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Category: National Championship
The event counts as the National Championship recognised by FMSCI, the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India, the governing body of motorsports in India, and the ASN recognised by FIA and FIM.
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Brothers team up to glory in their first year; Dilip Sharan shares his story: INRC 2019 champions
File photo of Chetan Shivram (left) and Dilip Sharan on the podium after winning the K1000 rally, the 4th Round of Champiojns Yacht Club INRC 2019 in Bengaluru in November. INDIAinF1 photo Bengaluru, 23 Dec 2019: One of the ever-green and most popular events of the Indian Motorsports calendar, the Indian National Rally Championship, saw new champions take the crown in 2019. The championship concluded on Sunday in Kerala with the Popular Rally, organised by Southern Adventures and Motorsports, and promoted by Champions Yacht Club (CYC), completing four of the six scheduled rounds in the calendar.
Akshara Team’s Chetan Shivram and Dilip Sharan, emerged overall champions and bagged their maiden National title. For 41-year-old Shivram, who has been around for over two decades, it is a sweet ending to the campaign, winning the title with his younger brother. This is the first time in the 32-year history of INRC that two brothers won the National title. And winning with a lowly-INRC3 car, after fighting with much-powerful INRC machines is no mean achievement.
Today, INDIAinF1 caught up with Dilip Sharan, the 29-year-old, who teamed up his brother for the first time in this year’s INRC after a trial run in the curtain-raiser Sprint de Bengaluru proved to be a success.
The duo was apprehensive of the tarmac terrain in Kerala but realised that it was their golden chance to win the championship, what with a handsome lead they had with two victories. At the start, the fears were thought to be misplaced as both the South India Rally and K1000, were new stages but the brothers performed admirably.
However, as the Popular Rally began, the unforgiving cruel corner in the very first stage, just after about six km into the rally, saw them suffer a casualty, the second of the four cars to crash at the same corner. “In the very first stage with less than 2-km to the finish we hit a `dip’ and did not realise that we had a low air pressure on the front left (tyre) and we lost control. However with the experience Chetan has, he didn’t give up, and found a way to get the car back and got on to the wheels. Then, unfortunately, we lost a wheel including the hub, and the day ended for us being the leaders of the Overall Championship,’’ he added.
The disaster in the first stage at the Popular Rally. But the duo came back on sunday with FRK Racing getting the car ready for the final 3 stages. Photo By Dilip Sharan “With much regret, we sat and thought of things we could do to make sure we start Day 2. As usual, the magical hands of our `Mechanics’ coming for a team which needs no introduction, did get the car ready again.’’ The mechs were none other than from #FRK Racing. “The boys put the magic to work, and gave us a car to start on Sunday. But this would not have been possible without the help of Sumit Punjabi, who generously gave us the parts required to rebuild the car and for it to be ready for Day 2. As we entered the beginning of the stage, Chetan says `Sherry the car is just not handling, it’s all over the place,’ all we did was cruise… to finish the first stage, and stood 10th fastest,’’ went on Dilip talking about how they managed those last three stages.
“As we waited for Stage 2 to start, the one-and-only #Tiger_Baba (Sanjay Agarwal) asked Chetan what’s happening. So he explained why this is happening as the experience he carries in rallying is more than my age. With the wise advice well digested, we ended the stage 5th fastest and ended the next stage again in the same order to bag three points,’’ he continued.Earlier at the start of the season, it all started with an informal chat. In Dilip’s own words, “the year 2019 has ushered in a lot of positive and happy changes in my life, and the most important being the marriage with the love of my life, Angel (Mabel).’’
During a chat with his elder brother Chetan Shivram and sister-in-law Jessica, the question of navigating for a one-off curtain raiser came up, which eventually turned into a full-season adventure. “I jumped at my brother Chetan’s invitation as I to love sit with him and the preparation of a freshly-built Volkswagen Polo-INRC3 began, but I was nervous…,’’ Dilip quipped and “who would not if one had to call pace notes to a driver like Chetan.’’
But soon all the doubts vanished as he sat in the car and the duo finished the Recce and the Rally. “For some good reason the bond in the car was so good, and we felt like we had done this few 100 times before,’’ Dilip, who made his rally debut in Chikkamagaluru Coffee Day Rally in 2016, recalled of the gut feeling he had at that time in March.
In the first round, at the South India Rally’s opening day in Chennai the duo took the lead but toppled on the second day. “After Day 1, we were in the Overall lead but unfortunately we flipped, toppled on Day 2’s first stage and then tried to finish, in vain,” he explained. Then the second rally at Coimbatore saw the pair dishing out splendid stuff when many experienced and talented top guns toppled to the tricky terrain, as they nurtured their car and safely finished the rally on the top step of the podium.
Many thought it was a fluke and a section of the media too, unprofessionally sidelined their superb showing, but with determination and focused approach, and technically-sound driving, the Bengaluru brothers proved their mettle once again and bounced back.
“At the legendary K1000, we went in not knowing what to expect as the stages were brand new for all the drivers, after Recce, Chetan had one thing to say, “These are my kind of stages”, and then we set in the good vibes, family and friends there to cheer for the `Home-Town Boys’ to win.
“As we entered the rally to make sure we win INRC 3, much to our surprise in no time Chetan made sure to endure the car and bring it back to finish on Day 1. Day 2 saw a good battle with Dr Speed (Bikku Babu). And we ended up on the podium with yet another Overall win.
And as the day ended in Kerala, bringing to close the INRC season, it was history and INRC saw New Champions. The Brothers, who entered as an INRC3 team, not only became the National Champions but managed a Double Dhamaka, also winning the INRC3 class.
