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Category: Non-F1
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Mira, Rahul and Aadityansh Dominate in Vadodara at JK Tyre IndiKarting National Series
Vadodara, 17 May 2016 : The JK Tyre IndiKarting National Series, powered by Tata Motors, brought kart racing back to Gujarat after a span of 13 years! Searing hot temperatures did not deter the 108 participants who came to race from all corners of India, at the Erda’s Speedway in Vadodara. The JK Tyre IndiKarting National series has been created with the intention of promoting motorsport at a grass root level and the success was evident with the very high number of first time racers. Award to all the winners were given away by Mr. Bharat Dangar – Mayor of Vadodara, Mrs. Tejal Amin – Chairperson of Navrachana Educational Trust and Dipen Gada – a renowned architect, on completion of the round.Aaroh Ravindra from Mumbai dominated Race one of the Pro Senior Category, to win comfortably ahead of National Series leader, Aanjan Patodia of Pune. Rahul Sharan of Race Concepts, Bengaluru finished third. The finishing order of Race one was reversed to get the starting grid for Race two and this race proved to be the most exciting race of the event. The lead exchanged numerous times before Rahul Sharan emerged ahead of Aaroh and Aanjan. The three racers fought tooth and nail with a lot of overtaking happening amongst the three. Rahul eventually held his nerve to take his maiden victory ahead of Aaroh and Aanjan. Race three saw Aaroh grab an early lead and pull away, before he had to retire with a snapped chain. Rahul Sharan inherited the lead and held his position to win ahead of Aanjan Patodia and Rishab Rathi.
The Pro Cadet racers were extremely competitive as always. The youngest participant on the grid, seven year old Ranvir Singh from Pune had good pace to win Race one ahead of Aadityansh Kaulshi and Shaurya Kapani. Race two saw Aadityansh emerge winner under the reverse grid start ahead of Ranvir Singh in second ahead of Mumbai’s Shaurya Kapani. Race three was once again won by Aadityansh, while Saatvik Kogileti from Bengaluru came 2nd ahead of Hoshmand Elavia of Mumbai.
The Pro Junior too witnessed exciting action as Jonathan Kuriakose won Race one ahead of local girl – Mira Erda. Aditya Joshi from Pune was third. Race two saw the tables turn as Mira stormed to victory ahead of Aditya Joshi and Nitish Deshmukh from Pune. Mira once again dominated the third race in the Pro Junior, winning ahead of Jonathan and Aditya. Importantly Mira was the only girl on the Pro Grid and became the first girl to win a race in the JK Tyre IndiKarting National Series.
The support categories saw numerous first time participants. The Senior Amateur and Senior Open were both won by Mohammed Ridhaf, while Akshay Gupta came second in the Amateur followed by Mohd. Mubeen Shamsi. Bangalore’s Alex Bora took a well deserved second place in the Senior Open ahead of Akshay Gupta. The Interschool final was won by Mira Erda ahead of Reetwiz Mishra and Nitish Deshmukh. The top three in all these categories will represent Vadodara in the National Finial in the NCR region in June.
The Senior Plus was won by Nikhil Agarwal ahead of Guwahati racer, Samarth Choudhury, while Chintan Parikh who came all the way from Jamshedpur came in third. The corporate Final was won by Cyrus Dastoor from Pune ahead of Honey Patel and Priyank Aslalia. The Women’s demo saw Rajshree Chauhan win ahead of Parina Rana and Neema Erda, while the Master Demo was won by Jaiminirushi Patel ahead of Cyrus Dastoor and Parashanran Chari.
“In spite of the searing heat, it was great to see such a turnout in Vadodara. The fact that so many have travelled here from all over India is proof of the growing interest in motorsport. JK Tyre’s sponsorship to the series is crucial to us being here.” said Rayomand Banajee, promoter of the National series.
The next leg of the JK Tyre IndiKarting National Series will be conducted in Ludhiana on May 28 and 29, before ending with the final round in the National Capital Region on June 11 and 12.
eom/Press Release
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Sarath Kumar to debut in Asian Road Racing – Super Sports 600cc
Chennai, 5 May 2016: With active support from WOW Digit HK, India’s Sarath Kumar will make his debut in the Super Sports 600cc class of the 2016 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship this weekend.
The 24-year old Chennai-based rider, who has competed in the Asia Dream Cup in the past, will join the ARRC in the second round to be held at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand, on May 8-9 after missing the first round in Johor, Malaysia, in April due to a knee injury.
Thanks to Mr John Sudheer, Director, True Pursuit Global Management, who introduced WOW Digit HK to support Sarath Kumar in the ARRC, the Indian’s move to the 600cc class comes after riding smaller motorcycles for four years.
