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Category: National Rally Championship
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Chidu-Sujith clinch overall and Pro-Stock titles: TSD Nationals
Mysore, 2 Feb 2013: Ace rallying duo Chidanand Murthy and Sujith Kumar BS from Bengaluru of Tata Motors Full Throttle won the the sixth and final round of the JK Tyre fmsci Indian National TSD Rally Championship to lift the overall and Pro-Stock titles with ease, here Saturday.
The celebrated Bengaluru pair used their experience on a day when eight rallyists were excluded for missing the Time Controls, to take their fourth win in the championship and sealed the title even as their team Tata Motors Full Throttle garnered all the categories making it a complete sweep for the factory works team.
After clinching the title in the Pro-Stock class with a round to spare, Murthy and Sujith it was a formality that needed to be completed and they did it in style. Teammates Satish Gopalkrishnan and Savera D’Souza, the husband and wife team also from Bengaluru won the Pro-Expert class despite being penalised for missing the TCs.
Another popular rally-pair representing Full Throttle, Karthick Maruthi and Sankar Anand from Erode had to settle for second in the championship in both overall and Pro-Expert categories.
Murthy and Sujith (three minutes, 31 seconds) edged past MD Ganesh Moorthy and T Nagarajan who took the second place 15 seconds behind the winners. Saurav Chatterjee and Moulinath Ghosh came third (05:44).
Gaining from the exclusions, Kolkata pair, Nirmalya Das and Shaktivel topped in the Pro-Expert class clocking a penalty of 13 minutes, 39 seconds with Anubhab Deb and Chandan Sen (34:58) coming second. The experienced GB Girijashankar Joshy and Chandramouli M, also of team Full Throttle, finished third in 38:44.
The results (provisional): Overall: Chidanand Murthy / Sujith Kumar BS (Tata Motors Full Throttle) 1 (03mins, 31secs); MD Ganesh Moorthy / T Nagarajan (Pvt) 2 (03:46); Saurav Chatterjee / Moulinath Ghosh (Pvt) 3 (05:44).
Pro-Expert: Nirmalya Das / Shaktivel (Pvt) 1 (13:39); Anubhab Deb / Chandan Sen (Pvt) 2 (34:58); GB Girijashankar Joshy / Chandramouli M (Tata Motors Full Throttle) 3 (38:44).
Pro-Stock: Chidanand Murthy / Sujith Kumar BS (Tata Motors Full Throttle) 1 (03mins, 31secs); MD Ganesh Moorthy / T Nagarajan (Pvt) 2 (03:46); Saurav Chatterjee / Moulinath Ghosh (Pvt) 3 (05:44).
Final Championship standings (top 3): Overall: Satish Gopalkrishnan / Savera D’Souza (Tata Motors Full Throttle) 1 (78 points); Karthick Maruthi / Sankar Anand (Tata Motors Full Throttle) 2 (71 pts); Sachin Singh / Chandrasekar M (Tata Motors Full Throttle) 3 (57 pts).
Pro-Expert: Satish Gopalkrishnan / Savera D’Souza (Tata Motors Full Throttle) 1 (78 points); Karthick Maruthi / Sankar Anand (Tata Motors Full Throttle) 2 (77 pts); GB Girijashankar Joshy (Tata Motors Full Throttle) 3 (68 pts).
Pro-Stock: Chidanand Murthy / Sujith Kumar BS (Tata Motors Full Throttle) 1 (133 pts); Shanmugam Gopalkrishnan / Venkatesh Sekar (Tata Motors Full Throttle) 2 (81 pts); Srikanth Gowda / Kuriakose Elias Paarel (Tata Motors Full Throttle) 3 (52 pts).
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Rally of Maharashtra cancelled; 2-round INRC reduced to a farce
Bangalore, 19 Dec 2012: The Rally of Maharashtra, which was supposed to be the final round of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) is now cancelled. Thus the National Championship was reduced to a `farce’ with only two rounds deciding the Championship winner.
Earlier, the second round to be held at Coorg was washed out due to heavy rains and the organisers were forced to cancel the event.
According to an earlier decision, the rally was to be held at Ahmednagar to be run on gravel stages but the organisers could not get the necessary permissions from the land owners and the local villagers. So the host association decided to buy time and explored the possibility of running it as a tarmac rally in Nashik in January 2013. However, the drivers and teams did not agree for the change as it would require a new set of tyres, suspensions and brakes.
