in the world (it will be broadcasted live on Sony ESPN SD/HD– qualifying at 1:00pm and race at 5:00pm IST). Shell, with a heritage of more than 100 years in motorsports, has also come onboard as the latest sponsor for Mahindra Racing. The Shell logo is part of the new race car livery of the M5Electro which was displayed in India in its race-ready avatar.In addition, Mahindra Racing and Shell will work on the joint development of lubricants and fluids for electric vehicles.
The M5Electro is based on generation two of the Formula E race car, featuring cutting edge EV powertrain technology that has been aggressively developed through the rigour of four seasons of top level Formula E racing. It will be able to touch 100km/h in just 2.8 seconds and go on to a top speed of 280km/h.The design sees an evolution of the team’s iconic and unique red, white and blue colour scheme, updated and created to reflect the exhilarating new design of the Gen2 car. The new team kit draws inspiration from iconic Indian symbols, the Bengal tiger and the Lotus flower.
DR. PAWAN GOENKA | Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and Chairman, Mahindra Racing
“Formula E represents the cutting edge of EV technology and plays a strategic role in realizing Mahindra’s vision of the Future of Mobility through our ‘Race to Road strategy. Racing is at the pinnacle of global EV motorsport, it puts Mahindra on the fast track toward the development of an entirely new generation of EVs that offer clean, exciting yet affordable mobility to our customers.We are geared up to begin racing in Season 5 of Formula E in the next few days and will push hard toward victory. We look forward to growing interest and support from our Indian fans for a championship that is helping to develop sustainable mobility solutions for the future.”
DILBAGH GILL | CEO and Team Principal, Mahindra Racing
“We have set a razor-sharp focus to build on our base from the last few seasons and continue to be one of the top teams in season 5 of Formula E. The ultimate objective, is to claim the championship title. Our team coupled with our strong pool of partners, will enable us to achieve this aspiration. We are thrilled to have Shell onboard as it will help us explore powerful opportunities in the area of lubricant technology and engineering, the results of which will be visible on and off the race track.”
PATRICK CARRE | Vice President, Shell Global Lubricants
“We see great opportunities from the association between Mahindra Racing, a founding Formula E team with a powerful brand and credibility in India, and Shell Lubricants with our deep global automotive expertise and technology capabilities. We are pleased to join forces to develop lubricants and fluids that will make electric vehicles more efficient and unlock great opportunities for continued growth in the Indian market.”
Mahindra Racing team is also supported by Renesas, Lear Corporation, AVIS, Umicore, Pininfarina, Voxdale, Errea, Bahco, Nippon, Alpinestars and Greenhills as sponsors for the upcoming championship.
EVOLUTION OF E-PRIX RULES IN SEASON 5
The race will now last for 45-minutes and an extra lap without any pit stops. Drivers can use the ‘Attack Mode’, which lets them pick up an extra hit of power and to arm this they will need to drive their cars off the racing line, through the Activation Zone. As a reward for taking a slower line through the corner, they will be able to collect an extra 25 kW of power. In another groundbreaking Formula E initiative, the five drivers who receive the highly-acclaimed FANBOOST from fan voting ahead of the race, are awarded a significant burst of power, which they can deploy in a five-second window during the second half of the race.
MAHINDRA RACING
Mahindra Racing is one of ten founding teams – and the only Indian team – to compete in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, the world’s first all-electric racing series. Mahindra Racing has impressive credentials; after scoring it’s breakthrough win at the Berlin E-Prix in 2017, the squad now has three race victories to it’s name in addition to 15 podiums, six pole positions and 516 points from 45 starts. After four seasons with the first generation race car, all eyes now turn to season five. Mahindra Racing has high ambitions with the Gen2 M5Electro, a technical innovation that will see the car last the duration of a race as Formula E continues to push the limits of technology and electrification.