Sarath’s team-mates at Team T.Pro Yuzy Honda NTS Racing are Japanese riders Tomoyoshi Koyama and Taiga Hada, both with plenty of skill and experience.
On facilitating support for Sarath’s ARRC campaign, Sudheer said: “India as a country has always been very cricket-centric and I believe we have much more talent in India in other sports also. So when I heard about Sarath, his talent and performance in the international series, I decided to support him. It will be great pride to see India in the Asian level championship.
“I know WOW Digit personally and it is an upcoming brand across Asia. So I brought them on board as a main sponsor for the team. They saw an immediate synergy with ARRC as it travels to different parts of Asia that are our key markets. Although WOW Digit does not have a direct connect with moto racing, the excitement of racing and the viewership across Asia will give the brand a good reach. So, it’s a win-win situation.”
On his expectations from Sarath, Sudheer said: “We now know that the class is competitive from what we saw during the first round in Johor, Malaysia, and as long as he participates in the right spirit and learns the techniques this season, we will be proud of an Indian participation,” Sudheer said.
Sarath Kumar said: “This is a big opportunity. I have been riding 250cc for long now, but my bodyweight and height were becoming a disadvantage. Hence, this was the only move I could make and thanks to my team Honda, Mr John Sudheer, Ten10 Racing and WOW Digit, this opportunity has come at the right time.
“It is one the toughest grid in the World today, maybe even tougher than World Super Sport, but ARRC will provide a great platform for me to work hard, ride and learn from the best in Asia. Having missed the first round due to knee injury that I am still recovering from, it is going to be a tough task to catch up and learn the bike and get up to pace.
“Since 2011 in World Championship, I have always been involved in international racing, thanks to Ramji Govindarajan of Ten10 Racing who has been working hard to keep my international career going for so many years. However, this switch is critical to my racing career as this will define my future in international racing.
“I want to thank Mr John Sudheer whose support helped put an Indian in the Asia Championship. WOW Digit is a new era brand and will be great to work with them and promoting and carrying their brand with us across Asia.
“Also Ten10 Racing has been the backbone in my racing career, being beside me even during tough times and injuries. Vinoth Kannan of Ten10 Racing has been constantly working with me on my fitness and Ramji Govindarajan has been mentoring me for so many years to make me a professional racer that I am today. I will always be indebted to Ten10 Racing.”
The 2016 ARRC Calendar is:
Round 1 – Johor Circuit, Malaysia, April 1-2 (completed); Round 2 – Chang International Circuit, Thailand, May 7-8; Round 3 – Suzuka Circuit, Japan, June 4-5; Round 4 – Sentul Circuit, Indonesia, August 6-7; Round 5 – Buddh International Circuit, India, October 1-2; Round 6 – Chang International Circuit, Thailand, December 3-4
eom/AP Media Comm release
Sarath Kumar file photo by Anand Philar -
Brayan Perera seals FJRS championship
Coimbatore, 3 May 2016: Sri Lankan Brayan Perera clinched the championship in the Formula Junior Racing Series promoted by Meco Motor Sports which concluded at the Kari Motor Speedway here on Sunday. Brayan scored a total of five wins in 10 races spread over two rounds.Brayan, who had won three of the five races in the first round during the April 16-17 weekend at the same venue, finished the series with a tally of 72 points, just four clear of second-placed Ashwin Datta (Chennai) who had three wins while Assam’s Alex Bora ended up third with a tally of 53 (two wins).
In the Support races (two-wheelers), Faraz Shariff (600cc), Anthony Peter (300cc) and Aishwarya M (ladies) achieved a double apiece in the second round.
FJRS is a new entry-level Formula Racing Series for Rookie drivers who have attended the Meco Racing Academy and an affordable step up from karting to racing. More importantly, this Series becomes the grooming ground for a seat with the Meco Racing Team taking part in the JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship.
The Series comprised of 10 races held over two rounds with support events in the form of two-wheeler races. The competitors in the FJRS drove the Formula LGB 1300 cars which belonged to Meco Racing and run by Meco Racing as a Single Make Class.
The results:
Formula LGB 1300 (Race 1, 10 laps): 1. Brayan Perera (Sri Lanka) (12mins, 46.417secs); Alex Bora (Assam) (12:48.582); 3. Ashwin Datta (Chennai) (12:51.820). Race 2 (7 laps): 1. Datta (13:02.959); 2. Arya Singh (Kolkata) (13:04.025); 3. Kevin Perera (Sri Lanka) (13:05.096). Race 3 (12 laps): 1. Bora (16:48.928); 2. Datta (16:49.692); 3. Sneha Sharma (Mumbai) (16:52.834). Race 4 (12 laps): 1. Datta (17:18.692); 2. Brayan Perera (17:23.392); 3. Bora (17:23.547). Race 5 (12 laps): 1. Brayan Perera (16:43.458); 2. Datta (16:45.247); 3. Rupesh Sivakumar (16:54.843).
