INDIA in F1

Category: Non-F1

  • JCT Rallying’s Samir Thapar rolls back years to win Rally Nationals Chennai leg; pushes back leader Gaurav Gill

    Irungattukottai (Chennai), 27 July 2014: Samir Thapar and his co-driver Gurinder Mann of JCT Rallying team rolled back the years by winning the MMSC promoted  AVT Premium South India Rally, the third round of the FMSCI Indian Rally Championship, here on Sunday.

    In the process, Thapar, driving a Mitsubishi Evo X, stopped the winning spree of championship leader Gaurav Gill (co-driver Musa Sherif) of Team Mahindra Adventure who finished overall second ahead of PG Abhilash (Kumar Ramaswamy) in a Evo 6.

    Thapar, who enjoyed a sizeable lead overnight over Gill, winner of the previous two IRC rounds in Nashik and Coimbatore, again showcased the pace and power of the Evo by winning all the four Stages, including the Spectator Special Stage with much to spare.

    Thapar, 50, had last won a National championship event in 1997 before quitting the sport while for 49-year old Mann, a multiple Indian champion in his hey days, it was his first success since winning the Asia Zone in 2000. Thapar had words of praise for the organizer, MMSC, who he believed did a great job with the event. He commented, “It is a great moment for us oldies and winning an event after such a long time is just fantastic. The Stages, the organization and just about everything here was perfect. Yesterday, during the first loop, I didn’t have the Pirelli tyres which arrived here in time for the second run and they made a huge difference. The car too was just about right and of course, we both are extremely happy to win here today”.

    Meanwhile, Rahul Kanthraj (Vivek Bhatt) of Team Yokohama in a Mitsubishi Cedia held his overnight position to win the IRC 2000cc class quite comfortably.

    The IRC 1600cc class saw overnight leader Vikram Devadasen (Vivek Bhatt) of Team Yokohama slip to third position as he lost time on hard compound tyres while Arjun Rao (Satish Rajagopal), trailing by eight seconds, seized the opportunity to win while Phalguna Urs (Anoop Kumar) came in second.

    In the FMSCI 1600 Cup, Adith KC (Harish KN), placed second overnight, won the honours with leader Raghunandan B (Suraj K) retiring in the day’s first Stage.

    Provisional classifications (after Leg 2):

    IRC Overall: 1. Samir Thapar / Gurinder Mann (JCT Rally, Evo X) (1hr, 37mins, 45.6secs); 2. Gaurav Gill / Musa Sherif (Mahindra Adventure, XUV 500) (01:40:02.5); Abhilash PG / Kumar Ramaswamy (REA PGA Motorsport, Evo 6) (01:41:16.8).

    IRC 2000cc: 1. Rahul Kanthraj / Vivek Bhatt (Team Yokohama, Cedia) (01:44:38.4); 2. Prithvi Dominic / Ravindra MS (Cedia) (01:46:06.7); 3. Sumit Panjabi / Venu Ramesh Kumar (Cedia) (01:46:39.6).

    IRC 1600cc: 1. Arjun Rao / Satish Rajagopal (VW Polo) (01:42:56.2); 2. Phalguna Urs / Anoop Kumar (VW Polo) (01:42:58.0); 3. Vikram Devadasen / Srikant Gowda (Team Yokohama, VW Polo) (01:43:20.0).

    FMSCI 1600cc Cup: 1. Adith KC / Harish KN (Honda City V-Tec) (01:47:33.9); 2. Aeman Khadri / Sagar M (Maruti Baleno) (01:49.14.2); 3. Bopaiah KM / K Karumbaiah (Maruti Esteem) (01:50:14.3).

    Samir Thaper of JCT Racing, the overall winner of the Indian Rally Championship in Chennai on Sunday. An Adrenna Communications image
    Samir Thaper of JCT Rallying, the overall winner of the Indian Rally Championship in Chennai on Sunday. An Adrenna Communications image

    eom/Adrenna press release

  • Pole positions for Vishnu, Kush and Yash: 2nd round of JK Tyre Rotax Max Karting Nationals

    By Vivek Phadnis

    Vishnu Prasad (No. 66) and Nayan Chatterjee (No. 72) in action in the second heat of the Senior Max Category in the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2014 at the Airport Track, Hyderabad on Saturday. Image by Vivek Phadnis
    Vishnu Prasad (No. 66) and Nayan Chatterjee (No. 72) in action in the second heat of the Senior Max Category in the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2014 at the Airport Track, Hyderabad on Saturday. Image by Vivek Phadnis