The cancellation means that even the revised four-round championship comprising Bangalore, Coorg, Chikmagalur and Ahmednagar could not be completed and only two rounds are held. Thus, the champions are declared on the basis of the two rallies: K1000 and Coffee Day.
“The proposed third round of INRC 2012, the Rally of Maharashtra, could not be held on the scheduled date as the organisers did not get the required permissions from the land owners for the route of some of the gravel stages,” FMSCI Chief Executive Rajan Syal said in a statement.
“WISA, the organisers, then explored the alternative to run it as a tarmac event in first week of January 2013. But many of the competitors said that it will require a new set of tarmac tyres, suspensions and brakes, and due to the holiday season, they may not get the parts in time
and thereby will not be in a position to participate.”“Taking into account the feedback of all concerned, we are left with no option but to close the INRC 2012 and declare the Championship results at the end of the Coffee Day Rally of Chikmagalur,” Syal’s statement read.
After the end of Chikmagalur Rally, Amittrajit Ghosh and co-driver Ashwin Naik topped the championship table with 51 points. Lohitt Urs and co-driver Sujith Kumar are placed second with 45 points followed by Karna Kadur and Somonnita Ghosh at 38.
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Karna Kadur-Somonnita gift Coffee Day Rally win to Ghosh-Naik due to `penalty’
By David Bodapati
Chikmagalur, 24 Nov 2012: Rising star of Bangalore Karna Kadur (co-driver Somonnita Ghosh) rallied brilliantly to clock the best time but failed to win as the duo was penalized 40 seconds for a delayed start after the last service break to gift the Coffee Day Rally to Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik) as the third leg of the Indian National Rally Championship concluded at the special stages in Birur near here. Karna-Somonnita finished second.
With only the Nashik rally remaining, it may prove costly for Karna Kadur, as he lost a golden chance to be in the reckoning for his maiden National Championship. The prize distribution will be held at the ABC campus at 10.30 am on Sunday. There was an eerie silence at the team hotel, Planters Court, in the evening and the grapevine has it that the talented youngster suffered due to team orders. But it was all `hush-hush’ with no one willing to be quoted.
Karna Kadur tops the Coffee Day Rally but loses win due a penalty. Photo by Anand Philar. The lone entry in the Indian Rally Championship for modified foreign cars, Zuhin A and seasoned Musa Sherif of Team Kajah Motorsports who thrilled the crowds yesterday in the Super Special Stage began well on Saturday setting a scorching pace in the University Stage to take a lead of over 40 seconds by SS3 but soon fell behind with a Turbo problem. They later retired in Special Stage 5 (SS5) with an electrical snap.
In the INRC 2000cc class, Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik) who were tied with Karna Kadur after three stages lost time in the next three but the penalty to Karna saw them clinch the issue. Vikram Devadasan and co-driver Somayya AG came third. Strong contenders Lohit Urs (co-driver Sujith Kumar) managed to run with a troublesome suspension and came fourth to keep themselves at a striking distance gaining some valuable championship points.
Organised by Chikmagalur Motor Sports Club under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India, the popular rally is sponsored by Café Coffee Day, The Serai Resorts, Amber Valley School and Way2Wealth.
In the 1600cc class, Raghunandan K and co-driver Suraj K came first on a day which saw many casualities. Byram Godrej (Prajwal Pai) came second followed by Suhem MK (Jeevarathinam) in third. Sirish Chandran (co-driver Nikhil Pai) slipped and went down into a ditch in SS5.
In the JINRC class, overnight leaders Karan AM (Shanmugha) ran all the stages with controlled aggression to clinch the rally. Asad Khan and Zayne Asrar came second while Samrat Yadav (Tushar Marwaha) came third.
Of the 43 cars that started the day, 15 cars failed to finish.
Provisional unaudited results:
Indian Rally Championship: 1. Zuhin A / Musa Sherif (Team Kazah Motorsports) 38 minutes 36.4 seconds (DNF – retired in SS5)
Indian National Rally Championship: 2000cc N: 1. Amittrajit Ghosh /Ashwin Naik 1: 21: 59.5; 2. Karna Kadur/ Sommonita Ghosh 1: 22: 08.3; 3. Vikram Devadasan/ Somayya AG 1: 22: 40.9:
1600cc: 1. Raghunandan B/ Suraj K 1: 27: 45.5; 2. Byram Godrej/ Prajval Pai 1:28:58.8; 3. 3.Suhem MK/
Jeevaratinam K 1: 29:08.8;
Junior INRC: 1. Karan AM/ Shanmugha SN; 2. Asad Khan CA/ Zayne Asrar; 3. Samrat Yadav/ Tushar Marwaha. (Timings to be released)
Note: The article is updated from old archives.