MAHINDRA GROUP
The Mahindra Group is a USD 20.7 billion federation of companies that enables people to rise through innovative mobility solutions, driving rural prosperity,enhancing urban living, nurturing new businesses and fostering communities.It has a leadership position in utility vehicles, information technology, financial services and vacation ownership in India and is the world’s largest tractor company, by volume. It also enjoys a strong presence in agribusiness,components, commercial vehicles, speedboats, consulting services, energy,industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, steel, aerospace, defence and two wheelers. Headquartered in India, Mahindra employs over 240,000 people across 100 countries. Learn more about Mahindra at www.mahindra.com
Supporting Mahindra Racing is Tech Mahindra which was recently ranked in 15th on the Forbes’ Digital 100 list-the highest-ranked non-US company to feature. After receiving previous accolades for its sustainability vision, Tech Mahindra was honoured for the fourth consecutive year as a leader in the 2018 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI).
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Jamie Chadwick, Andreas Estner win
- Max Defourny extends lead in MRF Challenge
Sakhir (Bahrain), December 7: Belgium’s Max Defourny continued his podium run as he scored a win and two second-place finishes in the three races of the MRF Challenge held here today at the Bahrain International Circuit.The 20-year old Defourny was second to Germany’s Andreas Estner in the day’s first race and later finished behind winner Jamie Chadwick (UK) in the next before ending the day with a win in the third.
Having finished on the podium in all the eight races of the championship, organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club, including five in the first round at Dubai last month, Defourny consolidated his position on the leaderboard with 173 points, ahead of Chadwick (129). Two more races are scheduled for Saturday.
Defourny said: “It could or rather, should have been better this week. After qualifying for pole position last night, I made a mistake in the first race today and finished second. In the next race, I got hit from behind at Turn-1 when one of the competitors (Danial Frost of Singapore) spun. There was some damage to the car and I managed to finish second. In the third race today, after we repaired the visual damage to the car, there was a lot of vibration in the left rear, but I managed to pull away to win.”
Defourny was at his best in Race-3 which he started from pole position and won quite comfortably despite the vibrations, while Estner came in second followed by Patrik Pasma from Finland.
The damage to Defourny’s car was the result of a collision before Turn-1 immediately after the Race-2 start between reverse-grid pole-sitter Petr Ptacek (Czech Republic) and Singapore’s Danial Frost. The incident allowed Chadwick, who had started third, to get a jump on the pack, leaving Dylan Young (Australia) and Defourny to scrap for second and third spots. The Belgian finally moved past the Aussie, but by then, Chadwick was long gone. The trio held position to the finish. For Chadwick, it was her maiden win in the championship after three second places in Dubai round.
Earlier, the Race-1 was much closer than the results might suggest. Andreas Estner had a good start and rocketed past pole-sitter Defourny who messed up by dropping the revs which pushed him to third behind Chadwick, who, in turn, was later passed by Frost. Further back, there was hectic scramble for track positions, but was incident-free. Defourny managed to close down on Estner, but the German teenager had sufficient lead to take the flag for his second win in the championship.
Andreas Estner said: “It was pretty good. Had a good start and caught the leader. In the first few laps, I was able to pull a big gap. In the end, Defourny was a bit faster than me as my tyres wore out, but I managed to hold him off.”
Defourny said: “The race was quite bad to be honest. I had a bad start as I came too low in the revs, dropped to third, but passed (Jamie) Chadwick. By that time, Andreas had opened a gap. I struggled a bit, but in the end, I came back quite a lot. However, I never managed to get close enough without attacking. I did not want to take risks, keeping in mind the championship.”
The results (all 10 laps):
Race-1: 1. Andreas Estner (Germany) (Best Lap 02:00.792); 2. Max Defourny (Belgium) (BL 02:00.452); 3. Danial Frost (Singapore) (BL 02:00.865).
Race-2: 1. Jamie Chadwick (UK) (BL 02:00.974); 2, Max Defourny (Belgium) (BL 02:01.082); 3. Dylan Young (BL 02:01.734).
Race-3: 1. Max Defourny (Belgium) (BL 02:01.039); 2. Andreas Estner (Germany) (BL 02:01.499); 3. Patrik Pasma (Finland) (BL 02:01.873).
