INDIA in F1

Category: Non-F1

  • INRC: Winners’ Hall of Fame

    INRC: Winners’ Hall of Fame

    A list of all the winners of all the rounds starting for 1988 is compiled and given below. (Winners of a few years in the initial years are yet to be collected.)

    By David Bodapati

    Bengaluru: Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) has a special charm and attraction in India. It is the Crown Jewel of Indian motorsports and holds a respectable status among all the Nationals and vies for supremacy with National Racing Championship which, perhaps, has overtaken in popularity in the last few years due to the meticulous handling and organisational skills of the Madras Motor Sports Club. The overwhelming crowd patronage, the sheer passion and love shown by the drivers, officials, organisers and fans takes one into a different realm when one pours through the 32 editions held so far.

    The year 1996 is a special year in my life. It is the first year, I saw a rally live and was enamoured by it. I was working with Indian Express then and was transferred to Bangalore Sports Desk in 1996. Since then I have followed all the rallies and have covered at least one rally a year.

    In 1995, I had followed the reports from the rallies, and it was the largest calendar with 9 rounds and 1996 too had a menu of nine rounds, the best two years with the highest number of rounds in the 32 years of INRC history (as of 23Dec200). That year, the first three rounds were held in Nashik, Coimbatore and Madras and there were three different winners which opened up the race for the championship. We were eagerly waiting for the 22nd K1000. Come August and it is rally time here. And there was a new winner once again. Here, I met some of the legends with whom, over the years I developed great friendships. CK Chinnappa, George Francis, Shekar Bojanna, and the like. They used to reel out stories and I was mesmerised. And not to forget the two, Sujith Kumar and Madhu, who introduced me to live F1 screenings at Guzzlers Inn on Church Street, where the atmosphere used to be electric with two camps cheering their F1 heroes while guzzling draught beer. The McLaren fans on one side and the Tifosi on the other.

    Coming back to INRC, I have tried to put together all the winners of all the rounds since INRC began in the present format as a National Championship in 1988. I have started with overall winners and co-drivers. Soon I hope to dig in and come up with winners of different classes. There are a lot of gaps. I request all the respected senior drivers and veteran fans to chip in and help me pool in the missing information. I will be very thankful for any additions and corrections. You can click the link for a particular round, if the link is available, and it will take you to the rally report of that year’s round.

    A 2009 INRC image by Kishen Nanjappa. The IMG and PSP arrival as promoters has changed the rally scene in India in 2009.

    Here we go! Have a nostalgic trip!!

    Statistics Tables

    K 1000 Winners’ List

    2025 INRC – Promoter: Bluedband Sports

    Round 1: April 24 to 27: Chennai: South India Rally, Madras Motors Sports Club

    2024 INRC – Promoter: Bluedband Sports

    2023 INRC – Promoter: Bluedband Sports

    2022 INRC – Promoter: Bluedband Sports

    INRC 2021 Calendar: (announced by CYC on 22 March 2021)

    No rally was held in 2021. The revised calendar after many Covid postponements was supposed to start with Vizag opener from Dec 17 to 19. But it was cancelled in the last minute due to the cancellaltion of the Police permission and despite the best efforts of the Promoter Vamsi Merla, the rally could not be conducted even on the following Tuesday and Wednesday and all the 54 competitors had to go back.

    Later, FMSCI announced a 3-round 2021 calender to be conducted in 2022.

    2021 INRC round Held in 2022

    Aditya-Virender INRC 2021 champs

    Round 1: Coimbatore: Rally of Coimbatore, Coimbatore Auto Sports Club

    Aditya Thakur & Virender Kashyap clinch Rally of Coimbatore in style: INRC Ro.1

    Round 2: Chennai: Madras Motor Sports Club, South India Rally

    Karna Kadur wins APRC round on international debut; Nikhil Pai drives Polo magic again

    Round 3: Final round: Bengaluru: Karnataka Motor Sports Club, K-1000

    Gaurav Gill wins 7th K1000 title; 300th rally cap for Musa Sherif

    2021 INRC – Promoter: Champions Yacht Club

    Round 1 – Chennai: Madras Motor Sports Club – April 23-25; Postponed

    Round 2 – Bengaluru:  45th K1000, Karnataka Motor Sports Club -May 28-30; Postponed due to Covid.

    Round 3 – Coimbatore: Coimbatore Auto Sports Club – July 17-18; Not held.

    Round 4 – *Delhi, BND Motor Sports , August 27-28; Not held.

    Round 5 -Hampi: Motorsports Academy of Vijayanagar – Oct 1-3; Not held.

    Round 6 – *Nagaland, NAMSA, – November 12-14; Not held.

    *Subject to FMSCI inspection and confirmation of organizer

    2020 INRC – Promoter: Champions Yacht Club; Champion: Gill-Musa

    1. Itanagar, Tarmac NH415; 16-17 Dec 2020; Rally of Arunachal Pradesh; (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, Mahindra XUV500, Team Mahindra Adventure, INRC, JK Tyres)
    2. Itanagar, Tarmac NH415; 19-20 Dec 2020; Rally of Arunachal Pradesh; (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, Mahindra XUV500, Team Mahindra Adventure, INRC, JK Tyres)
    3. Coimbatore, Gravel; 29-31 Jan 2021; Rally of Coimbatore; (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, Mahindra XUV500, Team Mahindra Adventure, INRC, JK Tyres)
    4. Bengaluru, Gravel; 12-14 Feb 2021; 45th K-1000 Rally; (Cancelled on 5 Feb 2021 by FMSCI)

    *Hampi* (Karnataka); Gravel, 5-7 Feb 2021; Rally de Hampi 4w contender for fmsci INRC 2021; Organised by Motorsports Academy of Vijayanagar

    **South India Rally at Chennai, Popular Rally in Kerala and Coffee Day Rally in Chikmagalur were cancelled initially for the year 2020 due to Corona Pandemic. Later in the last minute, K1000 was cancelled and Hampi did not get FMSCI clearance and ran as contender.

    Note – All rounds of INRC 2020 were put off due to COVID-19 and only began in Decd 202. The Original calendar was 1. Chennai, Mar 20-22; South India Rally (APRC); 2. Arunachal, April 24-26: Rally of Arunachal; 3. Kerala, May 29 to 31: Popular Rally; 4. Coimbatore, July 24-26; Rally of Coimbatore; 5. Bengaluru, Oct 9-11; 45th K1000 Rally; 6. Hampi (Karnataka), Nov 6-8; Hampi Rally; 7. Chikmagalur, Dec 5-7; Rally of Chikmagalur;

    2019 INRC (Champions: Brothers Chetan Shivram, Dilip Sharan)

    Promoter: Champion Yacht Club

    1. Chennai, Gravel, June 28-30; 41st South India Rally (Dean Mascarenhas-Shruptha Padival, VW Polo, Team Champions, INRC2-Overall 1st) 26/51 cars finished.

    2. Coimbatore, Gravel, Aug 9-11; Rally of Coimbatore (Chetan Shivaram-Dilip Sharan, VW Polo, Team Akshara, INRC3-Overall first) 40/57 finished.

    3. Jodhpur, Sept 20 to 22; Maxperience Rally 2019 (Cancelled after Stage 1 due to Gill accident*)

    4. Bengaluru, Gravel, Nov 22-24; 44th K1000 Rally (Chetan Shivaram- Dilip Sharan, VW Polo, Team Akshara, INRC3-Overall first) Only 23/50 finished.

    5. Kottayam, Asphalt, Dec 20-22;  Popular Rally, (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, Mahindra XUV500, Team Mahindra Adventure, INRC)

    *Note: 3 died in the accident and the rally was cancelled after the first stage.

    2018 INRC (Champions: Gaurav Singh Gill, Musa Sherif)

    Promoter: RRPM

    1. Chennai, Gravel, April 27-29; MRF 40th South India Rally (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, Mahindra XUV 500, INRC1) 19/30 cars finished.

    2. Coimbatore, Gravel, Aug 3-5; MRF Rally of Coimbatore (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, Mahindra XUV 500, Team Mahindra Adventure, INRC1) 30/42 cars finished.

    3. Itanagar, Asphalt, Nov 2-4; Rally of Arunachal (Amittrajit Ghosh-Ashwin Naik, Mahindra XUV 500, Team Mahindra Adventure, INRC1) 13/17 finished

    4. Chikmagalur, Gravel, Nov 29-Dec 2; Coffee Day Rally (Karna Kadur-Nikhil Pai, VW Polo, Arka Motorsports, INRC2 – Overall first) 38/45 cars finished.

    5. Kochin, Asphalt, Dec 14-16; Popular Rally (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, Mahindra XUV 500, INRC1) 30/36 cars finished.

    Note: K1000 missing in the calendar for the first time in INRC due to the Promoter RRPM’s decision.

    2017 INRC (Champions: Gaurav Singh Gill, Musa Sherif)

    Promoter: RRPM

    1. Coimbatore, Gravel, July 28-30; MRF Rally of Coimbatore (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, Mahindra XUV 500, Team Mahindra Adventure, INRC). 22 of 32 finished.

    2. Chennai, Gravel, Aug 25-27, 40th MRF SIR – CANCELLED

    2. Jaipur, Gravel, Sept 22-24; Rally of Rajasthan (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, Mahindra XUV 500, INRC) 11 of 16 finished. Note: One stage of 13.8km cancelled.

