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Category: Domestic
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8th straight win for Naren-Ram; Karandip-Jaidas survive 40-foot drop
Chandigarh, 21 Sept 2003: Defending champion VR Naren Kumar ande co-driver V Ram Kumar of team MRF won all the four rounds this season and well on his way to another title as he won the overall title in the MAI Power M1 Challenge Rally, the fourth round of the MAI Indian National Rally Champioship here on Sunday.
This is the 8th straight win for the pair continuing from the previous season as they finished ahead of teammates Vikram Mathias and co-driver Sujith Kumar with over a minute to spare.
Naren Kumar, the 29-year old from Coimbatore, had an easy time on Sunday after overnight leaders Karandip Singh and co-driver Jaidas Menon, also of Team MRF, suffered a 40-feet roll on Special Stage-10 following a brake failure.
“Since I led Mathias by over two minutes, I eased off totally and did not take any risks. But I was determined to make up the 13 seconds and our approach was to go absolutely flat out and make at least three to four seconds on each of the Stages today. But once Karandip was out of the rally, we decided to take it easy and finish the event,” said Naren, who, in fact, had made three seconds on Karandeep after the first stage on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Mathias, after failing to finish the Chikmagalur and Nashik rounds of the INRC and skipping the Kochi leg, did well to pick up his first points of the season.
“I am happy with our performance in this event and it was a relief to finish after a string of DNFs,” said Mathias talking about the first two rallies he Did Not Finish (DNF).
Karandeep, 29, from Chandigarh, looked certain to clinch the title last night when he established a 13-second lead over Naren.
“We were doing about 100 kmph on a downhill stretch in SS-10 when the brake tube cut leading to loss of fluid. There was nothing I could do and we crashed down a 40-foot drop,” said a disappointed Karandip, who was looking to score a win on home territory. Both the drivers escaped because of the Roll Cage which is mandatory for all rally cars.
Naren and Mathias were the only two from Team MRF to complete the rally as former National champion N Leelakrishnan and co-driver Farooq Ahmed pulled out on Sunday with mechanical problems to join teammates Arjun Balu and co-driver Kumar Ramaswamy in the casualty list.
Veterans Samir Thapar and co-driver Gurinder Singh Mann, both making a comeback after several years, finished third overall in a Maruti Esteem, ahead of championship leaders in the 1400cc category, Lohit Urs and co-driver MK Bopanna.
Provisional final results:
Overall: 1. VR Naren Kumar/V Ram Kumar (Team MRF) (1hr, 43mins, 46secs); 2. Vikram Mathias/Sujith Kumar (Team MRF) (1:44:02); 3. Samir Thapar/ GS Mann (1:46:25;) 4. Lohit v Urs/ MK Bopanna (1:47:31); 5. Jiby Maliakkal/Nikhil Pai (Gulf Oil) (1:51:43); 6. Rajiv Suri/ Rajeev Mehta (1:58:22).
1600cc (Honda City V-Tec): 1. Naren Kumar/ Ram Kumar, 2. Vikram Mathias/B Sujith Kumar, 3. Jiby Maliakkal/Nihil Pai.
1400cc (Maruti Esteem): 1. Samir Thapar/Gurinder Singh Mann, 2. Urs/Bopanna.
Rally Star Cup: 1. S Ram Prashanth/ Thiru Murthy (1:51:18); 2. Ranjith Ballal/ Shanmuga (1:51:41); 3. Yogeshwar Gill/Harkanwal Cheema (2:05:23).
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Naren Kumar-Ram notch up third straight win, clinch Kerala Rally
Kochi, 31 Aug 2003: Reigning National champion VR Naren Kumar and co-driver D Ramkumar of Team MRF notched up their third consecutive win clinching the overall title Kerala Rally 2003, the third round of the MAI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) here on Sunday.
Naren, behind the wheel of a Honda City, clocked a time of 1hour, 23minutes and 16 seconds to complete the special stages beating teammate Karandip Singh, who paired with Bangalore navigator Jaidas Menon. Karandip took a time of 1.25:32 secs while multiple-national champion N Leelakrishnan and Farooq Ahmed finished the course in 1.26:54 secs to take the third spot.
