Category: Domestic

By George Francis/Scorp News

Nashik, 10 June 2001: The second round of the Motorsports Association of India’s (MAI) Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), the WISA’s Taj India Rally was held here on June 9 and 10. At the conclusion of the first leg, Team MRF was sitting pretty, with the top six places safely tucked away. But there was an amazing revelation on Day 2. Six of the seven `Red-and-white’ cars left in the fray were disqualified after a late evening scrutiny session at the completion of the first leg. That left only the No.8 Esteem of Vikram Mathias and co-driver BS Sujith Kumar, flying the Red-and-White Flag.

Organised by the Western India Sports Association (WISA), the rally was held over 424km of broken, rough tarmac, through the plains, several small hamlets and over the dry brown hills that surround the city of Nashik. The first leg comprised 210km with three challenging Special Stages. The second leg, the next day, was a repeat of the previous day’s route and Special Stages.

The event attracted 20 entries from all over the country. Eight of these were from Team MRF and 10 are part of the Rally Star Cup. All the top Indian riders were present, vying for valuable championship points. A couple of new faces, the 18-year-old Philippos Mathai from Delhi and co-driver SN Shanmuga from Bangalore, also took part. Another pair making its INRC debut was Along Aier and Thongde Imlong, who had come all the way from Nagaland to get a feel of the National-level rallying.

The first stage, which ran over 24.12km, passed through a couple of small ghat sections, which threw up some sharp `U’ turns that the drivers had to negotiate. Running over 22.19km, the second Special Stage had a particularly tough section of about 2km which was more rough dirt than tarmac. As for the third Special Stage, which ran over a distance of 16.17km, the first 2km was very rough and prompted the organisers to cancel that particular section.

For the new entrants, the Honda City and Suzuki Balenos, though packed with extra power, things were not very bright. “This route is really bad for the Baleno which is even lower than the Hondas, especially with out new suspension set-up,” said MRF’s Vijayanth Chaudhry.

One the competitors know what they had in store, they were anxious to get on with it. “We fancied our chances in the first and the second stages but were not very hopeful about the third. We wanted to finish, but at the same time, we did not want to leave without a placing,” said PG Abhilash, who along with co-driver, Sangeeth Kumar, competed in an Esteem. The reigning champions, Naren Kumar and co-driver D Ramkumar admitted that they had to make up on their championship points as they missed the first round of the INRC at Coimbatore. The duo was also battling for the Asia Zone Rally Championship points at the same event.

The opening day turned out to be a pleasant one, perfect for the start of the first leg. Naren and Ramkumar were the first to be flagged off at the Taj Residency Nashik. But it was Leelakrishnan and Farooq Ahmed who clocked the fastest time in the first Special Stage. Everyone expected the powerful Honda City or Suzuki Baleno to blitz the outdated Esteems, but last year’s sensational find, Vikram Mathias and co-driver Sujith Kumar, had an amazing run.

Naren Kumar and Ramkumar who many expected to be among the forerunners, made some uncharacteristic mistakes and ended the day in the fourth position. For Arjun Balu and co-driver R Kumar, their dismal show of the season continued when they crashed out. PG Abhilash and Sangeeth Kumar had a major crash in the third Special Stage. Fortunately the pair escaped with minor injuries but the car was severely damaged and they had to discontinue.

At the completion of the first leg, the cars returned to the Taj and then the drama unfolded. Technical delegates Asif Haidery had noticed that the MRF cars looked a little low. The cars were summoned for scrutiny. Six of the seven cars were found to be running about 20-25mm lower than the prescribed regulations and were disqualified.

There were only 12 cars left for the second leg. Surprisingly, the fastest time in the first Special Stage was clocked by Sohrab Zorabian and co-driver Raymond Kapadia, competing in the RSC category. The pair drove daringly to accomplish this feat, considereing the fact that they did this without brakes. This took them from the eighth place, at the end of the first leg, to the third spot in the RSC category. But the second leg belonged to Vikram and Sujith all the way. Starting the leg in the lead, the pair lost some time, owing to an electrical problem in the first stage, but they kept their cool and proceeded at a conservative pace in the final two stages, well aware that they could hand on to the lead. “I hardly slept last night. This was the first time we were leading in a rally. Besides there was a lot of pressure on us, being the only MRF car left in the fray,” said an overjoyed Vikram at the finish. Debutants Phillippos Mathai and SN Shanmuga finished in second place. “I came here hoping to at least finish the rally. I never dreamt that I would finish second,” said Mathai, a Class XII student. Pervinder Saundh and former group D motorcycles National champion Paritosh Kohok did extremely well to take the third spot.

In the RSC category, Jiby Maliakkal and his co-driver Rohan Rego drove consistently to finish first. Anil Kumar and Amit Kumar followed in second while Sohrab and Raymond finished third. Vikram and Sujith led the table with 22 points followed by Leelakrishnan and Farooq with 16 points.