Support Races (2-wheelers) – 400cc Open (Stock) Race 1 (8 laps): 1. Faraz Shariff (10:18.573); 2. Aditya Rao (10:22.217); 3. Yashal RL (10:22.495). Race 2 (10 laps): 1. Faraz Shariff (12:49.239); 2. Aditya Rao (12:52.867); 3. Rameez Ebrahim (13:28.878).
300cc (Stock) Race 1 (8 laps): 1. Anthony Peter (11:03.852); 2. Mohammed Arif (11:30.662); 3. Jai Kiran SV (11:55.322). Race 2 (10 laps): 1. Anthony Peter (14:11.137); 2. Guru Prasath (+1 lap); 3. Jai Kiran SV (+1 lap).
165cc (Stock, Novice) Race 1 (8 laps): 1. Anish D Shetty (11:09.944); 2. Yashas RL (11:10.575); 3. Anthony Peter (11:11.133). Race 2 (10 laps): 1. Anthony Peter (13:56.204); 2. Anish D Shetty (13:55.752); 3. Yashas RL (14:05.626).
Ladies (165cc, Stock) Race 1 (6 laps): 1. Aishwarya M (09:22.003); 2. Gopika Dharamshi (10:43.121); 3. Poorani Giridharan (+1 lap). Race 2 (6 laps): 1. Aishwarya (09:20.191); 2. Gopika (10:06.744); 3. Poorani (10:52.061).
eom/AP Media Communications release
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Hat-trick of wins for Lankan Brayan Perera: Formula LGB 1300
Coimbatore, 18 April 2016: Sri Lankan Brayan Perera dominated the first round of the introductory Formula Junior Racing Series promoted by Meco Motor Sports by winning three of the five races in the Formula LGB 1300 category at the Kari Motor Speedway here over the weekend.
Over the action-packed two days of the event which was exclusively meant for aspiring young talent wishing to take the big step from Karting to single-seater open-wheel racing, Perera won the first, fourth and fifth races besides a podium in the second outing to underline his prowess.
Alex Bora (Assam) and Ashwin Datta (Chennai) took the honours in the other two FJRS races that boasted of a 12-car grid.
In the two-wheeler support races, Yashas RL (400cc), M Sudhkar (300cc), Anish Shetty (165cc, Novice) and Pooja Dabhi (Ladies, 165cc) achieved a double apiece.
The second round of the series will be held at the same venue on April 30 and May 1. The FJRS is a new entry-level Formula Racing Series for Rookie drivers who have attended the Meco Racing Academy and an affordable step up from karting to racing. More importantly, this Series becomes the grooming ground for a seat with the Meco Racing Team taking part in the JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship.
The results:
Formula LGB 1300 (Race 1, 10 laps): 1. Brayan Perera (12mins, 35.721secs); 2. Alex Bora (12:36.516); 3. Sneha Sharma (12:44.595). Race 2: 1. Bora (12:41.753); 2. Perera (12.42.731); 3. Sneha Sharma (12.47.699). Race 3 (12 laps): 1. Ashwin Datta (15:14.502); 2. Sneha Sharma (15:18.405); 3. Jason Huggins (15:21.604). Race 4 (12 laps): 1. Perera (15:05.904); 2. Bora (15:10.225); 3. Datta (15:19.657). Race 5 (12 laps): 1. Perera (17:48.866); 2. Gokul Manesan (17:49.358); 3. Huggins (17:50.262).
Support races (2-wheeler): Up to 400cc – Open (Race 1, 8 laps): 1. Yashas RL (10:15.435); 2. Faraz Shariff (10:19.911); 3. Aditya Rao (10:22.904). Race 2 (10 laps): 1. Yashas (13:51.980); 2. Siddharth (14:00.601); 3. Shariff (14:07.167).
Up to 300cc – Open (Race 1, 8 laps): 1. M Sudhakar (10:50.887); 2. Anthony Peter (10:53.934); 3. Mohammed Arif A (11:20.866). Race 2 (10 laps): 1. Sudhakar (13:41.603); 2. Peter (13:43.552); 3. Pranav Shukla (14:16.070).
Up to 165cc – Novice (Race 1, 8 laps): 1. Anish D Shetty (11:02.408); 2. Anthony Peter (11:07.502); 3. A Amala Gerald (11:15.942). Race 2 (4 laps): 1. Shetty (05:33.949); 2. Peter (05:36.014); 3. Rajkumar (05:39.228).
