Shahan will represent India in the Grand Final at Sarno in Italy between October 19 to 26 where drivers from nearly 60 countries will participate
Shahan Ali Mohsin displays caution with an eye on the title as the karters were forced to race on slicks as rain hits the last race of the National Championship. An INDIAinF1 image
Bengaluru, 25 August 2019: Talented Agra racer, Shahan Ali Mohsin won the JK Tyre fmsci Senior National Karting Championship and became the youngest to bag the senior crown as the Nationals concluded at Meco Kartopia on Satuday.
In the fifth and final round, Shahan came third in the Pre-final race and went on to claim the second place in the Final in a wet race after the slight rain but the two podium places were enough as he went into the last round with a 12-point advantage.
“First of all, it was a big relief to get over the line,” Shahan said sporting a smile, as ever. “Even though you have a handy lead, it is still that you need to finish the weekend. A small technical error and it can snatch away all your points. There is no doubt that I am extremely happy to become the youngest driver to win in the Senior category of the Indian National Karting championship.”
Shahan, who also started to take part in the Formula racing this season, took part in the Round 2 of the MRF F1600 Championship at Chennai this month but had a mixed bad as he encountered rain for the first time in his single-seater career. But this week-end, he was back to his karting roots for the final round of 2019 JK Tyre FMSCI National Rotax Championship.
Shahan with with the Championship Trophy in Senior Category.
Shahan was the youngest to compete in the Senior category when he made his debut in the top category last year. The year helped him to learn the nitty-gritty at the senior level and now he is crowned as the youngest Indian National Karting champion in the Senior category. Juniors are allowed to compete in the senior category as per the guidelines set by the FIA and CIK, especially with regards to the age limit.
It was a straightforward start to his weekend as he qualified on pole and won Heat 1 and Heat 2 but after the rains, he was cautious and the two podiums were enough for his to seal the championship.
It was Shahan’s sixth championship win in four years. The Senior title of 2019 adds to his 2015 Indian National Cadets, 2016 Asian Cadets, 2016 Indian National Cadets, 2018 Indian National Junior, and 2018 Indian Junior X30 series.
“It was a day of mixed weather as it started out to dry but the two races towards the end were under tricky conditions, with the finals being a crazy race where we were running on the slick tyres in wet conditions. It was all about bringing the kart home with enough points to seal the championship. A big thanks to my team MSport and JK Tyre without whom, this wasn’t possible.”
File photo of Suhail Ahmed from Round 1. Suhail will be gunning for top honours in the C6 550cc class. Photo: Facebook @MotoPortSeena
Coimbatore, 22 August 2019: TVS Racing star Rajendra RE, who made a clean sweep of all the three rounds thus far in Pro-Expert Group A, will be missing the Round 4 of the MRF MoGrip fmsci Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) for two-wheelers here on Sunday.
Teammates Tanweer and defending champion R Nataraj too failed to submit the required documents during the scrutiny and the Group A event is expected to be cancelled. All the riders will be hoping for dry weather after the wet and slushy Round 3 in Pune and locals and other stars like Venu Ramesh Kumar and Suhail Ahmed will be gunning for overall honours.
The 2W Rally of Coimbatore, promoted by Godspeed Racing of Pune and organised by Coimbatore Auto Sports Club (CASC), will be run on a mix of dirt and gravel Special Stages. The event has attracted 70 riders in nine classes.
The total distance of the route including the transport section is 109.27 km. The two Special Stages, Black Thunder (14.35 km) and the Thunder World (14.10 km) will be run twice in the same direction taking the Special Stage rallying distance to 56.90 km.
The nine classes that form the National championship are Super Bike (Pro Expert, Group A), Super Bike (Expert Group A), Super Sport 130 Group B, Super Sport 165 Group B, Super Sport 260 Group B, Super Sport 400 Group B, Super Sport 550 Group B and Scooter 210 Group B and Ladies Class Group B.
A dozen local riders have entered for the Star of Tamil Nadu category which is run exclusively for riders from Tamil Nadu.
INDIAinF1 starts a series on champion drivers and riders beginning this week. As we head to the third round of the Indian National Rally Championship in Jodhpur next Sunday, we feature Lokesh Gowda, the winner of SUV Challenge at the second round in the Rally of Coimbatore.