Qualifying: 1. Max Defourny (Belgium) (02:00.248); 2. Andreas Estner (Germany) (02:00.466); 3. Jamie Chadwick (UK) (02:00.885).
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Prema Racing signs up Jehan Daruvala for new FIA F3 Series 2019
Mumbai, 6 Dec 2018: Jehan Daruvala will step up to the new FIA F3 championship in 2019, with team Prema Racing. The all-new F3 car will be considerably faster than the car Jehan raced in 2017-2018, with a completely new Dallara chassis mated to a 3400cc Mecachrome engine, capable of touching 300 km/hr. The car will also incorporate the halo, a safety mechanism to enhance driver protection which was introduced in F1 this year.
Importantly for Jehan, all races of the new FIA F3 Championship will be support races during F1 race weekends, allowing him the opportunity to learn all the F1 circuits. The new F3 car will also enable racers to get used to F1 features like DRS (Drag Reduction System) & Virtual Safety Car. Pirelli will be the official one make, tyre supplier for all 30 cars on the grid.
As early preparation, the 20-year-old Indian recently tested the outgoing GP3 car in Abu Dhabi at the Yas Marina F1 Circuit. He dominated the 3 days of testing, posting the fastest time in 4 sessions and the 2nd fastest time in the remaining 2 sessions. Jehan’s pace was obvious, in spite of testing with 2 separate teams – MP Motorsport & Campos racing.
Jehan has been signed up by Prema Racing, one of the most successful Junior Racing Teams ever. Prema has won 6 drivers & team titles, in 7 years of the F3 European Championship’s existence, Mick Schumacher being the current champion. F1 racers – Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll, Antonio Giovinazzi have all raced with Prema on their way to F1.
“The new F3 series is going to be very exciting and a different experience for me. Driving on an F1 weekend, on Pirelli tyres and an expected grid of 30 drivers, is going to be fun and challenging. I am extremely excited and proud to begin this journey with Prema and I am confident that we can achieve great results together. I would like to thank Prema for having the confidence in me and giving me the opportunity to be a part of this successful team.“ said Jehan.
René Rosin – Team Principal of Prema commented, “Jehan is definitely a promising prospect. We have known and respected each other for a while now and we are happy that all the dots finally connected to start what we expect to be a great relationship. He always impressed when he had the right chance in the past, and our goal will be to put him in the right position to express his full potential. We are confident that he will make great progress while providing us with valuable insight heading into the challenging season ahead.”
Jehan Daruvala won the Indian Karting Championship in 2010, before becoming the first and only Indian to win the Malaysian Yamaha Karting Championship, the CIK FIA Asia Pacific KF3 Karting Championship, and the British Super One Karting Championship. Till date, he remains the only Indian on the podium of any FIA World Championship, when he finished 2nd Runner-up in the 2014 CIK FIA World Karting Championship. He also remains the only Indian to have ever won an official Grand Prix, when he won the New Zealand Grand Prix (Toyota Racing Series). Jehan has also won two races of the FIA F3 European Championship.
The 8-Round (16 Races) FIA F3 Championship kicks off on May 10, 2019, in Barcelona, Spain, when the F1 Championship begins its European races.
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Abemo Yanthan was adjudged Best Spotter: JK Tyre Hornbill off-road Cup
Champions of JK Tyre Hornbill Cup. An INDIAinF1 photo Kohima, 5 Dec 2018: Aviu Rutsa along with co-driver Neiketoulie Meyase, and Rudkuobetvo along with Pete cracked the testing mountain terrain of Kohima to emerge victors in the JK Tyre Hornbill Off-Roading Cup here on Tuesday.
Yanger Lushang / Maken Lepden and Bento Swu / Bovito Kiho came second while Ikweithing (Justin) / Kenrak Thou and Irietui / Elu took the third place in the 1.5-km course that comprised six gruelling challenges and obstacles.
Each team comprises of two cars, manned by a driver and a co-driver, to help each other tackle the various obstacles together.
Abemo Yanthan was adjudged Best Spotter while Aviu Rutsa added another feather to his cap by winning the best off-road rig as well.