Ladies (Stock – up to 165cc, 6 laps): 1. Pooja Dabhi (09:22.531); 2. Shruthi N (09:32.604); 3. Rehana Reya (09:43.537). Race 2 (6 laps): Dabhi (09:34.697); 2. Shruthi (09:34.930); 3. Reya (09:55.264).
About Meco Motor Sports
Meco Motor Sports is India’s No. 1 motorsports management enterprise started by Indian racing legend, Akbar Ebrahim, regarded as the best racer of his era. He was the first Indian to race at international circuits. His illustrious career of over four decades has seen him dominate not only the Indian tracks but also take the international tracks in his stride. During his long association with motorsports as a racer himself, he had the chance to see the sport from the inside. He had a good idea of where India stood in terms of talent, infrastructure, training and opportunities; the pros and cons. He knew the obstacles a racing aspirant would have to face and wanted to clear those obstacles one at a time to clear the path for the future generation.
This passion of Akbar’s, coupled with his incredible knowledge of motorsports and business acumen, gave rise to Meco Motor Sports (MMS), built on a dream to change the landscape of motorsports in India. MMS today is the biggest names in Indian motorsports. They not only own and manage premier racing tracks across India, but also organize India’s top racing events and championships besides running a racing academy.
MMS has diversified to cover as many aspects of motorsports as it possibly could. So, as a flagship company, MMS has different operational arms that take care of various aspects of the sport.
What MMS has made sure is that the future of motorsports in India holds consolidation, expansion and more international exposure. Above all, it holds a relentless drive towards the adrenaline rush of the waving flags, the adrenaline burn and the podium finish!
eom/AP Media Communications release
Photo caption:
Sri Lankan Brayan Perera (centre), the overall winner of the first round of the Formula Junior Racing Series conducted by Meco Motor Sports in Coimbatore over the weekend, flanked by second-placed Alex Bora from Assam (left) and Chennai’s Ashwin Datta who was third Overall. -
Lohit Urs tops in Asia Cup, wins National title; Gill clinches Overall Coffee Day Rally title
Lohitt Urs and his co-driver Shrikanth Gowda expectedly won the title in the FIA Asia Cup category besides emerging National champions even as Gaurav Gill (co-driver Musa Sherif) took the Overall crown in the Coffee Day India Rally which concluded here on Sunday.Mysorean Urs, driving the Mitsubishi Evo VIII, destroyed the Asia Cup field with relative ease despite encountering set-up problems on Saturday which cost him some time.
Having registered for the FMSCI Indian Rally Championship, Urs collected sufficient points to win the title despite finishing Overall second behind Gill who ended an otherwise wretched season on a high, but lost his National crown.
“I am obviously delighted to win the Asia Cup and the National championship. We had some problems with the car early on, but we managed to set things right,” said Urs.
Reflecting on his performance, Gill, who scored the second win of the IRC season, said: “It has not been the best of seasons for me with so many non-finishes. I am of course disappointed to lose my National title, but feel good to finish the season on a high. We lost some 40 seconds yesterday due to mechanical problems. However, we managed to put it all behind us and win here.”
For Team Yokohama, it was a double delight as Bengaluru pair of Rahul Kanthraj and his co-driver Vivek Bhatt came out on top in the IRC 2000 class and also sealed the championship in their category, as did Karna Kadur (co-driver Vivek Ponnusamy) in the IRC 1600 category.
While it was smooth sailing for Kanthraj who thus completed a clean sweep by winning all the four IRC rounds, Kadur was a bit lucky as overnight leader Dean Mascarenhas (Shanmuga SN) was docked a one-minute penalty for early check-in at a Time Control and thus finished second.
Also, IRC 1600 championship leader Dr Bikku Babu retired on Saturday and it paved the way for Kadur’s triumph. “Not the way I wanted to win the championship with Dr Babu retiring and Dean getting a penalty which helped me. But, it is nice to win considering that we had issues with the car through the weekend,” said Kadur.
The three-day event, which was also a contender for a round of the 2016 Asia Pacific Rally Championship, was supported by Karnataka Toursim and Indian Oil.
Provisional classifications:
FIA Asia Cup: Lohit Urs / Srikanth Gowda (Pvt, Evo VIII) 1 (2hrs, 14 mins, 11.2 secs); Satyan Kochar / Amit Wagchoure (Pvt. VW Polo) 2 (02:32:13.2); Pradeep RG / Shekar 3 (Pvt, Evo VIII) 3 (02:37:22.5).
IRC Overall): Gaurav Gill / Musa Sherif 1 (Mahindra Adventure, XUV 500) 1 (02:06:18.6); Lohitt Urs / Srikanth Gowda (Pvt, Evo VIII) 2 (02:06:34.2); Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik (Mahindra Adventure, XUV 500) 3 (02:07:08.5).
