INDIA in F1

Category: WRC, Rally

  • Ali-Mustafa duo to fight it out with Maruthi-Anand pair for pro-expert class title: TSD Nationals

    Chennai, 20 Dec 2014: The real fight for the title will be in the Pro-Expert category in the FMSCI Chennai TSD Rally Nationals that will be held in and around Sriperumbudur, near here, on Sunday. Team Tata Motors’ Ajgar Ali (Kolkata) and Mohammad Musthafa (Erode) are leading the championship table with a narrow 4-point lead on 148 points while Karthick Maruthi and Sankar Anand are second with 144 points and the final round is expected to throw some exciting stuff to decide the championship in the top class.

    Ganesh Moorthy and T Nagarajan (Team Tata Motors) are third with 110 points. The Team Tata Motors will also field Srikanth GM-M Chandrashekar (Bangalore) and Sachin Singh (Hyderabad)-Prakash M (Erode) in this category.

    Bangaloreans Chidananda Murthy and BS Sujith Kumar may have won the Pro-Stock National title in the 2014 Indian National TSD Rally Championship but it definitely does not stop them from eyeing another win. This time, the Team Tata Motors entrants are determined to end the year with a win They will be driving a Tata Sumo in the ninth and final round in the 2014 season.

    Murthy and Sujith Kumar have already wrapped up the National title in the Pro Stock category and have 174 points in the bag. They have won three National titles on the trot. Another win on Sunday will only confirm their status as the undisputed TSD rally specialists in the country. They have won the Jaipur, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Goa, Kolkata and Ranchi rounds and are keen on adding the Chennai feather to their crowns.

    “It will be special to win the Chennai round too and establish ourselves as the undisputed leaders in the Pro Stock category. We will give it our best,” said Chidananda Murthy.

    Sujith Kumar added: “Despite having won six rounds, we are hungry for more and the Chennai round is one of our favourites. We are keen on winning here on Sunday.”

    The second entry from Team Tata Motors in the Pro Stock category is the pair of Saurav Chatterjee and Ashoke Kumar Basu (Kolkata). The duo has 143 points. The third entry from the automobile giant is the D Somashekhar-Chandramouli combine from Bangalore.

    Team Tata Motors will also field Sheena Sabharwal and Prathibha Anand as the entry in the all-Ladies class.

    eom/Tata Motors press releaseChidananda Murthy and BS Sujith Kumar

  • Vikram-Swaroop clinch overall honours at Coffee Day Rally; Gill-Musa win 2014 championship

    Vikram Mathias in action before winning the Coffee Day rally along with navigator Mohan at Chikmagalur on Sunday. Photo by Vivek Phadnis
    Vikram Mathias in action before winning the Coffee Day rally along with navigator Mohan at Chikmagalur on Sunday. Photo by Vivek Phadnis

    Chikkamagaluru, 14 Dec 2014: Vikram Mathias and co-driver Swaroop Mohan, in the Mitsubishi Evo IX, nursed their overnight lead to win the Coffee Day Rally, the sixth and concluding round of the FMSCI Indian Rally Championship, here on Sunday.

    In the process, Mathias scored his first win in four years during which he was off the rallying scene while young Dean Mascarenhas (Shanmuga SN) in a Volkswagen Polo finished second, ahead of Arjun Rao Aroor (Satish Rajagopal) who drove the R2 variant of VW Polo.

    Meanwhile, National champion Gaurav Gill (Musa Sherif), though not in contention for honours in this Rally, delighted his many fans by driving the three Special Stages in his Mahindra Adventure XUV 500 on Sunday after having to retire yesterday due to mechanical problems.

    Thus, the Speed King Gaurav Gill and Musa Sherif won the National title in the Indian National Rally Championship for the year 2014 with victories in four of the six rounds. They began with a thumping win in Nashik and continued the good run in Coimbatore. They lost to Samir Thaper and GS Mann in Chennai but bounced back to win Kolkata and Bengaluru legs. Though Vikram Mathias won the Chikmagalur leg with rookie co-driver Swaroop Mohan, it was Gill and Musa who clinched the Championship.

