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Author: David Bodapati
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CS Santosh blazes away to National Supercross title
Team TVS Racing finishes 1st and 2nd overall in MRF National Supercross Championship
Pune, 13 Dec 2010: In a fitting finish to the MRF Supercross National Championship, team TVS Racing, which is celebrating its 25th year of racing asserted its supremacy on the race track sweeping the first and second championship positions.
The final race of the championship which was held in Pune saw Team TVS Racing’s star rider C S Santosh, not only finish the race with finesse but also steal the thunder by being crowned best rider of the day.
Santosh finished the championship round with a total of 219 points, a difference of 45 points from his nearest rival and team mate, Aravind K P who ended the race with 169 points. The hierarchy of winners of the MRF Supercross Championship therefore stands as C S Santosh as the overall champion, followed by Aravind K P in second place and C D Jinan, in third place with 168 championship points.
Though it was a matter of winning ten points in the Pune leg to sweep the championship, it was no easy task for C S Santosh, as both track and competition were equally fierce. Fellow team mate Aravind K P rode hard to hold on to the lead until the third lap in the first moto when he lost his balance allowing C S Santosh to capitalize and whiz past him to take final honours. Santosh finished off in signature style winning both motos to bag the championship.
“Speed, performance and endurance is what it took Team TVS Racing to cross the finish line in the winning position on the race track. This is a special win for us as it coincides with our celebration of 25th year of racing. I give full credit to all our riders for their stunning performances this year. We are proud to have spotted and nurtured the talent in C S Santosh, who rides for us not only in India but abroad as well. Aravind K P has also proved to be an able competitor.” said Arvind Pangaonkar, Adivsor Racing, TVS Motor Company.
Winning rider C S Santosh said that he was overwhelmed with his performance in Pune and it was a special feeling to win the championship in the silver jubilee year of TVS Racing. “Key skills that I picked up while training in the US and while riding abroad has helped me immensely” he said.
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FMSCI nominees included in FIM Commissions
Chennai, December 10, 2010: It was a proud day for Indian motorsports when the FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) Board of Directors approved, during its meeting held in Estoril on 2 December, the composition of the FIM Commissions which for the first time in the history of the FIM, includes two Indian officials nominated by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI).
Anand Sashidharan and Roop Kumar Padhmanabhan, both from Chennai have the distinction of representing India and the FMSCI on the FIM Commissions. Anand Sashidharan has been appointed a member of the FIM International Judicial Commission while Roop Kumar Padmanabhan, was included in the FIM International Technical Commission (officials panel) for a 4 year term until 2014, according to the new statutes approved during the 2010 FIM Congress held in Macau (China).
Rajan Syal, CEO of the FMSCI was proud of the appointment of FMSCI’s nominees and stated “This is a great day for Indian motorsports as for the first time ever there are two Indian officials included by the FIM. It also goes to show that India as a country is maturing in the motorsport arena. The FMSCI is committed to ensuring that India has a larger impact on a global scale and this is a big step for us. While Anand will be part of the judicial commission, Roop will be a part of the Technical commission I am confident that Anand and Roop will do an excellent job as FMSCI representatives for the FIM”.
The FIM, founded in 1904, is the governing body for motorcycle sport and the global advocate for motorcycling. An independent association formed by 101 National Federations throughout the world, the FIM is recognised as the sole competent authority in motorcycle sport by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Among its 49 FIM World Championships the main events are MotoGP, Superbike, Endurance, Motocross, Supercross, Trial, Enduro, Cross-Country Rallies and Speedway. The FIM also deals with non-sporting matters such as leisure motorcycling, mobility, transport, road safety, public policy and the environment. The FIM was the first International Sporting Federation to enforce an Environmental Code in 1994.
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Arjun Rao-Satish Rajagopal pair wins K1000 rally
By Bodapati David
Bangalore, 5 Dec 2010: Darkhorse Arjun Rao Aroor of Team MRF, with Satish Rajagopal navigating the Mitsubishi Cedia, won the K-1000 Rally, the fourth round of the Speed Indian National Rally Championship making a grand 1-2 finish for MRF as they displayed controlled aggression clocking the second-best time at the Super Special Stage here on Sunday.