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Heavy rains force cancellation of Coorg Rally
By David Bodapati
Polibetta (Coorg), 20 Oct 2012: Heavy rains that lashed the region on Friday rendered the dirt stages unfit for rallying and the Rally of Coorg, the second round of the Indian National Rally Championship, was cancelled here on Saturday.
Steward Farad Bathena made a visit to the stages early in the morning and after his report, the stewards, headed by Zayn Khan, took a decision to cancel the rally and made an announcement to the drivers and co-drivers at 9 am at the service park, near the hockey ground in Ammathi town.
“The stages were completely damaged due to the overnight rains and the stewards felt that they were unsafe for conducting a rally,” said Zayn Khan, the Chief Steward.
Initially, some drivers wanted the route to be reduced and conduct at least 55 per cent distance including the Super Special Stage but with some of the drivers opposing the idea no efforts were made to run the rally. “ We have done everything for the smooth conduct of the rally. But we will abide by the stewards decision as safety of the drivers is of utmost importance,” said Jaidas Menon, the head of Motorsport Inc, the hosts.
The FMSCI rally championship will now move to Chikmagalur in the last week-end of November for the next leg.
Note: This article is manually migrated from archives.
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Coorg rally cancelled due to heavy rains
By David Bodapati
Polibetta (Coorg), 20 Oct 2012: Heavy rains that lashed the region on Friday rendered the dirt stages unfit for rallying and the Rally of Coorg, the second round of the Indian National Rally Championship, was cancelled here on Saturday.
Steward Farad Bathena made a visit to the stages early in the morning and after his report the stewards, headed by Zayn Khan, took a decision to cancel the rally and made an announcement to the drivers and co-drivers at 9 am at the service park, near the hockey ground in Ammathi town.
“The stages were completely damaged due to the overnight rains and the stewards felt that they were unsafe for conducting a rally,” said Zayn Khan, the Chief Steward.
Initially, some drivers wanted the route to be reduced and conduct at least 55 per cent distance including the Super Special Stage but with some of the drivers opposing the idea no efforts were made to run the rally. “ We have done everything for the smooth conduct of the rally. But we will abide by the stewards decision as safety of the drivers is of utmost importance,” said Jaidas Menon, the head of Motorsport Inc, the hosts.
The FMSCI rally championship will now move to Chikmagalur in the last week-end of November for the next leg.
Note: This article is manually migrated from the archives of old website.
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Zuhin showcases Subaru in IRC class; Lohitt-Sujit win INRC K1000
By David Bodapati
Bangalore, 23 Sept 2012: Team Kajah Motorsports’ A Zuhin and co-driver Musa Sherif showcased the beauty of a `beast’ as they drove their 4-wheel-drive Subaru Impreza in the foreign class of the Indian Rally Championship to clock the overall best time in the spectator-friendly Super Special Stage which attracted a crowd of over 5,000 fans at the Bangalore International Exhibition Grounds on Tumkur road here on Sunday.
They were a couple of seconds faster than the Indian National Rally Championship 2012 winner Lohitt Urs and co-driver Sujith Kumar BS of Team PGA Motorsports. The Mysore star stole the thunder to put in two laps of stunning drifts and a daring dash on the straights with his Bangalore navigator BS Sujit Kumar in their Mitsubishi Cedia to comfortably win the IMG Sports 38th K-1000 rally, the first leg of the Indian National Rally Championship. The Horizon-sponsored team clocked 2 minutes 55.2 seconds to cover the 2.6 km SSS in the 2000cc N class while Amittrajit Ghosh and co-driver Ashwin Naik had to be content with a second place. The Kolkata-Mangalore pair clocked 3 minutes. Karna Kadur and co-driver Somonnita Ghosh, the only lady driver in the championship, finished. Karna-Ghosh timed 3 min 02 seconds.
Zuhin displays his skills in a Subaru Impreza at the K1000 in Bangalore on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar “We really enjoyed the rally this year as the stages were challenging and demanding with the stock cars and pace notes really made a difference. The credit should go to my navigator Sujit,”said Lohitt Urs. The Karnataka Motor Sports Club-organised first leg will be followed by Mysore, Chikmagalur and Nashik for this year’s four-leg national championship.