IRC 2000: Rahul Kantharaj / Vivek Y Bhatt (Team Yokohama, Cedia) 1 (02:11:16.0); Younus Ilyas / Paul Thomas (Pvt, Cedia) 2 (02:12:09.4); Sumit Punjabi / Shahid Salman (Pvt, Cedia) 3 (02:12:44.1).
IRC 1600: Karna Kadur / Vivek Ponnusamy (Team Yokohama, VW Polo) 1 (02:07:29.3); Dean Mascarenhas / Shanmuga SN (Pvt, VW Polo) 2 (02:08.08.5); Bopaiah KM / Karumbaiah KS (Pvt, VW Polo) 3 (02:09:58.6).
FMSCI Cup 1600: Druva Chandrasekhar / Jeevarathinam J (Pvt, Honda City V-Tec) 1 (02:10: 45.5); Adith KC / Harish KN (Pvt, Honda City V-Tec) 2 (02:12:46.5); Michu Ganapathy / Venu Ramesh Kumar (Pvt, Maruti Baleno) 3 (02:15:01.4).
eom/AP Media Communications release and photos
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Gaurav Gill sparkles to take lead; Dean takes lead over Karna
Chikkamagaluru, 12 Dec 2015: Gaurav Gill (co-driver Musa Sherif) of Team Mahindra Adventure came up with one of his smoothest drives, marked by controlled aggression to take a sizeable lead at the conclusion of the Leg-1 of the Coffee Day India Rally here on Saturday.
The day witnessed some stirring action. While 34-year old Delhi-based Gill eased his way through the highly challenging and technical Special Stages to top the time charts clocking one hour, 58 minutes, 18.9 seconds, young Dean Mascarenhas (Shanmuga SN) from Mangaluru was positively sparkling in the Volkswagen Polo to finish second Overall in the FMSCI Indian Rally Championship.
Lohitt Urs (Shrikant Gowda) who is participating in the FIA Asia Cup that is being run concurrently and is also in contention in the IRC category, carved his way to Overall third after starting the day from 13th position.
Urs, driving the all-wheel drive Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII, also led the Asia Cup field quite comfortably. In fact, of the eight starters in the Asia Cup, only four were still running as Arjun Rao Aroor (Satish Rajagopal), younger brother Phalguna Urs (Anoop Kumar), PG Abhilash (Rohan Rego) and Garima Avatar (Shrupta Padival) retired, bringing the day’s total of dropouts to 11 of the 40 entrants.
Even as Gill consolidated his position, the battle of the day was between Mascarenhas and Karna Kadur (Vivek Ponnusamy) of Team Yokohama as the duo went neck-and-neck for positions in the IRC 1600 class. In the process, the two young guns pushed their respective VW Polo cars to the limit, providing plenty of thrilling moments for the spectators.
Equally impressive was veteran Rahul Kanthraj (Vivek Bhatt) of Team Yokohama who consolidated his lead in the IRC 2000 class while finishing the day over a minute ahead of Sumit Panjabi (Shahid Salman).
In the FMSCI Cup 1600 class, Druva Chandrashekar (Jeevarathinam) took a nearly two-minute lead over his nearest rival Raghunandan B (Roopesh Kholay) and looked set to clinch the title.
The three-day event, supported by Karnataka Toursim and Indian Oil, concludes on Sunday.
Provisional classifications (after Leg-1):
FIA Asia Cup: Lohitt Urs / Shrikant Gowda (Pvt, Evo VIII) 1 (1hr, 59mins, 41.2secs); Satyan Kochar / Amit Waghchoure (Pvt, VW Polo) 2 (02:16:14.7); Bani Yadav / Sukhbans Mann (Pvt, Cedia) 3 (02:21:36.1).
IRC Overall: Gaurav Gill / Musa Sherif (Mahindra Adventure, XUV 500) 1 (1hr, 58mins, 18.9 secs); Dean Mascarenhas / Shanmuga SN (Pvt, VW Polo) 2 (1:59:31.1); Lohitt Urs / Srikanth Gowda (Pvt, Evo VIII) 3 (1:59: 41.2).
IRC 2000: Rahul Kanthraj / Vivek Bhatt (Team Yokohama, Cedia) 1 (2:03:38.4); Sumit Panjabi / Shahid Salman (Pvt, Cedia) 2 (2:05:05.5); Karan AM / Suraj M (Pvt, VW Polo) 3 (2:07:18.7).