“We are humbled with this success and express our gratitude to all the people who stood with us,’’ said Dilip. “I would like to thank Sumanth Akshara, the Chief, and my dad (Jothinarar Vishwanathan Shivram) and all the family members, for the opportunity and, for persistently believing in us, and giving us the fabulous courage to win,’’ he concluded, with a big thanks to MRF Tyres.
Chetan Shivram and Dilip Sharan, right, at the Rally PD. Photo by Anand Philar -
Borthers Chetan Shivram and Dilip Sharan, 2019 INRC National Champs; Gill, Musa win Popular Rally
Kottayam, Dec. 22: Brothers Chetan Shivram and Dilip Sharan are the National champions. They did not win the Poplular Rally but the experienced duo from Bengaluru conquered the Indian National Rally Championship 2019, thanks to their stunning victories in the second round at Combatore and fourth round in Bengaluru.
The MRF supported duo of Team Akshara, who had suffered a massive crash in the opening stage on Saturday, returned to complete Day 2’s three stages to protect their lead. They did get three valuable leg points, that put the title beyond Fabid and Dean.
They garnered enough points in the two previous rallies nurturing their car and negotiating the dangerous terrain when most of the top guns failed to finish. Both these rounds saw most of the experienced and talented drivers bite the dust one after the other. But Chetan, with Dilip calling the notes, carefully and skillfully negotiated to take the wins under these tricky circumstances and those points stood them in good stead and brought them the championship which they richly deserved.
In cheeful mood after the rally. After the K1000 rally, a veteran rally fan could not help remember an old saying: “To finish first, one has to first finish the rally.’’ Chetan’s rivals, Fabid Ahmer and Dean Mascarenhas, who had a chance to topple Chetan needing 25 and 29 points respectively before the start of the Kerala leg, could not do much on Sunday. While Dean along with co-driver Shruptha Padival finished overall second in the Popular Rally, Fabid, along with navigator Sanath Gopalanhad, missed the INRC3 title by a whisker as a late penalty at the last TC cost them the title by a point. However, the youngster from Palakkad had the consolation of winning the Junior INRC title for 2019.
Meanwhile, speed maestro Gaurav Gill and co-driver Musa Sherif, retained the Popular Rally title, as the final round of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), promoted by Champions Yacht Club and organised by Southern Adventure and Motorsports concluded here on Sunday. Gill won the Popular Rally for the fifth time.
The Team Mahindra Adventure driver, supported by JK Tyre won SS9 and finished second in SS10 and SS11 on Day 2 to regain his aura over the weekend. Gill’s teammates, Dean Mascarenhas and Suhem Kabeer, too did well, taking the third and fourth positions in Popular Rally’s overall category.
Overall Winners: From left: Dr Bikku Babu & Milen George (2nd place), Musa Sherif & Gaurav Gill (winners) and Dean Mascarenhas & Shrupta Padival (3rd). Photo: CYC release Chetan, along with Dilip, nursed his car smartly, taking the tenth position in SS9 but revved up to the fifth in the last two stages for a valiant show. Chetan and Dilip also won the INRC3 title for a double dhamaka as Fabid and Sanath, earned a lat penalty.
In INRC3, Fabid who finished second behind Aditya Thakur and co-driver Virender Kashyap, had been demoted and Jacob KJ and PVS Murthy came second. Kuber Sharma and Karan Aukta finished third.
Team Champions’ Dr Bikku Babu (Milen George), a local favourite, finished third in the overall category and first in his own INRC 2 for a highly-rewarding Popular Rally. Tied with JK Tyre’s Dean Mascarenhas (Shruptha Padival) on 72 points at the start of the round, his win surely fetched him the National title in INRC 2 class.
In the INRC 4 category was won by Suraj Thomas and co-driver Sob George while Vaibhav Marathe (Arjun SSB) and Rakshith Iyer/Chandrashekhar finished second and third respectively. Vaibhav and Arjun garnered the National title in this class.
(Note: The results and the report were edited and revised on Dec. 23 at 12 noon after the official results which penalised an INRC3 driver changed the top-3 places and the title winner)
Provisional Results (Round 5): INRC Overall: 1. Gaurav Gill/ Musa Sherif – 1hour, 25min, 01.7sec; 2. Dr Bikku Babu/ Milen George – 1:29:16.300; 3. Dean Mascarenhas/ Shrupta Padival – 1:31:02.600.
INRC 2: 1. Dr Bikku Babu/ Milen George – 1:29:16.300; 2. Dean Mascarenhas/ Shrupta Padivel – 1:31:02.600; 3. Suhem Kabeer/ Jeeva Rathinam – 1:31:22.000.
INRC 3: 1. Aditya Thakur/ Virender Kashyap – 1:34:11.300; 2) Jacob K.J/ PVS Murthy – 1:34:46.300; 3. Kuber Sharma / Karan Aukta xx:xx.
INRC 4: 1. Suraj Thomas/ Sob George – 1:35:02.500; 2. Vaibhav Marathe/ Arjun SSB – 1:37:55.000; 3. Rakshith Iyer/ Chandrashekhar – 1:38:51.400.
SUV Challenge: 1. Nikhil J / Arjun Dheerendra 1:41:10.200; 2. Abishek Gowda/ Dheeraj Manae 1:42:58.100; 3. Gagan Karumbaiah/ Thimmu Uddapanda 1:44:10.100.
Junior INRC: 1. Fabid Ahmer / Sanath Gopalan; 2. Rakshith Iyer/ Chandrashekar; 3. Chandan KM/ Suraj M.