    3. Chikmagalur, Gravel, Nov 23-26; Coffee Day India Rally (Karna Kadur-Nikhil Pai, VW Polo, Arka Motorsports, INRC2 – Overall first) 26 of 38 cars finished.

    4. Arunachal Pradesh, Gravel, Dec 21-23; Rally of Arunachal (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, Mahindra XUV 500, INRC) One stage of 18km cancelled. 14/17cars finished.

    5. Bengaluru, Gravel, Jan 19-21, 2018; 43rd K1000 Rally (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, Mahindra XUV 500, INRC)* 17/27 finished.

    *Left over round of 2017 calendar held in 2018

    2016 INRC (Champions: Karna Kadur, Nikhil Pai)

    Promoter: RRPM

    1. Coimbatore, Gravel, July 23-24; MRF Rally of Coimbatore, (PG Abhilash- Srikanth Gowda, Lancer Evo 8, R3A PGA Motorsport, IRC)* 32 of 39 cars finished.

    *Note; On Aug 18 protest was upheld and Abhilash-Gowda were declared winners.

    2. Nashik, Gravel, Aug 27-28; MRF Rally of Maharashtra (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, Mahindra XUV 500, Team Mahindra Adventure, IRC) 25 of 32 cars finished.

    (Abhilash-Srikanth win IRC, Lancer Evo 8, R3A PGA Motorsport – Overall 9th)

    3. Gurgaon, Gravel, Sept 17-18; MRF Rally de North (Arjun Rao Aroor- Satish Rajagopal, VW Polo R2) (Dr Dhirendra-Honey win IRC, Overall 10th) 12/25 finished. Cancelled stage 16.7km.

    4. Chikmagalur, Gravel, Dec 3-5, Coffee Day India Rally (Gaurav Gill- McNeal Glenn, Skoda Fabia R5, Team MRF Tyres; APRC) (Karna Kadur-Nikhil Pai, VW Polo, Team Yokohoma, INRC 2000) 31 of 49 cars finished.

    5. Hosadurga, near Bengaluru, Gravel, Dec 17-18; MRF 42nd K1000 Rally (Amittrajit Ghosh-Ashwin Naik, Mahindra XUV 500, Team Mahindra Adventure, INRC); (Rahul Kantharaj-Vivek Bhatt, Cedia, Team Yokohama, 2000 – Overall 3rd) 20 of 31 cars finished.

    Note: Karna Kadur -Nikhil Pai, finish 5th in K1000; enough to win championship.

    2015 INRC (Champions: Lohith V Urs, Srikanth GM)

    1. Goa, May 29 to 31; – CANCELLED

    1.Nashik, Asphalt, June 12-14, Mahindra Adventure Rally of Maharashtra (Gaurav Gill-Musa, Mahindra XUV 500, Team Mahindra Adventure, IRC) 21 of 26 finished.

    2. Coimbatore, Gravel, July 30-Aug 1, Rally of Coimbatore, (Lohitt V Urs-Srikanth Gowda, Lancer Evo VIII, IRC) 24 of 35 cars finished.

    Rally of Kerala, CANCELLED, Oct 16 to 18 (Labour strike at plantations)

    3. Bengaluru, Gravel, Nov 20-22; Horizon 41st K1000 Rally (Pallath Ganesh Abhilash-Anoop Kumar, Lancer Evo 8, IRC) 23 of 36 cars finished.

    4. Chikmagalur, Gravel, Dec 11-13, Coffee Day Rally (Lohitt Urs- Srikanth Gowda, Evo 8, RC2 IRC). 17.9km stage cancelled. 28 of 41 cars finished.

    2014 INRC (Champions: Gaurav Singh Gill, Musa Sherif)

    1. Nashik, Tarmac, June 13-15; WISA Rally of Maharashtra (Gaurav Gill- Musa Sherif, Mahindra XUV 500, Mahindra Adventure team, IRC) 19 of 20 cars finished.

    2. Coimbatore, Gravel, July 11-13; Rally of Coimbatore (Gaurav Gill- Musa Sherif, Mahindra XUV 500, Mahindra Adventure team, IRC). 21 of 35 cars finished.

    3. Chennai, Gravel, July 25-27; AVT Premiuim 39th SIR (Samir Thaper- Gurinder Mann, Lancer Evo X, JCT Rallying, IRC). 18 of 29 cars finished.

    4. Kolkata, Durgapur, Gravel, Oct 31-Nov 2; 3 Rally de Bengal (Gaurav Gill- Musa Sherif, Mahindra XUV 500, Mahindra Adventure team, IRC). 11 of 18 cars finished.

    5. Bengaluru, Gravel, Nov 21-23; Kar 1000 Rally (Gaurav Gill- Musa Sherif, Mahindra XUV 500, Mahindra Adventure team, IRC). 24 of 41 cars finished. Stages Near Doddaguni, Tumkur.

    6. Chikmagalur, Gravel, Dec 13-14; Coffee Day Rally (Vikram Mathias- Swaroop Mohan, Lancer Evo IX, pvt, IRC). 19 of 34 cars finished.

    2013 INRC (Champions: Amittrajit Ghosh, Ashwin Naik)

    1. Chennai, Gravel, March 22-24; 38th AVT Premium South India Rally (Amittrajit Ghosh-Ashwin Naik, Mitsubishi Cedia, Group N). 19 of 35 cars finished.

    2. Nashik, Asphalt, June 7-9; Mahindra Adventure Rally of Maharashtra (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, Mahindra XUV500, Mahindra Adventure, SUV). 16/28 finished. Amittrajit Ghosh-Ashwin Naik, Cedia, Group N, Overall Winners

    3. Coimbatore, Gravel, July 19-21; Rally of Coimbatore Rally (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, Mahindra XUV500, Team Mahindra Adventure, SUV). 14 of 29 cars finished. Amittrajit Ghosh-Ashwin Naik, Cedia, Group N, Overall Winners.

    4. Bangalore, Gravel, Nov 9-10; IMG 39th K1000 Rally (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, Mahindra XUV500, Mahindra Adventure, SUV). 23 of 36 cars finished.

    5. Chikmagalur, Gravel, Dec 19-21; Coffee Day Rally, (Arjun Rao Aroor-Satish Rajagopal, VW Polo, 1600-Overall first). 17/38 finished. 14.21km Stage cancelled.

    Note: Following rounds were announced in the Calendar but NOT HELD

    Bhuj, Northern Motorsports, April 12 to 14 (Gravel)

    Kolkota, RRPM, May 17 to 20 (gravel)

    Kochi, KASC, Sept 20 to 22 (TBA) tarmac

    2012 INRC (Champions: Amittrajit Ghosh, Ashwin Naik)

    Promoter: IMG-PSP;  (No Sponsor)

    1. Siddlaghatta, Bangalore, Gravel, Sept 21-23; 38th K1000 Bangalore Rally (Lohitt V Urs-Sujith Kumar, Mitsubishi Cedia, 2000, pvt). 22 of 39 cars finished.

    Coorg, Oct 19-21; Rally of Coorg. CANCELLED due to rains.

    2. Chikmagalur, Gravel, Nov 23-25; Coffee Day Rally (Amittrajit Ghosh-Ashwin Naik, Mitsubishi Cedia, 2000). 29 of 43 finished.

    Note: Karna Kadur-Somonnita Ghosh lost at the fag-end due to 40-sec late penalty at the last TC which virtually cost him the Championship.

    Ahmednagar/Nashik, Gravel, Dec 22-23; Rally of Maharashtra. CANCELLED for lack of gravel stage permissions from landowners.

    2011 INRC (Champions: Gaurav Singh Gill, Musa Sherif)

    Promoter: IMG-PSP; Sponsor Bharat Petroleum- Speed

    Calendar announced on 16 March 2011

    1. Nashik, Gravel, June 2-5; Rally of Maharashtra (Gaurav Gill- Musa Sherif, Mitsubishi Cedia, MRF Ltd, 2000N+) 18 of 27 cars finished.

    2. Chennai, Dirt with SSS on tarmac, June 23-26; 37th South India Rally (Amittrajit Ghosh-Ashwin Naik, Mitsubishi Cedia, MRF Tyres, 2000N+). 12 of 27 cars finished. SIR revived after 11 years.

    3. Coimbatore, Gravel, July 21-24; Rally of Coimbatore (Gaurav Gill- Musa Sherif, Mitsubishi Cedia, MRF Ltd, 2000N+). 26 of 39 cars finished.

    4. Bangalore, Gravel, Aug 19-21; 37th K1000 Rally of Bangalore (Gaurav Gill- Musa Sherif, Mitsubishi Cedia, MRF Ltd, 2000N+). 19 out of 41 cars finished.

    5. Chikmagalur, Gravel Nov 18-20; MSCC – Coffee Day Rally (Lohitt V Urs-PV Srinivasa Murthy, Mitsubishi Cedia, MRF Ltd., 2000N+). 29 of 39 cars finished.

    6. Bhubaneswar, Gravel, Dec 9-11; Rally of Odisha (Gaurav Gill- Musa Sherif, Mitsubishi Cedia, MRF Ltd, 2000N+). 15/18 cars finished. Organisers: BMSC & Kalinga MSC.