IRC 1600: Dean Mascarenhas / Shanmuga SN (Pvt, VW Polo) 1 (1:59:31.1); Karna Kadur / Vivek Ponnusamy (Team Yokohama, VW Polo) 2 (1:59:47.7); Bopaiah KM / Karumbaiah KS (Pvt, VW Polo) 3 (2:02:05.9).
FMSCI Cup 1600: Druva Chandrasekhar / Jeevarathinam J (Pvt, Honda City V-tec) 1 (2:03:02.7); Raghunandan B / Rupesh Kholay (Pvt, Honda City V-tec) 2 (2:05:03.2); Adith KC / Harish KN (Pvt, Honda City V-tec) 3 (2:05:12.1).
eom/MSCC release
Deam Mascarenhas (co-driver Shanmuga SN) en route to topping the IRC 1600 class on conclusion of Leg-1 of the Coffee Day India Rally in Chikkamagaluru on Saturday. -
Stage set for exciting Coffee Day India Rally; 8 entries for Asia Cup
Chikkamagaluru, 10 December 2015: With 40 entries in fray, the Coffee Day India Rally 2015, which doubles up as the concluding round of the FIA Asia Cup and the FMSCI Indian Rally Championship, promises high-octane action as the cream of country’s rally talent converge here for the three-day extravaganza beginning Friday.
The event, also supported by Karnataka Tourism and Indian Oil, kicks off with a ceremonial start at the Coffee Day Global premises on Thursday evening, followed by the hugely-popular Super Special Stage at the Amber Valley School grounds on Friday. The cars will then head out of town for the Special Stages on Saturday and Sunday.
The 180 Kms-long Asia Cup Rally which is also a contender event for a round of 2016 Asia Pacific Rally Championship, has attracted eight entries led by Mysuru’s Lohitt Urs with Srikanth Gowda of Mudigere as his co-driver in a Mitsubishi Evo VIII, and Arjun Rao Aroor of Mangaluru (co-driver Satish Rajagopal, Bengaluru) driving the Volkswagen Polo (R2B variant).
None of the registered Asia Cup crews from overseas is taking part as Japan’s Hitoshi Takayama has already clinched the title with a round to spare. However, the Asia Cup participants in the Coffee Day India Rally are eligible for IRC points.
With two wins from three starts this season, the vastly experienced Urs heads the IRC points table with a tally of 95, well clear of Team Mahindra Adventure’s former National champion Amittrajit Ghosh from Kolkata (co-driver Ashwin Naik, Mangaluru) who is on 72, driving the Mahindra XUV 500. Also in title hunt is Arjun Rao Aroor with 64 points.
“We have not done much work on the car apart from what was necessary. We didn’t have too many problems this season, winning the previous two rounds, and we hope to carry the momentum in Chikkamagaluru,” said Urs.
Behind the top three is Delhi-based reigning National champion and Team Mahindra Adventure’s marquee driver Gaurav Gill (co-driver Musa Sherif, Mangaluru) who has had a dismal season as he drew blank in two of the three rounds after opening the season with a win in Nashik. With 52 points in the kitty, Gill, the 2013 APRC champion, is effectively out of the title race. The maximum points available are 39 (25 for win and 14 Leg points).
The tight and twisty terrain interspersed with fast and flowing corners, is expected to favour the all-wheel-drive Mitsubishi Evo and the compact Polo cars, though Gill, piloting the heavier and bulkier XUV 500 has often authored his own script with some stunning drives, defying all odds in the process.
In the IRC 2000cc category, Bengaluru pair of Rahul Kanthraj and Vivek Bhatt of Team Yokohama, who won all the three previous rounds, are set to clinch the class championship as they are 34 ahead of Hyderabad’s Sumit Panjabi.
A three-way battle is on in the IRC 1600cc class which Kerala’s Dr Bikku Babu (87 points) leads, closely followed by Team Yokohama’s Karna Kadur (70) and Aroor Vikram Rao (61), all driving the Volkswagen Polo.
The scenario in the FMSCI 1600 Cup is much tighter as Ashwin Reddy (87), Druva Chandrasekhar (83) and last year’s champion Adith KC (69) are bunched together at the top.
The organizers, Motor Sports Club of Chikkamagaluru, have laid out yet another challenging route that comprises four physical Special Stages, three of them in the Coffee Day estates and one at the University in Birur with the Asia Cup cars covering 180 Kms and the IRC, 120 Kms.
MSCC have put in massive efforts to get the route ready for the event after overcoming huge odds, mostly by way of unseasonal wet weather that hampered preparations.
eom/MSCC press release
File photo of former APRC champion Gaurav Gill. Image by Anand Philar -
Aravind wins MRF Mogrip Supercross Nationals, adds 17th National title to his kitty; Aussie stunt riders thrill crowd
Bangalore, 5 Dec 2015: Mangalore rider KP Aravind came up with an impressive performance in the sixth and final round of the MRF MOGRIP FMSCI National Supercross Championship to clinch his 17th National title here on Saturday.