It is the first time that the off-road event has been added to the annual JK Tyre Hornbill Motor Rally which is in its ninth year of existence.
The rally coincides with the famous Hornbill Festival of Nagaland, a seven-day extravaganza of cultural performances, ethnic food courts, handlooms and handicrafts bazaars, film and art festivals, fashion shows and a national rock contest.
Earlier on Monday, defending champion Gagan Sethi and co-driver Sabatullah Khan stole the show in the picturesque hills by winning the TSD rally spread over 55 kilometres.
The rally coincided with the World War 2 Peace Rally, to pay homage to the martyrs of the Battle of Kohima.
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Five racers get a drive: MRF Challenge Round 2 in Bahrain from Thursday
Sakhir (Bahrain), 4 Dec 2018: The young racers in the MRF Challenge 2018-19 championship are in for a rare treat of getting to drive on a full-fledged Formula One Grand Prix track when the state-of-the-art Bahrain International Circuit here plays host to the second round from December 6 to 8.For the first-timers on the 12-car grid that is brimming with talented young and fearless drivers, it will be an unforgettable experience to race on a GP track which has three straights and 15 corners, not to mention the subtle gradient changes. The idyllic setting is expected to provide more of thrilling and closely contested races that were witnessed in the first round at Dubai last month.
The MRF Challenge is now in its seventh season and comprises od three rounds of five races each in Dubai, Bahrain and Chennai. It proved to be a nursery of racing talent. Several drivers, notably Mick Schumacher who is all set for Formula 2 next year after two seasons in MRF Challenge, have graduated to higher levels or used Asia’s premier winter championship offering cars with F3 Dallara chassis and powered by 2-litre engines, to further hone their skills. All cars are fitted with specifically designed MRF Z.L.O. racing tyres.
Mr Arun Mammen, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, MRF Ltd, said: “The first round of MRF Challenge in Dubai last month, dished out some exciting fare as the drivers fought it out up and down the grid, while happy at the opportunity the championship has provided them to move to the next level of racing. In fact, it reflects MRF Challenge’s primary objective of offering young racing talent an ecosystem that help nurture their ambitions. Over the years, the MRF Challenge has proved to be a big stepping stone for racing aspirants who have gone on to fare well at the highest levels of racing. We now look forward to the second round in Bahrain and I am sure, the competitors will be eager to race on a full-fledged Formula One circuit.”
The Dubai round saw 20-year old Belgian Max Defourny, a graduate of Formula Renault 2.0 Euro Cup, underlining his talent by winning two of the five races and finishing on the podium in the other three. The strong performance fetched Defourny 106 points, well ahead of Britisher Jamie Chadwick, the lone female racer on the grid, who picked up 78 points with three podium finishes after close battles with Singapore’s Danial Frost (70), the winner of Race-2.
Ranged behind the trio are four drivers separated by just three points – 18-year olds, German Andreas Estner (50 points) and Finland’s Patrick Pasma (49), who won a race apiece, Belgian teenager Michelangelo Amendola (49) and Czech Republic’s Petr Ptacek (47).
For India’s lone representative on the grid, MRF Challenge debutant Chennai-based Chetan Korada, it has been a steep learning curve after several years in the Indian National Racing Championship. He managed to score two points in the Dubai round, but more importantly, improved his lap timings with each outing. “I hope to do much better in Bahrain after the seat-time I had in Dubai. I need to work on a few aspects of my driving, like braking, but I am confident of a better show in Bahrain,” said the 32-year old after the Dubai races.
Two Free Practice sessions and qualifying round are scheduled for Thursday (Dec 6) while two races will be run on Friday (Dec 7) and three more on Saturday (Dec 8).
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Hat-trick for Karna Kadur, Nikhil Pai; Scratch times help Amittrajit Ghosh edge out Bopaiah
Odd-man out Amittrajit Ghosh (right) on the podium in Chikkamagaluru on Sunday. Chikkamagaluru, 2 Dec 2018: Karna Kadur and his co-driver Nikhil Vittal Pai of Arka Motorsports scored their third consecutive Coffee Day Rally victory for a hat-trick in Chikkamagaluru as the fourth round of the MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), concluded here on Sunday. The duo, in a Volkswagen Polo, nursed their healthy overnight lead with a sensible drive.