    7. Durgapur, Gravel, Dec 16-18; Rally de Bengal (Gaurav Gill- Musa Sherif, Mitsubishi Cedia, MRF Ltd, 2000N+). 15 of 21 finished. Organiser: RRPM

    2010 INRC (Champions: Naren Kumar, Dorairaj Ram Kumar)

    Promoter: IMG-PSP; Sponsor Bharat Petroleum- Speed

    1. Nashik, Tarmac-mix (1ss gravel for a bit), June 25-27; Rally of Maharashtra (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, Mitsubishi Cedia, Team MRF Tyres, 2000N+). 25 of 31 cars finished.

    2. Coimbatore, Gravel, Aug 6-8; Rally of Coimbatore (Naren Kumar-D Ram Kumar, Mitsubishi Cedia, Red Rooster Racing, 2000N+). 37 of 50 cars finished.

    3. Jodhpur, Gravel, Sept 17-19; Rally of Rajasthan (Naren Kumar-D Ram Kumar, Mitsubishi Cedia, Red Rooster Racing, 2000N+). 28 of 38 cars finished.

    4. Siddlaghatta, near Bengaluru, Gravel, Dec 3-5; 36th K1000 Rally (APRC contender) (Arjun Rao Aroor-Satish Rajagopal, Mitsubishi Cedia, Team MRF Tyres, 2000N+). Only 12 of 41 cars finished.

    5. Kottayam, Asphalt, Dec 15-19; Misty Meadows Rally of Kerala (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, Mitsubishi Cedia, Team MRF Tyres, 2000N+). 23 of 32 cars finished.

    2009 INRC (Champions: Gaurav Singh Gill, Musa Sherif)

    Promoter: IMG-PSP; Sponsor Bharat Petroleum- Speed

    1. Coimbatore, Gravel, June 26-28; Rally of Coimbatore (Arjun Rao Aroor-Satish Rajagopal, Mitsubishi Cedia, Team MRF Tyres, 2000N+). 28 of 46 finished.

    2. Bangalore, Gravel, Aug 21-23, 35th Rally of Bangalore (Arjun Balu-Sujith Kumar, Mitsubishi Cedia, Team MRF Tyres, 2000N+). 35 of record 61 entries finished.

    3. Durgapur, near Kolkata, Gravel, Sept 18-20; Rally of Kolkata (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, MRF Ltd, 2000N+). 22 of 36 cars finished.

    4. Nashik, Asphalt, Oct 30-Nov 1; Rally of Nashik (Vikram Mathias- PVS Murthy, Mitsubishi Cedia, Red Rooster Racing, 2000N+). 21 of 27 cars finished.

    5. Chikmagalur, Gravel, Nov 20-22; Coffee Day Rally (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, MRF Ltd, 2000N+). 27 of 37 cars finished.

    2008 FMSCI INRC (Champions: Vikram Mathias, PVS Murthy)

    1. Mysore, Gravel, June 13-15; Sidvin Rally of Karnataka (Vikram Mathias- PVS Murthy, Mitsubishi Cedia, Red Rooster Racing, 2000N+) 25 of 34 cars finished.

    2. Bangalore, Asphalt, Aug 8-10; 34th K1000 Rally (Vikram Mathias-PVS Murthy, Mitsubishi Cedia, 2000N+)  27 of 52 cars finished.

    3. Cochin, Asphalt, Sept 12-14; 23. Popular Rally of Kerala (Lohitt V Urs-CM Chandramouli, Mitsubishi Cedia, 2000N+). 20 of 35 cars finished.

    4. Coimbatore, Gravel, Oct 17-19; IMG Mill and Monsoon Rally (Vikram Mathias- PVS Murthy, Mitsubishi Cedia, 2000N+) ?? cars finished.

    5. Coorg, Nov 28-30; Rally de Coorg (Vikram Mathias-PVS Murthy, Red Rooster Racing, Mitsubishi Cedia, 2000N+)

    6. Nashik, Asphalt, Dec 19-21; IMG Rally of Maharashtra (Vikram Mathias-PVS Murthy, Red Rooster Racing, Mitsubishi Cedia, 2000N+)

    Chennai, Gravel, Nov 14 to 16, 36th SIR CANCELLED

    2007 MAI INRC (Champions: Gaurav Gill, Musa Sherif)

    1. Kochin, Asphalt, March 9-11; 22nd Heera Rally, (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, Mitsubishi Cedia, 1600). 17 of 30 cars finished.

    2. Chikmagalur, Asphalt, May 4-6; Coffee Day Championship Rally, (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, Mitsubishi Cedia, Team MRF Tyres; Class 2000). 22 of 37 finished. Day 1 Report,

    3. Bangalore, Asphalt, Aug 17-19; 33rd Bosch K1000 Rally (Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif, Mitsubishi Cedia, Team MRF Tyres – 2000). 32 of 47 cars finished.

    4. Pune, Asphalt, Nov 30-Dec 1; Rally of Maharashtra (Lohitt V Urs-Jaidas Menon, Ford Fiesta, Team MRF Tyres, 1600). 30 of 37 cars finished. Preview

    2006 MAI INRC (Champions: VR Naren Kumar, D Ram Kumar)

    1. Pune, Gravel, May 5-6; Xtra Premium Overdrive Rally of Pune (Gaurav Gill-Farooq Ahmed, Maruti Baleno, 1600). ?? out of 12 cars finished.

    2. Chikmagalur, Gravel, May 26-28; Coffee Day Championship Rally, (Naren Kumar-D Ramkumar, ???, 1600).  ?? out of 21 cars finished. Day 1 report,

    3. Coimbatore, June 9-11; Rally of Coimbatore,  CANCELLED

    3. Maddur, near Bangalore, Gravel, Aug 11-13; 32 Bosch K1000 Rally 2006 (Gaurav Gill-Farooq Ahmed, Cedia 1600 class). 31 of 46 cars finished.

    4. Chandigarh, Gravel, Nov 3-5; Power Pine Forest Rally, (Lohitt V Urs-Musa Sherif, Maruti Baleno). 19 of 35 cars finished.

    5. Goa, Asphalt, Nov 18-19; WIAA Rally de Goa, (Naren Kumar-D Ram Kumar, Mitsubishi Cedia, 1600). 29 of 35 cars finished.

    Note: Round 6 in Hyderabad, Deccan Rally from Dec 1 to 3 was CANCELLED as organisers said they would not be able to host it.

    2005 MAI INRC (Champions: VR Naren Kumar, D Ram Kumar)

    1. Meghalaya, Gravel, Mar 11-13; Rally Tura (Sandeep Sharma-Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Maruti Gypsy, Gypsy-Overall first). 9 of 16 cars finished.

    2. Mysore, gravel, May 26-29; Mysore Safari Rally (Arjun Balu-Kumar Ramaswamy, Maruti Baleno, 1600). 15 of 22 cars finished.

    3. Bangalore, Asphalt, Aug 12-14; Mico Bosch 31st K1000 Rally (Naren Kumar-D Ramkumar, Maruti Baleno, 1600). 18 of 25 cars finished.

    4. Chandigarh, Asphalt, Oct 21-23; Power M1 Challenge Rally (Naren Kumar-D Ramkumar, Maruti Baleno, 1600). 18 of 28 cars finished. Local Preview

    5. Delhi, gravel, Nov 11-13; Rally of the North, (Arjun Rao Aroor-CM Chandramouili, Baleno 1600, Team MRF tyres). Only 13 of total 40 cars finished. Preview.

    6. Cochin, Asphalt, Nov 25, to 27, -22nd Popular Rally, ???

    7. Hyderabad, Gravel, Dec 9-11; Sujana MRF Deccan Rally (Naren Kumar-D Ramkumar, Maruti Baleno, 1600). 17 of 26 cars finished. Preview.

    2004 MAI INRC (Champions: Vikram Mathias, B. Sujith Kumar)

    Awards Ceremony held on 24 January 2005

    1. Nashik, Asphalt, July 2-4: MAK Nashik Rally (Phillipos Mathai-Ashwin Naik, Esteem, 1400, Overall first) 12 cars of 14 finished.

    2. Bangalore, Asphalt, August 6-8: 30th Karnataka-1000 Rally (Naren Kumar-D Ramkumar, Baleno, Team MRF Tyres 1600) 18 of 24 cars finished.

    3. Cochin, Asphalt, August 20-22: 21st Popular Rally 2004 (Vikram Mathias- Sujith Kumar, Baleno, 1600) 15 of 20 cars finished.

    Note: Car No.1 Naren Kumar/ Ram hit a five-year-old who died immediately. After four stages, organisers decided to stop the rally.

    4. Panjim, Goa, Gravel, Sept 10-12: WIAA Rallye De Goa (Naren Kumar- D Ram Kumar, Baleno, Team MRF Tyres, 1600). 12 of 20 cars finished.

    5. Chandigarh, Gravel, October 29-31: Power M1 Challenge (Lohitt V Urs- Bonnie Thomas, Baleno, 1600). 17 of the 23 cars finished.

    6. New Delhi, Gravel, November 19-21: Maruti Suzuki India Challenge – Rally of the North (Vikram Mathias- Sujith Kumar, Baleno, 1600). 24 of 32 cars finished.

    7. Pune, Gravel, December 3-5: MRF India Rally (Lohitt V Urs-Bonnie Thomas, Baleno, 1600). 11 of 16 cars finished. A stage of 70.1km cancelled.