Chetan Shivram and Dilip Sharan, who rejoined the rally on Sunday. Photo by Angel Mabel Action freeze of Fabid Ahmer and Sanath Gopalan (both Palakkad) of Team Champions who missed the INRC3 title by a point but won the National title in Junior INRC on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar Vaibhav Marath (Goa) and Arjun SSB (Bengaluru), also of Team Champions, who won the National title in INRC4 class. Photo by Anand Philar John D Paul of Kuttukaran Group speaks at the PD as Vicky Chandhok, Chairman of APRC Rally Commission looks on, on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar -
Gaurav Gill takes the lead; Chetan Shivram crashes out but still in contention for National title
Gaurav Gill in action on Saturday in Popular Rally. Photos CYC Kottayam, 21 Dec 2019: India’s top rally driver Gaurav Gill and co-driver Musa Sherif of Team Mahindra Adventure stole the honours on the opening day and are set to retain their Popular Rally title in the fourth and final round of the Champions Yacht Club promoted Indian National Rally Championship under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (FMSCI) here on Saturday.
Organised by Southern Adventures and Motorsports Club, the stage rally had run eight stages today with three remaining for Sunday. There are three physical stages, all tarmac, run multiple times in the same direction and two stages in reverse direction too.
The JK Tyre supported duo, with Musa Sherif as co-driver, was trailing in the seventh position at the start of the round could well break into the podium if they manage to excel on the final day of the championship too. They have just 29 points after the first four rounds but could end up adding 39 points more if they remain unbeaten on Sunday as well. Despite his fightback, Gill would not be able to surpass the current overall leader, MRF’s Chetan Shivram (co-driver Dilip Sharan).
Bengaluru’s Chetan along with his brother Dilip a navigator, who were leading INRC 3 as well, endured a massive crash in the day’s first stage itself and failed to finish even one stage. But their 75 point put them on a safe place with only a mathematical chance still possible for Dean Mascarenhas and Fabid Ahmer to overthrow them for the National title, if they win tomorrow.
This Cunning Corner was the cause for four casualties including leader Chetan Shivram. Two cars toppled later. Another JK Tyre driver, Younus Ilyas (Harish Gowda) of Race Concepts team from Bengaluru, had a good day as they were the fastest in two of the special stages and Dr Bikku Babu, with co-driver Milen George, too posted good timings to stay on top of his class, INRC2. Younus and Bikku Babu are second and third in all the overall lead on Saturday.
INRC 3’s Fabid Ahmer supported by MRF Tyres, with Sanath Gopalan as navigator, with 51 points and INRC 2’s Dean Mascarenhas (Shruptha Padival) with 47 also remain in the fray for podium finishes in the overall category.
The INRC 2 seemed poised for the most thrilling ending as category leaders Dean Mascarenhas and Dr. Bikku Babu, both with 72 points, put up brave performances on Saturday. Dr Bikku took the first place in seven stages to steal a march over Dean, who chased him furiously. The winner of the two on Sunday could hope to emerge as the king in this class.
Fabid Ahmer took advantage of Chetan Shivram’s misfortune to give himself a good chance of claiming the INRC 3 title. Starting with 75 points, just 9 behind the leader, he would need to drive with the same care and hope that Chetan doesn’t start on Sunday to pull off a surprise victory. However, it was Aditya Thakur with co-driver Virender Kashyap who took the lead in this class on Saturday and will be gunning for their maiden Popular Rally title on Sunday.
Kerala duo Suraj Thomas and Sob George in action on Saturday. In INRC4, Suraj Thomas and Sob George took the lead in their home rally with the championship table topper Vaibhav Marathe and Arjun SSB lying in third place with three more stages to go on Sunday.
Provisional unaudited Results (after Leg 1/Day 1):
INRC Overall: 1. Gaurav Gill/ Musa Sherif – 1hour 2min 49.8sec; 2. Younus Ilyas/ Harish Gowda – 1:03:44.8; 3. Dr. Bikku Babu/Milen George – 1:05:37.9.
INRC 2: 1. Dr. Bikku Babu/ Milen George – 1:05:37.9; 2. Dean Mascarenhas/ Shrupta Padivel – 1:07:15.9; 3. Suhem Kabeer/ Jeeva Rathinam – 1:08:00.4.
INRC 3: 1. Aditya Thakur/ Virender Kashyap – 1:10:11.8; 2. Fabid Ahmer/ Sanath G – 1:10:33.7; 3. Jacob KS/ PVS Murthy – 1:10:38.4.
INRC 4: 1. Suraj Thomas/ Sob George – 1:10:40.3; 2. Shirole Prakhyat H /Bharath SM – 1:10:44.6; 3. Vaibhav Marate/ Arjun SSB – 1:12:45.3.
Younus Ilyas emerged as No.2 in the overall lead behind Gaurav Gill. -
Gaurav Gill exudes confidence; Popular Rally ceremonial start held on Thursday
Popular Rally flagged off on Thursday. Photo from Popular Rally team Kottayam, 19 Dec 2019: “The roads are beautiful. The amazing tarmac mountain roads are faster than last year. With the power of 200 BHP and special tyres from JK Tyres, I am looking forward for the stages to begin. I am very happy to be back at this Popular Rally,” said Gaurav Gill, who will defend his victory here last year as the stages begin on Saturday.
Popular Rally 2019, the fifth and final round of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) promoted by Champions Yacht Club was flagged off by Kerala’s Transport Minister AK Saseendran and Managing Director of Kuttukaran Group John K Paul in the presence of Clerk of the Course and popular rallyist Girijashankar Joshy, who retired recently.