Team Kajah Motorsports’ A Zuhin and celebrated Navigator Musa Sherif had a good run today, even if it is only for a few minutes. “Unlike the stages yesterday, we were able to manouvre the 4-wheel drive and get the power to the ground. It is a joy to drive this car,” quipped Zuhin from Kuttikanam.
In the 1600cc category of the Indian National Rally Championship, Aditya S and co-driver Kariyappa KB put paid to the hopes of veteran Siddharth Ragnekar and Nitin Jacob. Prakhyat H Shirole and co-driver SM Bharath finished third in the class.
Young talented teenager Dean Mascarenhas impressed with his driving skills and along with navigator Shruptha Padiwal was street ahead of their nearest rivals to win the Junior INRC. The Mangalore duo thrilled the spectators in their Esteem today with their slides and drifts. Karan AM (co-driver Shanmuga SM) came second while Vineet Tom Vincent and Sob George finished third.
Out of the 41 cars which started the rally only 25 managed to finish.
Provisional final classifications:
INC: Zuhin A / Musa Sherif (Kajah Motorsports) 1 (1hr, 27mins, 27.7secs).
INRC (Group N, 2000cc): Lohitt Urs / Sujith Kumar (PGA Motorsports) 1 (01:25:40.6); Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik 2 (01:26:17.3); Karna Kadur / Somonita Ghosh 3 (01:26:51.8).
INRC (Group N, 1600cc): Aditya S / Kariappa KB 1 (01:36:06.2); Siddharth Ranganekar / Nitin Jacob 2 (01:36:20.8); Prakhyat H Shirole/ SM Bharath 3 (01:38:19.1).
Junior INRC: Dean Mascarenhas / Shruptha Padiwal 1 (01:30:24.8); Karan AM / Shanmuga SM 2 (01:35:52.6); Vineet Tom Vincent / Sob George 3 (01:39:05.8).
ends
Lohitt V Urs and co-driver Sujith Kumar BS win the opening round in INRC K1000 on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar. -
Gaurav Gill, Musa Sherif finish season in style with emphatic win
By David Bodapati
Kolkata, 18 Dec 2011: Team MRF’s Gaurav Gill and experienced co-driver Musa Sherif finished the 2011 rally season in style with a resounding victory at the Rally de Bengal, the 7th and final round of the Speed Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) to assert their supremacy as the best rally driver and co-driver respectively in the country at Durgapur, about 80 kms from here, on Sunday.
Having clinched the National title for 2011 in the penultimate rally at Orissa, the 30-year-old MRF driver Gill and Sherif put paid to the hopes of challenger Lohit Urs and co-driver PV Srinivasa Murthy, who finished second here. Urs-Murthy duo driving a Cedia prepared by Red Rooster Performance posted faster times in two stages today and won the runners-up place in the overall category of the National championship. Ghosh and Naik could not complete the rally as their car stalled in the transport section. But for the break-down their third place finish would have been enough to clinch the runners-up spot in the National Championship 2011.
Rahul Kanthraj/Vivek Y Bhatt managed to stay on top despite losing times in all the stages today to win the 2000 N class and also came overall third pipping Bangalore youngster Karna Kadur and Kolkata’s Somonnita Ghosh to the second place. However, a second place was enough for Team Kadur, who drove their Cedia on Yokohama tyres, to have the last laugh in clinching the National title. Soham Hazra/ Jeevarathinam finished third in the Rally de Bengal.
Gaurav Gill, left, and navigator Musa Sherif after winning the Bengal Rally on Sunday. The duo clinched the National INRC title last week in Bhubaneswar. An INDIA in F1 image. Local stars Azgar Ali/ Debasish Ghosh did well to win the 1600 cc class edging out Aniruddha Rangnekar and co-driver Anoop Kumar to second place. Aniruddha of Pune won the national championship for drivers’ in this class. Rohan Pawar and Nitin Jacob came third.