    2003 MAI INRC (Champions: Naren Kumar and D Ram Kumar)

    1. Chikmagalur, Asphalt, May 23-25; Coffee Day Rally, (Naren Kumar- D Ram Kumar, Honda City, Team MRF Tyres) 13/19 cars finished. Preview

    2. Nashik, Asphalt, June 6-8; MRF Taj Challenge (Naren Kumar- Musa Sherif, Honda City, MRF Tyres) 10 of 14 cars finished.

    3. Cochin, Gravel, Aug 29-31; 20th Kerala Rally (Naren Kumar – D Ram Kumar, Honda City, MRF Tyres, 1600); 13 of 17 cars finished.

    4. Chandigarh, Gravel, Sept 19-21; 1. Power M1 Challenge Rally (Naren Kumar – D Ram Kumar, Honda City, 1600); 10 of 16 cars finished. (Organiser: Motorsports One).

    5. Panjim, Goa, Gravel, Oct 31-Nov 2; WIAA Rally de Goa (Arjun Balu- Kumar Ramaswamy, Honda City, MRF Tyres, 1600) All 8 cars finished.

    6. Bangalore, Gravel, Nov 14-16; 29. Movva Rally de Bangalore 2003 (Karandip Singh- Jaidas Menon, Honda City, 1600). 11 cars of 14 finished.

    7. Pune, Gravel, Dec 5-7; MRF India Rally -APRC (Jiby Maliakkal- Nikhil Pai, Honda Civic-VTEC, 1600); 7 of 15 cars finished. Flag Off. Friday report. Saturday report.

    Coimbatore, Dec 26 to 28. NOT HELD

     (As per the calendar announced in Mumbai on 13 May 2003)

    2002 MAI INRC (Champions: Naren Kumar and D Ram Kumar)

    1. Coimbatore, Asphalt, Mar 30-31; Servo Mill and Monsoon Rally (Naren Kumar-D Ram Kumar, Honda City VTEC, Team MRF Tyres) 17 of 25 cars finished.

    Note: Organisers Spitfire Motorsports (Karthikeyan drives a Tata Indica Zero car)

    2. Nashik, Asphalt, July 5-7; WIAA Taj Nashik Rally (Naren Kumar-D Ramkumar, Honda City VTEC, 1600). 13 of 15 cars finished the rally.

    3. Panaji, Goa, Asphalt, Sept 27-29; WIAA Rallye de Goa (Naren Kumar-D Ramkumar, Team MRF Tyres, Honda City VTEC). 9 of 16 finished.

    Jiby Maliakkal- Nikhil Pai win 1400cc class.

    4. Bangalore, Asphalt, Oct 11-13; 28. Park Plaza Bangalore Rally (Naren Kumar-D Ramkumar, Honda City VTEC, 1600). 13 of 17 cars finished.

    Jiby Maliakkal-Nikhil Pai win 1400cc

    5.Bangalore, Gravel, Dec 7-8; MRF India Rally, (Arjun Balu-Kumar Ramaswamy, Team MRF Tyres, Honda City VTEC, 1600). 11 of 15 cars finished.

    2001 MAI INRC (Champion: N Leelakrishnan & Farooq Ahmed)

    (Runner-up Sagar Muthappa & Sandeep Rao)

    1. Coimbatore, Gravel, Mar 31 & Apr 1; Servo Mill Monsoon Rally, (Leelakrishnan-Farooq, Honda City)

    2. Nashik, June 8-10; Taj Rally India; (Vikram Mathias-Sujith Kumar, Esteem)

    3. Mumbai (gravel), July 6-8; Orange Monsoon Rally, (Leelakrishnan-Farooq Ahmed, Honda City)

    4. Bangalore, Aug 10-12; 27th K1000 Rally (Karandeep Singh-Jaidas Menon, Maruti Baleno)

    5. Goa, Sept 7-9; Gravel, Old Anchor Rally de Goa, (Naren Kumar-Ram Kumar, Honda City) 15 out of 18 cars finished.

    6. Coorg, Sept 28-30; Coorg Xpresso Rally, (Sagar Muthappa-Sandeep Rao, Honda City)

    7. Cochin, (Asphalt) Oct 26-28; 19th Chandrika Soap Popular Rally 2001 (Sagar Muthappa-Sandeep Rao, Honda City VTec 1600cc) 12 of 17 cars finished.

    8. Mangalore (Asphalt), Nov 24, 25, Coffee Day Action Rally, (Karandeep Singh-Jaidas Menon, Maruti Esteem) 14 of 18 cars finished.

    2000 FMSCI/MAI INRC (Champion: VR Naren Kumar, D Ram Kumar)

    1*. Calcutta, April 28-29; Birla Tyres Wild Run Rally – PG Abhilash-Yogesh Gupta

    2*. Chennai, July 28-30; 36th South India Rally 2000 (Vicky Chandhok-Sandeep Lal, Mitsubishi Lancer (lancer debut) JK Tyre team) 11 of the 19 cars finished the rally.

    *Note: Conducted by FMSCI, so does not show in the MAI calendar. MAI came into existence as FIA ASN on April 5.

    MAI Official National Rounds

    1. Mumbai, Gravel, Aug 4-6; WIAA Monsoon Rally, (Naren Kumar-D Ram Kumar, Esteem)

    2. Pune, Gravel, Sept 1-3; Para-HRA Monsoon Rally of Pune 2000 (Leelakrishnan-Farooq Ahmed, Esteem)

    3. Goa, Gravel, Sept 22-24; Rally de Goa, (Arjun Balu -Kumar Ramasamy, Esteem)

    4. Coorg, Asphalt, October 13-15, Rally of Coorg, (Naren Kumar-D Ram Kumar, Esteem)

    5. Kerala, Asphalt, Nov 3 to 5; 18th Popular Rally, (Arjun Balu -Kumar Ramasamy, Esteem) 9 of 12 cars finished.

    6. Coimbatore, Gravel, Nov 24-26, Rally of Coimbatore, ??

    7. Bangalore, Gravel, Dec 15-17, 26th K1000 Rally, ??

    INRC FMSCI 1999 (Champions: VR Naren Kumar, Farooq Ahmed)

    1. Durgapur, Gravel, March 31-Apr 4; 5 Birla Tyres EMSA Wild Run Rally (Hari Singh-Gurinder Singh Mann, Esteem)

    2. Nashik, Asphalt, June 3-6; Nasa Challenge Rally, (Leelakrishnan- Farooq Ahmed, Esteem)

    3. Madras, Gravel, July 9-12; 35th South India Rally, (Arjun Balu- Kumar Ramaswamy, Esteem)

    4. Bangalore, Gravel, Aug 11-15; 25th Karnataka 1000 Rally (Hari Singh-Gurinder Singh Mann, Esteem)

    5. Cochin, Asphalt, Sept 16-20; 17th Popular Rally, (Naren Kumar-D Ram Kumar, Esteem- MRF). Organiser: KASC

    6. Coimbatore, Gravel, Oct 7-11; 17th Cotton City Rally, (Naren Kumar-D Ram Kumar, Esteem- MRF)

    7. Bangalore, Asphalt, Nov 11-14, 17th Rally d’ Endurance (Karamjit Singh- Jagdev Singh, JK Tyres Rally team, Esteem). Organiser: IASC

    8. Hyderabad, Gravel, Dec 10-13, 14th Deccan Rally, (Arjun Balu- Kumar Ramaswamy, Esteem). Organiser: APMSC, Secunderabad.

    INRC 1998 (FMSCI) (Drivers’ Champ: N Leelakrishnan; Navigators’ champ: Farooq Ahmed)

    Driver’s Championship standings; Navigators’ Final Standings

    1. Nashik, Gravel, May 8-10; Castrol Challenge, (N Leelakrishnan-Chander MK, Esteem)

    2. Madras, Gravel, July 3-6; 34th South India Rally (SIR), (Hari Singh-Gurinder Singh Mann, Esteem). Only 13 of the 28 cars finished the rally.

    3. Bangalore, Gravel, Aug 11-14; 24th Castrol Kar1000 Rally, (Leelakrishnan -Farooq Ahmed, Esteem) 15 of 28 cars finished. Winner time: 1:38:43.