Car #3 Lokesh Gowda and Uday winning the Sprint de Bengaluru near Chikkaballapur in March. Photo by Arun T Pillai
Bengaluru 19 August 2019: The Indian National Rally Championship has always been a flagship event in Indian motorsports and it enjoyed huge patronage and high visibility with both the fans and the participants embracing it to make it popular and ever-green.
However, the Rally Nationals in two-wheelers suffered many breaks and heartaches before the championship was revived once again. Likewise, the rally events in the last few years have taken a beating with rising costs and other ground-level difficulties faced by drivers and teams alike, and the promoters and organisers too despite their best efforts have failed to pump-in the necessary resources both financially and otherwise to promote the sport. INRC has become a shortened event winding up in one-and-a-half days and the huge amounts that the promoters have to pump in, has strained even the big guns.
Under these circumstances, the arrival of Champions Yacht Club as the new Promoter has brought in a whiff of fresh air for the drivers and teams. Though the stage distances and the format remains the same, many drivers found new enthusiasm with the Champions Group fielding teams in all classes and backing them with the much-needed financial and technical support. Many talented and even experienced drivers and co-drivers were supported by the group and some of them have regained their wonted form with many of the nitty-gritty issues taken care of by the Team.
One of such drivers who was back in the limelight with Champions Group picking him up to drive for Team Champions is Lokesh V Gowda. The former celebrated bike rider, who pairs with talented navigator Sudhindra BG, has tuned his Honda CRV to field it in the SUV Challenge in the INRC. After their winning exploits in the curtain-raiser at the Sprint de Bengaluru, the Bengaluru duo put behind the travails at Chennai, where they had suffered a set back in the South India Rally and bounced back in the second round at Coimbatore, thriving the tricky terrain at the Windmill farms of Kethanur, and mastered the slushy conditions to come out triumphant in the SUV class. For the record, Team Champions made a sweep of all the three podium places in this class.
The top three places in the SUV Challenge went to Lokesh Gowda and co-driver Sudhindra BG who won the support class, while Gagan Karumbaiah and Thimmu Uddapanda pair came second followed by veteran Sanjay Agarwal and Smitha N.
Usually, the top classes always hog the media limelight and to support other winners, this Indian Motorsports website, www.INDIAinF1.com, will start a series of articles, beginning today, to feature the winners in the lower categories, as they too deserve appreciation for the hard work and dedication, which is no less than any other class. Today we feature Lokesh Gowda.
Well-deserved winners in the SUV Challenge class, Lokesh Gowda and Sudhindra on the podium in Coimbatore
At the turn of the century, Lokesh Gowda made his debut in motorsports as a bike rider in 2001, at a local Autocross event, and soon he became addicted to motocross after winning his class in his third-ever event. And immediately, the passion found its strong roots.
“As a teenager, I was always intrigued by motorsports especially two-wheelers and the cross-country rallies ignited my interest. In 2001, I started with a local 2w autocross event and it was an instant addiction,” said Lokesh, who took to the sport, like a duck to water.
“From there-on I followed my passion, participated in local autocross events and started competing with professional riders,” he added. Soon his talent was noticed and his dedication yielded results with the stalwarts at Yamaha spotting him. He was selected as a Factory Rider for Team Yamaha India in 2002.
“I toured all over the country, racing for Team Yamaha for the next three years winning multiple events and motorsports became a way of life,” Lokesh quipped. He went on to win the MRF National Motocross Championship in 2003 and retained with equal vigour in 2004 to become a National champion twice in quick succession but unfortunately, he faced a jolt… out of the blue with Yamaha pulling out of racing in India.
He continued rallying as a privateer in the 2-wheeler category for a few more years making that much more effort without the support that factory-backing brings both financially and otherwise but a major on-track crash, at the INRC Chikmagalur event saw him fracture his right elbow and he also damaged his right shoulder in 2009.
Lokesh Gowda in his hey days. A file photo of Lokesh taking a jump during one of the INRC events.
It was the first year when IMG Sports and PSP together began to bring some professionalism into the sport bringing in much-needed facilities for the drivers and riders. The accident brought to focus the need to bring in more safety measures but unfortunately, Lokesh has decided to rest his bike.
But they say passion never dies. And soon Lokesh was back on the track, but this time he switched to cars. “In 2011, I moved into 4-wheeler dirt racing because it offered much comfortable driving in comparison to 2W rallying due to my arm injury as I felt, I could race without causing more damage to my shoulder or elbow,” the champion revealed.