    Hyderabad, 26 July 2014:  Chennai’s Vishnu Prasad will take pole position for the pre-final race of the Senior Max Category in the 2nd round of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2014. Prasad finished third in the first heat and then emerged fastest in the second to tally a total of three points and win this honour at the Airport Track in Hyderabad on Saturday. Prasad will be followed by Chittesh Mandody of Mohites Racing, who won the first heat and finished fourth in the second, while starting in third place will be Rayo Racing’s Nayan Chatterjee, who finished second and third in the two heats respectively.

    The Junior Max category (drivers between the age of 13 and 16) saw Kush Maini of Dark Don Racing win both the heats ahead of Ricky R Donison of BPC Racing to take pole position. Donison, who finished second in both heats will start in second, followed by Akash Gowda of Meco Racing, who was third in both heats. 

    There was a tie for the fourth and fifth positions between the only girl in the fray, Mira Erda of Dark Don Racing and Aaroh Rabindra of Rayo Racing as both tallied nine points, before Mira was given the fourth slot because of faster timings in the qualifying races.

    Bangalore’s Yash Aradhya, representing Meco Racing, stamped his class on the Micro Max category (drivers between the age of 7 and 12) by winning both heats in most convincing fashion, continuing from where he had left off in the opening round.  Yash won the first heat a whopping 8.823 seconds ahead of the second placed Arjun Nair, while in the second he was 3.418 seconds ahead of the second placed Chirag Ghorpade.

    Yash, who won the first round in heroic fashion, beating the field after starting at the end on the grid in 12th position, was once again in total control of the proceedings and is definitely emerging the driver to watch out for.

    Both the heats in the Junior Max category saw a close battle for supremacy between Maini and Donison with the former winning the first heat by a fraction of a second. In the second heat, it was Donison who surged ahead at the start and maintained the lead till the 12th lap, before Maini squeezed past on the second corner. The lead changed hands thrice in the 13th lap, before Maini edged ahead and took the chequered flag, again a fraction of a second ahead of Donison.

    Top five positions:

    Senior Max category: Vishnu Prasad (Meco Racing); Chittesh Mandody (Mohites Racing); Nayan Chatterjee (Rayo Racing); Ameya Bafna (Rayo Racing); Arya Gandhi (Rayo Racing).

    Junior Max category: Kush Maini (Dark Don Racing); Ricky R Donison (BPC Racing); Akash Gowda (Meco Racing); Mira Erda (Dark Don Racing); Aaroh Rabindra (Rayo Racing).

    Micro Max category: Yash Aradhya (Meco Racing); Shahan Ali Mohsin (Meco Racing); Arjun Nair (Meco Racing); Paul Francis (Meco Racing); Nikhil Bohra (Meco Racing).

    eom/Press Release by Vivek Phadnis

  • Samir Thapar takes lead with a brilliant run on his Mitsubishi Evo X

    Chennai, 26 July

    Sami Thaper and co-driver Gurinder Mann , in a Mitsubishi Evo X take lead in the INC on Saturday. An Adrenna image
    Sami Thaper and co-driver Gurinder Mann , in a Mitsubishi Evo X take lead in the INC on Saturday. An Adrenna image

    2014: Samir Thapar and co-driver Gurinder Mann , in a Mitsubishi Evo X, lit up the AVT Premium South India Rally with a brilliant run that put them in the lead in the Overall classifications with over one-minute advantage over championship leader Gaurav Gill (Musa Sherif) who were in a Mahindra XUV 500 at the end of the first Leg on Saturday. The Madras Motor Sport Club (MMSC), one of the oldest motorsport clubs in India, are hosts for Round 3 of the FMSCI Indian Rally Championship.

    Third Overall was PG Abhilash (Kumar Ramasway) of Team R3A PGA Motorsport in a Mitsubishi Evo 6, some 27 seconds adrift of Gill (Team Mahindra Adventure). The day witnessed a big crash as Gill’s team-mate and 2013 INRC champion Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik) rolled his XUV 500 on SS-5 going into a sequence of corners. Also retiring was the third Mahindra entry Karna Kadur (PVS Murthy) after hitting a rock on SS-2.