    4. Cochin, Gravel, Sept 11-14; 16th Popular Rally, (Manik Raiky- Vivek Ponnusamy, Esteem)

    5. Coimbatore, Gravel, Oct 9-12; 16th Castrol Cotton City Rally, (Naren Kumar-Chander MK, Esteem)

    6. Coorg, Gravel, Nov 11-13; 16th Rally d Endurance, (Naren Kumar-Chander MK, Esteem) 10 of 23 cars finished.

    7. Hyderabad, Gravel, Dec 5-7, Castrol Deccan Rally, (Dicky Upkar Gill- Aditya Singh, Esteem)

    8. Jaipur, Gravel, Dec 25-28, Castrol Desert Rally (Hari Singh-Gurinder Singh Mann, Esteem).

    INRC 1997 (fmsci) (Champions: Hari Singh, Gurinder Singh Mann)

    1. Nashik, Gravel, May 2-5; Castrol Challenge Rally 97 (Thirumal Roy- Amita Roy, Esteem)

    2. Coimbatore, Gravel, May 23-27;  15th Scissors Action Rally, (Sanjay Agarwal-Shivu Shivappa, Esteem)

    3. Chennai, Gravel, July 11-13; 33rd Castrol SIR 1997 (Dicky Upkar Gill- Manish Kapur, Esteem)

    4. Bangalore, Asphalt, Aug 12-14; The Club 23rd Karnataka 1000 Rally, (Hari Singh- Gurinder Singh Mann, Esteem)

    5. Cochin, Asphalt, Sep 13-14; 15th Popular Rally (Naren Kumar-Chander MK, Esteem)

    6. Simla, Gravel, Oct 3-6, Castrol Mountain Challenge, (Hari Singh-Gurinder Singh Mann, Esteem)

    7. Bangalore, Gravel, Nov 6-9, Castrol Rally d’Endurance (Hari Singh-Gurinder Singh Mann, Esteem)

    8. Hyderabad?, Gravel, Dec 6-8, Castrol Deccan Rally, (Naren Kumar-Ram Kumar, Esteem)

    INRC fmsci 1996 (Champions: Hari Singh, Gurinder Singh Mann)

    1. Nashik, Gravel, Jan 6-7; Castrol Challenge Rally (Farad Batheena- Farooqh Commissariat, Gypsy) 12 of 24 cars finished. Winner time: 1:57:16;

    2. Coimbatore, Gravel, June 1-3, 14th Scissors Action Rally (Sanjay Agarwal-Shivu Shivappa, Esteem) 9 out of 10 cars finished.

    3. Madras, Gravel, July 12-14; 32nd Castrol South India Rally (Majithia-CDR Chowdary, Esteem) 11 of 28 cars finished

    4. Bangalore, Asphalt, Aug 11-13, 22nd Karnataka 1000 Rally, (Samir Thapar-Rahul Rao Koka, Esteem) 28 of 35 cars finished.

    5. Cochin, Gravel, Sept 13-16; 14th Popular Rally (Hari Singh-Gurinder Singh Mann, Esteem). 17 of 29 cars finished.

    6. Delhi, gravel, Oct 11-14; Castrol Mountain Challenge, (Hari Singh-Gurinder Mann, Esteem). 15 of 26 cars finished.

    7. Coorg (Madikeri), Gravel, Nov 7-10; 14th Castrol Rally de Endurance, (Bikram Singh Majithia-Vijayant Chowdhry). 13 cars finished.

    8. Hyderabad, Gravel, Dec 6-8; Castrol Deccan Rally (Naren-??, Esteem)

    9. Bombay, Asphalt, Dec 27-29; Masa Rally (???)

    INRC 1995 (Champions: Hari Singh, Gurinder Singh Mann)

    1. Nashik, Gravel, April 7-8; Castrol Challenge Rally, (Hari Singh -Gurinder Mann gypsy); 20 out of 25 cars finished.

    2. Coimbatore, Gravel, May 27-29; 13 Scissors Action Rally, (Leelakrishnan-Farooq Ahmed, Esteem)

    3. Madras, Gravel, July 6-8; 31st Castrol South India Rally (Hari Singh- Gurinder Singh Mann Gypsy)

    4. Bombay, Gravel, June 21-23; Castrol Masa Rally, (Majithia-Aditya Singh, Gypsy)

    5. Bangalore, Gravel, Aug 12-14; BPL 21st K1000 Rally (Naren Kumar-Chander MK Esteem)

    6. Cochin, Asphalt, Sept 16-17, 13th Castrol Popular Rally, (Majithia-Aditya Singh, Gypsy) 26 of 37 cars finished.

    7. Delhi, Asphalt, Oct 14-15; Castrol Mountain Challenge, (Hari-Gurinder Gypsy)

    8. Bangalore, Asphalt, Nov 11-12, Castrol Rally de Endurance, (Hari-Gurinder Gypsy)

    9. Hyd?? Gravel, Dec 2-3, Castrol Deccan Rally (Hari-Gurinder Gypsy)

    INRC 1994 (Champions: Hari Singh, Gurinder Singh Mann)

    (To be completed)

    1?. Madras, 30th South India Rally, ??

    2?. Coimbatore, Cotton City Rally, ??

    3?. Bombay, ?? MASA Rally, (Jagat Nanjappa-Anita Nanjappa)

    4?. Cochin, Sept 12-15; 12th Popular Rally (Hari Singh and GS Mann, Gypsy)

    5?. Bangalore, 20th Scissors K1000 Rally, (N Leelakrishnan and Farooq Ahmed, Gypsy, Team MRF) (Naren Kumar-??? won Group N) (Shyam Kothari & C Patil won 2w K1000)

    6?.Deccan Rally, Dec 1, Gravel, *(Gurmeher Singh-??? Gypsy)

    INRC 1993 (Champions: N Leelakrishnan, N Mahindran or Farokh Commissariat)

    1?. Kodaikanal, Castrol 29th SIR (N Leelakrishnan-N Mahindran, Gypsy)

    2?. Bombay, MASA Rally, (2W winners: Jagat Nanjappa-Anita Nanjappa)

    3?. Bangalore, Aug 14-15; 19th Scissors Karnataka 1000 (Team Paarel, Vinil Varghese and Anil Devaraj)

    4?. Cochin, Sept 17-19; 11th Popular Rally (For Castrol FIRD and FIRR Championship) (Farad Bathena, Farooq Commissariat, Team MRF)

    5?. Coimbatore, Cotton Rally

    6. Hyderabad, 11th Charminar Challenge Car Rally, (N Leelakrishnan, Farooq Ahmed, Team MRF)

    INRC 1992 (Champions*: N Leelakrishnan, N Mahindran)

    Leela had ten wins in 92-93

    1. Coimbatore, 4 May 1992, Scissors Action Rally (Overall first: N Leelakrishnan/ P Vivekanand, Team MRF) Bikes: (Jagat Nanjappa- Anita Nanjappa)

    2. Kodaikanal, 13 July 1992; 28th South India Rally (N Leelakrishnan/ R Mahendran, Team MRF)

    3. Bangalore, 15 Aug 1992; K 1000 Rally, (N Leelakrishnan/ R Mahendran, Team MRF)

    4. Cochin, Sept 18-20; 10th Popular Rally, (Leelakrishnan, R Mahendran, Gypsy), organisers: Kerala Auto Sports Club (KASC).

    5. Bangalore, 17 Oct 1992: McDowell Rally de Endurance (Nikhil Taneja/ Askif Haidari) or (Hari Singh, GS Mann) – to be confirmed

    *Note: There was a tie between Leelakrishnan-Mahendran and Farad Bathena-Farookh Commissariat, and Leela-Mahendran won the tie-breaker.

    INRC 1991 (Champions: N Leelakrishnan, N Mahindran)

    1. Coimbatore, Gravel, June 21-23, Cotton City Rally, (Leelakrishnan-Jose, Gypsy)

    2. Kodaikanal, Gravel, July 13, 27th South India Rally,  (Farad Bathena- Farookh Commissariat, Gypsy) 9 of 15 cars finished.

    3. Tumkur, near Bangalore, Gravel, Aug 12-13, Rally de’ Endurance, K1000, (Leelakrishnan-Mahendran or GVL Gopal, Gypsy)

    4. ??? – Gravel, Sept 20-21, McDowell Rally, (Farad Batheena-?? Gypsy)

    5. Bombay, Gravel, Oct 5-7, Castrol Rally, (Leelakrishnan-??, Gypsy)

    6. Hyderabad, Gravel, Dec 7-9, Charminar Challenge, (Leelakrishnan-?? Gypsy)

    INRC 1990 (Champions: N Leelakrishnan, CF Jaykumar)

    (To be completed)

    1?. Madras, 26th South India Rally ??

    2?. Bangalore, 16th K1000 Rally, Leelakrishnan, Mahendran, Gypsy Team MRF

    3?. Coimbatore, Cotton City Rally ??

    4?. Hyderabad, Charminar Challenge ??

    INRC 1989 (Champions: Farad Bathena, Raj Bagri) (To be completed)

    1. Bangalore, Rally de Endurance, Farad Bathena/ Farooq Commissariat

    2. Madras, 25th? South India Rally (Farad Bathena- Raj Kumar Bagri, Team MRF, Gypsy)

    3. Bangalore, 15th K1000 Rally, (Harish Samtani/ Rajiv Choudhry, Gypsy, Team MRF)

    3?. Coimbatore, Cotton City Rally ??

    4?. Hyderabad, Charminar Challenge ?? (Ashok Rao Aroor?)

    INRC 1988 (Champions: Farad Batheena, Raj Bagri) (To be completed)

    1. Coimbatore, Gravel, Scissors Master Action Rally  (L Gopoalakrishnan-R Mahendran, Maruti 800, Group A(II) Ind)

    2. Great Desert Rally, Farad Bathena/ Raj Kumar Bagri

    3. Kodaikanal, 24th South India Rally, Farad Bathena/Raj Kumar Bagri (Team MRF)

    4. Karavalli, Karavalli Rally, George Anthony (Team MRF)

    5. Mumbai, MASA Rally, Farad Bathena

    6. Cochin, July 29-31; 6th Popular Rally; (George Anthony, Jose Anthony, Jiju Elias Paarel, Roy)

    7. Bangalore, 14th K1000 Rally (Indian category) Kamlesh Patel, KD Madan, 118 NE.

    8. Great Himalayan Rally (Nikhil Taneja/ Sandeep Lal) Team MRF

    8. Great Desert Rally (Motorycycles), Jagat Nanjappa/ Anita Nanjappa, Team MRF

    9?. Hyderabad, Dec ??; 5th Charminar Challenge ??