Defending champion Gaurav Gill, who first took part in the Popular Rally as a biker in 1999, will be aiming to end the year on a high after a barren run as the Popular Rallygets under way here on Satruday with the special stages, adds an official press release on Friday.
The JK Tyre driver, along with his navigator Musa Sherif, has had a difficult season with technical failures playing spoilsport for him throughout the season. He is currently in the seventh position with 29 points from four rounds.
Popular Rally press conference in progress. Photo by Anand Philar His team-mate Dean Mascarenhas (& co-driver Shruptha Padivel) is third on the overall tally with 47 points and is leading his INRC 2 class. He, however, faces an uphill task as MRF drivers Chetan Shivram (with co-driver Dilip Sharan) and Fabid Ahmer (& Sanath G) are sitting pretty on the 1st and 2nd places in the overall category.
Chetan had emerged victorious in the last two rounds and has 75 points, a handy lead of 24 points. He has been the surprise package this season, driving steadily and smartly to be in line for his biggest victory. Team Champions’ Fabid with a total of 51 points will start as a strong contender in this round and is expected to narrow the gap, if not topple Chetan from the top.
Team Champions’ Dr. Bikku Babu along with his co-driver Milen George will be another driver to watch out for. He is currently placed fourth overall with 41 points and is tied on points with Dean in the INRC 2 category. He has been the stand-out performer of this season, will be in the mix and fancy his chances in the final round. Race Concepts’ Younus Ilyas (& Harish Gowda) is in the third place in INRC 2 category and is separated from the top-2 by just 13 points. The JK Tyre backed driver has the speed and quality to give a tough fight to the leaders on his home turf and change the script of the championship. He had won the Popular Rally last year and will definitely will look to draw inspiration from it and aim to finish on a glorious note.
In the INRC 3 category, it will be a two way fight between Chetan and Fabid. They are separated by just nine points and their fight will not only determine the outcome in the category but also will have a huge bearing on the overall scheme of things.
In the INRC 4 category, Team Champions’ Vaibhav Marathe is on top of the table with 90 points and looks poised to end the year on a high. He however will be wary of Rakshith Iyer who is breathing down his neck in the second place with 79 points.
To be held in Kottayam, the final round of the championship will see over 35 teams fight it out for the top honours. The rally to run on asphalt will cover over 530 kms including 121.74 kms earmarked for 12 Special Stages
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Rajendra, Jatin Jain win their classes: 5th round INRC for 2w
Mangaluru, 2 Dec 2019: The following riders won their respective classes in the fifth round of the MRF Mogrip Indian National Rally Championship for 2-wheelers 2019 which concluded near here today. The sixth and final round will be held in Bengaluru.
In the Super Bike Pro Experts Category, Rajendra RE of TVS Racing dominated the proceedings astride his RTR 200 for a comfortable win with over 7 minutes lead against second-place Nikhil Balakrishna.
In Super Bike (Expert) class Group A, Jatin Jain managed to beat Vishwas SD and Badal S Doshi of Mumbai to assure himself of the Championship title taking the top step on the podium.
Provisional final Results: (Organisers and FMSCI failed to provide the results to the Media on time, timings will be updated as and when received)
GROUP A
Class 1 – Super Bike (Pro Expert): 1. Rajendra RE; 2. Nikhil Balakrishna.
Class 1A – Super Bike (Expert): 1. Jatin Jain; 2. Vishwas SD; 3. Badal S Doshi.
GROUP B
Class 2 – Super Sport 130: 1. Nitesh G Poojary; 2. M Srikanth; 3. Hari Krishnan KS.
Class 3 – Super Sport 165: 1. Ishan Chandra; 2. Arshad Ali; 3. Francis PV.
Class 4 – Super Sport 260: 1. Imran Pasha; 2. Samuel Shajan Jacob; 3. Adnaan Ahmed.
Class 5 – Super Sport 400: 1. Sudeep Kottary; 2. Karthikeyan Dhanabal; 3. KN Rohan.
Class 6 – Super Sport 550: 1. Suhail Ahmed; 2. Arun Joy M; 3. Aneesh CK.
Class 7 – S0 to S3 Scooters upto 210cc (S0 to S3): 1. Syed Asif Ali; 2. Shamim Islam Khan; 3. Pinkesh Kishor Thakkar.
Class 8 – Ladies Class (Open Indian Motorcycles): 1. Aishwarya PM; 2. Dimpy A;
Class 9 – Star of Karnataka – 2/4 Stroke Motorcycles up to 210cc: 1. Rohith RS; 2. Shoeb M Khan; 3. Durgesh J.
ends
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MRF MoGrip INRC two-wheeler championship at Mangaluru from today
Mangaluru, 30 Nov 2019: A record number of 63 entries were received for the Rally of Mangaluru, the fifth and final round of the MRF Mogrip Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) for two-wheelers being organised under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (fmsci) at Panja, near Puttur, on Saturday.
Reigning champions in the top class, RE Rajendra of TVS Racing, astride an Apache RTR 450, leads Class 1 with 75 points followed by teammate R Nataraj (51). Rajendra, will spearhead the rally with six bikes in the class, the Super Bike Expert class. The TVS duo will be in the Super Bike pro-expert class. In class 2, there are 26 entries with Azeeb Mohammed leading the Class 2 and Ishan Chandra on top of Class 3 table. Aishwarya Pissay is on top of the ladies’ category which has two entries.