However, it was Lohit Urs (Srikanth Gowda), who stole the limelight today with a lightening run covering the of the 4.5km in a blazing 5 minute 59 seconds, the only car on the day to go under six minutes. He thrilled the audience with his driving and as his car drifted sideways towards the grand stand, the crowd gave him a thundering applause. The MRF driver who was unfortunate to go out of contention for top honours on Saturday, finished second and was followed by Red Rooster Racing’s Vikram Mathias and PV Srinivasa Murthy. Vikram who stalled his car during the first lap lost a lot of time but still provided seat-edged thrills for the spectators to clock 6 min 20 seconds.
Thus, Arjun Rao Aroor pitchforked himself into contention for the Speed INRC title but even as Naren Kumar leads the table with Vikram Mathias running close behind. “It was a fantastic day for me. I am at the crossed roads and before this event I decided that I would prove all my critics wrong or else quit the sport. I am so glad, I won this rally,” said a visually pleased Arjun Aroor.
Bangalore Brothers Balram CG and Raghuram CG came overall third, a stunning performance and finished first in their class, the 1400 cc with a timing of 2 hours 17 minutes 14.5 seconds. Rattan Gangadhar and Nikuj finished second.
The Rally Star Cup saw Kaushik H Shinde and Ninad A Mirajgaonkar win the K-1000 with a comfortable 39 second lead over Dr Dhirendra Kumar and Ravi Raidurg, who had to be content with a second position.
The Army team of Amrinder Brar, with Himanshu as co-driver, virtually won the Speed INRC title in the Gypsy class with a fourth straight win while teammates Shakti Bajaj and Dharmesh Sinha came second followed by Harpreet Singh Sidhu and Hardevinder Brar.
Though the Lankan team of Ahamed Farooque and Ashan E Silva, driving a Mitsubishi Evo 10, put on view the beast of a machine on Sunday in the Super Special Stage, they failed to finish the rally in the Open Class.
After the triple S, Speed Master and ambassador for Bharat Petroleum, Narain Karthikeyan, entertained the audience with a quick lap. The first Indian to drive in Formula One said that he took part in simulator test for Force India after the last race in Abu Dhabi recently. Olympian and hockey legend MM Somaya was also present.
Provisional Unaudited Final Results:
Overall: 1. Arjun Rao Aroor/ Satish K Rajagopal (Team MRF) 1 hour 53 min 32.6 secs; 2. Lihitt V Urs/ Srikanth Gowda (MRF) 1: 53: 22.7 secs; 3. Balram CG/ Raghuram CG (privateers) 02: 17: 14.5 secs.
2000 N+ class: 1. Arjun Rao Aroor/ Satish K Rajagopal (Team MRF) 1 hour 53 min 32.6 secs; 2. Lihitt V Urs/ Srikanth Gowda (MRF) 1: 53: 22.7 secs; 3. Vikram Mathias/ PV Srinivasa Murthy (Red Rooster Racing) 2: 17: 28.4.
1400 cc class: Balram CG/ Raghuram CG (privateer) 02: 17: 14.5 secs; 2.Rattan N Gangadhar/ Nikunj GN (pvt) 2: 57: 02.3.
Rally Star Cup: 1. Kaushik H Shinde/ Ninad A Mirajgaonkar (pvt) 2: 14: 15.8; 2. Dr Dhirendra Kumar/ Ravi Raidurg 2: 14: 54.0; 3. Aditya S /Kariappa KB (pvt) 2: 18: 00.4;
Gypsy class: 1. Amrinder Brar/ Himanshu (Army Adventure Wing) 2: 09: 40.6; 2. Shakti Bajaj/ Dharmesh Sinha (AAW) 2: 14: 51.1; 3. Harpreet Singh Sidhu/ Hardevinder S Brar 2: 17: 14.5;
Ends
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Naren-Ram thrill crowds winning in the Rajasthan desert tracks
By David Bodapati
Jodhpur, 19 Sept 2010: Come-back king Naren Kumar, with veteran navigator Ram Kumar in tow, was in his elements as he thrilled the Sunday crowd with controlled aggression in the Super Special Stage but still kept his cool to finish the rally for a second successive victory in the Rally of Rajasthan, the third round of the Speed Indian National Rally Championship 2010 for cars to firmly entrench Team Red Rooster Racing on top of the leaderboard for manufacturers as the first rally in Rajasthan ended here with a sizeable crowd enjoying the daring feats of the drivers.