    Thapar of JCT Rallying team, who last won a National championship event in 1997 at the Karnataka 1000 Rally, was obviously pleased with the performance and said he would play it safe on Sunday when the three Special Stages would be run.  He commented, “We drove hard today on all the Stages. The second and third Stages were tight and slippery, but we did not back off though it was challenging to drive hard. After a long time, we got a car that we wanted. In Nashik (first round) we had lots of problems and I missed the second round in Coimbatore as I was out of the country. But today, everything came together and it was fun.”

    Gill, winner of the previous two rounds of the FMSCI Indian Rally Championship, was not surprised to be beaten. He said, “Like I said yesterday, the Stages are fast with lots of straights where the Evo with more power and being lighter had an advantage. But I thought Sammy (Thapar) drove brilliantly and I am not surprised that he made so much time on us.”

    In the IRC 2000cc class, Bangalore’s Rahul Kanthraj (Vivek Bhatt) of Team Yokohama was ahead of Prithvi Dominic (Ravindra MS) by some 57 seconds.

    The IRC 1600cc class was poised for a tight finish after Vikram Devadasen (Srikant Gowda) of Team Yokohama made time over Arjun Rao (Satish Rajagopal) in the Spectator Special Stage that was run in heavy rains to turn a slender deficit into an eight-second lead.

    Provisional classifications (after Leg 1):

    IRC Overall: 1. Samir Thapar / Gurinder Mann (JCT Rally, Evo X) (1hr, 04mins, 21.5secs); 2. Gaurav Gill / Musa Sherif (Mahindra Adventure, XUV 500) (01:06:07.8); Abhilash PG / Kumar Ramaswamy (REA PGA Motorsport, Evo 6) (01:06:35.2).

    IRC 2000cc: 1. Rahul Kanthraj / Vivek Bhatt (Team Yokohama, Cedia) (01:09:00.7); 2. Prithvi Dominic / Ravindra MS (Cedia) (01:09:58.2); 3. Sumit Panjabi / Venu Ramesh Kumar (Cedia) (01:10:43.7).

    FMSCI 1600cc: 1. Raghunandan B / Suraj K (Honda City V-Tec) (01:10:16.8); 2. Adith KC / Harish KN (Honda City V-Tec) (01:11:28.8); 3. Aeman Khadri / Sagar M (Baleno) (01:12.41.9).

    eom

  • Tarun Reddy recovers to take back championship lead after brilliant win

    Coimbatore, 20 July 2014: The 16 year old Indian Tarun Reddy put on a brilliant display to beat title contenders Vikash Anand and Advait Deodhar in the MRF FF1600 race at Round 3 of the 2014 MMSC-FMSCI National Racing Championship (NRC) at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore. Vikash Anand had a great day which included a win and a 2nd place in the MRF 1600 championship. Other winners included Ashish Ramaswamy in the Indian Touring Cars, Varun Anekar and Advait Deodhar in the Toyota EMR, VJ Senthil in the Indian Junior Touring Cars, Balavijay in the Superstock and S Narendran in the Formula Swift 1300.

    Race 2 of the MRF FF 1600 in Round 3 saw Goutam Parekh on reverse grid pole position. The race was red-flagged after lap 1 due to heavy rain hitting the circuit, forcing the drivers to change to wet tyres. At the restart Vikash Anand got the jump on Goutam to go into the lead. Behind him Advait jumped Goutam, who was busy battling with Championship leader Tarun Reddy. On lap 4, Tarun tried an audacious move on Goutam into the first corner, which resulted in both of them going off and causing a red flag for the second time. At the second restart Advait had a great start and beat Vikash into the first corner. However Vikash wasted no time and overtook Advait before the end of the lap to take the lead and go on to win in dominant fashion. Advait finished 2nd with Lee Keshav in 3rd place. Post race Tarun Reddy was given a 5 place grid penalty for an avoidable accident and causing a red flag.