TVS Racing’s riders Syed Asif Ali, Shamim Khan, and Pinkesh Thakkar are expected to fight between themselves in the Scooter class. The ceremonial flag-off will be on Saturday and the action begins at Panja on Sunday. The riders will have to negotiate a total stage distance is 60km, to be run over two different stages in Karkala and Jaake.
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Chetan Shivaram-Dilip Sharan thwart pressure from Dr Bikku Babu-Milen to win K1000 Rally
Chetan Shivram (left) and Dilip Sharan on the podium after winning the K1000 rally, the 4th Round of Champiojns Yacht Club INRC 2019 in Bengaluru on Sunday. INDIAinF1 photo Bengaluru, 24 Nov 2019: Gaurav Gill, Dean Mascarenhas, Karna Kadur, Fabid Ahmer… the top drivers, stalwarts, experienced veterans, talented seniors and upcoming youngsters… many of them bit the dust. The unforgiving terrain of Khoday’s Special Stages saw that only 23 of the 50 cars finished the 44th edition of the K1000 rally, which was run entirely on a private property after many years, with special focus on spectator safety.
In the SUV Challenge, Gagan Karumbaiah (co-driver Thimmu Uddapanda) of Team Champions took the first place to virtually seal the 2019 title.
File photo of Chetan Shivram. @FB Coimbatore round winners, Chetan Shivaram and Dilip Sharan of Team Akshara won the fourth round of the Indian National Rally Championship after thwarting sustained pressure from Dr Bikku Babu and Milen George of Team Champions, and took the overall win by 12.7 seconds and also topped their class INRC3. The Doctor from Kerala had to be content with the overall second place but topped INRC2 and Team Mahindra Adventure’s second entry Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik were overall third, a good three minutes and 27 seconds behind, but were rewarded for finishing the rally with the top prize in the top class, the INRC. Chetan Shivaram took the overall lead in the Championship replacing Fabid Ahmer, with one round remaining, the Popular Rally in Kerala.
Mujeeb Rahman (left) and Goutham, INRC4 winners Motoring stalwart and speed demon Gaurav Gill and co-driver Musa Sherif, too, had a disappointing outing as he failed to take the start on Sunday and other pre-event favourites Dean Mascarenhas and Shruptha Padival (SS6), and Karna Kadur and Nikhil Pai (SS5) failed to finish the day along with championship leaders Fabid Ahmer and Sanath Gopalan (SS7).
After the shock exit of Gaurav Gill, order seemed to have been restored, with another JK favourite Dean Mascarenhas winning SS5. But he promptly fell in the next stage, leaving the field for Championship leader Fabid Ahmer. But the MRF driver, who was nursing his car carefully, suffered a mechanical failure in SS7 and tumbled out. “What looked like a promising result ended up with broken tie-rod end! Had to stop in SS7 when running 3rd Overall and 2nd in INRC3. We will bounce back at our home rally in Kerala,” quipped Fabid Ahmer.
“The top guns may not have fired today but we couldn’t have hoped for a more thrilling finish. It was good to see so many of the INRC 2 and 3 teams making a mark here, ahead of the known champions,” Hema Malini Nidamanuri, co-promoter of the INRC, said.
SUV winners of K1000 on 24 Nov 2019. (INDIAinF1 publishes other class winners’ photos as they usually get buried in mainstream media. We encourage drivers to send their winning photos to INDIAinF1@gmail.com) Photo: Prabhu Kethanur Dr Bikku Babu and Melen George, winners of INRC2 at K1000 on Sunday. Photo: FB Chethan Shivaram in action at K1000. Photo by Prabhu Kethanoor Fabid Ahmer and Sanath G stall in Special Stage 7 due to tie-rod failure on Sunday. @Fabid on FB File photo of Team Akshara. Courtesy: FB @ChetanShivram Final Provisional Unaudited Results:
Overall: 1. Chetan Shivaram/ Dilip Sharan (Akshara Racing) (1hour, 47minutes, 37.200seconds); 2. Dr Bikku Babu/ Milen George (Team Champions) (1:47:49.900); 3. Amittrajit Ghosh/ Ashwin Naik (Team Mahindra Adventure) (1:51.04.300).
INRC: 1. Amittrajit Ghosh/ Ashwin Naik (Team Mahindra Adventure) (1:51.04.300); 2. Phalguna Urs/ Chandramouli M (Sanp Racing) (1:53:00.500). (only two cars finished out of six)
INRC2: 1. Dr Bikku Babu/ Milen George (Team Champions) (1:47:49.900); 2. Sahil Khanna/ Rajit Kadian (Snap Racing) (1:52:00.200); 3. Younus Ilyas/Harish Gowda (Race Concepts) (4:50:24.200).
INRC3: 1. Chetan Shivaram/ Dilip Sharan (Akshara Racing) (1:47:37.200); 2. Jacob KJ/ Murthy PVS (Arka Motorsports) (1:53.35.600); 2. Pradeep Kumar/Ahammad Ansary (Pipe & Pipe) (2:19:58.000).
INRC4: 1. Mujeeb Rahaman/ Gautham CP (Privateers) (1:55:17.900); 2. Shirole Prakhyat H/ Bharath SM (Pvt) (1:57:16.300); 3.Satish Peddineni/ Vinay Kumar PM (Team Champions) (2:33:19.500).
FMSCI SUV Challenge: 1. Gagan Karumbaiah/ Thimmu Uddapanda (Team Champions) (2:47:46.800); 2. Thomas Kuncheria M/ Dwarakanath Sudarshan (Pvt.) (2:13:41.200); 3. Sanjay Agarwal/ Smitha N (Team Champions) (5:03:17.100).
(Note: Results were revised after confirmation from official version at 6.15pm.)