    Rallies in 1987* (Champions: N Leelakrishnan, CV Jayakumar)

    1. Rally de Endurance, July 1987, Vicky Bharat Chandhok and Manoj Dalal.
    2. Cochin, 24-25 July 1987, 5th 1000-km Popular Rally,
    3. Bangalore, August 1987, Karnataka 1000, Kamlesh Patel/ KD Madan, Team MRF.
    4. Madras, September 1987, 23th South India Rally, MS Zachariah/ Jagdish Bhatia, Team MRF.
    5. Coimbatore, October 1987, Scissors Action Rally, Subash Chandra
    6. ???, November 1987, Great Himalayan Rally, Nikhil Taneja/ Manjeev Singh Bhalla, Team MRF. (To be confirmed if this round is part of National championship)
    7. Chikmagalur, Nov 1987, Coffee 500, N Leelakrishnan/CV Jayakumar.
    8. Hyderabad, December 1987, 4th Charminar Challenge, N Leelakrishnan/CV Jayakumar.

    *Status of National Championship was not confirmed in 1988

    ends/17apr2020/last updated 2mar2021 11pm; to be updated…

  • South India Rally postponed to June 21

    South India Rally postponed to June 21

    Chennai, 15 March 2020: Organisers the Madras Motor Sports Club announced on Sunday that the South India Rally, scheduled for March 20 to 22 is postponed to June 19 to 21 in view of the escalation in the COVID-19 virus situation across the country, according to the Chairman of the event, Vicky Chandhok.

    The South India Rally also doubles up as a round of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship and the first round of the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (4-wheelers). Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (FMSCI) has advised all concerned to take note of the government advisory and put off events till May-end.

    Chandhok, who is also the president of Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) Working Group, said: “After much discussion internally, and following the lockdown in various States and territories across India, besides travel advisories and restrictions on public assembly, we have decided to postpone South India Rally to June 19-21.

    Chikmagalur Coffee Day INRC rally run along with APRC. A file photo of 2017 by Anand Philar

    “We were confident of running the event on schedule as we had put in place all measures and infrastructure complying with Government of India’s health advisories to provide a safe environment to all the stakeholders. However, developments in the past couple of days forced us to rethink and decide on postponing South India Rally,” said Chandhok in a statement.

  • Ban on Prithviraj illegal and unjust, says Appellate panel

    Ban on Prithviraj illegal and unjust, says Appellate panel

    Bengaluru, 15 March 2020: The Indian Motor Sports Appellate Committee of FMSCI consisting of Justice KP Sivasubramaniam (Retd.), Mr S Silambanan (Advocate) and Mrs. Lita Srinivasan (Advocate) gave a clean chit to Mr J Prithvi Raj, the President of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) and dismissed the ban imposed on him by the FMSCI Council on 21 November 2019. The Committee said that the Council does not have the power to ban either through the Sporting Code or through the Articles of Association and “…the action per se is improper and illegal.”

    The Appeal was upheld and the ban was dismissed on 11th March 2020.

    In a 6-page verdict signed by all the three members, it also said that the 3-year ban and the demotion as DCoC thereafter for a year, “is clearly illegal and cannot stand any test of reasonable conduct.”

    J Prithviraj

    Prithvi Raj was the Clerk of the Course for the Maxperience Rally, Jodhpur, a round of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) that was held in September 2019. The rally was organised by Max Experience Private Limited and co-organised by Coimbatore Auto Sports Club (CASC). In the opening stage, three died in an accident and the rally was cancelled.

    After a review meeting on 26 Sept 2019 by FMSCI, its Rally Commission on Oct 4 constituted a committee to inquire into the incident and suggest measures to prevent any such mishaps in the future. On Nov 5, the panel imposed a ban for three years and thereafter a one-year mandatory DCoC period on Prithvi Raj and also fined CASC for Rs.5 lakh.

  • South India Rally from March 20 in Chennai

    South India Rally from March 20 in Chennai

    Chennai, 13 March 2020: The South India Rally, organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club, and which doubles up as the opening rounds of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship and the Indian National Rally Championship (4-wheelers), will be held as scheduled in Chennai from March 20 to 22, but strictly complying with medical and travel advisories issued by the Indian government, according to the Chairman of the event, Vicky Chandhok.

    In a statement here today, Chandhok, who is also the president of the APRC  Working Group, said: “To reiterate, next week’s South India Rally is very much on as per schedule. We are closely monitoring the situation arising out of the COVID-19 spread globally, and taking due precautions as per the directives of Union Health ministry.

    “As Chairman of the event, it is my duty to stay in close contact with our team and medical advisors which is what we are doing. No spectators will be allowed into the Rally HQ areas and no gathering of people in a single place will be permitted.

    “We have also communicated to all the participants, officials and stakeholders, urging them to take all precautions to stay safe and healthy.”

    Chandhok said that the APRC segment will be exclusively for Indian nationals of the INRC who register for it. “Consequent to Government of India’s travel advisory prohibiting entry of foreign Nationals into India until April 15, and other factors, the APRC round here will be contested by Indian crews who thus will have an opportunity to win a FIA international trophy,” he said.

  • Imran Pasha of TVS Racing wins National title in Class 4: INRC for 2-wheelers

    Imran Pasha of TVS Racing wins National title in Class 4: INRC for 2-wheelers

    File photo of Imran Pasha from a round in 2019.

    Imran Pasha who won the National title in the Super Sport 260 class in Bengaluru on Sunday. Photo by Keshava Murthy

    Bengaluru, 19 Jan 2020: Imran Pasha of TVS Racing astride an Apache RTR 200 hogged the limelight winning the honours in overall classification of the sixth and final round of the MRF Mogrip fmsci Indian National Rally Championship for two-wheelers held at Devanahalli, near here, on Sunday.

    The 2w-rally National Championship was organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC) and promoted by Godspeed Racing under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (fmsci). With this win Imran Pasha is crowned National champion in Class 4 for Super Sport 260 bikes, even as his title rival, a privateer from Mangaluru, Adnan Ahmed, could finish only one stage and logged a DNF (did not finish).

    Another Bengaluru privateer Yuva Kumar was overall second followed by Sachin D, also of TVS Racing. Yuva Kumar, astride a Hero Impulse, also won Class 1. Ishan Chandra A of Mangaluru on a Hero Impulse clocked a commendable 56:25.5 to win Class 3 while another local lad Rakesh Kumar took Class 2.

    Top TVS rider and National champion Aishwarya Pissay won the ladies class with Ryhana Bee in second while Vijay Prasad of Bengaluru claimed the Star of Karnataka title, also finishing a creditable 5th overall with two compatriots Ansar Mohamed and Sanjay Somashekar finishing in that order.

    Imran Pasha with the Overall and Class 4 trophy on Sunday. Photo: AutoTrack

    Provisional final results (Round 6) (Privateer unless mentioned):

    Overall: 1. Imran Pasha (TVS Racing) 53min, 52.817seconds; 2. Yuva Kumar (privateer) 54:01.915; 3. Sachin D (TVS Racing) 54:25.149.

    Class 1: 1. Yuva Kumar (Pvt.) 54:01.915; 2. Nikhil B (Pvt.) 57:41.844; 3. Santhosh Kour (Pvt.) 1:15:44.990.

    Class 2: 1. Rakesh Kumar 1:00:01.575; 2. Ajin Abraham 1:01:55.919; 3. Azeeb Muhammed 1:03:35.736.

    Class 3: 1. Ishan Chandra A 56:25.520; 2. Pavan BK 58:40.028; 3. Francis PU 58:52.540.

    Class 4: 1. Imran Pasha (TVS Racing) 53:52:817; 2. Sachin D 54:25.149; 3. Samuel Jacob (TVS Racing) 59:18.346.

    Class 5: 1. T Vijay Kumar 1:05:23.335; 2. Uday Ganguli 1:13:45.510.

    Class 6: 1. Devaraj V 58:01.677; 2. Arun Joy M 1: 00:36.275; 3. Arvind Kumar Singh 1:14:11.931.

    Class 7: 1. Syed Asif Ali (TVS Racing) 1:01:41.731; 2. Pinkesh Thakkar 1:02:04.557; 3. Shamim Khan 1:02:26325.

    Class 8: 1. Aishwarya PM (TVS Racing) 1:06:06.791; Ryhana Bee A 1:08:15.208.

    Star of Karnataka: 1. Vinay Prasad 57:21.630; 2. Ansar Mohamed 58:19.685; 3. Sanjay Somashekar 59:05.447.

     

  • Final round of INRC for two-wheelers on Sunday

    Final round of INRC for two-wheelers on Sunday

    File photo of INRC action from a 2019 round. Photo courtesy KMSC release

    Bengaluru, 19 Jan 2020: Imran Pasha from TVS Racing and privateer Adnaan Ahmed from Mangaluru will be fighting for honours in the Upto 260cc class in the Rally de Bengaluru, the 6th and final round of the MRF Mogrip Indian National Rally Championship for 2-wheelers 2019, here on Sunday.

    Organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club and promoted by Promoted by God Speed Racing, Pune, the event has attracted 46 riders, including two ladies, from across India. The INRC for 2-wheelers will be flagged off at the Tribal Adventure Café, situated near Kundana in Devanahalli on the outskirts of the city. Two stages of 8-km each will be run thrice in forward direction cumulating to 168 kms including Liaison distance.