    Race 3 of the MRF FF1600 saw Advait Deodhar taking the lead with Goutam Parekh in 2nd and Vikash Anand in 3rd. Tarun Reddy, who was given yet another penalty for the consecutive race weekend started in 6th but quickly moved up to 4th at the end of the first lap. The next 4 laps saw a brilliant battle between Advait, Vikash and Tarun for the lead. Tarun pulled off a great move on Vikash on lap 2 to move into 2nd. On lap 4 Tarun went around the outside of Advait into the first corner to take the lead. Vikash, who was right behind Tarun also took advantage and went past Advait. They finished in that order with Tarun beating Vikash and Advait. Tarun now leads Advait by 6 points in the Championship with Vikash right back in contention after a great weekend.

    Day 2 action resumed at the KMS with the Formula LGB 1300 category and it was S Narendran taking his second win in a row with a commanding performance. There was another close battle for 2nd place with Goutam Parekh just managing to beat Ajay Kini and Deepak Chinappa.

    Next race of the day saw the Indian Junior Touring Cars (IJTC) with DR Senthil taking his first win of the season and breaking Feroze Kkan’s winning streak. Senthil had an early battle with Siddharth B but pulled away to win comfortably. Siddharth finished in 2nd place ahead of championship leader Feroze Khan.

    The Toyota Etios Motor Trophy had some close racing in both races of the one make championship. In Race 3, Dean Mascarenhas took the early lead with Race 1 winner Varun Anekar right behind him. On lap 5 Varun made his move and overtook Dean to take the lead of the race. He went on to win comfortably with Dean finishing in 2nd place and Hashim finishing in 3rd place.

    In the reverse-grid Race 4 of the Toyota EMR, Vidyuth started on pole position along with Advait Deodhar. Vidyuth held on to the lead but was overtaken by Advait with 5 laps to go. Championship contender Dean Mascarenhas moved in to 2nd place on lap 7 and closed in on Advait but was unable to launch a challenge. Vidyuth completed the third step of the podium.

    Balavijay became the first driver to win all races to date in 2014 with another win in the Superstock category. In a replay of Race 1, behind him there was a great battle for 2nd place between Joel Joseph and Deepak Chinappa. Joel and Deepak had a race long battle with Deepak unable to find a way past.

    The Indian Touring Cars was a race long battle between veteran B Vidyaprakash and youngster Ashish Ramaswamy. The race ended with Vidyaprakash being punted out of the lead by Ashish, who crossed the chequered flag in 1st place. Raja Ram finished 2nd while Championship leader Arjun Narendran had a tough race and finished in 3rd position, suffering his first loss of the season.

    Race Classifications

    LGB Formula 1300 – Race 3

    1. S Narendran
    2. Goutam Parekh
    3. Ajay Kini

    Indian Junior Touring Cars – Race 2

    1. DR. Senthil
    2. Siddharth B
    3. Feroze Khan

     Toyota EMR – Race 3

    1. Varun Anekar
    2. Dean Mascarenhas
    3. Hashim

     Superstock – Race 2

    1. Balavijay
    2. Joel Joseph
    3. Deepak Chinappa

     Indian Touring Cars – Race 2

    1. Ashish Ramaswamy
    2. Raja Ram
    3. Arjun Narendran

    Toyota EMR – Race 4

    1. Advait Deodhar
    2. Dean Mascarenhas
    3. Vidyuth Iyer

     MRF FF 1600 – Race 2

    Advait, left, 2nd, Deodhar, 1st, Tarun Reddy, right, 3rd, Vikash Anand Sun at Coimbatore Round 3 of the Indian National Racing championship. An Adrenna image
    Advait, left, 2nd, Deodhar, 1st, Tarun Reddy, right, 3rd, Vikash Anand Sun at Coimbatore Round 3 of the Indian National Racing championship. An Adrenna image
    1. Vikash Anand
    2. Advait Deodhar
    3. Lee Keshav Gupta

    MRF FF 1600 – Race 3

    1. Tarun Reddy
    2. Vikash Anand
    3. Advait Deodhar

    Please visit www.madrasmotorsports.in for more information.

     eom/Adrenna press release

  • Ganesh Moorthy-Nagarajan bag Pro Expert, Overall titles in Ceat-Mahindra Monsoon Challenge 2014

    By Vivek Phadnis

    Mangalore, 20 July

    Ganesh Moorthy and Nagarajan in action on way to victory in the Ceat Mahindra rally on Sunday. Photo by Vivek Phadnis
    Ganesh Moorthy and Nagarajan in action on way to victory in the Ceat Mahindra rally on Sunday. Photo by Vivek Phadnis

    2014: Ganesh Moorthy and navigator Nagarajan, with a time penalty of 25 seconds, clinched the title in the Pro Expert category in the Ceat-Mahindra Monsoon Challenge 2014 that concluded here on Sunday. They also emerged as the Overall Champions in the event.