In the 1600 cc category, Naren Kumar took the honours while Karandip bagged the second and Leelakrishnan the third place.
In the 1400 cc category, R Karthikeyan and co-driver G Sathish won the top spot in the class with a time of 1.35:04 seconds followed by George Antony and Bijoy Paul who clocked 1.38:01 seconds. Renjith Paul and co-driver Anoop Xavier came third in a time of 1.45:43.
In the MAI Rally Star Cup category, Arjun Rao and experienced CK Chinnappa won with a penalty time of 1.33:59 secs followed by Thirtha Patil and co-driver Lohith Anand who took 1.36:56 secs ahead of third-placed K Ranjith Ballal and co-driver Shanmuga with a time of 1.38:33, a Scorp News release said.
Organisers add:
The Kerala Auto Sports Club organised and hosted the Kerala Rally 2003, the third round of the MAI Indian National Rally Championshipo for Cars, which was run through the forest stages of Bhoothanthankettu and Edamalayar Dam. One of the most-alluring aspects of the event is its excellent picturesque, smooth and winding tarmac.
The Kerala Rally covered a distance of approximately 380km. There were nine Special Stages which covered a distance of 117km and run over a period of two days. Apart from Team MRF, Team Chettinad and Team Blue Lines participated in this year’s event.
The entire event was tracked and controlled with the aid of HAM Radios. Ham Radios have linked the Clerk of the Course (CoC) to all Stage Commanders, Ambulances, and important officials of the event. The Mobile Control Room was stationed at Thundam. The Radio Network this year was coordinated by Girish Babu, code name `VU2 KGB’ and Jacob Elias, `VU2 ADV’.
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Naren Kumar-Musa Sherif win MRF Taj Challenge
Nashik, 8 June 2003: Defending champion VR Naren Kumar and co-driver Musa Sherif of Team MRF gave an awesome display of speed and controlled driving to win the MRF Taj Challenge Rally, the second round of the Motorsports Association of India’s (MAI) Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), here on Sunday.
It was Naren Kumar sixth straight INRC victory and he appeared well on course to equaling 10 straight wins by teammate N Leelakrishnan in 1992-93. But in this rally, Naren was without his regular co-driver D Ramkumar, who is getting married later in the week.
Naren Kumar, left, & Musa Sherif. At the finish of the two-day event that saw the cars complete six Special Stages, Naren Kumar was a comfortable 55 seconds ahead of teammates Arjun Balu and co-driver Kumar Ramaswamy who finished a distant second. Naren clocked 1::13:40 to Balu’s 1::14:35.
Naren Kumar, the 28-year-old from Coimbatore, clocked one hour, 13 minutes, 40 seconds to Balu’s 1:14:35.
Meanwhile, the third Team MRF driver in the running, Karandip Singh and co-driver Jaidas Menon suffered his third puncture of the event and lost considerable time to finish sixth, behind Jiby Maliakkal (co-driver Nikhil Pai).
There were some pleasing performances lower down the field, especially in the 1400cc class won by Rahul Kantha Raj and co-driver Vivek Bhatt of Team Nova. The duo also finished third in the overall standings.
Arjunrao Aroor, a teenager from Manipal, won the Rally Star Cup in the company of co-driver C K Chinnappa, the oldest competitor at 51 years of age.
Aroor’s victory was more or less confirmed late last night when one of his main competitor, Sanjay Agarwal (co-driver Ashwin Naik) was excluded from the Rally by the Stewards. Agarwal was penalised for attending to his gear-box in the control area just at the start of the day’s last special stage.
Provisional Unaudited Results:
Overall: 1. VR Naren Kumar/Musa Sherif (Team MRF) (1 hour, 13 mins, 40 secs); 2. Arjun Balu/Kumar Ramaswamy (Team MRF) (1:14:35); 3. Rahul Kantharaj/ Vivek Bhatt (Team Nova) (1:19:10); 4. Lohit V Urs/ MK Bopanna (1:19:13); 5. Jiby Maliakkal/ Nikhil Pai (1:22:59); 6. Karandip Singh/ Jaidas Menon(Team MRF) (1:23:11); 7. V Shamsunder/PVS Murthy (Blue Lines) (1:25:13).