    Mascarenhas, hailing from Mangalore, also took the honours in the IRC 1600 class while newly-crowned IRC 2000 National champion Rahul Kanthraj (Vivek Bhatt) topped his category in the Mitsubishi Cedia and Raghu Nandan B (Suraj K) powered his Honda V-Tec to victory in the FMSCI 1600 Cup.

    Former National champion Mathias was ecstatic over his victory which he said was totally unexpected considering that he was driving an all-wheel-drive car for the first time and with hardly any track time in the vehicle ahead of the Coffee Day Rally.

    “It was an experience of a lifetime as I always wanted to drive a 4-wheel drive car. I didn’t do any testing and also had a first-time navigator (Mohan). The conditions were treacherous. So, there were a lot of question marks but I had no expectations going into this event. I didn’t care whether I won or lost, but just wanted to spend time in the Evo.

    “There were issues with the brakes yesterday and today, the clutch packed up. So, I had to drive very conservatively and just wanted to keep the car on the road to finish the event,” said 40-year old Mathias who is based in Masinagudi, near Ooty.

    As well as Mathias drove, 20-year old Mascarenhas gave an outstanding performance to finish second quickest and was very pleased with the result, though he had a few bad moments that cost him precious time.

    “It feels great to win in my mother’s hometown. I am really happy with the way I drove. Based on advice, I did not try to rush things and it was controlled aggression,” said the Mangaluru-based Mascarenhas.

    Provisional Overall Classification:

    IRC: Vikram Mathias / Swaroop Mohan (Mitsubishi Evo IX) 1 (01hr, 59mins, 32.6secs); Dean Mascarenhas / Shanmugha SN (VW Polo) 2 (02:05:38.0); Arjun Rao Aroor / Satish Rajagopal (VW Polo R2) 3 (02:06:26.9).

    IRC 2000: Rahul Kanthraj / Vivek Bhatt (Team Yokohama, Cedia) 1 (02:08:33.4); Byram Godrej / Somaya AG (Slideways Industries, VW Polo) 2 (02:10:19.7); Prithvi Dominic / Chandrashekar M (Cedia) 2 (02:10:48.3).

    IRC 1600: Dean Mascarenhas / Shanmuga SN (VW Polo) 1 (02:05:38.0); Raghu Nandan B / Suraj K (Honda City V-Tec) 2 (02:11:43.0); Bopaiah KM / K Karumbaiah (Maruti Esteem) 3 (02:12:03.1).

    FMSCI 1600 Cup: Raghu Nandan B / Suraj K (Honda City V-Tec) 1 (02:11:43.0); Bopaiah KM / K Karumbaiah (Maruti Esteem) 2 (02:12:03.1); Lokesh Gowda / Ashika Menezes (Maruti Esteem) 3 (02:13:52.4).

    eom/updated in March2020

    Vikram Mathias and Swaroop Mohan celebrating after winning the Coffee Day rally in Chikmagalur on Sunday. Photo by Vivek Phadnis
    Vikram Mathias and Swaroop Mohan celebrating after winning the Coffee Day rally in Chikmagalur on Sunday. Photo by Vivek Phadnis

  • Vikram Mathias takes lead as 11 bite the dust on Day 2: Coffee Day Rally

    Chikkamagaluru, 13 Dec 2014: Talented Vikram Mathias, a former National chamion, who took a sabbatical for three years, made the best use of a day which saw many a star bite the dust and drove the Special Stages with aplomb to top the time sheets. Eleven competitors, including National champion Gaurav Gill (co-driver Musa Sherif) failed to finish the day.

    Vikram Mathias and his first-time navigator Swaroop Mohan, were the fastest in the Coffee Day Rally, the sixth and concluding round of the Indian Rally Championship under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (FMSCI) here on Saturday.

    Mathias, a former National champion, piloting the Mitsubishi Evo IX for the first time ever, drove smart in tricky conditions to top the time charts with one hour, 21 minutes, 33.8 seconds in the top-end IRC class, enjoying a lead of over four minutes.

    In second spot behind Mathias was Sunny Sidhu (PVS Murthy) in a XUV 500 of Team Mahindra Adventure, clocking 01:25:52.0, ahead of Arjun Rao Aroor (Satish Rajagopal) in the Volkswagen Polo R2 (01:26:24.1).