The third round of the high-octane Speed INRC also helped the champion from Coimbatore to take the lead over former champion and Red Rooster teammate Vikram Mathias by three points. Naren who got 10 points for this victory will now have 27 points to Vikram’s 24. Red Rooster Racing’s Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik) finished second but it was Lohit Urs and Srikanth Gowda of Team MRF who scorched the tracks at the Chamia Polo ground to set the fastest time in the `triple s’ to clock 1 min 53.2 seconds, a fraction of a second faster than second placed Ghosh.
Regarded as the most prestigious event in Indian Motorsports, the 3rd round, Rally of Rajasthan, of Speed INRC was organized by Sportscraft under the aegis of FMSCI and is promoted by IMG Sports and Pro-Sports Promotion.
Driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Cedia in the 2000 cc N+ category, Naren Kumar and co-driver Ramkumar were not back in the contention for the National title after a disappointing start in the first event at Nashik. Teammate Amittrajit Ghosh and co-driver Ashwin Naik too bagged valuable points to come back into striking distance.
Sponsored by Bharat Petroleum’s SPEED brand, the Jodhpur round turned out to be a thriller with defending champion Gaurav Gill of Team MRF taking the Maharaja of Jodhpur on a joy ride around the circuit and then did his sliding drifts which sparked seat-edged excitement to the spectators today. Gill crashed out yesterday and could not officially compete today.
Bangalore duo Rahul Kantharajj and Vivek Bhatt pipped arch rivals Shailendar Hegde and Sheeraz in the SSS today and took the honours in the 1600cc class while Vishal and Robinson finished third.
However, it was Kerala pair Dr Bikku Babu and Bonnie Thomas who are unsung heroes as they not only won the 1400cc class but comprehensively defeated higher-rated cars and drivers finishing overall 8 ahead of all 1600cc cars. Byram Godrey and Anjay Kapadia were second in 1400cc category.
Venkatapathy MR and Santosh Kumar won the Rally Star Cup while Maj Amrinder Brar and Lt.Col Himanshu Parek from the Army Adventure Wing came out triumphant in the Gypsy class.
Provisional Unaudited – Final Classification:
Overall: 1. Naren Kumar / Co-driver Ram Kumar, Red Rooster Racing, 35:50.9; 2. Amittrajit Ghosh/Ashwin Naik, Red Rooster Racing, 36:36.8; 3. Lohit Urs/ Srikanth Gowda, Team MRF, 37:12.9;
Group 2000cc N+: 1. Naren Kumar / Co-driver Ram Kumar, Red Rooster Racing, 35:50.9; 2. Amittrajit Ghosh/Ashwin Naik, Red Rooster Racing, 36:36.8; 3. Lohit Urs/ Srikanth Gowda, Team MRF, 37:12.9;
Group 2000cc N: 1. Girijashankar Joshy / Chandramouli M, Ovion Racing, 40:10.9; 2. Sujay Suresh/ Bharath SM 41:23.1; Sirish Chandran/ Nikhil Pai Team Overdrive 42:05.1;
Group 1600cc N: 1. Rahul Kantharaj/ Vivek Bhatt privateer (pvt) 42:56.1; 2. Shailendar Hegde/ Sheraz Ahmed, pvt 43:30.6; 3. Vishal GA/ Robinson, pvt 48:04.6;
Group 1400cc N: 1. Dr Bikku Babu/ Bonnie Thomas, pvt – Kerala, 41:49.0; 2. Byram Godrej/ Anjay Kapadia, pvt, 47:54.0; 3.Sanjay Sikand/ Koka Rahul Rao, 49:33.4;
Group Rally Star Cup (RSC): 1. Venkatapathy MR/ Santtosh Kumar S, 44:52.0; 2. Harikesav N/Ashvin Nadig, pvt, 45:10.8; 3. Kaushik H Shinde/ Ninand A Mirajgaonkar, pvt, 47: 01.0;
Group Gypsy: 1. Maj Amarinder S Brar/ Himanshu Pareek, pvt – Army Adventure Wing, 47:16.6; 2. Harpreet Singh Sidhu/ Sanjay B Gokhale, AA Wing, 48:16.5, 3. Sameer Pandey/ Honey Narula, Pvt, 48:32.5.
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MAK K1000 INRC bike rally on Sunday
Bangalore, 20 August 2010: Bangalore : The Karnataka-1000, the second round of the MAK Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) for two-wheelers will be held Sunday at Siddhalaghatta, near here.
After a successful season opener at Coimbatore, which saw a record entries of over 40 bikes, the Bangalore leg too is bound to provide exciting thrills as the ‘Big Daddies’ are set to make their mark in K-1000.