    Moorthy-Nagarajan were followed by Karthick M and Sankar Anand, who finished a close second with a time penalty of 29 seconds. Abhijeeth N Pai and Satish Gopalkrishnan bagged the third spot with a time penalty of 38 seconds.

    In the Pro Stock category, GJ Amarnath and Mukthiyar Ahmed took the top spot with a total penalty of one minute, 24 seconds, while Sudheendra Hebbar and Sagar M finished second and they earned six seconds more in penalty than the winners. Dinky Varghese and Sakthivel finished third after attracting a total penalty of one minute, 45 seconds.

    Anil Kumar and Shiva Kumar won the Amateur class, while Vikas Vijay and Shabina topped the Couple Class and Deepthi Gowda and Varshini Kataya won in the All Ladies Class.

    As is clearly seen in the time penalties, it was stiff competition throughout and the winners were decided by the narrowest of margins. Such was the tricky challenge in this event that was conducted under the Time-Speed-Distance format. A TSD rally does not involve high speeds and the emphasis is on precise calculation of speed so that one reaches the finish point as close as possible to the given time. Arriving too early or late attracts penalties.

    On Sunday, things proved to be a little tougher for the competitors as they had to battle heavy rain and rough terrain at places apart from several blind corners. This meant that they had to be on their toes all the time. It was a free run, from the overnight halt at Shimoga on Saturday, till the beautiful JogFalls. The rally route touched Kodachadri, KollurTemple, MaravanteBeach and finally arrived here. On Sunday, the total distance covered was 330Km, while it was 375Km on Saturday.

    The total prize money is Rs 3.5 lakh. The overall winners were richer by Rs one lakh, while the top three places earned Rs 50,000, Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000 in both categories. The first placed competitors in the Amateur Class received Rs 20,000 and a Terra Trip meter kit worth Rs 30,000. The second and third places received Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000 respectively.

    UT Khader, the Honourable Minister for Health and Family Welfare, was the chief guest for the prize distribution function.

    Results: Pro Expert: 1. Ganesh Moorthy/ Nagarajan (00:25 seconds penalty); 2. Karthick M/ Sankar Anand (00:29); 3. Abhijeeth N Pai/ Satish Gopalkrishnan (00:38); 4. SK Azgar Ali/ Mohammed Musthafa (00:41); 5. Srikanth Gowda GM/ Chandrashekar (00:50).

    Pro Stock: 1. GJ Amarnath/ Mukthiyar Ahmed (01:24 minutes); 2. Sudheendra Hebbar/ Sagar M (01:30); 3. Dinky Varghese/ Sakthivel (00:01:45); 4. Chestha Sood/ Prakash (01:48); 5. Philip Baklin/ David Sharon (02:36).

    Amateur: 1. Anil Kumar/ Shiva Kumar (18:12); 2. Rajesh/ Arvind (27:36); 3. Darshan/ Vishwanath (56:29); 4. Ashwath Rasquina/ Vijay Fernandes (01:15:30 hours); 5. R Gopi Kannan/ R Lokanathan (04:34:29).

    Couple: 1. Vikas Vijay/ Shabina (01:37:27).

    All Ladies: 1. Deepthi Gowda/ Varshini Kataya (01:55:00)

    eom/VivekPhadnis/press release

     

  • Ceat-Mahindra Monsoon Challenge flagged off

    Bangalore, 18 July 2014: The 2014 edition of the Ceat-Mahindra Monsoon Challenge 2014 attracted 24 cars which were flagged off here on Friday evening at the Orion Mall.

    These vehicles will manoeuvre the challenging route of over 700 km in 2 days. Held under the Mahindra Adventure umbrella, it is a part of the Challenges series of motorsport events that was launched four years ago. A unique concept, as the name suggests, TSD rallies are not only about speed but also about calculated precision of time and distance. The driver and the navigator are expected to keep a track of time in tandem with the distance covered.

    With a total prize money of Rs 3.5 lakh on offer, the Monsoon Challenge sports the tag of being one of India’s richest motorsport events. The event has also been duly approved by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) and is held especially for Mahindra vehicle owners.