1400cc: 1. Kantharaj/Bhatt; 2. Urs/Bopanna; 3. Shamsunder/Murthy.
Rally Star Cup: 1. Arjun Rao Aroor/ CK Chinnappa ; 2. Ranjith Ballal/ Shanmuga Nataraj; 3. Anita Kholay/ Rashmi Bopanna.
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Defending champions Naren-Ram clinch season opener, Coffee Day Rally
Chikmagalur, 25 May 2003: Defending champion Naren Kumar of Team MRF overcame initial hiccups to clinch the Coffee Day Championship Rally 2003, the opening round of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) here on Sunday. On Friday, the opening day Naren, along with his navigator D Ramkumar, faced some issues but managed to steer back and won the season opener at the Coffee stages here on Sunday.
Naren clocked 2 hours, 38 minutes and 24 seconds to beat teammate Karandip Singh and co-driver Jaidas Menon by 49 seconds. Karandip did go flat out in the last stages on Sunday but had to be content with the Overall second place as the champion managed to hang on.
Lohith Urs and MK Bopanna, the Mysore-Coorg combinatin, claimed the 1400 cc class without much trouble. Rahul Kantharaj and co-driver Vivek Bhatt were second with Karthikeyan and co-driver Veera Shanmugham taking third place. There were only three finishers in the class.
Experienced Sanjay Aggarwal made a winning comeback bagging the Rally Star Cup, with Manoj Mohan as the navigator. In 1998 Sanjay met with a serious accident during the South India Rally and was hospitalised for a long time and the rehab for his broken back took years and it a victory to his spirit to make a return to rallying at the Coffee Day event. The only all-ladies crew of Anita Kholay and Rashmi Bopanna finished sixth in the Rally Star Cup.
Provisional results:
Overall (1600 cc): 1. Naren Kumar /D Ramkumar(Team MRF) (2hours, 38min, 24sec); 2. Karandip Singh/ Jaidas Menon(Team MRF) (2:39.13); N. Leelakrishnan/ Farooq Ahmed(Team MRF) (2:39.32); Arjun Balu /R Kumar (02:41.20).
1400cc class: 1. Lohith Urs /MK Bopanna (2:45:36); Rahul Kantharaj/ Vivek Bhat (2:48:15); 3. Karthikeyan /S Veera Shanmugham (2:51:26).
Rally Star Cup: 1. Sanjay Aggarwal /Manoj Menon (2:51:00); 2. Amith Kumar /ASN Shanmugha (2:53:35); 3. Arjun Rao /ACK Chinappa (2:54:46); 4. Roopesh /Chetan (3:03:31) 5. BH Abhijeet Pai /Divin JE (3:19:47); 6. Anita Kholay /Rashmi Bopanna (3:56:06).
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Coffee Day Rally from May 24
Chikmagalur, 15 May 2003: Defending champions Naren Kumar and co-driver Ramkumar are raring to go as the season begins with the popular Coffee Day which will be run on the Special Stages on the foothills of Sahayadri hills in the Western Ghats from Friday. The Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) calendar for the year being run under the aegis of Motorsports Association of India (MAI) features nine rounds.
Leelakrishnan along with local star Farooq Ahmed as co-driver will vie for honours along with other top drivers like Karandeep Singh, Vikram Mathais and Jibby Malakal in the two-day Coffee Day Rally to be flagged off on May 24.
The 330-km rally, organised by the Motor Sports Club of Chikmagalur (MSCC), will run 10 Special Stages, spread over two days, on the dusty roads of coffee plantations. Entries numbering to 22 have been received till now. The Parc Ferme will be at ABC.
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Arjun Balu-Kumar lift INRC title; Warren-Judd win APRC honours
Bangalore, 8 Dec 2002: Driving their Mitsubishi Evo VII in a steady and catious manner, Stewart Warren and Darryl Judd had an easy outing on the final day and won the the MRF India Rally 2002 here on Sunday.