“Some Bullet fans have approached us showing interest to rally these big bikes and we are expecting to make arrangements and five of these biggie would be seen in action,” said Praneeth Perumal, who set the technically daunting but fast track, about 140 km, from the city.
The second of the five rounds of the MAK INRC for Motorcycles will be organised by the Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC) under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), the governing body for the sport in the country.
Riders from Team TVS Racing, who have dominated the two-wheeler section for long will continue to be strong contenders. Reigning National champion Arvind KP, along with the Pramod Joshua, who began the season with a bang, winning the Coimbatore leg, will be among the top contenders.
The rally will have two Special Stages of 10.92 km and 8.95 km, and they will be run four times each in the same direction with service breaks in between. The total distance of Special Stage rallying will be 79.48 km.
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Naren Kumar, Ram Kumar duo put Red Rooster on top in home town
By David Bodapati
Coimbatore, 8 August 2010: Veteran war-horse and local pride Naren Kumar of Red Rooster Racing clinched the Speed Rally of Coimbatore, the second round of the Speed Indian National Rally Championship after he thrilled the spectators at the Super Special Stage with controlled aggression at the Ganga Naidu Charities Trust ground here on Sunday.
With Ram Kumar navigating in the Mitsubishi Lancer Cedia, the Coimbatore duo turned the tide for Red Rooster Racing with a facile win. Teammates Vikram Mathias and co-driver PV Srinivas Murthy finishing second, ahead of Team MRF’s Arjun Balu (Sujith Kumar BS). However, it was Team MRF’s Lohit Urs (Srikanth Gowda) who stole the limelight in the two-lap 1.3km Super Special Stage (SSS), the last special stage with a timing of 1 min 53 secs while defending national champion Gaurav Gill stalled his Cedia in the second lap but not before the few hundreds had a taste of his stunning drifts on the first lap. Gill crashed out in the first leg on Saturay but came back today gunning for the leg points in vain.
Team Ovion Racing’s Sujay Suresh and co-driver Bharath SM in a Mitsubishi Lancer Cedia won the 2000cc N category while the other Ovion team Girija Shankar Joshy and co-drier Chandramouli suffered bad luck with a flat tyre twice in the day. Vikram Devadasan (Shivaprakash) finished second ahead of Chethan Shivaram and Roopesh Kholay, who took advantage of mechanical problems faced by Sirish Chandran (Nikhil V Pai) of Overdrive.
In 1600cc N category, Shailendar Hegde (Sheraz Ahmed) brought home their Maruthi Baleno for a victory over the Kerala pair of Vishal GA and Robinson R George. The other team from Kochi, Ranjith Gopinath and Dileep R came third.
Dr Bikku Babu and co-driver Bonnie Thomas won the 1400cc class while Phalguna Urs (Anoop Kumar) took home the Rally Star Cup. The Army Adventure Club duo of Maj Amrinder Brar and Himanshu Pareek pushed back Shakti Bajaj (Dharmesh Singh) to the second place and won the Gypsy class comfortably.
Provisional un-audited Classification:
Overall: 1. Naren Kumar / Co-driver Ram Kumar, Red Rooster Racing, 1:35:58.3; 2. Vikram Mathias / PV Srinivasa Murthy, Red Rooster Racing, 1:36:32.7; 3. Arjun Balu/ Sujit Kumar BS, Team MRF, 1:39:27.4;
Group 2000cc N+: 1. Naren Kumar / Co-driver Ram Kumar, Red Rooster Racing, 1:35:58.3; 2. Vikram Mathias / PV Srinivasa Murthy, Red Rooster Racing, 1:36:32.7; 3. Arjun Balu/ Sujit Kumar BS, Team MRF, 1:39:27.4;
Group 2000cc N: 1. Sujay Suresh / Bharath SM, Ovion Racing, 1: 46: 53.9 ; 2. Vikram Devadasen/ Shivaprakash E, privateers (pvt), 1:51: 21.5; 3. Chethan Shivaram/ Roopesh Kholay, 1: 54: 47.2;
Group 1600cc N: 1. Shailendar Hegde/ Sheraz Ahmed, pvt, 1: 52:32.7;
2. Vishal GA/ Robinson R George, pvt, 1: 52: 55.9; 3. Ranjith Gopinath/ Dileep R, pvt, 1: 54: 55.7;
Group 1400cc N: 1. Dr Bikku Babu/ Bonnie Thomas, pvt-Kerala, 1: 49:59.0; 2. Byram Godrej/ Anjay Kapadia, pvt, 1: 50: 18.6; 3. Monish L /Jeevarathinam J, 1:58:43.9;