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Gaurav Gill takes lead in K1000; 24 of the 50 cars that took the start suffer casualties
Gaurav Gill leads K1000 at the end of Day 1 in Bengaluru on Saturday. Photo by Sriharsha Nadiger Bengaluru, 23 Nov 2019: Speed Maestro Gaurav Gill touched his wonted form, making an immediate impact as he returned to rallying, by speeding to the first-Special Stage win of the popular K1000 rally, the fourth leg of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC) at the Khoday’s stages in Amruthnagar, about 20km, near here, on Saturday. But the champion driver was forced to pay attention and drive with caution as the tough stages took a toll on many an experienced driver during the four stages run on Day 1. Still Gill won two of the four stages but displayed controlled aggression and went steady in the other two.
Of the 50 cars that took the flag at the ceremonial start on Friday, 24 cars suffered casualities on Day 1 in the demanding and treacherous dirt stages but five cars out of them will not be able to start the final day of the 44th K1000 Rally, promoted by Champions Yacht Club under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI). Only 45 cars will take the start on Sunday.
The Arjuna Awardee and three-time Asia Pacific Rally Championship winner, Gill, dashed with vengeance taking the 18.5km stage in 13min, 43.6sec, the only driver on the day to go under 14-min mark on Special Stage 1. The five-time INRC champion in JK Tyre colours, was followed by talented Karna Kadur, who took 29 seconds more behind him, but kept the pressure on Gill (co-driver Musa Sherif) to finish the day in second place. Karna Kadur and navigator Nikhil Pai, of Arka Motorsports, won Special Stage 4 to reduce the deficit and will be gunning for maximum points. Then, it was Dr Bikku Babu who sprang a surprise. Watch Prabhu Kethanoor’s 8-sec Video of Karna Kadur here…
But it was Dr Bikku Babu and Milen George, who won SS2. The doctor from Kerala, who was involved in reviving the Popular rally along with his team, pelted to take a stunning win and Karna despite losing time and finishing 7th in this stage came back and took the second place behind Gill and Musa Sherif in SS3 and went on to win SS4 to make up enough time and stand second, behind Gill, the Delhi-based master of speed.
Overall leader before the start of this round, Fabid Ahmer, driving a Volkswagen Polo, with partial sponsorship from MRF tyres, opted for the smart option, driving steadily in each of the four stages, with the finishing post in his mind. He was in the sixth position at the end of the day and could well go full throttle on the big day.
Fabid Ahmer and co-driver Sanath Gopal, of Team Champions, had their strategy of steady and clean driving as the track took a toll on man and machine on Saturday. Only Popular Rally is remaining in the calendar as the Coffee Day rally at Chikmagalur is likely to be cancelled for want of a sponsor. The Palakkad driver began with caution and was keen on completing the day and could only finish 8th in SS1 but reeled out consistent times and made sure he is safe. The duo was fifth in SS2 but again lost time in SS3 and SS4 finishing 7th and 8th respectively. But Dean Mascarenhas of Mangalore with Shruptha Padival as co-driver has finished the day in overall third and with only 7 points behind to Fabid’s 49, is likely to take the overall lead as INRC goes to Kerala for the last round. Dean has a lead of about 75 seconds to Fabid and will be looking to be cautious on the four stages to be run on Sunday.
Fabid and Sanath even fell behind brothers Chetan Shivaram and Dilip Sharan, who also compete in INRC3. The Bengaluru brothers are in 5th place at the end of the day. Chetan managed to take the 6th place in the first stage and put in some consistent time finishing 3rd in both SS2 and SS3 and clocked fourth best time in SS4 to finish overall 5th after four stages.
Mangaluru boy Dean Mascarenhas in action finishing Day 1 in second place in the K1000 at Bengaluru on Saturday. An INDIAinF1 image Dean, meanwhile, continued to hold sway in the INRC2 category, although he had Dr Bikku Babu and co-driver Milen George, breathing down his neck, only 9.8 seconds behind. The good doctor was the clear surprise package of the day, going past the winning post in SS2; he even left Gill in his wake in SS4, taking the second place to Gill’s third, and claimed the fifth position in SS3 and the 6th in SS1 to boast of the best show of the day. Shahil Khanna and Rajit Kadian are placed third in INRC2.
However, all eyes will be on Karna Kadur and Nikhil Pail. The Arka Motorsports duo, who had two disappointing rounds at Chennai and Coimbatore, showed their mettle to take the overall second position behind Gill and also in the INRC class. Karna showed glimpses of his talent and won SS4 with an impressive timing of 12:24.200. The technically sound driver could be a major threat on Sunday if he can control his speed and manage the tough terrain. They are also second in the INRC class behind Gill and are followed by Phalguna Urs and Chandramouli M, who recovered from a bad crash in Jodhpur.
The INRC 4 class, saw Vaibhav Marate suffering a setback, withdrawing from the first stage itself after a mechanical problem. He should, however, be back in action on Sunday to put his title aspirations back on track, gunning for stage points. In his absence, Mujeeb Rahman and co-driver Gautham CP, privateers on a Honda City took the top position on Day 1. Shirole Prakhyat and Bharath SM, on a Honda City VTech are second, followed by Karthik Arumugam and Lenin Jose in third place.
Thomas Kuncheria M and co-driver Dwarakanth Sudarshan brought their Maruti Gypsy to the top in the SUV Challenge class. Leaders Gagan Karumbaiah and Thimmu Uddapanda are trailing in second place and will be gunning for the final shot on Sunday to take back the lead. K Shivakumar Reddy and Dheeraj KV, also in a Gypsy, are place third with four more Special Stages to be run on Sunday.