    Team Yokohama’s Rahul Kanthraj (Vivek Bhatt), who has already sealed the championship in the IRC 2000 class, was the quickest in his category with a time of 01:26:55.7 driving the Mitsubishi Cedia while young Dean Mascarenhas (Shanmuga SN), in the VW Polo, put in another impressive show to top the IRC 1600 category and was the second quickest on the day.

    The day’s very first Special Stage claimed victims in Team Mahindra Adventure’s Gill who retired due to a steering column problem with his XUV 500, Samir Thapar (GS Mann) of JCT Rallying as his Evo X packed up with a gearbox issue and Karna Kadur (Sujith Kumar) escaped unhurt after crashing his Mitsubishi Cedia into a tree, wrecking the car.

    Meanwhile, Mathias, who stopped rallying four seasons ago but participates in one-off events, drove with some circumspection due to brake issues. “It is scary as the brakes stop working halfway into the Stages and I had to ease off a bit. I also lost time on the day’s first Stage as I spun a couple of times,” said Mathias.

    Crowd favourite Gill, who did not also finish Friday’s Super Special Stage due to a broken drive shaft, said: “It was unfortunate that the steering column gave way and there was nothing we could do, but I will be rejoining the Rally on Sunday.”

    Provisional Classification (Leg 1):

    IRC: Vikram Mathias / Swaroop Mohan (Mitsubishi Evo IX) 1 (01hr, 21mins, 33.8secs); Sunny Sidhu / PVS Murthy (Mahindra Adventure, XUV 500) 2 (01:25:52.0); Arjun Rao Aroor / Satish Rajagopal 3 (VW Polo R2) 3 (01:26:24.1).

    IRC 2000: Rahul Kanthraj / Vivek Bhatt (Team Yokohama, Cedia) 1 (01:26:55.7); Prithvi Dominic / Chandrashekar M (Cedia) 2 (01:27:13.4); Byram Godrej / Somaya AG (Slideways Industries, VW Polo) 3 (01:29:04.9).

    IRC 1600: Dean Mascarenhas / Shanmuga SN (VW Polo) 1 (01:25:09.5); Chandan Gowda / Shahid Salman (VW Polo) 2 (01:31:23.5); Ritesh M Guttedar / Lokaranjan (VW Polo) 3 (01:43:45.7).

    FMSCI 1600 Cup: Raghu Nandan B / Suraj K (Honda City V-Tec) 1 (01:29:28.3); Bopaiah KM / K Karumbaiah (Maruti Esteem) 2 (01:29:51.4); Lokesh Gowda / Ashika Menezes (Maruti Esteem) 3 (01:31:06.3).

    eomVikram Mathias

  • Samir Thapar, Vikram Mathias thrill the crowds in super-special stage

    Chikkamagaluru, 12 Dec 2014: The three Mitsubishi Evolution variants swept the time sheets with JCT Rallying’s Samir Thapar (co-driver Gurinder Singh Mann) winning the Super Special Stage as the Coffee Day Rally, the sixth and concluding round of the FMSCI Indian Rally Championship commenced here on Friday.

    While the huge crowd at the Amber Valley School grounds were disappointed when National champion Gaurav Gill (Musa Sherif) of Mahindra Adventure retired barely 200 metres after the start with a broken drive shaft, Thapar, driving the Evo X, along with Vikram Mathias (Swaroop Mohan) and PG Abhilash (Anoop Kumar) provided much of the entertainment.

    Thapar topped the charts with a blistering two minutes, 27.3 seconds, to finish ahead of former National champion Mathias (02:27.8), in the Evo IX and Abhilash (02:32.2) piloting the Evo VI, in the IRC class. The trio put on a memorable display in their powerful cars much to the delight of nearly 3,000 spectators.

    Topping the IRC 2000 class was young Karna Kadur (Sujith Kumar BS) in the Mitsubishi Cedia, with a time of 02:38.5, well clear of Team Yokohama’s Rahul Kanthraj (Vivek Bhatt), also in a Cedia, and Byram Godrej (Somaya AG) of Slideways Industries, driving the Volkswagen Polo.