While Kadur, who had won this rally in the previous two years, kept it clean through the three Special Stages, all run in the reverse direction, Amittrajit Ghosh (co-driver Ashwin Naik) of Mahindra Adventure took advantage of the scratch times that were allotted to the cancelled Special Stage (SS) 7, to overcome a tough fight from Bopaiah KM (Gagan Karumbaiah) of Team Champions, who drove manfully but fell short by about three seconds. Leading by five seconds overnight, the second-placed duo was defeated off-track by a scratch time of 10-seconds less than what Amittrajit Ghosh was given, that eventually helped the Kolkata driver win the second place behind Karna Kadur. The 10-second parity given by the CoC Ram Kumar, who is an experienced former rally driver himself, appeared odd as Boppaih was faster than Amittrajit Ghosh in all the stages on Day 2, Leg 1. However, it should be noted that the CoC has the privilege to give scratch times, as he deems it fit and it is well within the rules and regulations prescribed in the GP.
Amittrajit Ghosh may have taken these crucial points, thanks to the scratch times, but as he rightly said in the pre-event press conference, his lead in the championship is worth nothing as he has to forego one round and so will lose 18 points while Gill will discard his zero-point North East round of Arunachal Rally.
Behind the trio, hot favourite Gaurav Gill (Musa Sherif), also of Mahindra Adventure, and celebrating his 37th birthday on Dec 2, set a scorching pace to top the timesheets in all the three Stages today and finished fifth Overall behind private entrants Younus Illyas (Harish KN) who are tuned by Team Race Concepts and second in the INRC-1 category. More importantly, he earned 10 championship points, but the official standings page shows as 12 points as on Dec 3.
The results meant that Ghosh continues to lead Overall in the Indian National Rally Championship, promoted by the Ramakrishna Race Performance Management, run by his father Arindam Ghosh, with 79 points as against Kadur’s 67 and Gill’s 62, as officially announced on the inrcindia.com website. Thus, the title will be decided in the fifth and concluding round of the Championship to be held in Kerala next month.
Ghosh and Kadur also topped the INRC-1 and INRC-2 categories, respectively, while Delhi’s Arjun Bani Rao (Milen George) won in the INRC-3 class as the three-day event, organised by the Motor Sports Club of Chikmagalur, concluded here today.
“The result did not surprise us considering the lead that we had overnight. So, there was no need to push today and I was intent on bringing the car back home safely. We backed off a bit, used the advantage we had and finished the three Stages safely. We are very happy that we won for the third time in a row here in Chikmagalur,” said Kadur.
Meanwhile, Ghosh, still to recover fully from an allergy that also hampered his breathing, said he was happy to have finished second which fetched him precious championship points. “Today, we decided to take it easy in the long stage and push in the two shorter stages. In the context of the championship, it is always good to have points in the bag. So, now, whoever among the three of us (Kadur and Gill being the others) wins in Kerala will emerge champion,” said the London-based Ghosh.
For Gill, who was docked six minutes penalty yesterday after failing to complete the last two Stages following a mechanical problem that forced him to pull out, it was a matter of pushing hard and gain positions keeping in mind the championship stakes. A philosophical Gill, winner of the opening two rounds in Chennai and Coimbatore before a retirement in Arunachal Pradesh, said: “We had a good run the past couple of seasons, but things go up and down. It was not the best of weekends here or in Arunachal. So, now, we will go to Kerala next month and hope to win there. Today, I gave it all I had and drove 110 per cent. It is good that the championship has gone down to the wire. It is good for the sport.”
The results (Provisional):
Overall: 1. Karna Kadur / Nikhil Pai (Arka Motorsports) (02hrs,19mins,59.9secs); 2. Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik (Mahindra Adventure) (02:22:15.3); 3. Bopaiah KM / Gagan Karumbaiah (Team Champions) (02:22:18.8).