    Aishwarya Pissay, also from TVS Racing, who has already sealed the championship, will have National Racing champion in the ladies class, Ryhana Bee to fight in the last rally of the season. Suhail Ahmed, who has also sealed the championship in the Bullet class, will have a final go in the last round.

    A total on nine classes will be part of the event. For the first time in Indian Motorsports, three 2-wheeler `Trauma Ambulances’ will be part of the medical team, popularly known as BEAST, which is provided by Apollo Spectra Hospitals, Brookefield, Bengaluru.

    Shivu Shivappa, President, KMSC and Vice-President FMSCI, said that all arrangements are made for running the rally in a safe manner. “Safety measures are in place with adequate ambulances and highly-professional medical team and we look forward for good performances and crowning of the National champions,’’ he concluded.

    KMSC file photo 2019 action during INRC for 2w

  • Jamie Shah, Shaurya Kapani win IndiKarting Clash of Karts; Rahul wins pro title: Ajmera IndiKarting

    Jamie Shah, Shaurya Kapani win IndiKarting Clash of Karts; Rahul wins pro title: Ajmera IndiKarting

    Winners all: The winners of the Ajmera IndiKarting that concluded on the outskirts of Mumbai on Sunday. Photo IndiKarting

    Mumbai, 15 Jan 2020: Jamie Shaw & Shaurya Kapani both from Mumbai, dominated proceedings in the Pro Senior & Junior categories, at the Ajmera IndiKarting Clash of Karts which concluded on Sunday. The event was a resounding success with over 650 registrations translating into 204 entries from across the country, in India’s largest karting event. The culmination of the 3 round, Clash of Pros Season 2 saw Rahul Deshpande win the Pro Senior while Shaurya Kapani won the Pro Junior.

    Qualifying on pole in the Pro Senior, Jamie Shaw got off to an excellent start. He pulled away to win Race 1 comfortably. Rahul Deshpande was second, just ahead of Danesh Banajee. Race 2 start order is based on the entire results of Race 1 being reversed. Jah Wadia started on pole & held the lead for a while. Jamie Shaw however proved to be in excellent form. He made his way through the entire field & managed to take his second consecutive victory, once again ahead of Rahul & Danesh. Race 3 proved to be the most exciting. Danesh made a good start from third to move ahead of Rahul. He soon overtook Jamie to move into the lead. Rahul moved upto 2nd and he and Danesh were nose to tail for close to 20 laps. Danesh drove an excellent defensive race to win race 3, followed by Rahul & Jamie.

    Raiden Samervel grabbed pole by a mere 5 hundreths of a second, ahead of Veer Sheth in the Pro Junior. He went on to win Race 1 ahead of Shaurya Kapani & Veer. The reverse grid Race 2, saw Shaurya notch an excellent victory ahead of Nirvaan Chandna & Hoshmand Elavia. Race 3 saw Veer Sheth start third & make his way up to win ahead of Shaurya & Raiden.

    Sawan Sathyanarayan from Bengaluru won the Open & Amateur categories. Mumbai lads Ojas Surve & Sasvat Jain followed him in the Open category, while Chandan Hegde & Ojas were second & third in the Amateur Category.

    Ayan Jussawalla (DPYA High School) triumphed in the Inter-School Category ahead of Advaith Jampa (Tridha School) & Aditya Patnaik (Delhi Public School). Sasvat Jain (Indian School of Design & Innovation) took top honours in the Inter-College category. Tej Patel (Podar International School) & Raghav Vaishnav (Jai Hind College) were second & third. Chintan Shah (Deltron Electricals) won the Corporate Category ahead of Mark Shaw (Shawman Software) and Aashwath Chowta (Afwah Media Consultants).

    Isha Sharma from Belgaum was the winner of the Women’s category ahead of Aashi Hanspal & Maariyah Sheikh. Jamie Shaw beat Aman Singh Bhui & Kiran Pardeshi in the Veteran category, while Sawan S finished ahead of Chintan Shah & Prashant Sonpar in the Master category. Raghav Vaishnav triumphed in the Senior Plus category with Paarth Damani & Adil Shah completing the podium.

    Fahad Kutty won the Pro Senior Plus category ahead of Mihir Patel & Raghav Vaishnav. Members of the media also participated in a special category for themselves, with Gaurav Davare of ZigWheels winning the race ahead of Saurabh Gamare (Exhibit Magazine). Rajesh Dsouza (Zee TV) was third.

    The event was also the culmination of the 2nd season of the 3 round Clash of Pros. Rahul Deshpande was the overall winner of the Pro Senior category with a total of 63 points ahead of Jamie Shaw with 54 points. Danesh Banajee who missed the 2nd round due to a rib injury was third with 52 points. Shaurya Kapani was the overall winner in the Pro Junior with 28 points. He was followed by Veer Sheth on 61 points, while Raiden Samervel with 51 points was third.

    The prestigious Akshay Patil Memorial Trophy was awarded to Veer Sheth.

    It has been a fantastic event with so many newcomers trying the sport for the first time. 204 entries was tough to handle but everything went smoothly. A huge thanks to the Ajmera group, due to whom, we have this fantastic facility in Mumbai” said Rayomand Banajee, founder IndiKarting.

    IndiKarting open class race in progress on Sunday. Photo Ajmera IndiKarting

    Results – Pro Senior –

    Race 1 – 1. Jamie Shaw. 2. Rahul Deshpande. 3. Danesh Banajee

    Race 2 – 1. Jamie Shaw. 2. Rahul Deshpande. 3. Danesh Banajee

    Race 3 – 1. Danesh Banajee. 2. Rahul Deshpande. 3. Jamie Shaw

    Pro Junior –

    Race 1 – 1. Raiden Samervel 2. Shaurya Kapani 3. Veer Sheth

    Race 2 – 1. Shaurya Kapani. 2. Nirvaan Chandna. 3. Hoshmand Elavia

    Race 3 – 1. Veer Sheth. 2. Shaurya Kapani. 3. Raiden Samervel

    Pro Senior Plus –  1. Fahad Kutty. 2. Mihir Patel. 3. Raghav Vaishnav.

    Open – 1. Sawan Sathyanarayan. 2. Ojas Surve. 3. Sasvat Jain

    Inter School – 1. Ayaan Jussawalla (DPYA High School) 2. Advaith Jampa (Tridha School) 3. Aditya Patnaik (Delhi Public School)

    Amatuer – 1. Sawan Sathyanarayan. 2. Chandan Hegde. 3. Ojas Surve

    Inter College – 1. Sasvat Jain (Indian School of Design & Innovation) 2. Tej Patel (Podar International School). 3. Raghav Vaishnav (Jai Hind College)

    Women – 1. Isha Sharma. 2. Aashi Hanspal. 3. Maariyah Sheikh

    Corporate – 1. Chintan Shah (Deltron Electricals) 2. Mark Shaw (Shawman Software) 3. Aashwath Chowta (Afwah Media Consultants)

    Senior Plus – 1. Raghav Vaishnav. 2. Paarth Damani. 3. Adil Shah

    Master – 1. Sawan Sathyanarayan 2. Chintan Shah. 3. Prashant Sonpar

    Veteran – 1. Jamie Shaw. 2. Aman Singh Bhui. 3. Kiran Pardeshi

    Media – 1. Gaurav (ZigWheels) 2. Saurabh Gamare (Exhibit Magazine) 3. Rajesh Dsouza (Zee TV)

    Clash of Pros (Overall after 3 rounds)

    Pro Senior – 1. Rahul Deshpande (63 points) 2. Jamie Shaw (54 points). 3. Danesh Banajee (52 points)

    Pro Junior – 1. Shaurya Kapani (78 points) 2. Veer Sheth (61 points). 3. Raiden Samervel (51 points)

    Pro Senior Plus – 1. Raghav Vaishnav (19 points) 2. Fahad Kutty (17 points) 3. Mihir Patel (13 points)

  • Dhruva Chandrasekhar hogs the limelight: INAC

    Vijayawada, 11 Jan 2020: Dhruva Chandrasekhar of Andhra Pradesh Tourism on MRF Tyres won his class in the finals of the Indian National Autocross Championship 2019 held for the first time in Andhra Pradesh at Pavithra Sangaman near Ibrahimpatnam here on Saturday.

    Closely behind the leader is Arjun Rao, also of Andhra Tourism, on MRF Tyres. As many as 60 cars took part in the race on the day one, which witnessed a close contest among MRF Tyres, JK Tyres, Snap Racing, and Arka Motorsport teams.

    There would be a local touch to the high-voltage racing contest as Ibrahimpatnam’s teenager Tejas would be taking part on his Tata Safari.

    Earlier, Minister for tourism Avanti Srinivasa Rao inaugurated the sporting event.

  • Top Indian drivers to display skills at Indian National Autocross Finals

    Top Indian drivers to display skills at Indian National Autocross Finals

    Gautam Shantappa, Chief Safety Officer speaking to the media recently at a Press Conference in Vijayawada. Former National champion and veteran administrator of Coffee Day Rally fame Farooque Ahmed (right) and ace Indian rallyist Phalguna Urs (2nd from right) are also seen.