“It was an exciting day, opening up the championship in this penultimate round,” Hema Malini Nidamanuri, co-promoter of the rally, said. “We got to see some amazing driving and I am sure it’s going to be even more fun on Sunday,” she added.
Satyapal, communication head, briefing the team at K1000 on Saturday. Photo Moto Port SeenaProvisional Unaudited Results after Leg 1 (Day 1):
Overall: 1. Gaurav Gill/ Musa Sherif (Team Mahindra Adventure) (52minutes; 58.200seconds); 2. Karna Kadur/ Nikhil Pai (Arka Motorsports) (53:47.800); 3. Dean Mascarenhas/ Shruptha Padival (Privateers) (54:14.300).
INRC: 1. Gaurav Gill/ Musa Sherif (Team Mahindra Adventure) (52minutes; 58.200seconds); 2. Karna Kadur/ Nikhil Pai (Arka Motorsports) (53:47.800); 3. Phalguna Urs/ Chandramouili M (Snap Racing) (55:37.800).
INRC2: 1. Dean Mascarenhas/ Shruptha Padival (Privateers) (54:14.300); 2. Dr Bikku Babu/ Milen George (Team Champions) 54:27.100; 3. Sahil Khanna/ Rajit Kadian (Snap Racing) (56:05.800).
INRC3: 1. Chetan Shivaram/ Dilip Sharan (Akshara Racing) (54:28.500); 2. Fabid Ahmer/ Sanath G (Team Champions) (55:32.900); 3. Pradeep Kumar/ Ahammad Ansary (Pipes & Pipes) (56:17.400).
INRC4: 1. Mujeeb Rahaman/ Gautham CP (Privateers) (58:56.100); 2. Shirole Prakhyat H/ Bharath SM (Pvt) (59:11.500); 3.Karthik Arumugam/ Lenin Jose (Pvt) (1:02:11.400).
FMSCI SUV Challenge: 1. Thomas Kuncheria M/ Dwarakanath Sudarshan (Pvt.) (1:07:09.700); 2. Gagan Karumbaiah/ Thimmu Uddapanda (Team Champions) (1:13:36.800); 3. K Shivakumar Reddy/ Dhiraj KV (Pvt.) (3:03:01.800).
Note: The report was edited and results added at 10.45 pm
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Fabid Ahmer ready to sustain momentum at K1000; Gaurav Gill back on track
Documentation by the drivers on Thursday at Resort Area83, the Rally HQ2 for K1000. By David Bodapati
Bangalore, 22 Nov 2019: Overall championship leader Fabid Ahmer and co-driver Sanath Gopalan, from Kerala, are raring to go and are eager to reinforce their lead in the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) as the 44th edition of the popular K1000 Rally begins here on Saturday.
The rally attracted a record number of 55 entries with the number 13 left out of the lot, with no stickering done due to the supposed bad-omen it brings. About 49 cars took the start at the Ceremonial Start on Friday.
However, Team Champions’ Fabid and Sanath duo, who got their Volkswagen Polo tyres sponsored by MRF, will face stiff competition from rival JK Tyre-supported Dean Mascarenhas and Shruptha Padival, the winners of the season opener in Chennai, also in a VW Polo. But both the pairs will be wary of speed maestro Gaurav Gill, who will be rallying after a gap of two months, after the unfortunate incident in Jodhpur.
The Mahindra Adventure team’s Gill, navigated by veteran Musa Sherif, stated that he put the `tragedy’ behind him and was eager to get back on wheels in the WRC2 in Australia, but the rally was cancelled due to bush fires and the multiple-Indian National champion lost a chance to get back into the groove. But the three-time Asia Pacific Rally Champion want to be back in full force and it would be a pleasure to see him ease into his own gracious self, thrilling the crowds with speeds, only he can churn out. “I have always enjoyed driving here in the K-1000. I am really looking forward to go out there and enjoying myself. Hopefully, things will turn in my favour this weekend,” said Gill who is currently fifth in the championship along with Musa Sherif.
Karna Kadur and co-driver Nikhil Pai, are always a threat to any team in K1000, and Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik, the second team of Mahindra Adventure, will also be looking to make amends for a late-season splash. Rahul Kantharaj and Vivek Bhatt, in INRC2 and brothers Chethan Shivaram and Dilip Sharan winners of the Coimbatore rally will be the others to watch out for. The other INRC2 pair of Dr Bikku Babu and Milen George can spring a surprise, or two.
Gaurav Gill at the Ceremonial Start at the Uru Brewpark in Amruthnagar, on Friday. Photo by Sriharsha Nadiger Champions Yacht Club promoted National Championship, under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (FMSCI) will enter its final stretch, with its Round 4, the K-1000 Rally at a private property in the Garden City. The premier rally organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club is one of the oldest rallies in the country but after a chequered run, the previous promoters, RRPM, denied K1000 a round in the 2019 National Championship, after many successful decades of running.
The final round, the Coffee Day Rally at Chikmagalur is a doubtful starter with the Coffee Day said to be withdrawing the full sponsorship support after the death of its founder Siddharth but the postponed Popular Rally is likely to be held in December or January. The Popular Rally was put off due to a PIL filed in a Kerala court but the court refused to stop the rally.
Along with Fabid Ahmer, INRC4 topper Vaibhav Marate from Goa along with co-driver Arjun, too would get the support from MRF. Both of them are comfortably placed in their categories and look poised to end the year on a high note. Fabid and Sanath, representing Team Champions are also leading INRC 3 class and have a unique style of driving that can be smooth and graceful. Fabid and Sanath, are also leading the Junior INRC class.