The Team TVS Racing rider finished second in the first moto and won the second moto in the Class 1 (SX 1, Group A, upto 250cc 2stroke, 500cc 4stroke) to bag the title. He has won the National title in this class in 2011, 2013 and 2015.
In the first moto, Aravind had built up a good lead but a fall saw CD Jinan move to the front and win. A determined effort fetched Aravindthe second place. The second moto was a tight one and Aravind and CD Jinan fought tooth and nail for the lead. However, Jinan had a fall and that left Aravind with much less pressure as the Mangalorean completed the formalities in style.
A beaming Aravind said: “I am really excited and happy. I had seen my senior riders do it earlier and it is a great feeling to have won this championship.”
The highlight of the afternoon was an international moto. David Pulley, Jared Hicks and Bryce Stewart (all from the USA), Oliver Eveleigh (Britain), Roger Bergstrom, Dale Jullien, Josh Brodalka and Anthony Raynard (all from South Africa), Alexander Ivanyutin and VitaliyGusev (both from Russia) and Tomoya Suzuki (Japan). This moto was won by Alexander Ivanyutin.
Later, Australians Daniel Ford and Shaun Webb stunned the crowds with their exhibition jumps and stunts.
MRF MOGRIP is the title sponsor of the event with Sidvin Energy, Indian Oil Corporation, TVS Motor Company and Hero Moto Corp being the associate sponsors.
Regal Hospital provided medical facilities, including ambulances and doctors.
Results (provisional): Class 1 – SX 1 – Group “A” Stroke 2/4 Upto 250cc/ 500cc: 1. KP Aravind (Team TVS Racing, moto 1: 17, moto 2: 20 points); 2.CD Jinan (Thrissur, 20 & 13); 3. AW Tanveer (TVS Racing, 15 & 17).
Class 2 – Novice – Group “C” Stroke 2/4 Upto 260cc: 1. Saijith ES (Team TVS Racing); 2.AmalVerghese (Eranakulam); 3.Jagdeesh Kumar (Coimbatore).
Class 3 – Indian Experts – Group “B” Stroke 2/4 Upto 260cc: 1. R Natraj (Team TVS Racing); 2.AW Tanveer (Team TVS Racing); 3.Yuva Kumar (Team TVS Racing).
Class 4 – Locals Group “B” Stroke 2/4 Upto 260cc: 1.Basheer Ahmed (Bangalore); 2.Azmath Sharif (Bangalore); 3.Gautam Kumar (Bangalore).
Class 5 – Indian Experts Class-C Stroke 2/4 Upto 260cc: 1. AW Tanveer (Team TVS Racing); 2.Saijith ES (Team TVS Racing); 3.R Natraj (Team TVS Racing).
Class 6 – Private Experts – Group “C” Stroke 2/4 Upto 260cc: 1. Suhail Ahmed (Bangalore); 2.Basheer Ahmed (Bangalore); 3.AmalVerghese (Ernakulam).
Class 7 – SX 2 – Group “A” Stroke 2/4 Upto 250cc/ 500cc: 1. Adnan Ahmed (Mangalore, moto 1: 20, moto 2: 17); 2.Suhail Ahmed (Bangalore, 15 & 20); 3.Jignesh Patel (Nagpur, 17 & 15).
Class 8 – Jr SX – Group “A/B/C/D” Stroke 2/4 Upto 500cc: 1. RugvedBarguje (TVS Racing); 2.Rishi Gomes (Goa); 3.Amon Gomes (Goa).
Class 9: International Open Class SX 3 Group A Up To 250cc/ 500cc: 1. Alexander Ivanyutin (Russia); 2.Bryce Stewart (USA); 3.VitalyGusev (Russia).
eom/FMSCI press release
Aravind KP, Tanweer A W & Jinan CD in an intense battle for the lead in the MRF Supercross Nationals in Bangalore on Saturday. An MRF image -
Lohit Urs urges motorsport fraternity to gear up and make efforts to reach the world standards
Bengaluru, 1 Dec 2015: In a polite manner, Lohit Urs, told the motorsports fraternity that India have to make better efforts to reach global standards in organising and providing infrastructure for motorsports. “Motorsports is a global sports and India should not be left behind,” he said at the Press Conference held here at the Cafe Coffee Day outlet opposite to Kanteerava Stadium back gate, to announce the ASIA CUP and India Rally Championship to be held next month.