INRC-1: Ghosh / Naik; 2. Gaurav Gill / Musa Sherif (Mahindra Adventure) (02:23:49.2); 3. Michu Ganapathy / Venu Rameshkumar (Team Champions) (02:27:18.1).
INRC-2: 1. Kadur / Pai; 2. Bopaiah / Karumbaiah; 3. Younus Ilyas / Harish KN (Pvt) (02:22:34.7).
INRC-3: 1. Arjun Bani Rao / Milen George (Chettinad Sporting) (02:24:29.4); 2. Fabid Ahmer / Shahid Salman (Chettinad Sporting) (02:26:34.7); 3. Aroor Vikram Rao / Somayya (Team Falkon) (02:27:57.4).
FMSCI 2WD Cup: 1. Vikram Gowda / Sudheendra BG (Team Champions) (02:31:51.6); 2. Prakhyat Shirole / Bharath SM (Pvt) (02:32:53.0); 3. Manoj Mohanan / Sob George (02:35:32.7).
FMSCI 4WD Cup: 1. Sanjay Agarwal / Smitha Prasad (Team Champions) (02:31:20.0); 2. Sachin Murthy / Satyapal (02:35:00.5); 3. Avin Nanjappa / Suraj M (Pvt) (02:39:26.5)
Edited on 4 Dec 2018 at 1.20am
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Gaurav Gill suffers mechanical problems again; Karna Kadur leads Coffee Day Rally: INRC
Karna Kadur in action as he took the overall lead on Saturday. Photo by Anand Philar Chikkamagaluru, 1 Dec 2018: Local star Karna Kadur along with co-driver Nikhil Vittal Pai of Arka Motorsports emerged as overall leader with a 59.7 seconds advantage at the end of Leg-1 in the Coffee Day India Rally, the fourth round of the MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship, here on Saturday. While favourite Gaurav Gill, assisted by navigator Musa Sherif, of Mahindra Adventure team suffered mechanical problems after leading four stages in the coffee estates of Malnad.
However, the surpirse of the day was Bopaiah, who emerged as the best of the rest with a brilliant run on Saturday to stand second overall in the INRC standings.
On a day of drama with 11 casualities, Gill, who was enjoying a comfortable lead, met with disaster as the lower arm of his XUV 500 broke, forcing him to stop in SS-6. He will re-join the competition tomorrow in a bid to score leg points. “A bad day in the office. We had a good morning, winning all the Stages, but on the fifth Stage (of the day), we had an issue with the lower arm with the ball joint completely shearing off. A case of metal fatigue perhaps. We are driving tomorrow and take whatever points we can and stay in the championship. So, maximum attack tomorrow,” said Gill.
Bopaiah (Gagan Karumbaiah) speeding in SS4 on Friday. Photo by David Bodapati While Gill packed up for the day, Bopaiah KM, with co-driver Gagan Karumbaiah, eased into Overall second spot, just 16.5 seconds ahead of an ailing Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik) of Mahindra Adventure. Ghosh, battling an allergy and suffering from breathing problems, strove manfully to finish the day without any mishap.
The Special-Stage rallying took its toll as 11 of 46 competitors retired due to reasons ranging from mechanical problems to crashes, because the surface deteriorated as the day wore on. The day’s last Stage was cancelled after Aroor Vikram Rao crashed and only three cars passing the stage ahead of him.
Reflecting on his performance today, Karna Kadur said: “I think the day went pretty well and we got more than what we bargained for. We were concentrating only on our category (INRC-2). In the Super Special Stage, we were the quickest in our category and so we knew how we wanted this rally to be. We took one Stage at a time. We trailed Gaurav (Gill) by 20 seconds after the first Stage today and so, we pushed in the next, and improved. In the process, we got past (Amittrajit) Ghosh which was part of our strategy. Unfortunately, Gaurav packed up as he was our benchmark. Tomorrow, we will try to keep our position as we have a comfortable lead.”