Provisional Results (with times after SS6):

Overall: 1. Vikram Mathias/BS Sujith Kumar (Team MRF) (1hour, 34minutes, 0seconds); 2. Philippos Matthai/SN Shanmuga (1:40:00); 3. Parvinder Saundh/Paritosh Kohok (1:41:09); 4. V Shamsunder/PV Srinivasa Murhty (1:44:02); 5. Jiby Maliakkal/Rohan Rego (1:47:08).

Rally Star Cup: 1. Jiby Maliakkal/Rohan Rego (1:47:08); 2. Anil Kumar/Amit Kumar (1: 48:52); 3. Shorab Zorabian/Raymond Kapadia (1:49:52); 4. Ashish Doshi/Bhavin Shah (1:52:12); 5. Lohith Urs/MK Bopanna (1:52:13).

Championship standings – after two rounds:

Overall: 1. Vikram Mathias/BS Sujith Kumar (Team MRF) 26 points; 2. Jagat Nanjappa and Anita (Team MRF) 15 points; 3. Philippos Mathai/SN Shanmuga, 9 points.

RSC standings: 1. Jiby Maliakkal/ Rohan Rego 14 points; 2. Anil Kumar/ Amit Kumar 8 points; 3. Sohrab/Raymon 7 points.

Pune, 3 Sept 2000: Five-time National champion N Leelakrishnan and co-driver Farooq Ahmed of Team MRF Limited won the Para-HRA Monsoon Rally 2000, the second round of the MAI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) and lead a `Red Sweep’ with Team MRF winning all the top six Overall honours, here on Sunday.

Apart from the top-six places in the Overall section, Team MRF also won the top-three positions in the Group `A’ Modified class and also swept the podium in the Group `N’ unmodified production cars class in the gruelling rally held on the outskirts of Pune.

A Motorsports Association of India (MAI) press release said that the Pune rally had received 16 entries from across the country with MRF dominating the entry sheet. Of them, 11 cars finished the two-leg rally run in Special Stage format on dirt road stages which are closed for public. Leelakrishnan and Farooq Ahmed were the overall winners as they defeated their main rivals and reigning National champions Naren Kumar and co-driver Ramkumar, who had to be content with a second place. Karandip Singh and co-driver Jaidas Menon, also of MRF, won the Production Cars class and also finished third overall. Biking legends, Jagat Nanjappa and Anita came fourth overall and second in Group N class.

On Sunday, Vijayant Choudary (MRF) was the lone drop out while four others dropped out on Saturday during the first leg. Palash Tavaria and Sagar Muthappa of Team MRF, who had pulled out on Saturday rejoined on Sunday’ in the superrally format to have a go at some points for the National Championship.

This year’s MAI calendar has seven rounds and the next round will be in Goa from September 22. The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) which is removed as the ASN by FIA recently, is running their own championship and had completed two rounds at Calcutta and Chennai.

By George Francis

Mumbai, 6 August 2000: Speeds of over 170 kms on smooth roads, long stages (between 18 and 25 kms) and the scenic setting of the Sahyadri ranges made the rally organised by Western India Automobile Association (WISA) a memorable event in the year.

The top eight cars were sponsored by MRF Limited while four Touring Cars of Group A Modified and 11 Production Cars of Group N unmodified got ready for the start in Mumbai. It was a dream come true for Nazir Hoosein of the Himalayan RallyAssociation (HRA) who now runs the Motorsports Association of India (MAI).

The Monsson Rally was the first of a series of seven Rallys to decide the MAI Indian National Champion of the year 2000. Paul Williams, Rally Australia’s experienced official, was brought in as an observer, the idea being that this would also help MAI reach international standards quickly.

This was also the first National Rally in Mumbai in four years. Since only cars with carburettors were allowed, the JK Tyre Rally Team pulled out. It has recently acquiared two of the fuel-injected Mitsubishi Lancers.

The MRF competitors were all too happy to eb in a rally after a seven-month lay off due to FMSCI versus MAI problems.

On August 5, 15 cars were flagged off from the Flora Fountain Circle in downtown Mumbai, at two minute intervals. The first car was driven by National Champion Naren Kumar and navigated by D Ramkumar. The cars ran a 111-km transport sector to touch Wada, the cars were allowed just 10 minutes of service time before the start of Special Stages.

The first Special Stage (SS) was between Parli and Devgaon in the lush forests of the Sahyadri ranges. Naren Kumar flew down this Special Stage, touching a high of over a 1000-kms per hour. But Leelakrishnan, six-times National Champion, had to pull out soon after this stage began due to gear-box failure.

After a 20-minute service stop at Devgaon, the rallyists proceeded to do the Khodala Devgaon second Specioal Stage of the rally. After all the carshad lined up, a Maharashtra State Transport bus and two jeeps carrying local villagers, requested to be allowed to pass. “We had to allow them to go, to maintain a good relationship. After all, our rally has to pass their villages,” said Nazir Hoosein. “Of course, we could have avoided this, if we had given enough prior notice,” he added.

In fact, the MAI had distributed school books to all the kids in the various villages through which the rally ran. THey had also picked up willing lads in the villages, and made them `spectator control’ and `crowd control’ Marshals.