Starting with Indian National Autocross Champion in 2012 he finished as the first runner-up in the championship and moved into Indian National Rally Championship in 2013 as a co-driver.
In 2014, he participated in the popular home event of K1000 in Bangalore as a driver and followed it with the Coffee Day Rally where he finished 2nd. In the following years, he continued participating in several Dirt events, Autocross events, Quarter-Mile drags along with INRC and won many of them.
But when queried why he maintained a low profile, he said: “Unfortunately, in India, a motorsport rallyist’s passion takes a backseat when it comes to nurturing dreams. The lack of attention to the sport, the ‘Zero’ funding, athletes receive from the government and the lack of sponsors are big obstacles for any participant to go forward. “Each one of us in the sport is deeply into self-budgeting our expenses. Many of us spend from our personal savings to continue the sport and keep up our passions alive and we run dry pretty soon. The same happened to me and so I had to stop rallying again after 2015. Getting a sponsor was a task in itself,” he quipped with a tinge of disappointment writ large on his face.
But his face lit up as soon as we started to talk about the present scenario. “Thanks to Team Champions, who came forward bringing in immense support. They provided the funding and importantly rekindled our interest imposing confidence in me. Their interest towards the betterment of rally drivers and motorsports in the country made me rethink and I joined the Team in 2018,” he said. He did not forget to thank Subhakar Rao, the team owner and promoter Mrs.Hemamalini Nidamanur of Champions Yacht Club. “Vamcy Merla has been a great support and he also helped us to get additional support from the JK Tyre,” he added talking about how drivers were helped to rope-in corporate sponsorship, though partially.
“The second round of INRC at Coimbatore has been great and rewarding considering the unsuccessful run I had at Chennai. Thanks to JK Tyres for their great support and sponsoring at the Rally of Coimbatore, I finished first in the SUV category. I am looking forward to next round in Jodhpur and winning this year’s championship title,” he concluded.
The Round 3 of the Champions Yacht Club fmsci INRC for four-wheelers will take place in Jodhpur, Rajasthan from September 20 to 22.
Chetan Shivaram and Dilip Sharan of Team Akshara win the overall title in the Rally of Coimbatore. Photo by Venu Ramesh
Coimbatore, 11 August 2019: Brothers Chetan Shivram and Dilip Sharan of Team Akshara, played a cautious game and focussed on keeping the car on track with a safety-first approach, to chalk-out a deserving win in the Rally of Coimbatore, the second round of the fmsci Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), promoted Champions Yacht Club, at the Windmill farms of Kethanur, near here on Sunday.
Chetan painted the town yellow in his stock Volkswagen Polo prepared by FRK Racing and supported by Ideal Racing and displayed controlled aggression with his brother Sharan calling the notes. The focussed Bengaluru duo weathered a sustained challenge from Race Concepts’ Younus Ilyas and Harish Gowda, the INRC Sprint champions and won by a narrow margin of 4.6 seconds. Further behind, the talented youngster from Kerala Arakkal Fabid Ahmer, with co-driver Sanath Gopalan, also in a Polo prepared by Chettinad Sporting came third for Team Champions. Fabid who was trailing 5th overnight also won the second place in the INRC 3 class.
Chetan Shivaram and Dilip Sharan on the podium. Photo. Chetan’s FB post
Nurturing their four-second lead was made easy as overnight second-placed privateer Suhem Kabeer and co-driver Jeevarathinam clocked 14min, 43.10sec and lost time in the 6th stage to Chetan’s 8:21.30, as they got stuck in the slush but behind them Younus Ilyas (Harish) of Race Concepts who were running third, started reducing the 19-second gap. Chetan Shivaram, however, managed to cling on to the lead and not only won the overall title but also topped the INRC 3 category. Despite losing six minutes or so, Suhem held on to the third place in INRC 2 class but lost the overall podium finishing 15th. Younus was ahead in two of the three stages but that was not enough as they settled for overall second place.
But Younus and Harish had the consolation bagging the title in the INRC 2 category. For the record, it was the doctor from Kerala, Bikku Babu, along with co-driver Milen George who won all the three stages today with top-notch driving. But the experienced Kerala duo found it too difficult to make up the time, over an hour, which they lost in SS5 on Saturday.