Group Rally Star Cup (RSC): 1. Phalguna Urs/ Anoop Kumar, pvt, 1: 52:25.1; 2. Harikesav N/Ashvin Nadig, pvt, 1: 53:38.3; 3. Venkatapathy MR/ Santtosh Kumar S, 1: 55:16.9;
Group Gypsy: 1. Maj Amarinder S Brar/ Himanshu Pareek, pvt – Army Adventure Wing
1: 53:34.6; 2. Shakti Bajaj/ Dharmesh Singh, pvt- Army AW, 1: 56: 22.2; 3. Harpreet Singh Sidhu/ Sanjay B Gokhale, 1: 56: 54.5. -
Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif win opening round at Nashik
By David Bodapati
Nashik, 27 June 2010: Speed devil Gaurav Gill and co-driver Musa Sherif began with a bang and put Team MRF on the top winning the opening event of the Speed Indian National Rally Championship as they displayed controlled aggression with a comfortable lead in hand and won the Rally of Maharashtra with ease at the Dadasaheb Phalke Smarak here on Sunday.
The spectacular speeds at the spectator spectacle unfolded at the crowded Phalke Smarak and for once Gill had to control his speed an make sure the car does not play truant like last year. However, he did not shy away from entertaining the crowd with his drifts sliding down the corners without lifting off the gas. In the course, it was Red Rooster’s Vikram Mathias, last year’s winner here, who zoomed to the best timing in the Super Special Stage came out trumps in 1 minute 48.4 seconds, a clear 3.1 seconds faster than Gill but had to be content with the second place in his Mitsubishi Cedia with co-driver PVS Murthy. Kolkata’s Amittrajit Ghosh and Aswin Naik also of Team Red Rooster Racing took the third place on the podium in the inaugural event..
“It was a grand opening round for me and my team MRF. Finally, I got the monkey off my back and broke the Nashik jinx,” was how a relieved National champion Gill reacted. At the same venue last year, Gill’s car stalled soon after the start and was out of the competition. Gill never won at Nashik till today morning.
“We went in with a different set-up today and I was more intent on doing some drifts just to give the spectators something to cheer about. Overall, it was a good outing for us and we had no problems with the car,” said Gill as he busied himself to leave for New Zealand for the Asia Pacific Rally championship commencing next weekend.
In the 2000cc N category, Girijashankar Joshy and co-driver Chandramouli won the first title in the season for Team Ovion in its debut race with a timing of 1hr 29:46.5secs. Teammates Sujay Suresh and Varun Sathyanarayan made it a one-two for team Ovion while Sirish Chandran and Nikhil Pai came third.
Bangalore duo, Rahul Kantharaj with Vivek Bhat navigating in the 1600cc notched up an authoritative win over Shailender Hegde/Shiraz Ahmed. “We are very happy to launch our campaign with a win in,’’ said Rahul while Vivek said: “It was a daunting rally for the navigator with a lot of blind corners. The first day was slushy but otherwise it was a good rally with a lot calls. We enjoyed it.’’
Overnight leaders Dr Bikku Babu and co-driver Gerorge Varghese of Kerala won the 1400cc class while Byram Godrej/Anjay Kapadia came second. Monish-Jeeva pair took the third place.
Amrinder Brar and co-driver Himanshu Pareek put paid to the hopes of Sachin Singh/Adhiraj Bhardan pair in their Gypsy while Shakti Bajaj and Dharmesh duo finished third.
In the Rally Star Car category, Mysore pair Phalguna V Urs and Anoop Kumar made sure of their first title of the season with a comfortable win edging out Coimbatore pair Venkatapathy/Santosh Kumar. VS Ratan and Preetham came third.
Final Results (Provisional unaudited classification):
Overall and 2000cc N+: 1. Gaurav Gill/Musa Sherif (Team MRF) (1 hr 22:42.5); 2. Vikram Mathias/PVS Murthy (Team RRR) (1hr 25:03.2); 3.Amittrajit Ghosh/Ashwin Naik (Team Red Rooster Racing) (1:26:35.7);
2000cc: 1. Girijashankar Joshy/Chandramouli M (Ovion Racing) (1:29:46.5); 2.Sujay Suresh/Varun Sathyanarayan (Ovion Racing) (1:32:01.3); 3. Sirish Chandran/Nikhil Pai (1hr 34:30.7)
1600 cc: 1. Rahul Kanthiraj/Vivek Bhat (1hr 36:15.4); 2. Shailender Hegde/Sheraz Ahmed (1hr 40:02.5).