Unless some unforeseen issues cropped up, the duo were assured of the title and they did take it easy on the final day with an eye on finishing the rally without any hiccups to take home the title. And Indian ace, Naren Kumar, too, was content to play the second fiddle and wanted to protect his second place and played with cation to bring home his Evo VII a little after two minutes from the winners. Lang Xu (Guangyuam Men) steered his Subaru GC-8 to third place.
Meanwhile, leaving all these Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) participants of the Candidate round, the Indian National lRally Championship (INRC) was won by talented Arjun Balu, who was ably assisted by Ramaswamy Kumar, as they kept aside a strong challenge from Leelakrishnan and Farooq Ahmed, who were just behind by 25 seconds.
Putting behind the disappointment from his previous effort at the APRC Thailand round, the 37-year-old New Zealander did not find any stiff competition in the the rally. Naren, who had done well to break into the lead initially on the first stage, found his lack of familiarity with the Mitsubihi Evo VII four-wheel drive and was content to play safe. He also encountered mechanical problems, and to add some punctures to troubled him. But Naren did show his skill and displayed glimpses of his driving skills as he clocked some fastest sector times.
The final day’s route past the Khodays distilleries was quit challenging and had many dips and climbs which made it an arduous path and understandably many of the cars preferred, were just content, in passing through and did not make any effort to clock their best times, lest they topple. Hence the times were the slowest among all the three days.
The final day saw seven cars, all in the international section, taking part. The INRC drivers and the Rally Star Cup contestants all stayed off the roads despite having the option to participate.
For the Chinese team of Lang Xu and Guanguan Men in the Subaru GC-8, the bad start on the ceremonial flag-off where their car refused to start, ended on a much happier note in third place. Xu and Men did extremely well to take the podium and moreover it was their first-ever effort on a four-wheel drive.
The battle for the fourth spot generated some interest on the final day, as Gerard McGroarty managed to edge out Robert Whyatt. Trailing by 84 seconds on the final day, McGroarty pushed hard in the final leg and just about pipped Whyatt.
The provisional results: 1. Stewart Warren/ Darryl Judd (Mitsubishi Evo VII) (2 hours, 50 minutes, 30.9 seconds); 2. Naren Kumar /D. Ramkumar (Mitsubishi Evo VII) (2:53:04.4); 3. Lang Xu /Guangyuam Men (Subaru GC-8), (3:02:24.7); 4. Gerard McGroarty /Karl Francis (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III) (3:07:29.9); 5. Robert Whyatt /Malcolm Cox (Mitsubishi Evo III) (3:08:33.5).
INRC: 1. Arjun Balu /R. Kumar (2:17:03);1; 2. Leelakrishnan /Farooq Ahmed (2:17:28.9); 3. Karandip Singh /Jaidas Menon (2:20:10.9).
INRC 1400cc: 1. Shresta Patil /Lohit Anand (2:30:08.5); 2. Rahul Kantharaj /Vivek Bhatt (2:33:53.6); 3. S Venkatesh /V Srinivas (2:42:19.3).
Rally Star Cup: 1. Lohit Urs /MK Bopanna (2:30:23.6); 2. S Ramprashanth /Ravi Venkatesh (2:30:59.4); 3. Amith Kumar /Amith Anand (2:40:49.0).
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Naren Kumar lifts third National crown with Ram: Rally championship
Bangalore, 13 October 2002: Former double champion, Coimbatore’s VR Naren Kumar of Team MRF became the National Champion winning the Rally Royal Orchid Park Plaza de Bangalore, the fourth round of the Motorsports Association of India’s (MAI) National rally championship taking the title with a round to spare here on Sunday. It was Naren’s fourth successive win in the 1,600cc category after wins at the Coimbatore, Nasik and Goa rounds, and thus he became the National Champion for the third time after his wins in 1999 and 2000.
Naren and his trusted co-driver D. Ram Kumar finished the 11 special stages in a time of 1:43.46 minutes and they covered 120.6 kms of stage distance. “There was slush everywhere and the conditions were rough. We had to struggle to keep the car on road and I am glad the car survived the ordeal,” said Kumar.