    The cars were flagged off by the Minister of State for Youth Services and Fisheries Abhay Chandra Jain. Bijoy Kumar (Senior Manager, Mahindra Adventure Initiatives), Gaurav Kaura (Zonal Business Manager, South, Ceat Tyres), Sunil Munshi (GM, Orion Mall) and Vishal Mirchandani (CEO, Commercial and Retail, Brigade Group) were also presentCeat Rally flagoff in Bng 18July2014 Vivek pic.

    ends

  • Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif power Mahindra XUV 500 to IRC win at Coimbatore

    Coimbatore, 13 July 2014: Overnight leaders Gaurav Gill and Musa Sherif, in a Mahindra XUV 500, won the JK Tyre-powered Rally of Coimbatore, the second round of the FMSCI-Indian Rally Championship (IRC), by over two minutes, here, on Sunday.
    Karnataka’s Arjun Rao and Satish Rajagopal, in a VW Polo, took second place overall and the top spot in the IRC 1600 category, while reigning Asia Pacific champion Gill’s Mahindra Adventure teammates Sunny Sidhu and PV Srinivas Murthy were third.
    A run over the two Special Stages of 26.10 kms and 12.65 kms comprised Sunday’s Leg 2 and Gill, winner of the opening round in Nashik last month, chose to drive cautiously.
    “I didn’t want to take any risks as I already had a good lead overnight,” Gill said. “I wanted to hold on to the lead and it just so happened that I was fastest in both the stages today,” added India’s top rally driver.
    While the top three overnight leaders finished in that order, Team Yokohama’s Vikram Devadasen and Shrikanth in a VW Polo turned in faster times in both Super Stages to finish fourth overall ahead of their Team Yokohama mates Rahul Kantharaj and Vivek Bhatt in a Mitsubishi Cedia.
    Kantharaj and Bhatt topped the IRC 2000cc class, while Devadasen and Shrikanth finished second in the IRC 1600cc category.
    Arjun Rao and Sathish were returning to action after missing the opening round in Nashik and the pair, winners of the INRC 1600 class last season and second in the overall category, turned in another impressive show.
    “The gap between Gill and us was big, but that didn’t change my approach. I was aggressive and I am happy to have finished second overall with a 1600 cc car,” he said.
    B Raghu Nandan and K Suraj topped the FMSCI 1600cc Cup category.
    On Saturday, 10 cars retired during Leg 1, including reigning National champion Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik following mechanical problems.
    The third round of the FMSCI Indian Rally Championship will be the AVT Premium South India Rally in Chennai between July 25 and 27.
    Unofficial final classification:
    Indian Rally Championship (IRC): 1. Gaurav Gill/Musa Sherif (Mahindra Adventure) (01:39.53.2), 2. Arjun Rao/Satish Rajagopal (01:41.56.9), 3. Sunny Sidhu/PV Srinivas Murthy (Mahindra Adventure) (01:42.45.8), 4. Vikram Devadasen/Shrikanth (Team Yokohama) (01:44.05.4), 5. Rahul Kantharaj/Vivek Bhatt (Team Yokohama) (01:44.21.6).
    IRC 2000cc: 1. Rahul Kantharaj/Vivek Bhatt (Team Yokohama) (01:44.21.6), 2. Byram Godrej/AG Somayya (01:44.36.0), 3. Prithivi Dominic/MS Ravindra (01:45.57.7).
    IRC 1600cc: 1. Arjun Rao/Satish Rajagopal (01:41.56.9), 2. Vikram Devadasen/Shrikanth (Team Yokohama) (01:44.05.4),  3. Phalguna Urs/Anoop Kumar (01:44.33.7).
     FMSCI 1600cc Cup: 1. B Raghu Nandan/K Suraj (01:46.31.3), 2. KC Adith/KN Harish (01:48.27.1), 3. Aniruddha Rangnekar/Nitin Jacob (01:52.24.7).
    eom/Sanjay Rajan/FMSCI release

    Gaurav Gill and Musa Sherif in action in Coimbatore on Sunday winning the IRC. An FMSCI image
    Gaurav Gill and Musa Sherif in action in Coimbatore on Sunday winning the IRC. An FMSCI image