After a lapse of over a decade, India will play host to an international Rally with the coffee town of Chikkamagaluru, nestling in the lap of Western Ghats, being the venue for the fourth and final round of the FIA Asia Cup, branded the Coffee Day India Rally, to be held from December 11 to 13.The fourth and concluding round of the FMSCI Indian Rally Championship will be run concurrently while the Asia Cup is also a contender for a full round of the 2016 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship. Peter Mecneal of Australia has been deputed as the Observer.
Sponsored by Coffee Day Global, the Coffee Day India Rally and the IRC are expected to attract a total of nearly 40 entries. PG Abhilash and Lohitt Urs, both in the Mitsubishi Evolution cars, along with Arjun Rao Aroor who will be piloting the Volkswagen Polo (R2B), head the Asia Cup field that also includes three female participants, Garima Avtar, Bani Yadav and Sukhman Mann.
The IRC will have its usual complement of full grid headlined by reigning National champion Gaurav Gill representing Team Mahindra Adventure and driving the Mahindra XUV 500 with the likes of Team Yokohama’s Rahul Kanthraj and Karna Kadur besides a clutch of young, talented drivers such as Dean Mascarenhas and Adith KC.
The Asia Cup was originally allotted to India last year, but the dates were found unsuitable and hence the organizers, Motor Sports Club of Chikmagalur, opted to run the event in 2015.
With Coffee Day Global being the title sponsors and in association with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd and Karnataka Toursim, the 2015 India Rally will also be a contender for a round of the 2016 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship which will be a big step forward.
Since 1982, when the “Coffee 500” Rally was first held in Chikkamagaluru, the event has evolved into one of the most popular and keenly awaited rallies in the National motorsport calendar.
Chikkamagaluru’s rustic charm and scenic setting have not only made the Coffee Town into a popular holiday destination, but also attract the cream of country’s Rally talent every year.
The Motor Sports Club of Chikkamagaluru, has, over the years, put in massive efforts and overcome many hurdles to constantly raise the bar in terms of organization and hospitality, besides providing Rally route that is at once challenging and exciting.
Speaking at a Media Conference here on Tuesday,
Mr. Venkatesh M, Director, Coffee Day Hotels and Resorts, said: “We are proud to associate with the FIA Asia Cup. The Coffee Day Rally has always received an overwhelming response from people all over the country and this year we look forward to creating a new level of excitement in the minds of the spectators and Indian sportsmen.
“While we aim to conduct the sport as per international standards, our association with Asia Pacific Rally Championship will put us on the global map. We look forward to putting this event together with our fellow national and international sponsors.”
Mr Farooq Ahmed, Chairman, FMSCI Rally Commission, and Vice-President, Motor Sports Club
of Chikkamagaluru, said: “It is a dream-come-true for us at the MSCC.
It was always our ambition to put Chikkamagaluru on the international motorsport map and we are happy that the dream has become a reality.”
Mr Jayanth Pai, President, Motor Sports Club of Chikmagalur, said: “Obviously, we are thrilled that the Coffee Day India Rally has been included as a round of the 2015 Asia Cup.
“We have a very dedicated team at the MSCC and are ready to take up the challenge of hosting a major international event. I am confident it will be a success.”
Mr D Ramkumar, Clerk-of-the-Course, said: “We are taking all measures to provide an exciting and safe event. It is bound to be a World-class Rally and we hope fans will come in large numbers to enjoy the fare.”
This year, the rally route includes some new tight and twisty sections inside plantations belonging to the title sponsor Coffee Day Global and also Special Stages previously used before between 2006 and 2011.
The route has been designed to provide new challenges for drivers while continuing to use the fast and smooth roads so well-known and liked throughout in the Indian Rally Championship. The Super Special Stage, to be run the Amber Valley School grounds on the Friday, December 11 afternoon, will kick-start the event with the Special Stages scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
The Asia Cup will be contested over 180 Kms of Special Stages while the IRC participants will cover 120 Kms besides the liaison sections.
eom/AP Media Communications release
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5th South Lake TSD Rally – 2015
Bengaluru, 25 Nov 2015: The JS group South Lake TSD Rally for four-wheelers organised by Startline Motorsports will be held here on Sunday, Nov 29. The 100-km route with many time-controls is undisclosed.
The 5th annual rally to spread the message of Road Safety and the need to protect the lakes to compensate for the emissions has gained popularity and many rallyists including some National stars from Erode, Coimbatore, Kerala and Goa have confirmed their entries. Over 30 entries are expected before the last date on Nov 28.
The Time Speed Distance (TSD) rally for four wheelers will be flagged off from Vyshnsavi Residency on Kankapura road, near metro at 9:30 am on Sunday and will cover over 100 kms passing through many scenic lakes and will promote the road safety aspects.
For entries call Chidanand at 9945674545 before Nov 28.
eom/david bodapati