Team Woodlander had a double bonanza with both their drivers winning their respective classes. In 1400cc Star Cup, Mangalore teenager Dean Mascarenhas with co-driver Shruptha Padival kept their cool to thwart the challenge of Vikram Aroor/ AG Somayya while Pritul Dey and Mukesh Thakkar finished third. Mascarenhas and Padival won three of the four rallies they took part this year and were supported by Woodland for the last two rallies. The other Woodlander team who came out with top honours is Sanjay Agarwal-Venu Ramesh Kumar pair in the Gypsy class. Rafeeq Ur Rehman (co-driver Ajith KP) came second followed by husband-wife duo Sachin Singh/ Shree Latha of Hyderabad. Dean Mascarenhas, the youngest competitor in INRC, showed enough talent, aggressive speed and control; if nurtured well he has the potential to go places.
Final Results (Unaudited provisional classification):
Overall : 1. Gaurav Gill/Musa Gill (Team MRF) 1 hour, 03 minutes, 47.2 seconds; 2. Lohit Urs/ Srinivasa Murthy PV(privateers)1: 04:29.1; 3. Rahul Kantharaj/ Vivek Y Bhatt 1: 09: 46.9;
2000 cc N-plus : : 1. Gaurav Gill/Musa Gill (Team MRF) 1 hour, 03 minutes, 47.2 seconds; 2. Lohit Urs/ Srinivasa Murthy PV(privateers)1: 04:29.1;
2000cc N: 1. Rahul Kantharaj/ Vivek Y Bhatt 1: 09: 46.9; 2.Karna Kadur/ Somonnita Ghosh 1: 09:55.8; 3. Soham Hazra/ Jeevarathinam 1: 15:43.7;
1600 cc: 1. Azgar Ali/ Debashis Ghosh 1:21:05.0; 2. Aniruddha Rangnekar/ Anoop Kumar 1:21:32.4; 3. Rohan Pawar/ Nitin Jacob 1: 25:05.9;
1400cc: 1. Dean Mascarenhas/ Shruptha Padival 1: 12: 42.3; 2. Vikram Rao Aroor / AG Somayya 1: 12: 51.8; 3. Pritul Dey/ Mukesh Thakkar 1: 26:43.7.
Gypsy: 1. Sanjay Agarwal/ Venu Ramesh Kumar 1: 17: 34.6; 2. Shafeeq Ur Rehman/ Ajith KP 1: 17: 35.6; 2. Sachin Singh/ Sri Latha1:44.08.9.
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Lohit, Murthy win Coffee Day Rally; Arjun Balu retires
By David Bodapati
Chikmagalur, 20 Nov 2011: Mysore star Lohit Urs and co-driver PV Srinivasa Murthy of Team MRF tamed the machine and conquered the track to come out triumphant defeating speed demon Gaurav Gill (co-driver Musa Sherif) to win the Coffee Day Rally, the 5th round of the Speed Indian National Rally Championship, here on Sunday. However, with 136 points Gill still leads the Drivers’ championship leaderboard with second-placed Lohit Urs on a distant 91 points.
The day also saw a stalwart in Indian rally scene Arjun Balu, who served MRF for 17 years, announced his retirement from INRC. “A gentleman and dedicated rallyist,’’ said his navigator, Sujit Kumar. The Coimbatore-based Arjun Balu was an unsung hero and he ever remained the bridesmaid in the team. His best moment came in August 2001 Asia Zone Rally Championship at Changchun, China, where he beat his teammate Naren Kumar and many other world-class drivers. He is popularly known as the “Gentleman of Indian Motorsports”.
Meanwhile, it was a day to remember for Lohit Urs, who was struggling with his car all through the season. After bagging his first win of the calendar year he said: “It was a great moment and I thoroughly enjoyed my drive today. The stages were fast and the Birur stage is comparable to the best in the world as it stayed true even after all the cars ran once with only about 10 per cent deterioration.’’
Lohit V Urs and PVS Murthy, winners of Coffee Day Rally in action on Sunday. Photo by George Francis With Castrol-supported Arjun Rao Aroor of AR Racing pulling out of this event, Team MRF made a clean sweep winning the first three places. Bengal lad Amittrajit Ghosh (co-driver Ashwin Naik), also of MRF, came second while compatriot Gaurav Gill, who had gear box problems stalled just 4 kms before the finish on the last stage, managed to drive back to take third place and earned some valuable points to remain on top of the championship borad. “I had problems with the clutch and was stuck. I managed to engage a gear and finished the rally driving in the `third’ all the way,’’ quipped the 30-year-old Asia Pacific Rally Driver from Delhi.