Talented Arjun Balu and navigator Ramaswamy Kumar, who also represent Team MRF, had to be content with a second place as they had to bridge a huge 87-second deficit that they conceded on Saturday to the leaders Naren and Ram. They found the going tough as they had to stall 500 metres from the finish and the problems compounded.
“A couple of bends away from the finish, my engine stopped. I lost two minutes before it started again,” Balu said. But he did manage to keep his second place clocking 1:47.47 minutes.
Another talented youngster Vikram Mathias with co-driver BS Sujith Kumar, also of Team MRF suffered a one-minute penalty on Saturday for checking in a minute early. However, Mathias came third in 1:47.45 minutes, despite the penalty.
When all the Team MRF drivers are having a smooth sailing, Karandip Singh and co-driver Jaidas Menon met with an unexpected obstacle as they hit a tree in the very third stage and had no other option but to retire in the final stage. “I lost the power when I was taking the turn I coule not avoid the crash,” said Singh.
In the 1,400cc category, Jiby Malliakal and co-driver Nikhil Pai won in 1:57.19 minutes. The driver couple had an amazing run, winning their fourth successive round pipping V Sham Sundar and PV Srinivasa Murthy at 2:03.53. Jiby and Nikhil won the 1400cc championship with a round to spare.
Lohitt V Urs and co-driver MK Bopanna clinched the Rally Star Cup and it was two-in-a-row achievement. They were timed at 2:00.49.
Provisional results:
1600cc category: 1. Naren Kumar and D. Ram Kumar (Team MRF) (1 hour, 43 minutes, 46 seconds); 2. Arjun Balu and Ram Kumar (Team MRF) (1:47.47); 3. Vikram Mathias and Sujith Kumar (Team MRF), (1:48.45).
1,400cc category: 1. Jiby Malliakal and Nikhil Pai (Gulf Oil) (1:57.19); 2. Sham Sundar and Srinivas Murthy (Blue Lines) (2:04.13); 3. Rahul Kantharah and Vivek Bhat (SK Patil) (2:15.03).
Rally Star Cup: 1. Lohitt V Urs and MK Bopanna (SK Patil) (2:00.49); 2. Parvinder Singh Saundh and Paritosh Kohok (2:02.02); 3. Ram Prasanth and G. Satish, (2:02.41).
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Naren-Ram triumph, as they sweep all three rounds thus far in 2002
Panaji, 29 Sept. 2002: Former National champion VR Naren Kumar, with navigator D Ramkumar of Team MRF continued their winning spree bagging the overall honours in the WIAA Rallye De Goa 2002, the third round of the Motorsports Association of India’s (MAIO) Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), which concluded at the Mandovi Riviera, Panaji, here on Sunday.
The champion duo opened a huge lead over the all the others and warded off stiff challenge from teammates Karandip Singh and co-driver Jaidas Menon to win their third consecutive INRC round, sweeping all the first three legs of the 2002 INRC calendar. Former champion and strong contender N Leelakrishnan and co-driver Farooq Ahmed finished third, just 8 seconds behind Singh.
The INRC now moves to Bangalore as the fourth round is schduled to be held on October 12 and 13, as the popular K1000 beckons all the leading lights in the country.
The rally was run in Six Special Stages.
Provisional Results: INRC 1400-1600cc: 1. VR Naren Kumar and D. Ramkumar (Team MRF) (1 hour,13 minues, 06 seconds); 2. Karandip Singh and Jaidas Menon (Team MRF) (1:13.27); 3. N Leelakrishnan and Farooq Ahmed (Team MRF) (1:13.35).
INRC 1400cc: 1. Jiby Maliakkal and Nikhil Pai (1:19.40); 2. Rahul Kanthraj and Vivek Bhatt (SK Patil) (1:23.4); 2. Shyam Sunder V and Srinivas Murthy (Blue Lines) (1:24.2); 3. N Jayakumar and G Satish (1:27.20).
Rally Star Cup: 1. Lohit V Urs and Bopanna (SK Patil) (1:22.4); 2. Amit Kumar and Amit Anand (Ravi Prakash) (1:25.15).