Vaibhav Marate and Arjun Balachandran’s Honda City flying through windmill stages. Photo Prabhu Kethanur
But the highlight of the day was the drive from talented youngster from Mangalore Dean Mascarenhas, who fielded his VW Polo as a privateer along with navigator Shruptha Padival. The duo who are leading the championship coming into Round 2, lost a lot of time on Saturday but made tremendous progress jumping 32 places to finish overall 10th and had the bonus of a second place in the INRC 2 category.
While many started today to get leg points, 17 cars failed to finish among the 57 that took the start on Saturday. Pre-event favourites Gaurav Gill and Musa Sherif of Team Mahindra Adventure once again suffered for want of dependable machine and finished 44th in line with teammates Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik who were 43rd. Karna Kadur and Nikhil Pai of Arka Motorsports too had a forgettable event finishing 50th overall.
Younus Ilyas and Harish Gowda pose during the Rally of Coimbatore. Photo: FB
In the SUV Challenge, Team Champions swept the podium winning all the top-three places. Lokesh Gowda and co-driver Sudhindra BG won the support class while Gagan Karumbaiah and Thimmu Uddapanda pair came second followed by veteran Sanjay Agarwal and Smitha N.
The next round of the championship will move to Jodhpur in Rajasthan from Septemeber 20 to 22. Kochi, Bengaluru, and Chikkamagaluru will host the last three rounds respectively in November and December.
Gagan Karumbaiah and co-driver Thimmu Uddapanda who won the SUV Challenge cruising on Saturday stages. Photo: Venu Ramesh
Chetan Shivaram (left) and Dilip Sharan who took the lead after Day 1. An INDIAinF1 image
Coimbatore, 10 August 2019: On a day full of surprises, INRC 3’s Chetan Shivram of Akshara Racing jumped into the early lead in the Rally of Coimbatore, Round 2 of the Champions Yacht Club FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship, here on Saturday. The overnight rains made the terrain at the Kethanur Windmill farms in Palladam very slushy and only 33 cars of the 58 that started finished the day.
Chetan and his brother co-driver Dilip Sharan were most comfortable in the treacherous terrain, marked by slushy conditions and loose sand, posting a total time of 1:05:32.900 hours to complete Day 1’s five stages to be ahead of a record field.
Suhem Kabeer (with Jeevarathinam) and Younus Ilyas (Harish Gowda) were hot on the tail of the leader, taking the second and third positions by the end of the day. The two JK Tyre drivers, both INRC 2 contenders, were in their elements, with Suhem showing consistency in all the stages while Younus won the last two stages to climb into the top three.
Hot favourite Gaurav Gill (Musa Sherif) of Mahindra Adventure gets stuck in the INRC on Day 1, Saturday at Coimbatore. An INDIAinF1 image by Prabhu Kethanur
Hot favourite Mahindra Adventure’s Gaurav Gill (Musa Sherif) began on a positive note, scoring the fastest times in the first three stages before he picked up a puncture in SS 4 and had to eventually pull out with a malfunction.
Even Karna Kadur and Nikhil Pai of Arka Motorsports and comeback boy Vikram Mathias, along with co-driver Sujith Kumar of Race Concepts had a rough day, falling out of contention after the third stage. Round 1 winner Dean Mascarenhas managed to finish but a very poor second stage that got his car stuck in slush hurt him badly, sliding him to the 20th position.
Rahul Kantharaj and co-driver Vivek Bhatt negotiate slushy terrain on Saturday. Photo: Venu Ramesh Kumar
“After continuous rainfall last night, it suddenly became sunny in the morning leading to the surface becoming really hard. There were stones all over the stages which made it difficult. I am obviously not happy with my current scenario but would say that I would take it as a learning experience and I will bounce back strong,” Gaurav said after the end of Day 1.
Interestingly, none of the 6 INRC entries managed to finish on the first day.
Right behind Suhem and Younus in the INRC 2 category was Ritesh Guttedar (& Lokaranjan H.J) of Team Champions, who is well-placed in the overall category too, finishing fourth.
Coimbatore, 9 August 2019: Multiple National champion and APRC winner Gaurav Gill and his trusted co-driver Musa Sherif, will start a firm favourites despite Dean Mascarenhas stealing a victory at the South India Rally with navigator Shrupta Padival in the season opener of Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) at Irungattukottai, as the second round starts at the rain-beaten windmill sections of Coimbatore from Saturday.