In the 2000 N category, Karna Kadur, the talented youngster of Team Kadur, (co-driver Somonnita Ghosh) loved driving through his ancestral village Kadur in one of the stages, and rallied to beat overnight leaders Rahul Kantharaj and his sharp co-driver Vivek Y Bhatt clocking a time of 1 hour 32 min 12.2 secs. Overdrive editor Sirish Chandran and navigator Nikhil Vittal Pai finished third. But for a 10-second penalty Sirish and Nikhil would have come second.
Bangalore brothers, Balram CG and Raghuram CG wrapped up the event in the 1600 cc class with a huge margin of more than two minutes. Mohammed Ismail and co-driver Dannanjay came an opportunistic second followed by Pune-Bangalore pair Aniruddha Rangnekar and Anoop Kumar, who are leading the class in the National championship.
Raghu Nandan B (co-driver Adhiraj) won the 1400cc Rally Star cup with with Hrishikesh Thackersey and co-driver Ninad Mirajgaonkar taking the second followed by Pramod Raman and navigator Harish KN.
Local lad Shafeeq Ur Rehman with Ajith KP as co-driver pushed Amartej Buwal and co-driver Nakul Mendiratta to second while Philip Thomas and John Philip managed to take third.
Unofficial Provisional Final Classification
Overall: 1. Lohit Urs/ PV Srinivasa Murthy (Team MRF) 1 hour 27 min 11.8 seconds; 2. Amittrajit Ghosh/ Ashwin Naik (MRF) 1:28: 19.5; 3. Gaurav Gill/ Musa Sherif (MRF) 1:28:33.8;
2000N cc: 1. Karna Kadur/Somonnita Ghosh 1:32:12.2; 2. Rahul Kantharaj/Vivek Y Bhatt 1: 32:28.7; 3. Sirish Chandran/ (Team Overdrive)/ Nikhil Vittal Pai 1:32: 33.9;
1600 cc: 1. Balaram CG/ Raghuram CG , 1 hour 42: 02.6; 2. Mohammed Ismail/ Dannanjay B 1:44:12.4; 3. Aniruddha Rangnekar/ Anoop Kumar 01:46:47.0;
1400 cc: 1. Raghunandhan B/ Adhiraju 1:39:32.9; 2. Hrishikesh Thackeresey / Ninad Mirajgaonkar 1: 41:24.4; 3. Pramod Raman/ Harish KN 1:41:36.2;
Gypsy Class: 1. Shafeeq Ur Rehman / Ajith KP 01:40: 44.8; 2. Amartej Buwal/ Nakul Mendiratta) 01: 41: 46.5; 3. Philip Thomas/ John Philip 1: 45: 49.5.
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37th K1000 beckons top rally drivers for Speed INRC
Bangalore, 18 Aug 2011: Ever-popular K-1000 beckons the top rally drivers for the 37th edition, the fourth round of the Speed Indian National Rally Championship at Siddlaghatta, about 70 kms from here for high-speed action on Saturday and Sunday.
Speed demon and leading contender Gaurav Gill will be looking to consolidate his position at the top as the three stages are fast to suit his driving style. The spectator-friendly Super Special Stage would be held at 2 pm on Sunday at the Clarks Exotica, the Rally headquarters for the three-day event.
Organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Clubs, the fourth of the seven-round Speed Indian National Rally Championship will be held under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) and is promoted by IMG Sports and Pro-Sports Promotion (PSP). The competition is wide open as the Nationals reach the midway stage after the first three rounds at Nashik, Chennai and Coimbatore. After K-1000, the bandwagon will move to the coffee land of Chikmagalur, which stages a comeback to INRC while Bhubaneswar would debut later to put Orissa on the Indian rally map for the first time. With the Indian F1 GP getting back its original slot of October 30, the dates for Rally of Orissa will remain unaffected and the last leg at Durgapur, near Kolkata, which was postponed due to the elections in West Bengal, will see the season finale in December.
Gaurav Gill with co-driver Musa Sherif will be the stars to watch as they lead the overall table standings while it was young Karna Kadur, who is the cynosure of all eyes, as he took the lead in the 2000cc N category along with co-driver Somonita Ghosh, the only lady driver in the INRC.
The three Special Stages of Clay (13.02 kms), Blackberry (9.2 kms) and Blueberry (13.63 kms) will be run twice on Saturday and once on Sunday for nearly 110 kms of Special Stage rallying while the total distance will be 387 kms with transport section taking up a little less than 278 kms. The 2-km `Triple S’ will have two laps with the cars running in the reverse order followed by Champagne Ceremony for prize distribution and the post-even press conference with the drivers.