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Team MRF’s Naren-Ram win second successive rally
Nashik, 7 July 2002: Ace Coimbatore pair, VR Naren Kumar and co-driver D Ramkumar representing Team MRF notched up a facile win in the WIAA Taj Rally 2002, the second round of the MAI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) here on Sunday. The 2000 champions have now back-toback wins following their triumph in the season opener at home in March.
Organised by Western India Automobile Association (WIAA) under the aegis of National Federation, the Motorsports Association of India, the two-day rally favourites Naren and Ram clinch the issue once again to top the table in the National Championship.
After taking a narrow two seconds lead overnight, the duo were expecting a tough fightback kfrom talented team-mates Arjun Balu and co-driver BS Sujith Kumar and raised the tempo despite the rains that made the stages slippery. In the process, Naren, increased the lead to a comfortable level in the very first stage and then eased off.
“We decided to go flat out and opened a gap on Arjun with over 20 seconds lead. Then we eased off and nurtured the car to win the event”, said an elated Naren Kumar. However, he said any talk about the championship are `premature’ right now. “But two wins in the bag, is good to start,” the two-time National champion concluded.
The current Asian Zone champions, Naren and Ram took part in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship also and have driven two rallys at Canberra and New Zealand and are expected to run two more rallies in Asia.
Team MRF’s Karandip Singh with Bangalore navigator Jaidas Menon finished Overall third followed by National champion N Leelakrishnan and co-driver Farooq Ahmed in Overall fourth.
Soharab Zorabian and co-driver Rio Kapadia won the Rally Star Cup category while Parvinder Saundh and co-driver Paritosh Kohok came second with Tirtha Patil and co-driver Ashwin Naik taking the third spot.
Soharab who finished ahead of the more powerful 1400 cc cars, on Saturday, had a lead of 13 seconds over Parvinder Saundh (the only entrant from Nashik), and he managed a 31 seconds
lead in the first stage on Sunday and three seconds in the second stage. Parvinder managed to gain a second in the last stage, and finished second in this category with co-driver (ex two-wheeler navigator National champion) Paritosh Kohok. Tirhta Patil (co-driver Ashwin Naik) finished third in the class.
Jiby Maliakkal and co-driver Rohan Rego the reigning Rally Star Cup champions found the going very comfortable with Abhilash out of the reckoning and romped home with a huge lead, winning the 1400cc category. Jiby and Rohan finished a creditable Overall fifth also. Abhilash and co-driver Sangeeth Kumar came second with N Jayakumar and co-driver G Satish taking the third place in the 1400cc class.
All drop-outs of the first leg except Ram Prashanth started today’s leg and finished the Leg. And twelve of the total 15 starters finished the rally in full.
Final provisional results:
Overall & 1600 cc: 1. VR Naren Kumar /D Ramkumar (Team MRF) (1hour, 18min, 42sec); 2. Arjun Balu /BS Sujith Kumar (Team MRF) (1:19:09); 3. Karandip Singh /Jaidas Menon (Team MRF) (1:20:21); 4. N Leelakrishnan /Farooq Ahmed (Team MRF) (1:19:35).
1400cc class: 1. Jiby Maliakkal /Rohan Rego (1:28:54); 2. PG Abhilash /Sangeeth Kumar (1:34:30); 3. N Jayakumar /G Satish (1:34:50).
Rally Star Cup: 1. Soharab Zorabian /Rio Kapadia (1:25:44); 2. Parvinder Saundh /Paritosh Kohok (1:26:31); 3. Tirtha Patil /Ashwin Naik (1:27:51); 4. N Arun Rahul /Harsha Thaminar (1:31:19); 5. Karthikeyan R /SB Rajkumar (1:31:20).
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Naren Kumar, Ramkumar begin season with a win; Reds sweep top-six spots
Coimbatore, 31 March 2002: Strong contenders and local stars VR Naren Kumar and navigator D Ramkumar of Team MRF led a sweep of all the top-six places by the `Reds’, topping the stage times on the outskirts of the city, in the Servo Mill & Monsoon Rally, 2002, the opening round of the Motorsports Association of India’s (MAI) Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) here on Sunday.