1400cc: Dr Bikku Babu/George Varghese (1hr 36:24.8); 2. Byram Godrej/Anjay Kapadia (1hr 36:39.9); 3. Monish/Jeeva (1hr 45:49.1)
Gypsy: 1. Amarinder Brar/Himanshu Pareek (1hr 37:03.6); 2.Sachin Singh/Adhiraj Bhardhan (1hr 41:19.4); 3. Shakthi Bajaj/Dharmesh Sinha (Army)(1hr 43:00.7)
Rally Star Cup: 1. Phalguna V Urs/Anoop Kumar (1hr 37:26.7) 2. Venkatapathy Mettuchetty/ Santosh Kumar Selvaraj (1hr 38:57.1); 3. VS Ratan/Preetham(1hr 41:58.6). -
Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif begin with a bang at Nashik
By David Bodapati
Nashik, 27 June 2010: Speed devil Gaurav Gill and co-driver Musa Sherif began with a bang and put Team MRF on the top winning the opening event of the Speed Indian National Rally Championship as they displayed controlled aggression with a comfortable lead in hand and won the Rally of Maharashtra with ease at the Dadasaheb Phalke Smarak here on Sunday.
The spectacular speeds at the spectator spectacle unfolded at the crowded Phalke Smarak and for once Gill had to control his speed an make sure the car does not play truant like last year. However, he did not shy away from entertaining the crowd with his drifts sliding down the corners without lifting off the gas. In the course, it was Red Rooster’s Vikram Mathias, last year’s winner here, who zoomed to the best timing in the Super Special Stage came out trumps in 1 minute 48.4 seconds, a clear 3.1 seconds faster than Gill but had to be content with the second place in his Mitsubishi Cedia with co-driver PVS Murthy. Kolkata’s Amittrajit Ghosh and Aswin Naik also of Team Red Rooster Racing took the third place on the podium in the inaugural event..
“It was a grand opening round for me and my team MRF. Finally, I got the monkey off my back and broke the Nashik jinx,” was how a relieved National champion Gill reacted. At the same venue last year, Gill’s car stalled soon after the start and was out of the competition. Gill never won at Nashik till today morning.
“We went in with a different set-up today and I was more intent on doing some drifts just to give the spectators something to cheer about. Overall, it was a good outing for us and we had no problems with the car,” said Gill as he busied himself to leave for New Zealand for the Asia Pacific Rally championship commencing next weekend.
In the 2000cc N category, Girijashankar Joshy and co-driver Chandramouli won the first title in the season for Team Ovion in its debut race with a timing of 1hr 29:46.5secs. Teammates Sujay Suresh and Varun Sathyanarayan made it a one-two for team Ovion while Sirish Chandran and Nikhil Pai came third.
Bangalore duo, Rahul Kantharaj with Vivek Bhat navigating in the 1600cc notched up an authoritative win over Shailender Hegde/Shiraz Ahmed. “We are very happy to launch our campaign with a win in,’’ said Rahul while Vivek said: “It was a daunting rally for the navigator with a lot of blind corners. The first day was slushy but otherwise it was a good rally with a lot calls. We enjoyed it.’’
Overnight leaders Dr Bikku Babu and co-driver Gerorge Varghese of Kerala won the 1400cc class while Byram Godrej/Anjay Kapadia came second. Monish-Jeeva pair took the third place.
Amrinder Brar and co-driver Himanshu Pareek put paid to the hopes of Sachin Singh/Adhiraj Bhardan pair in their Gypsy while Shakti Bajaj and Dharmesh duo finished third.
In the Rally Star Car category, Mysore pair Phalguna V Urs and Anoop Kumar made sure of their first title of the season with a comfortable edging out Coimbatore pair Venkatapathy/Santosh Kumar. VS Ratan and Preetham came third.