    Dean Mascarenhas (Shanmugha SN), the 20-year old from Mangaluru, put in a solid performance in the VW Polo to dominate the IRC 1600 class, clocking 02:41.4.

    Equally impressive was Adith KC (Harish KN), the freshly crowned National champion in the FMSCI 1600 who clocked 02:37.7 to top his category.

    The action will escalate when the 34 competitors head to the nearby coffee estates for the three Special Stages which will be run twice on Saturday and once on Sunday, the concluding day of the Coffee Day Rally.

    Provisional classification (Leg 1, Section 1):

    IRC Overall: Samir Thapar / Gurinder Singh Mann (JCT Rallying, Evo X) 1 (02mins, 27.3secs); Vikram Mathias / Swaroop Mohan (Evo IX) 2 (02:27.8); Abhilash PG / Anoop Kumar (Evo VI) 3 (02:32.2).

    IRC 2000: Karna Kadur / Sujith Kumar BS (Mitsubishi Cedia) 1 (02:38.5); Rahul Kanthraj / Vivek Bhatt (Team Yokohama, Cedia) 2 (02:40.2); Byram Godrej / Somaya AG (Slideways Industries, VW Polo) 3 (02:42.0).

    IRC 1600: Dean Mascarenhas / Shanmugha SN (VW Polo) 1 (02:41.4); Ritesh M Guttedar / Lokaranjan (VW Polo) 2 (02:43.1); Anirudha Ranganekar / Ninad Mirajgaonkar 3 (02:46.3).

    FMSCI 1600: Adith KC / Harish KN (Honda City V-Tec) 1 (02:37.7); Raghu Nandan B / Suraj K (Honda City V-Tec) 2 (02:41.7); Shahid Khan / Dhananjayan B (Maruti Esteem) 3 (02:43.4).

    eom/

    Dean Mascarenhas and Shanmugha SN top the time sheets in INC 1600 cc class in the SSS on Friday
    Dean Mascarenhas and Shanmugha SN top the time sheets in INC 1600 cc class in the SSS on Friday

  • K-1000 for bikes gets a sponsor in Pirelli, the F1 tyre supplier

     By Vivek Phadnis

    Bangalore, 5 Dec 2014: After the success of the four-wheeler 40th IMG K-1000 Rally recently, it is now time for the best two-wheeler competitors to take centrestage. Two-wheeler rallyists may be considered more daring because one small mistake and it could be goodbye to the event. Rallying is the purest form of motorsport that challenges man and machine to the hilt. When it comes to motorcycles on dirt road conditions, it is bound to be a real test for the rider.

    Being revived after a gap of five years, the Karnataka Motor Sports Club is conducting the second round of the Indian Rally Series for two-wheelers 2014. The event is named the Pirelli Rally of Karnataka and is being conducted under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India. The event will be held around the KB Cross area near Tiptur.

    The KMSC would like to acknowledge Pirelli, Zoomol Autorelli and I

    K1000 rally 2014 star riders pose with CoC Bhaskar and Bikes Rally Com chairman, FMSCI, Praneeth Perumal at Press Club on Friday.
    K1000 rally 2014 star riders pose with CoC Bhaskar and Bikes Rally Com chairman, FMSCI, Praneeth Perumal at Press Club on Friday.

    MG for their support in conducting this event.

    The Pirelli Rally of Karnataka will have two challenging stages with the surface comprising of dirt and loose sand. The first stage is the India Mines stage and the second is the Torque stage. The first stage is approximately 9.95 kms and the second is 14.95 kms. These stages were also used for the four-wheeler K-1000 Rally that was held recently. The Rally will be centred around the service park at Harenahalli. The India Mines will be run thrice and Torque will be run once.

    eom/KMSC Press Release by Vivek Phadnis

     

  • CMs presence peps up JK Tyre Hornbill motor rally 2014 in Nagaland

    • Sethi, Arora top among professionals
    • Rupero and Lhoungu bag honours

    Kohima, 5 Dec 2014: Delhi-based Gagan Sethi and navigator Dhiraj Arora emerged champions among the professionals while local challengers Vizosielie Rupero and Zakiezotuo Lhoungu topped in the amateur category in the JK Tyre Hornbill Motor Rally which concluded at the Heritage Village, Kisama, near here on Friday.