For Ghosh, it was a huge task to even drive the XUV 500, given his indisposition following a “shell fish allergy” that he caught on the flight from London earlier this week. “It is the toughest drive of my rally career. I couldn’t push to my limits. I am just forcing myself to drive. I am not looking at the timings and if we can make a place tomorrow, then we will. Even as I am talking now, I am gasping. I have not had any solid food the whole of this week. Tomorrow, I will drive at the pace I am comfortable with and take whatever points I can from this Rally,” said Ghosh.
Mujeeb Rahman, navigated by Moideen Sharfali in a Maruti Esteem topped the time sheets in the FMSCI 2-wheel drive Cup category and privateers were followed by Vikram Gowda and Sudheendhra BG of Team Champions in a Honda City while another privateer Prakhyat H Shirole was third, also in a Honda City.
In the FMSCI 4-wheel drive Cup class, Team Champions Sanjay Agarwal and Smitha Prasad were leading after Saturday’s Leg 1 by over a minute with Sachin Murthy and Nikhil J running in second and third place respectively.
The results (Provisional):
Overall: 1. Karna Kadur / Nikhil Pai (Arka Motorsports) (01hr, 12mins, 50.0secs); 2. Bopaiah / Gagan Karumbaiah (Team Champions) (01:13:49.7); 3. Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik (Mahindra Adventure) (01:14.06.2).
INRC-1: 1. Ghosh / Naik; 2. Michu Ganapathy / Venu Rameshkumar (Team Champions) (01:16:30.8); 3. Harshita Gowda / Vidhya M (Pvt) (01:24:20.6).
INRC-2: 1. Kadur / Pai; 2. Bopaiah / Gagan Karumbaiah; 3. Younus Ilyas / Harish KN (Pvt) (01:14:52.4).
INRC-3: 1. Arjun Rao / Milen George (Chettinad Sporting)(01:15:17.2); 2. Fabid Ahmer / Shahid Salman (Chettinad Sporting) (01:16:33.0); 3. Darius Shroff / Nitin Jacob (Pvt) (01:18:22.8).
FMSCI 2WD Cup: 1.Mujeeb Rahman / Moideen Sharfali (Pvt) (01:19:19.8); 2.Vikram Gowda / Sudheendhra BG (Team Champions) (01:19:42.2); 3. Prakhyat H Shirole / Bharath SM (Pvt) (01:20:13.4).
FMSCI 4WD Cup: 1. Sanjay Agarwal /Smitha Prasad M (Team Champions) (01:19:52.4); 2. Sachin Murthy / Sathyapal (Pvt) (01:21:07.9) 3. Nikhil J / Arjun Dheerendra (Pvt) (01:26:07.1).
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Ebrahim steps down, Prithviraj elected president again: FMSCI
J Prithviraj of CASC, who is elected as the new President of FMSCI. File photo Chennai, 21 Nov 2018: Another era comes to an end in the administration of the Motorsports in India as Akbar Ebrahim stepped down as the President of the Federation of Motorsports Clubs of India (FMSCI) here at its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, the 20th of November.
J Prithiviraj representing Coimbatore Auto Sports Club was unanimously elected as President while Shivu Shivappa of Karnataka Motor Sports Club, was elected as Vice-President for a term of one year. Prithviraj was earlier the president of the governing body of motorsports in India in 2014.
The following governing council members were also elected during the AGM: Vicky Chandhok (MMSC), Farokh Commissariat (IARC), Ms Sita Raina (CMSC), Akbar Ebrahim (Meco MS), Arindam Ghosh (RRPM), Farooq Ahmed (MSCC), B Vijaykumar (Spitfire MS) and Sanjay Sharma (PCRT).
Fifty-eight-year-old Prithiviraj, the dynamic fountainhead of the highly active club in the home of Indian motorsports Coimbatore, takes over from Akbar Ebrahim, who led FMSCI for the last two years, igniting the sport in the country and setting an ambitious agenda for the future.
The new council including the president and vice-president, which has been increased from eight to 10, vowed to carry forward the good work of the outgoing president, promising to create more platforms for the youth in the country and adding new championships and verticals in all its disciplines.
“This is a proud moment for FMSCI. We all have a common goal now and I am sure this powerful council can do wonders to motorsports in the country,” newly-elected president Prithiviraj said.
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