  • Gill on a roll in Coimbatore

    By Sanjay Rajan
    Coimbatore, 12 July 2014:  India’s top rally driver Gaurav Gill and Musa Sherif in a Mahindra XUV 500 stormed into the lead by almost a minute and a half at the conclusion of leg 1 of an eventful JK Tyre-powered Rally of Coimbatore, the second round of the FMSCI-Indian Rally Championship (IRC), here on Saturday.
    The windy and wet opening day saw Gill’s Mahindra Adventure teammate Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik retire midway owing to mechanical problems, while PG Abilash and KR Kumar of R3A PGA Motorsport in a Mitsubishi Evo6 – who thrillingly upstaged reigning Asia Pacific Rally champion Gill in the opening Special Stage of 26.1 km – dropped out during the transport section after being second overall after four Special Stages.
    Eight other cars in a field of 36 also retired during Leg 1.
    At the conclusion of four Special Stages and a wet Super Special Stage (SSS), Arjun Rao and Sathish Rajagopal in a VW Polo were second in the IRC overall, while leading in the IRC 1600cc category, and Mahindra Adventure’s Sunny Sidhu and PV Srinivas Murthy were third in the IRC.
    Team Yokohama’s Rahul Kantharaj and Vivek Bhatt in a Mitsubishi Cedia were fourth overall and on top of the ladder in the IRC 2000cc category while their Team Yokohama mates Vikram Devadesen and Shrikanth in a VW Polo were fifth overall and second in the IRC 1600 class.
    A run over the two Special Stages of 26.10 kms and 12.65 kms comprise Leg 2 on Sunday.
    Gill, winner of the opening round of the Indian Rally Championship in Nashik, was quickest in three of the day’s five stages.
    “I realised I had to do something different after Abhilash turned out to be the fastest in the first stage,” said New Delhi’s Gill. “We made adjustments to the suspension among other things and I was all the more aggressive.” Gill, however, appeared cautious in the SSS.
    Kochi’s Abhilash was returning to competitive rallying after a gap of five years and, although he came second behind Gill in Super Stages 2, 3 and 4, he was always a threat until he dropped out owing to mechanical problem.
    Arjun Rao turned in a spectacular show after the 2013 INRC 1600 winner returned to action after missing the Nashik round. “I decided to be attacking from the start. It has paid off so far,” said the Mangalorean.
    Unofficial classification after Leg 1:
    Indian Rally Championship (IRC): 1. Gaurav Gill/Musa Sherif (Mahindra Adventure) (01:06.53.7), 2. Arjun Rao/Satish Rajagopal (01:08.23.4), 3. Sunny Sidhu/PV Srinivas Murthy (Mahindra Adventure) (01:09.23.1), 4. Rahul Kantharaj/Vivek Bhatt (Team Yokohama) (01:10.12.2), 5. Vikram Devadasen/Shrikanth (Team Yokohama) (01:10.18.8).
    IRC 2000cc: 1. Rahul Kantharaj/Vivek Bhatt (Team Yokohama), 2. Byram Godrej/AG Somayya, 3. Prithivi Dominic/MS Ravindra.
    IRC 1600cc: 1. Arjun Rao/Satish Rajagopal, 2. Vikram Devadasen/Shrikanth (Team Yokohama), 3. Phalguna Urs/Anoop Kumar.
    FMSCI 1600 cc Cup: 1. B Raghu Nandan/K Suraj, 2. KC Adith/KN Harish, 3. Aniruddha Rangnekar/Nitin Jacob.
     
    ends/Sanjay Rajan/ FMSCI release
    Arjun Rao at the Super Special Stage during the Rally of Coimbatore, Round 2 of the Indian Rally Championship on Saturday. An FMSCI image.
    Arjun Rao at the Super Special Stage during the Rally of Coimbatore, Round 2 of the Indian Rally Championship on Saturday. An FMSCI image.

  • Chidu-Sujith back to winning ways: TSD Nationals Jaypore round

    Chidu and Sujith after winning the Jeypore TSD Nationals leg on Sunday. A Tata Motors photo
    Chidu and Sujith after winning the Jeypore TSD Nationals leg on Sunday. A Tata Motors photo

    Jaypore, June 29, 2014: After narrowly missing out on a win in the Rally of Chikmagalur, the first round of the 2014 Indian National TSD Rally Championship, Team Tata Motors Chidananda Murthy and navigator BS Sujith Kumar, both from Bangalore, stormed to a win in the Pro Stock category in the provisional results released for the Rally of Jaypore here on Sunday.