    The 43 competitors tackled a challenging terrain that was a mix of dirt and broken tarmac that put to test not just the driving skills but also navigation with Time Controls placed strategically that often caught the unwary participant off-guard.

    “It was a good result for us and the route was quite easy for us, after having won the Raid de Himalaya earlier this year in our category,” said Sethi who returned a penalty time of four minutes.

    Finishing second in the professionals category were Tali Akang and Moulinath Ghosh (00:06:11) while Biju Awomi and Mrinla Kalita (00:06:38) completed the podium.

    However, it was the amateurs who performed better as Rupero and Lhoungu incurred a penalty time of two minutes and five seconds as against four minutes that Sethi and Arora were docked.

    Vime Solo and Khrielezo Keretsu came in second with a penalty time of three minutes, 18 seconds as they finished ahead of Khosazo Sazo and Vekhozo Medeo who were docked 03:49secs.

    Chief Minister of Nagaland Mr TR Zeliang gave away the prizes at the Heritage Village, Kisama, in front of a packed gathering.

    JK Tyre have been involved with the World famous annual Hornbill Festival by way of supporting the Hornbill Rally in an effort to provide experience and exposure to local talent who get an opportunity to compete with some of the top Rally crews of the country.

    The ever-growing number of entries stands testimony tHorn Bill rally NE 6Dec2014o JK Tyre’s unstinted efforts to promote motorsport in the North-Eastern region of the country.

    The results: Professionals: Gagan Sethi / Dhiraj Arora 1 (00:04.00mins penalty); Tali Akang / Moulinath Ghosh (00:06:11); Biju Awomi / Mrinla Kalita (00:06:38).

    Amateurs: Vizosielie Rupero / Zakiezotuo Lhoungu 1 (00:02:05); Vime Solo / Khrielezo Keretsu 2 (00:03:18); Khosazo Sazo / Vekhozo Medeo 3 (00:03:49).

    eom/JK Tyre press release

  • Chidu-Sujith raring to go as Team Tata Motors look for a sweep

    By Vivek Phadnis

    Chidananda Murthy-Sujith Kumar during the ceremonial flag-offRanchi, November 29: After wrapping up the Pro Stock title in the 2014 Indian National TSD Rally Championship by winning the Kolkata round a fortnight ago, the Team Tata Motors entry of Chidananda Murthy-BS Sujith Kumar are keen on winning here too. The Bangaloreans will be taking part in the Wild Adventure Rally, the eighth and penultimate round of the National championship, here on Sunday.

    Murthy and Sujith Kumar, with 149 points, have assured themselves of the 2014 National title and it is also a hat-trick for them. Since the best six rounds of the season are considered for the National title, a win here will see them having the honour of winning the National title with an all-win record. It will also help in proving their supremacy as the undisputed Pro Stock TSD rallyists in the country. They will be driving a Sumo instead of the Indica Vista.

    “The fact that we have won the 2014 title and a hat-trick of National titles certainly does not mean that we will back off. We will give it our best to win in Ranchi too,” said Chidananda Murthy.

    Sujith Kumar added: “It feels great to win the National title for a third time. But winning is winning and we would like to add the Ranchi win to our list.”

    Team Tata Motors will field Saurav Chatterjee-Ashoke Kumar Basu, second in the Pro Stock points table with 125 points table, and Vikas Puttur-Moulinath Ghosh as the other two teams in the Pro Stock category.

    In the Pro Expert category, Team Tata Motors will be fielding three teams. Ajgar Ali-Mohammad Musthafa are second in the points table with 123 points, while Ganesh Moorthy-T Nagarajan have 92 points. The third Team Tata Motors entry is that of Srikanth Gowda-M Chandrashekar.

    Team Tata Motors is also fielding an all-ladies team of Sheena Sabharwal and Sumantika Choudhury.