Round 1 winner Dean of Mangaluru will aim to consolidate his lead at the top of the leader-board, as the Rally of Coimbatore, the Round 2 of the Champions Yacht Club promoted National event begins under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) here over the weekend.
Dean, who beat a last-minute rush to get his car ready due to some unavoidable situation, heads his INRC 2 table (with co-driver Shruptha Padival) will, however, need to be at his best as he tackles a 65-strong field and slushy conditions out here. He will keep his eye firmly on INRC 3’s Fabid Ahmer (co-driver Sanath.G) of Team Champions, who showed great skill and composure to take the second overall place in the Chennai round.
Sporting the yellow colours, Dean will, however, be wary of his JK Tyre teammate Gaurav Gill, a three-time APRC champion. Gill and Musa Sherif spearhead Mahindra Adventure’s campaign and will be looking to make amends for missing out on the top podium place in the opening round.
Gill had shown remarkable recovery, after struggling with his car in the initial stages, to finish third. He comes into this round on the back of a thrilling win in the Dakshin Dare and will come out all guns blazing for his seventh INRC title.
Arka Motorsport’s Rahul Kanthraj (along with Vivek Bhatt) is just a second off Gill in the overall standings and will also be a driver to look out for. He is currently second in the INRC 2 category.
Team Champions’ Arjun Rao (along with navigator Shanmuga Sundaram) will be another top driver who will look to maintain his good run in the championship. He is second in the INRC 3 category and will be keen to topple his teammate Fabid from the top spot.
The Rally of Coimbatore has attracted a record number of 65 teams, with Team Champions fielding as many as 25 teams, a record of sorts in the INRC.
The rally will span over two days covering a total distance of 141.09 kms, with 119.70 kms earmarked for eight special stages.
The three-day rally was flagged off on Thursday evening at Kethanur on the outskirts, where it be run around 120 kms at special stages on gravel and dirt tracks, Club Head Gautham Shantappa said earlier.
Four women teams are participating in the event. A woman contestant, Shivani from Davangere in Karnataka, who was present said women were receiving good encouragement to participate in such rallies.
The third round will be held in Rajasthan in September, followed by events in Kochi in November, Bengaluru in November and the sixth and final round in Chikkamagaluru in December, Gautham concluded.
Team Champions’ Dean Mascarenhas(L) & Shrupta Padival(R) after winning the South India Rally at MMRT on Sunday. A Team Champions image
Irungattukottai (Sriperumbudur), 30 June 2019: Team Champions’ Dean Mascarenhas survived a late but spirited onslaught from three-time APRC winner and WRC2 driver Gaurav Gill to win the opening round of the Champions Yacht Club – FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship here on a nail-biting Sunday.
Going into the third and final leg with a 10-second overall lead and a handy 1.41 minutes over Gill, Mascarenhas (Shruptha Padival) would have hoped for a pressure-free day in the office. But an errant car and a possessed Gill saw his lead being steadily wiped out from both ends, raising the specter of a sensational last-minute upset.
However, Team Mahindra’s Gill (Musa Sherif) who finished second in the day’s first stage and won all remaining four, suffered a massive blow in the penultimate stage. Just as he was racing like the wind, a herd of cows came in his path, costing him anything between 7 to 10 seconds.
Dean gets an affectionate hug from his mother after winning the INRC opening round at MMRT on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar
He was awarded 10 seconds by the Stewards for the unfortunate delay, catapulting him to the third position in the overall category. It was sufficient to win him the INRC category too but not good enough to dislodge Mascarenhas or Fabid Ahmer.
Rahul Kanthraj (Vivek Bhatt), however, was edged out of the podium in the overall category by a mere one second.
“We worked very hard to make up for the lackluster first two days,” Gill said. “We changed the tyres and the setup at every opportunity and it paid dividends until bad luck hit us,” he added.
Gill’s JK Tyre partner Mascarenhas was, however, delighted with his breakthrough victory. “My car had lost one of the four cylinders on Saturday itself and it kept stalling, adding to the pressure. I, however, held my nerves and came through, making this one of my sweetest wins,” he said.
The South India Rally, Round One of the INRC powered by MRF, turned out to be a thrill-a-minute blockbuster, with the 19-strong Team Champions stunning all and winning almost all the categories.