Final Results (Provisional unaudited classification):
Overall and 2000cc N+: 1. Gaurav Gill/Musa Sherif (Team MRF) (1 hr 22:42.5); 2. Vikram Mathias/PVS Murthy (Team RRR) (1hr 25:03.2); 3.Amittrajit Ghosh/Ashwin Naik (Team Red Rooster Racing) (1:26:35.7);
2000cc: 1. Girijashankar Joshy/Chandramouli M (Ovion Racing) (1:29:46.5); 2.Sujay Suresh/Varun Sathyanarayan (Ovion Racing) (1:32:01.3); 3. Sirish Chandran/Nikhil Pai (1hr 34:30.7)
1600 cc: 1. Rahul Kanthiraj/Vivek Bhat (1hr 36:15.4); 2. Shailender Hegde/Sheraz Ahmed (1hr 40:02.5).
1400cc: Dr Bikku Babu/George Varghese (1hr 36:24.8); 2. Byram Godrej/Anjay Kapadia (1hr 36:39.9); 3. Monish/Jeeva (1hr 45:49.1)
Gypsy: 1. Amarinder Brar/Himanshu Pareek (1hr 37:03.6); 2.Sachin Singh/Adhiraj Bhardhan (1hr 41:19.4); 3. Shakthi Bajaj/Dharmesh Sinha (Army)(1hr 43:00.7)
Rally Star Cup: 1. Phalguna V Urs/Anoop Kumar (1hr 37:26.7) 2. Venkatapathy Mettuchetty/ Santosh Kumar Selvaraj (1hr 38:57.1); 3. VS Ratan/Preetham(1hr 41:58.6).ends/david. 973 180 2333
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‘The Flying Taurus’ is at it again; FIA F-2 beckons popular star Ajith
Ajith Kumar all geared up. INDIAinF1 file photo We at India in F1.com know him best as the Flying Taurus! The South Indian film star and motor racing enthusiast, Ajith Kumar is all set to take part in this year’s FIA Formula 2 Championship. This will be his third season in International racing. After his 2003 Debut in the Formula BMW Asia Championship, where he qualified 4th and finished 6th for his best result in the Korean leg, he entered the British Formula 3 Scholarship Class in 2004, where he scored two podium finishes.
Chennai, 24 March 2010: South Indian film star and motor racing enthusiast, Ajith Kumar is all set to take part in this year’s FIA Formula 2 Championship. This will be his third season in International racing after his 2003 Debut in the Formula BMW Asia Championship, where his best results were in Korea (Qualified 4th and finished 6th) and the 2004 races in British Formula 3 Scholarship Class, where he scored two podium finishes.
Ajith feels that the time is ripe for providing a much-needed impetus to the motor racing scene in India considering a few interesting developments in the sporting activity. While ace driver Narain Karthikeyan was the first Indian to get into Formula 1, he is now closely followed by Karun Chandhok who is racing in Formula 1 this year. In Formula 2, apart from Ajith Kumar, there are two other Indians in the fray – Armaan Ebrahim and Parthiva Sureshwaran. All this, Ajith feels, will induce more Indian youngsters to take to the sport. In the Indian racing scene, apart from the established JK Tyre series, in recent times, we have seen MRF also entering with their own Formula racing series. Volkswagen is introducing a new series of saloon car racing with its Polo cars.
“I have the confidence of achieving some success in this year’s FIA Formula 2 European Championships. I have already done some testing in Malaysia recently and am looking forward to more practice runs in Snetterton & Silverstone before the event kicks off on April 16th. I hope my participation along with the other two Indians, Armaan Ebrahim and Parthiva Sureshwaran will create the right amount of interest in the sport in India,” says Ajith Kumar.
F2 Series Director Jonathan Palmer said: “I am delighted to welcome Ajith to F2. To have a well known Indian film star who has demonstrated such ambition now racing in F2 is very exciting for the championship, and I really admire Ajith’s determination and enthusiasm. Paul Newman demonstrated that international celebrities can be competitive in international motorsport – and late in his career. Ajith, on the other hand, is several years younger than both Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. The F2 team and other drivers look forward to giving maximum support to help Ajith become increasingly competitive.”
His professional approach to racing, as much as his involvement in films, is to be seen as a much-needed impetus to motorsports, especially in view of impending Formula 1 event expected to take place in India in 2011. Towards this end and based on his decision to turn a professional racer and make it a career alongside his acting profession, Ajith Kumar has hired the services of Eurasia Motorsport Management, the UK run by Piers Hunnisett to handle all his international motor racing activities and manage his racing career. Ajith’s foray into F2 would not have been possible without the help and support of Jonathan Palmer, Piers Hunnisett and Narain Karthikeyan.