    Another Team Tata Motors team comprising of Chandrashekar M and Srikanth Gowda finished third in the Pro Expert category. The Team Tata Motors ladies’ team of Vaneeta Kang and Poonam Das finished third in the Pro Stock Ladies class.

    The rally route was one of the toughest as compared to others rounds in the INTSDRC and it required a lot of navigational skills and driving expertise. It needed man and machine to work in perfect synchrony to ensure the win here. Moreover, the heat did not make things any better for the competitors.

    “It was a lot of hard work as the rally was challenging. But, in the end we won and that is what matters at the end of the day,” said Chidananda Murthy.

    Sujith Kumar added: “It was a challenge for the navigator as well. It is good to win and we are happy about it. We would like to continue the winning form in the next round.”

    The third round will be held in Bangalore on August 16-17.

    Results (provisional): 

    Pro Stock: 1. Chidananda Murthy-BS Sujith Kumar (Team Tata Motors, 00:46 seconds); 2. Saurav Chatterjee-Ashoke Kumar Basu (01:37); 3. Ravindra Kumar BV-Kumar M (03:22).

    Pro Expert: 1. KP Karthik Maruthi-S Sankar Anand (00:14 seconds); 2. Satish Gopalkrishnan-Savera D’Souza (00:15); 3. ChandrashSujith-Chidananda, Car no 1 (1)ekar M-Srikanth Gowda (Team Tata Motors, 00:22)

    Pro Stock Ladies: 1. Cheshta Sood-Deepali Gupta (10:25 min); 2. Minaxi Purohit-Nupur Jangu (35:02); 3. Vaneeta Kang-Poonam Das (Team Tata Motors, 1:05.03 hours).

    ends

  • Chidu-Sujith duo to spearhead Team Tata Motor challenge: TSD Nationals

    Jaypore, 28 June 2014: The heat is stifling and the Rally of Jaypore, the second round of the 2014 Indian National TSD Rally Championship, is bound to be a tough one. But it surely looks like the competitors are going to battle the odds to claim the prize in the event on Sunday. The event is being conducted by Thar Motorsports under the leadership of Raj Singh Rathore.

    Team Tata Motors is fielding four cars and that includes an all-ladies team. The lead car will have two-time and defending champions Chidananda Murthy and navigator BS Sujith Kumar. They will be driving in the Pro Stock category in a Tata Indica Vista. The second Tata Indica Vista will be driven by Amul Satoskar (Goa) and Nirav Mehta (Mumbai) in the Pro Expert class. The third car will be a Tata Xenon and will be driven by Srikanth Gowda and M Chandrashekar in the Pro Expert class. Tata Motors is also fielding an all-ladies team and the drivers are Vaneeta Kang (Chandigarh) and Poonam Das (Kolkata). They had won in the first round (Rally of Chikmagalur) and they are confident of winning again here on Sunday.

    There is a 4×4 class also and it will involve some driving on sand dunes just outside the City. The ceremonial flag-off was held in the City on Saturday afternoon, with the car scrutiny being completed before that. The total rally distance is about 200 Km and will be mostly around the outskirts of the City. The total number of entries received is 50.

    Said Chidananda Murthy, “It is going to be a tough rally but we are raring to go and hope to win on Sunday.”
    Sujith Kumar added, “This is our first rally, and the only one, of the season in the North zone and we want to make it count by winning.”

    The two main categories are Pro Expert and Pro Stock. The Expert class allows the use of unlimited gadgets, while only the stock Odometer and any calculating device are permitted in the Stock class. An exclusive ladies category has been introduced this year. Titles will be given to the best driver, navigator and team in the Expert, Stock and overall classification, and to the driver and navigator in the exclusive ladies Stock category.

    After Jaipur, the subsequent rounds will be held in Bengaluru (Aug 16-17), Coimbatore (Sept 6-7), Nashik (Sept 20-21), Baripada, Orissa (Nov 8-9), Kolkata (Nov 15-16), Ranchi (Nov 29-30) and Chennai (Dec 20-21). This is the first time the Championship is moving to so many venues across the country. The interest generated will surely go a long way in promoting the sport.

    Sujith-Chidananda, Car no 1 (1)ends