Dean and Fabid Ahmer (Sanath G) made it a sensational 1-2 for the Shubhakar Rao-owned team, with Dean also taking the INRC 2 and Fabid the INRC 3. Vaibhav Marate (Arjun SSB) annexed the INRC 4.
RESULTS
INRC Overall
1) Dean Mascarenhas & Shruptha Padival – 1:45.10.800 hr; 2) Fabid Ahmer & Sanath G – 1:45:24.400 hr; 3) Gaurav Gill & Musa Sherif – 1:45:27.800 hr
Chennai, 29 June 2019: On a day of stunning upsets and rapidly changing fortunes, talented Mangaluru driver Dean Mascarenhas of Team Champions proved to be the man to watch, as he stormed into the lead in the Champions’ Yacht Club fmsci Indian National Rally Championship here on Saturday.
The INRC 2 driver, supported by JK Tyre, won Stage 3 and took the second position in Stage 6 to finish the Day 2 on a high, taking a 9.3-second lead. He along with navigator Shruptha Padival needed just 54.48.800 minutes to complete the two legs.
Arka Motorsports’ Rahul Kanthraj (Vivek Bhatt), also an INRC 2 contender, made the most of his brilliant second-place run on Day 1 to rise to the second position in the overall category. INRC 3’s Fabid Ahmer (Sanath G) took the third position, making it a disappointing outing for the heavyweights.
It began with hot favourite and six-time INRC winner Gaurav Gill, who could only manage the ninth position after struggling with his brand new XUV300. He put up a spirited fight in the latter half of the day, even winning the last stage to show that he was still in the hunt.
Gill, another JK man, managed one second-place and two fourth-place finishes to be 1:41.500 minutes off the leader. His Mahindra Adventure teammate Amittrajit Ghosh slipped into the lead in the INRC category, although he was sixth in the overall pecking order.
The South India Rally, Round 1 of the INRC powered by MRF, got off to a stunning start on Friday evening, with Team Champions’ Biku Babu (Milen George) winning the spectacular Triple S stage. He continued his big push in Day 2’s early stages but he dropped out in Stage 4 with a mechanical problem to miss out on a golden opportunity to make a mark.
Former INRC champion Karna Kadur took the second position and began Saturday on a positive note, claiming the day’s first stage. But he faded out as the day progressed to kiss his chances goodbye in this round.
Team Akshara’s Chetan Shivram (Dilip Sharan) won two stagesbut had to be content with the second position in INRC 3, although he is just one second behind the leader in this group: Team Champions’ Fabid Ahmer (Sanath G).
Results (Provisional):
INRC Overall: 1) Dean Mascarenhas & Shruptha Padival – 54.48.800; 2) Rahul Kanthraj & Vivek Bhatt – 54.58.100 min; Fabid Ahmer & Sanath G – 55:03.000 mins
Chennai, 28 June 2019: The all-new Champions Yacht Club-FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship 2019 got off to an explosive start here on Friday, with a record number of cars led by the country’s most celebrated driver Gaurav Gill squaring up for an epic faceoff.
As many as 51 top rallyists from across the country, fielded by five major teams, including 19 by Team Champions, and many privateers, took off in front of a big crowd to set the tone for an exciting season. The clashes began with a first-of-its-kind Super Special Stage at the MMRT, giving spectators a rare glimpse of all the action from close proximity.
It’s a new beginning for three-time APRC and six-time INRC champion Gill too as he made the shift from MRF to JK Tyre in the hope of conquering new frontiers. The Mahindra Adventure driver, with Musa Sherif by his side, will be competing in a new car, the XUV300, adding a new dimension to the competition.
“I am looking forward to this season as I will not only be in a new car but also on new tyres,” Gill said, at the press conference, a few hours before the opening stage. “I have tested the car and it’s the best in the class. I am sure it’s going to suit my style of driving,” he added.
The South India Rally, Round 1 of the INRC powered by MRF, will see the teams fight it out over a total distance of 298.70 kms, with as many as 117.33 kms earmarked for 11 special stages on gravel and dirt tracks. After the SSS on Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 will see five stages each, providing the drivers as well as the spectators ample fun.
“This is a perfect start to the championship,” promoter Vamsi Merla said. “We have already had the most number of entries and the biggest crowd at an INRC, making it that much more thrilling for all of us,” he added.