    Vijayawada, 10 Jan 2020: The cream of motorsport talent from across the country will showcase their talent in the Champions Yacht Club Indian National Autocross Championship Finals 2019 which will be held at Pavithra Sangamam, near Ibrahimpatnam, about 25km from here on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad highway, on Saturday. The 2019 National Championship is approved by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India to spill over into 2020 and is being organised with the Technical Support of Motor Sports Club of Chikmagalur.

    The Nationals will be supported by the Race of Titans where all the top guns in the country are expected to vie for honours on Sunday. INRC champions Chetan Shivram, Dilip Sharan, Dean Mascarenhas, Younus Ilyas, Dhruv Chandrasekhar and Bikku Babu are expected to take part.

    The top-4 finalists in the nine classes held across the country in the five regional championships in 2019 will vie for the grand finals. “Champions Yacht Club has made unprecedented preparations providing competitors a slew of benefits including free entry fee, free transportation of cars and accommodation,’’ said Gautam Shantappa, one of the top F1 Marshals in the country and the Chief Safety Officer for the event.

    “It is the endeavour of the Champions Group to dig out Champions in every region and as such we are bringing a National-level prestigious championship for the first time to Vijayawada. All safety aspects are taken care of. Ambulances and fire vehicles will be in place. All are invited to attend the top-class event as many of the champions in the country will be taking part,’’ said Vamsi Merla, the head of Champion Yacht Club, the promoters of Indian National Rally Championship, who have also accepted to organise the INAC Finals this year.

    The Championship began with the West Zone qualifying round in Thane on the dirt tracks on October 18 and 19 with the North Zone round happening a day later on October 19 and 20 at Delhi on Tarmac surface. The South Zone was held at Bengaluru on gravel from Novemeber 8 to 10 while Mumbai conducted the second round of West Zone from Nov 29 to Dec 1 on tarmac and the Chandigarh North Zone was held on gravel on Dec 6 and 7. The Haldia Autocross 2019 was the East Zone Qualifier-1 and the proposed round in north-east was not held.

    Abhijit Pai of Motor Sports Club of Chikmagalur (MSCC) will be Clerk of the Course, the sporting director who will conduct the event looking after all the technical and sporting regulations while he will be assisted by an experienced MSCC team. Nishanth Bendict is the Secretary of the Meet and Samrud Pai will be coordinating the drivers as the Competitor Relations Officer. Dilip Kumar will be the event coordinator.

    The finals will start at 8am on Saturday while the scrutiny and documentation will be on Friday. The prize distribution is scheduled for 5pm on Sunday. A prize money of around Rs.2 lakhs will be on offer and the gates are open. However, the VIP tickets for Rs.2000 and Rs.5,000 (with lunch) can be purchased at bookmyshow.

    The following classes are open to vehicles manufactured in India:

    Group A – Stock

    Class 1 Stock : 2-wheel drive | up to 1650 cc

    Class 2 Stock : 2-wheel drive | above 1651 cc

    Group B – Modified

    Class 3 Stock : 2-wheel drive | upto 1400 cc

    Class 4 Open : 2-wheel drive | upto 1650 cc

    Class 5 Open : 2-wheel drive | above 1651 cc

    Group C – Unrestricted

    Class 6 Open : 2-wheel drive | upto 1650 cc

    Class 7: 2-wheel drive | above 1651 cc

    Group D – Unrestricted

    Class 8: 4-wheel drive cars/SUVs | Open

    Group E – Stock

    Class 9: Ladies Open

     

     

  • Brothers team up to glory in their first year; Dilip Sharan shares his story: INRC 2019 champions

    Brothers team up to glory in their first year; Dilip Sharan shares his story: INRC 2019 champions

    File photo of Chetan Shivram (left) and Dilip Sharan on the podium after winning the K1000 rally, the 4th Round of Champiojns Yacht Club INRC 2019 in Bengaluru in November. INDIAinF1 photo

    Bengaluru, 23 Dec 2019: One of the ever-green and most popular events of the Indian Motorsports calendar, the Indian National Rally Championship, saw new champions take the crown in 2019. The championship concluded on Sunday in Kerala with the Popular Rally, organised by Southern Adventures and Motorsports, and promoted by Champions Yacht Club (CYC), completing four of the six scheduled rounds in the calendar.

    Akshara Team’s Chetan Shivram and Dilip Sharan, emerged overall champions and bagged their maiden National title. For 41-year-old Shivram, who has been around for over two decades, it is a sweet ending to the campaign, winning the title with his younger brother. This is the first time in the 32-year history of INRC that two brothers won the National title. And winning with a lowly-INRC3 car, after fighting with much-powerful INRC machines is no mean achievement.

    Today, INDIAinF1 caught up with Dilip Sharan, the 29-year-old, who teamed up his brother for the first time in this year’s INRC after a trial run in the curtain-raiser Sprint de Bengaluru proved to be a success.

    The duo was apprehensive of the tarmac terrain in Kerala but realised that it was their golden chance to win the championship, what with a handsome lead they had with two victories. At the start, the fears were thought to be misplaced as both the South India Rally and K1000, were new stages but the brothers performed admirably.

    However, as the Popular Rally began, the unforgiving cruel corner in the very first stage, just after about six km into the rally, saw them suffer a casualty, the second of the four cars to crash at the same corner. “In the very first stage with less than 2-km to the finish we hit a `dip’ and did not realise that we had a low air pressure on the front left (tyre) and we lost control. However with the experience Chetan has, he didn’t give up, and found a way to get the car back and got on to the wheels. Then, unfortunately, we lost a wheel including the hub, and the day ended for us being the leaders of the Overall Championship,’’ he added.

     

    The disaster in the first stage at the Popular Rally. But the duo came back on sunday with FRK Racing getting the car ready for the final 3 stages. Photo By Dilip Sharan

    “With much regret, we sat and thought of things we could do to make sure we start Day 2. As usual, the magical hands of our `Mechanics’ coming for a team which needs no introduction, did get the car ready again.’’ The mechs were none other than from #FRK Racing. “The boys put the magic to work, and gave us a car to start on Sunday. But this would not have been possible without the help of Sumit Punjabi, who generously gave us the parts required to rebuild the car and for it to be ready for Day 2. As we entered the beginning of the stage, Chetan says `Sherry the car is just not handling, it’s all over the place,’ all we did was cruise… to finish the first stage, and stood 10th fastest,’’ went on Dilip talking about how they managed those last three stages.


    “As we waited for Stage 2 to start, the one-and-only #Tiger_Baba (Sanjay Agarwal) asked Chetan what’s happening. So he explained why this is happening as the experience he carries in rallying is more than my age. With the wise advice well digested, we ended the stage 5th fastest and ended the next stage again in the same order to bag three points,’’ he continued.

    Earlier at the start of the season, it all started with an informal chat. In Dilip’s own words, “the year 2019 has ushered in a lot of positive and happy changes in my life, and the most important being the marriage with the love of my life, Angel (Mabel).’’

    During a chat with his elder brother Chetan Shivram and sister-in-law Jessica, the question of navigating for a one-off curtain raiser came up, which eventually turned into a full-season adventure. “I jumped at my brother Chetan’s invitation as I to love sit with him and the preparation of a freshly-built Volkswagen Polo-INRC3 began, but I was nervous…,’’ Dilip quipped and “who would not if one had to call pace notes to a driver like Chetan.’’

    But soon all the doubts vanished as he sat in the car and the duo finished the Recce and the Rally. “For some good reason the bond in the car was so good, and we felt like we had done this few 100 times before,’’ Dilip, who made his rally debut in Chikkamagaluru Coffee Day Rally in 2016, recalled of the gut feeling he had at that time in March.

    In the first round, at the South India Rally’s opening day in Chennai the duo took the lead but toppled on the second day. “After Day 1, we were in the Overall lead but unfortunately we flipped, toppled on Day 2’s first stage and then tried to finish, in vain,” he explained. Then the second rally at Coimbatore saw the pair dishing out splendid stuff when many experienced and talented top guns toppled to the tricky terrain, as they nurtured their car and safely finished the rally on the top step of the podium.

    Many thought it was a fluke and a section of the media too, unprofessionally sidelined their superb showing, but with determination and focused approach, and technically-sound driving, the Bengaluru brothers proved their mettle once again and bounced back.

     “At the legendary K1000, we went in not knowing what to expect as the stages were brand new for all the drivers, after Recce, Chetan had one thing to say, “These are my kind of stages”, and then we set in the good vibes, family and friends there to cheer for the `Home-Town Boys’ to win.

     “As we entered the rally to make sure we win INRC 3, much to our surprise in no time Chetan made sure to endure the car and bring it back to finish on Day 1. Day 2 saw a good battle with Dr Speed (Bikku Babu). And we ended up on the podium with yet another Overall win.

    And as the day ended in Kerala, bringing to close the INRC season, it was history and INRC saw New Champions. The Brothers, who entered as an INRC3 team, not only became the National Champions but managed a Double Dhamaka, also winning the INRC3 class.

    “We are humbled with this success and express our gratitude to all the people who stood with us,’’ said Dilip. “I would like to thank Sumanth Akshara, the Chief, and my dad (Jothinarar Vishwanathan Shivram) and all the family members, for the opportunity and, for persistently believing in us, and giving us the fabulous courage to win,’’ he concluded, with a big thanks to MRF Tyres.

    Chetan Shivram and Dilip Sharan, right, at the Rally PD. Photo by Anand Philar