    Ends/Press Release from Team Tata Motors

  • Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif seal fourth National rally title

    By Vivek Phadnis

    Bengaluru, 22 Nov 2014

    Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif in action in the Beta stage on the opening day of the Mahindra Adventure presents IMG 40th K-1000 Rally near Tumakuru on Saturday. Photo by Vivek Phadnis
    Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif in action in the Beta stage on the opening day of the Mahindra Adventure presents IMG 40th K-1000 Rally near Tumakuru on Saturday.
    Photo by Vivek Phadnis

    : Team Mahindra Adventure’s Gaurav Gill and co-driver Musa Sherif, driving a Mahindra XUV 500, have assured themselves of the 2014 Indian Rally Championship Overall title after the first leg of the Mahindra Adventure presents IMG 40th K-1000 Rally near Tumakuru on Saturday. Local star Arjun Rao Aroor-Satish Rajagopal, who are second in the Overall standings, had a bad day and retired after barely starting the first stage of the day. Their rally-specific Volkswagen Polo R2 suffered an engine failure.

    Gill-Sherif have 145 points, while Aroor-Rajagopal have 78 and Sidhu-Murthy 62 with one round remaining at Chikkamagaluru next month. This will be Gill-Sherif’s fourth National title, despite them trailing teammates Sunny Sidhu-PV Srinivasa Murthy by two seconds after Saturday’s leg one. Sidhu-Murthy’s total time after leg one was one hour, five minutes, 12.2 seconds, while Gill-Sherif were 01:05:14.4. Their teammates Amittrajit Ghosh-Ashwin Naik were third Overall with a time of 01:06:42.0.

    “It was not a great day,” said Gill. “We had a comfortable lead but there were electrical problems with the cooling fan and the car began to overheat. Due to this, we had to nurse the car but managed to stay in second place. Hopefully, we will be able to get the lead on Sunday.”

    A disappointed Aroor said: “We were barely 300 metres into the first stage of the day when the engine packed up. It is going to be very difficult to get the car back in action tomorrow. We will have to try our best in the last round in Chikkamagaluru next month.”

    In the IRC 2000 class, Karna Kadur-BS Sujith Kumar, in a Mitsubishi Cedia, led after leg one with a time of 01:07:26.4, while championship leaders Rahul Kanthraj-Vivek Bhatt were 01:08:19.0.

    The IRC 1600cc class saw Phalguna Urs-Anoop Kumar, in a Volkswagen Polo, take the first leg lead with a time of 01:06:50.5, while Hrishikesh Thackersey-Ninad Mirajgaonkar were second with 01:08:48.8.

    In the FMSCI 1600 class, Adith KC-Harish KN are in the lead with a time of 01:09:18.9 in their Honda City VTec.

    In all, 10 out of the 41 cars retired on Saturday.

    In the Super Special Stage, held at the Bangalore International Exhibition grounds under floodlights on Friday, Abhilash PG-Sanjay Agarwal were the fastest (one minute, 33.2 seconds) in a Mitsubishi Evo XI. Gill-Sherif were second fastest with 01:34.5, while Sidhu-Murthy were third with a 01:35.9.

    Results (leg one, provisional and unaudited):

    IRC: 1. Sunny Sidhu/PV Srinivas Murthy (Team Mahindra Adventure, Mahindra XUV500, 01:05:12.2); 2. Gaurav Gill/Musa Sherif (Team Mahindra Adventure, Mahindra XUV500, 01:05:14.4); 3. Amittrajit Ghosh/Ashwin Naik (Team Mahindra Adventure, Mahindra XUV500, 01:06:42.0).

    IRC 2000: 1. Karna Kadur/BS Sujith Kumaar (Mitsubishi Cedia, 01:07:26.4); 2. Rahul Kanthraj/Vivek Bhatt (Mitsubishi Cedia, 01:08:19.0); 3. Byram Godrej/Somayya AG (VW Polo, 01:09:06.8).

    IRC 1600: 1. Phalguna Urs-Anoop Kumar (VW Polo, 01:06:50.5); 2. Hrishikesh Thackersey-Ninad Mirajgaonkar (VW Polo, 01:08:48.8); 3. Vikram Devadasen-Chandramouli (VW Polo, 01:10:13.7).

    FMSCI 1600: 1. Adith KC-Harish KN (Honda City Vtec, 01:09:18.9); 2. Aniruddha Rangnekar-Nitin Jacob (Maruti Baleno, 01:15:15.20); 3. Parag C Dhiwar-Aditya R Dhiwar (Maruti Baleno, 01:15:35.0).