Like always, Team Mahindra will have a second car in fray too, with former racing and rallying champion Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik) making it a formidable duo for them in the INRC 1 category. They will, however face stiff competition from another INRC champion Karna Kadur (Nikhil V Pai) of Arka Motorsports, who was brimming with confidence.
The INRC 2 category also looked highly competitive, with Team Champions’ Dean Mascarenhas (Shruptha Padivel) and Race Concept’s Younus Ilyas (Harish Gowda) pitted against each other. Both are supported by JK, making it that much more interesting.
INRC 3 has as many as 22 contenders, with Arjun Rao, Chetan Shivram and Daraius N Shroff among the favourites. Two ladies will also be seen in action, Shivani Pruthvi and Garima Avtar (INRC 4) as they aim to prove their mettle. A total of eight drivers will also feature in the junior INRC category.
The 2018 MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship winners Gaurav Gill, left, with his trusted navigator Musa Sherif, in Kochi Sunday. An INDIAinF1 image
Kochi, 16 Dec 2018: Speed maestro Gaurav Gill was at his fast and furious best as he drove a matured race on the broken tarmac in the picturesque plantations of Kerala to conquer his sixth Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) title here on Sunday.
Gill who won his first INRC in 2007 and added more titles in 2009, 2011 when the rallies were professionally organised by late Bharat Raj of KMSC along with Annabelle on the IMG and PSP banner, before winning the 2014 and 2017 titles.
The three-time APRC champion was at his imperious best along with his long-time co-driver Musa Sherif, winning seven stages in the Popular Rally, the fifth and final round of the MRF FMSCI INRC 2018, to win the title.
One would look for a Gill, who goes for an aggressive start and wins all the stages with the impeccable record! The very fact that he let go a couple of stages and allowed his speeding mind to be controlled, is a sign of maturity which he has been displaying for quite some time now. In Chikkamagaluru, the previous round, too, he did not quite get the applause that was usually reserved for him for many years past, in the Super Special Stage. But now he is no more the showman! The Gaurav Gill you see as a pilot in the world Rally Championship is a matured magician! There may not be any pleasing visible drifts or dashing straights in the short Indian stages, but he cleverly knocks off several seconds from his rivals with clean lines and judicious driving. He was the best, but there was nothing much to fly around in the dust anymore! Sheer speeds, best times!
Earlier, many a time, he lost Championships and Titles, within a few metres off the finish. Take for example the two SSS casualties in 2010 which cost him the title. Those Nashik days are beyond him now.
Going into this iconic rally in the scenic backdrop of Kerala on equal terms with teammate Amittrajit Ghosh (official table credits Gill with a one-point lead at 62) Ghosh’s 61), who had never been any match, the Master sealed the issue with a comfortable drive.
Gill began slowly, finishing second in the first two stages before he came into his own. Guided by local boy Musa, he quickly got a feel of the terrain and unleashed his magic to win the next five stages with convincing authority. It was controlled aggression at display.
“It was a difficult year for us, especially towards the end due to mechanical issues which were beyond our control,” Gill was humble in his victory. “Kochi was the most difficult, with narrow roads which were fast and had broken tarmac too. We had to push extra hard to stay ahead of the others,” he added.
Amittrajit Ghosh, who had jumped into the championship lead after Gill had a mechanical failure in Arunachal Pradesh, never really had any chance due to the N-1 rule which allows the competitors to discard one round. Ghosh, along with Ashwin Naik, just couldn’t manage the win that would have mattered.
Here in Kochi, the Kolkata driver was beaten by a couple of other drivers from lower classes. It was, however, good enough to give him the second position in the overall championship.
“It was a great year for us compared to last season. The championship just gets more and more competitive, which is great for the sport,” Amittrajit said. “The beginning of the season was really good but we hit issues from Chikmagalur and were really hit by the lack of pre-event testing and wrong set up choices in Kochi,” he said.
INRC 2 competitor, Arka Motorsports’ Karna Kadur with co-driver Nikhil V Pai finished third to take the third place behind the Mahindra Adventure duo in the championship.
Kadur, however, had the consolation of winning the INRC 2 title which he had wrapped up in the previous round itself along with Nikhil Pai.
POPULAR RALLY RESULTS –
OVERALL – INRC
1 Gaurav Gill | Musa Sherif (Team Mahindra Adventure; 01:29:58.9)