Special Stage two started 30 minutes late, and the drivers `went flat out’ touching speeds of over 130 kmph at many places, sliding through the bends and curves, to reach Devgaon for the next 20-minute service.

Special Stage 3 between Devgaon and Taj Residency, Nashik, was the dream stage for the Speedsters. The 25.60km stage, the longest in the rally, was spread over green meadows and had all what the daredevils asked for, long straights, fast turns, crests which disguised the oncoming bends and simply `flat out’ terrain.

Rallyists touched speeds of over 170 kmph. Rabbi Madan and Abhishek Datt, in a black Esteeem, missed a turn after a crest, flew into a meadow, flipped and pulled out. AD Jamoshedji and ‘sohrab Zorabian, in the lone Maruti Gypsy (in the Esteem-filled rally), withdrew due to mechanical problems. A curt Madan said: “Our flip was a great experience. I hope you also have one soon.”

“We had to trust our navigators full and full,” said Naren Kumar, at the end of Leg 1, which he led. “It is great fun to go over a crest, not sure what is in store for you on the other side.  Only your navigators’ call can help and save you,” he added.

“It was phenomenal to drive,” said Vikram Mathias, who was on his maiden rally. Running third in Group N, at the end of Leg 1, Vikram was driving his heart out. Sunil Shetty, his navigator, said: “I enjoyed the run every bit.”

“It was just too good,” said Karanddep Singh, navigated by Jaidas Menon, from TEam MRF, who proved his mettle by leading the Group N cars. The day ended at the Taj Residency at Nashik.

The Super Rally format, now being followed in the Indian rallys, allows a competitor who pulled out of a leg, to run the other leg/legs of the event, to gain points for the championship. Further, it also stipulates that 80 per cent of any rally should be run either one of the three terrains, namely, dirt, gravel or tarmac, to avoid unnecessary tyre changes. In keeping with the format, Leelakrishnan and Jamshedji decided to participate in Leg 2.

It was wake up call at 4 am for the rallyists on August 6, as the second leg was to be flagged off at 6 am. After 62 kms of transport to Devgaon, the rallyists took a 10-minute service break before going into Special Stage 4.

The Devgaon-Mokhada stage of over 25-km which was Special Stage 4 was reveresed as the Mokhada-Devgaon sector for Special Stage 5.

The Group N National Champion driver of Team MRF, Vijayant Chowdhry of Chandigarh and Shivu Shivappa of Bangalore would not forget Special Stage 4 for life. “We were driving at 140-kmph and Vijayant was fully on the gas (accelerator) and we were approaching an `easy left’. I really do not know what happened. Suddenly, Vijayant started anti-locking the steering and correcting. The car was now off the road. We went down the road, rolled into a paddy field, and somehow flew out and jammed into a tree,” said a shaken Shivappa.

Both Vijayant and Shivu were badly shaken, but not seriously injured. This stage also saw the end of Vikram Mathias’ challenge as he missed a call, and went off the road on an easy right and landed in the meadow.

The rest of the cars continued their journey to the fifth Special Satge followed by the final stage between Khodala and Bombay service. Then followed the treacherous 128-km journey on the Nashik-Mumbai highway to finish the event at the Flora Fountain in Mumbai. With only on major team, Team MRF, participating, post-event srutiny became a simple affair.

VR Naren Kumar and D Ramkumar won the Overall and Group A top spots, followed by Arjun Balu and KR Kmar. Sagar Muthappa and Sandeep Rao finished third in Group A to make it a 1-2 for MRF.

The Group N victory went to Karandeep Singh and Jaidas Menon. They were followed by Jagat Nanjappa and Anita Nanjappa, the husband-wife duo. While the first two placings in the Group went to MRF, the third spot went to a privateer Vikram Suhrem and BS Sujith Kumar.

Provisional Results:

Overall: 1. VR Naren Kumar/D Ramkumar (Team MRF) (1hour, 27 minutes, 33 seconds); 2. Arjun Balu/KR Kumar (Team MRF) (1: 28:16); 3. Sagar Muthappa/Sandeep Rao (1:29:06); 4. Karandeep Singh/Jaidas Menon (Team MRF) (1:31:42); 5. Jagat Nanjappa/Anita (1:33:07).

Production Cars (Group N) Unmodified: 1. Karandeep Singh/Jaidas Menon (Team MRF) (1:31:42); 2. Jagat Nanjappa/Anita (1:33:07); 3. Vikram Suhram/BS Sujith Kumar (Privateer) (1:37:07); 4. Navaz Bathena/Sherin Balachander (1:38:43); 5. Satyan Kochar./Alistair Woodham (Privateer) (1:41:13).

Touring Cars (Group A) Modified cars: 1. VR Naren Kumar/D Ramkumar (Team MRF) (1: 27: 33); 2. Arjun Balu/KR Kumar (Team MRF) (1: 28:16); 3. Sagar Muthappa/Sandeep Rao (1: 29:06);