Naren and Ram, the defending Asian Zone Rally Champions, had an overnight lead of 12 seconds over teammates Sagar Muthappa and Sandeep S Rao from Bangalore. But the narrow lead proved to be too short as Sagar attacked the stages right from the word `go’ and in the very first stages not only made up the 12 seconds, but managed to take a lead of 40 seconds and to add to the complications for Naren, his Honda City suffered technical problems. But Naren carefully guarded his second place till then. And after the Service break after Stage 2, took care of the struts, Naren and Ram, had no other way but go all-out to bridge the gap, if had to eye a victory. “We were a bit worried but judging the pace of others, we decided to attack and go all-out. The struts were worrying us, but after the Service stop, we took off,” said Naren.
In the last three stages, Naren was fastest and garnered enough time on Muthappa and by the end of the five stages of the day, he not only bridged the gap but took a minute and four seconds lead.
“We had something loose at the rear and the car was not handling well. By the time we could set it, we lost time to Naren. But it is still a good beginning for the season and we hope for a good year,” said Muthappa.
Team MRF’s Karandip Singh and co-driver Jaidas Menon took the third place on the podium, a further 56 seconds behind Muthapopa. Former multiple-National champions N Leelakrishnan and co-driver Farooq Ahmed came fourth behind Karandip.
Talented Karnataka duo of Vikram Mathias and BS Sujith Kumar were Overall fifth clocking 2hours, 16min and 37seconds, but importantly they won their class, the 1400cc category. Vijyant Chaudhry and Moosa Sherif finished 6th overall.
“We were pushing hard to see whether we can match the 1600cc machines but gave up mid-way as we were keen not to win our class and avoid problems to the car,” said Mathias. They comfortably beat the Kerala duo of PG Abhilash and Sangeet Kumar, who were supported jontly by JK Tyres, Maruti Motorsport and Chettinad Sport.
But it was the day Team Chettinad, as their pair of Jiby Maliakkal and Rohan Rego, the Rally Star Cup champions last year, bounced back after an incident in Stage 3 where thier car turned turtle, and with a stunning effort they took the final place on the podium in the 1400cc class.
It was Q-Wait Oil’s Kerala duo of Dr Bikku Babu and Bonnie Thomas, who built on their Saturday’s lead and won the Rally Star Cup nurturing their car mixing caution with aggression. “We did have pressure yesterday, but today we went for a win making sure to bring the car home,” said Bikku Babu.
Shamsundar V and PV Srinivasa Murthy of Team Blue Lines, who were sixth overnight in their class took the third place despite two punctures and rued missed chances of taking the second. But others were not so lucky. The Rally Star Cup, overnight leaders Lohitt V Urs and Bopanna MK pulled out due to technical problems and others to follow suit were Phillipos Matthai and Bhopesh Gadotra, who had suspension issues, and Arjun Rao Aroor and Dunstan JM D’Silva who could not finish due to mechanical problems.
Of the 19 cars that started on Sunday, only 16 finished the rally. The second round will be at Nashik on June 15 & 16.
Provisional results:
Overall and Upto 1600cc: 1. VR Naren Kumar /D Ramkumar (Team MRF) (2hours, 13min, 13sec); 2. Sagar Muthappa /Sandeep S Rao (Team MRF) (2:14:17); 3. Karandip Singh /Jaidas Menon (Team MRF) (2:15:13); 4. N Leelakrishnan /Farooq Ahmed (Team MRF) (2:16:15).
Upto 1400cc: 1. Vikram Mathias /BS Sujith Kumar (Team MRF) (2:16:37); 2. PG Abhilash / Sangeet Kumar (Team JK, Maruti, Chettinad) (2:21:43); 3. Jiby Maliakkal /Rohan Rego (Team Chettinad Sporting) (2:26:17); 4. Along Aier and Vikishe Shome (pvt) (2:30:09).
Rally Star Cup: 1. Dr Bikku Babu /Bonnie Thomas (Team Q-Wait Oil) (2:27:12); 2. Manju JM/ Sudharshan Gowda M (pvt) (2:30:52); 3. Shamsundar V/ PV Srinivasa Murthy (Team Blue Lines) (2:33:11); 4. Thirtha S Patil /Lohit Anand (pvt) (2:34:37).