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2 Magic laps for Karun! History for India!! And a new website to applaud it!!!
Welcome to www.INDIAinF1.com
Bangalore, 14 March 2010: As the season began this year, one more Indian joined the cream of World Racing drivers in the ultimate Racing Arena, the Formula One World Championship. For Karun, ecstasy must have given way to agony after his first outing on the World Stage, but for the billions of Indians, History was made in 2010. Karun Chandhok became the second Indian on the F1 grid and his historic feat is a big boost to the sagging image of Motorsport in the country, ahead of its own GP.
The Indian F1 Grand Prix is scheduled for 2011. In the World Motor Sport Council that met at Bahrain on March 11, Bernie Ecclestone, President, Formula One Management (FoM), has informed the FIA, the International Motorsports Federation, that subject to final approval of the calendar by the World Council, India would host a Formula One event in 2011.
It was in 1999, the idea of this website was born during a lunch-break chit-chat between senior motorsports and hockey correspondent Bodapati David and specialised Motorsport Photo Journalist and writer George Francis, whose agency Scorp News is in motorsport journalism for the past 25 years. The place was the Madras Motor Sports Trust’s racing circuit at Irungattukottai and the event, the MRF Grand Prix 1999. However, the website did not start till 2005.
On June 14, 2001, Narain Karthikeyan became the first Indian to test a new generation Formula 1 car with Steward Racing and as everyone was focused to see Narain in a Formula 1 Racing Car, it took full four years for Narain to get into Jordan Racing in 2005.
On March 6, 2005, Narain again created history, as he drove the yellow-colored Formula Jordan Car from the start line at Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia. The first Indian from among a billion population, was in Formula One. Within just another 5 years, one more Indian entering the Championship is a miracle and to enlarge this elite group of Indian F1 drivers to two, Karun had to bring a dream to life.
This website began the journey with Narain, launching in March but had a short life due to technical difficulties. And the revamped website, with a new name is launched this month with Karun making the Elite Club.
In between, 2008 saw business tycoon and Chairman of the Indian ASN of FIA, Vijay Mallya, launched Team Force India and last year the team took a Pole and a second on the Podium and earned their first points, the spark that re-ignited the Indian interest in F1. The dream-run this year for Force India should translate into a podium finish sooner or later and the professional approach augurs well for the sport in the country.
This year, we have one more Indian in Formula racing, Tamil Superstar Ajit Kumar in F2. Before taking a plunge into movies, Ajit was an avid racer. His motorsport career started early at an early age of 19, when he started riding bikes. In 2002, Ajit returned to the racing paddock amidst a successful film career to pursue his true passion. In the 2003, Formula BMW Asia series, Ajit took part in 14 races and finished the season in the 12th place. In 2004, he drove in the British Formula 3 series for a minor outfit, and was ranked the third best motor car driver in India at his peak. Ajit was forced to shift his focus to acting after he found it difficult to rope in sponsors for his international racing. Recently, he was back in a racing car at the MRF Racing Challenge 2010 races.
Today, the 14th of March, 2010, Karun Chandhok created history. As the lights went off at the Sakhir Circuit in Bahrain, at 17.30 IST, at the start line, Karun is not just steering Team Hispania Racing F1Team Formula Car, to start his career in F1, he is steering a billion dreams. The very fact that the HRT car made it to the track is a record in itself. Karun’s two magic laps, are akin to a rocket scientist or an astronaut trying to do a space voyage without a helmet. It is common knowledge that Karun did not get any time to test the car. Testing is like the stipulated one-year isolated simulation that astronauts do. He will go down in the history of Formula One as the first driver to cross the starting grid in a modern F1 car, virtually without any experience in the car or on the track, in an F1 car. Hats off Karun! We at INDIAinF! strongly believe that the two seconds you knocked off from your own first lap time, is no fluke and you would surely prove it, by the time we finish the season.
It is high time that the World has a website that deals with India in F1. This would add a world of information on the subject, to the minute.
We, George, Prasad, Paul and David, welcome you to the World of India in F1. In due course, we will bring you all the news from all forms of Motorsport where Indians drive or ride. Both, in India and abroad…
Happy Racing!!!
We wish Karun Chandhok, Force India and all the Indian racers elsewhere, the Very Best!
First Published 14 March 2010; edited 15th, 27th March 2010