The Mangalore pair of Dean and Shruptha are leading the INRC2 class with 65 points followed by another JK stablemate, Younus Ilyas (42 points).
“We have a very strong field of 55 teams in this round too, creating a record in itself,” Vamsi Merla, the promoter of INRC, said. “Every category is very closely contested, with the backing of two very strong supporters. This is what motorsport is all about,” he added.
The rally will have a Special Stage distance of 125km split into two legs. Leg one on Saturday with six Special Stages will run for a distance of 75km while the leg 2 on Sunday will have 50km distance. There are two physical stages, Khoday’s Lakes and Khoday’s Woods. The rally is run completely in private property, in the Resort Area83 and partly in Khoday’s property. The Lakes stage is 18.5km and Woods stage is 6.5km. Both the stages will be run thrice in the same direction on Saturday and twice in reverse direction on Sunday. Fortunately, the liaison distance will be one of the shortest in the recent times with the drivers taking only 13.8km in transport distance. It is a pity that the crowd favourite stage, the Super Special Stage is done away with, this year.
(Note added on Nov 24: Despite SR on FMSCI (on Nov 22) saying six stages on Day1, only four were run in the actual rally.)
The Rally offers a prize money of Rs.1 lakh for the top three classes and Rs.75,000 for INRC4, and Rs.40,000 for SUV class. Rally teaser!
A new clause is added in the Supplementary Regulations, in hind sight, for “Accident Reporting’’: If a driver taking part in a rally is involved in an accident in which a member of the public sustains physical injury, the driver concerned must report this to the next radio point as specified in the road book and signposted on the route according to Article 3.3.3 of the GP’s. If he fails to observe this rule, the Stewards may impose on the crew responsible, a penalty which may go as far as disqualification. The laws of the country must also be complied with in relation to procedures at accidents.
POINTS TABLE after 3 rounds: INRC: 1. Fabid Ahmed & Sanath G 49 points; 2. Dean Mascarenhas & Shruptha Padival 42 points; 3. Chetan Shivram & Dilip Sharan 40 pts.
INRC 2: 1. Dean Mascarenhas & Shruptha Padival 65 points; 2. Younus Ilyas & Harish Gowda 42 points; 3. Vinoth G Kumar & Krishna Charan Dasari 35 points.
INRC 3: 1. Fabid Ahmed & Sanath G 69 points; 2. Chetan Shivram & Dilip Sharan 45 points; 3. Arjun Rao & Rajit Kadian 30 points
INRC 4: 1. Vaibhav Marate & Arjun SSB 74 points; 2. Rakshith Iyer & Chadrashekar 58 points; 3. Suraj Thomas & Shob George 41 points.
SUV Challenge: 1. Gagan Karumbaiah & Thimmu Uddapanda 78 points; 2. Sanjay Agarwal & Smitha N 60 points; 3. Nikhil J & Arjun Dheerendra 49 points.
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Prithvi Dhillon adjudged best rider of the final round in Goa: MRF MoGrip Supercross Nationals
Goa, 20 Nov 2019: Chandigarh Rider Prithvi Dhiillon won the fifth and final round of the MOGRIP-FMSCI MRF Supercross championship held in Sao José de Areal, here, on Sunday.
Prithvi headed in SX-1-Foreign Open Class while veteran Kerala rider CD Jinan won the second place and Yuvraj Konde Deshmukh of Ajmera Racing finished third. Prithvi was also awarded the best rider of the event.
With the Goa leg, Supercross Nationals, the biggest off-road two-wheeler Nationals, the National Supercross Championship came to an end. The previous four rounds of the season were held in Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Baroda and Nashik.
Provisional results: SX-I foreign open class (up to 250 CC/500 CC): Prithvi Dhillon (Chandigarh), CD Jinan (TVS Racing), Yuvraj Konde Deshmukh (Ajmera Racing), Rugved Barguje (TVS Racing), Zabl Mulla (Goa).
Novice Group C (up to 260 CC, Moto 1): Sachin D (TVS Racing), RE Rajendra (TVS Racing), Abhi S Nath (Thrissur), M Kolimohan (TVS Racing), Vikram Sekhar (Coimbatore)
Local class (up to 260 CC, Moto 1): Ankush Rao; Shabuddin Sayed, Sushant Borkar, Aksar Ali, Tanveer Shaikh (all from Goa).
Indian Express Class C (up to 260 CC): M Kalimohan (TVS Racing), RE Rajendra (TVS Racing), Abhi S Nath (Thrissur), S Karthikeyan (Pollachi), Banteilang Jyrwa (TVS Racing).
Private experts (up to 260 cc): Abhi S Nath (Trissur), Asaruddin S (Coimbatiore), S Karthikeyan (Pollachi), Shabuddin Sayed (Goa), Sushant Borkar (Goa)
SX-2 (up to 250 cc): VM Mahesh (Thrissur), Prithvi Dhillion (Chandigarh), Zabi Mulla (Goa), Yash Pawar (Nashik), Pramod Joshua (Bengaluru)
JR SX-1 (up to 250 cc): Yuvraj Konde Deshmukjh (Ajmera Racing), Sarthka Chavan (Pune), Shlok Ghorpade (Satara), Jinendra Sangave (Ichalka Racing), B Sujan (Goa)
JR X-2 (up to 250 cc): Ikshan Shanbhag (Satara), Shlok Ghorpade (Satara), Jinendra Sangave (Ichalka Racing), Akshat Huple (Pune), Suffiyan Shaikh (Goa).