Bharat Raj of IMG Sports, the promoters along with Pro Sports Promotion, said: “As usual special care has been taken to tighten the safety aspects as the stages are as fast as ever. However, evacuation routes are marked, and extractors and ambulances were all in place as per the regulations.’’
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Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif win Coimbatore Rally; Karna Kadur steals limelight
By David Bodapati
Coimbatore, 24 July 2011: With only rival Arjun Rao Aroor going off the track in the very first stage today, Speed King Gaurav Gill, the Team MRF’s lead driver, for once faced the challenge of `driving slowly’ and showed enough maturity to win the event while it was the `Kadur’ brand that stole the limelight as Karna Kadur, with co-driver Somonnita Ghosh, the only lady navigator, won the 2000cc class in the third round of the Speed Indian National Rally Championship here on Sunday.
Gill, ably navigated by veteran Musa Sherif, did play to the gallery in the Super Special Stage with the display of technique and dare-devil speed to provide seat-edged excitement to the packed crowd and they responded in style with standing applause. But today, he played safe and won the rally.
Kadur and Ghosh are two famous motorsport names of yesteryears and today the next generation in Karna Kadur and co-driver Somonnita Ghosh, who were trailing behind Vikram Devadasan (co-driver Somayya AG) rallied brilliantly in the two stages to take a decisive lead. The Bangalore-Kolkata duo brought their Mitsubishi Cedia safely home to make it a back-to-back victory and took the lead in the championship. After a year’s hiatus, Karna returned to win the South India Rally in Chennai while Somonnita, took part in a one-off race with her father Arindam Ghosh as the driver. Coimbatore turned out to be their hunting ground as they made their winning debut here in 2009. Meanwhile, Overdrive editor Sirish Chandran (Nikhil Pai) who finished 2.2 seconds behind Shailendra Hegde (Prajwal Pai) was pushed up to the third place as Shailendra Hegde and Prajwal Pai logged a road penalty of 1.10 seconds for checking in early.
Gaurav Gill, left, and co-driver Musa Sherif after winning the Rally of Coimbatore on Sunday. An INDIAinF1 Photo by Kishen Nanjappa In the 1600 cc class, Karan AM drove to a victory as navigator Shanmuga returned after a 5-year hiatus to INRC followed by Prakhyat Shirole (codriver Rupesh Kholay) in second and Sidhartha Rangnekar (Nitin Jacob) in third.
In the Gypsy class, a support rally, Veteran Sanjay Agarwal (Shivprakash) notched up a facile win with Shafeeq ur Rehman (Adhiraj Bardhan) chasing a lead of over 7 minutes. John K Philip and Philip Thomas finished third.
Final results (provisional unaudited partial classification):
Overall: Gaurav Gill/Musa Sherif (Team MRF) 1 (1hr, 37 mins, 34.6 secs); Arjun Balu/ Sujith Kumar BS (MRF) 2 (1: 38: 12.7); Karna Kadur/ Somonnito Ghosh 3 (1: 44:45.7).
2000cc (Group N): Karna Kadur/ Somonnito Ghosh 1 (1: 44: 45.5); Vikram Devadasen / Somayya AG (Pvt) 2 (1: 43: 56.4); Sirish Chandran/ Nikhil Pai (Team Overdrive) 3 (1: 44: 45.7); Shilendra Hegde/ Prajwal Pai 4(1: 43: 30,5).
1600cc: Balram CG/ Santosh Kumar 1 (1: 55: 58.4 including 10 sec penalty); Prakhyat Shirole/ Rupesh Kholay (pvt) 1 (1: 56:38.0); Siddhartha Rangnekar / Nitin Jacob 3 (1: 57: 13.4);
1400cc (Star Cup): Karan AM / Shanmuga SN (Kari Motorsports)1 (1:52: 40:.2); Vikram Rao/ S Dinesh 2 (1:57:00.0); Vineeth Vincent Tom / Sob George 3 (1: 57: 37.1).
Gypsy – stock: Sanjay Agarwal / Shivaprakash E 1 (1:53:14.3); Shafeeq-ur-Rehman / Adhiraj Bardhan 2 (2:00:00.2); John K Philip/ Philip Thomas 3 (2:09:51.1).