    Ends/KMSC press release

     

     

    Pic caption: Gaurav Gill-Musa Sherif in action in the Beta stage on the opening day of the Mahindra Adventure presents IMG 40th K-1000 Rally near Tumakuru on Saturday.

  • Chidananda Murthy-Sujith Kumar bag hat-trick of National titles

    Chidu and Sujit: A Tata Motors image
    Chidu and Sujit: A Tata Motors image

    By Vivek Phadnis

    Kolkata, 17 Nov 2014: It is time to pop the champagne bottle. After the disappointment in Bhubaneswar recently, Team Tata Motors’ Chidananda Murthy and BS Sujith Kumar, both Bangaloreans, clinched a hat-trick of National titles in the Pro Stock category when they won the Monsoon Drive 3, the seventh round of the 2014 Indian National TSD Rally Championship here. They have won the National title for the third time with two rounds to spare, in Ranchi and Chennai.

    The results of the championship are taken for the best six results in the season. The excellent driving skills of Chidananda Murthy and superb navigation skills of Sujith Kumar ensured that they won five rounds. The wins came in Jaipur, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Goa and Kolkata. They finished third in Bhubaneswar but got 18 points (second place points) as the second place finishers in the rally were not in contention for the championship. Murthy and Sujith Kumar have 149 points, while another Team Tata Motors pair of Saurav Chatterjee-Ashoke Kumar Basu has 125 points.

    Here, the Bangalore pair attracted a total time penalty of two minutes and six seconds to win the event ahead of Chatterjee and Basu. The third Team Tata Motors entry of Rajiv Sarkar and Moulinath Ghosh finished third. Thus, it was another 1-2-3 for Team Tata Motors in the Pro Stock category in this event that ended late on Sunday night.

    “It feels great to have won three titles in a row. This is a title we will always cherish due to all the hard work and effort we have put in all through the year in the TSD Championship,” said Chidananda Murthy.

    Sujith Kumar said: “Celebration time has come a little early for us and this title is very close to our heart because it is the third in a row. Nevertheless, we will be giving it our best in the two remaining rounds.”

    Team Tata Motors’ Sachin Singh and Prakash M clinched second place in the Pro Expert category here and their teammates MD Ganesh Moorthy-T Nagarajan finished third. Singh and Prakash have 78 points, while Moorthy and Nagarajan have 92 points.

    Results:

    Pro Stock: 1. Chidananda Murthy-BS Sujith Kumar (Total penalty time: 0:02:06 minutes, Team Tata Motors); 2. Saurav Chatterjee-Ashoke Kumar Basu (0:02:32, Team Tata Motors); 3. Rajiv Sarkar-Moulinath Ghosh (0:17:00, Team Tata Motors).

    Pro Expert: 1. KP Karthik Maruti-Sankar Anand (0:00:35 seconds); 2. Sachin Singh-Prakash M (0:00:41, Team Tata Motors); 3. MD Ganesh Moorthy-T Nagarajan (0:00:49, Team Tata Motors).

    Ends/A Tata Motorsport press release

  • A round dozen: Volkswagen ends its record-breaking WRC season with another win in Wales

    • Eighth victory of the season for world champions* Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia
    • Record number of wins in one WRC season for Volkswagen
    • Latvala and Mikkelsen recover well from set-backs

    The icing on the cake at the end of the season – the final round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) saw Volkswagen set a new record for the number of wins in one single season. Win number eight of the year for newly-crowned World Rally Champions* Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) presented the Wolfsburg-based manufacturer with its twelfth victory from 13 rallies. Ogier/Ingrassia raced into a commanding lead of over a minute on day one of three in Wales, and were then able to pace themselves intelligently on Saturday and Sunday. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) ended the Rally Great Britain in eighth place, having lost more than three minutes after a mistake on Saturday morning. The extremely difficult conditions in Wales also took their toll on the third Volkswagen due of Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (N/N): they had offs resulting in early retirements on both Friday and Sunday. However, their fightback on Saturday was emphatic proof of what might have been, consisting as it did of five stage wins and four second places in nine stages.

    A superlative season in figures

    The final round of the year also brought the curtain down on what has been a fairy-tale season for Volkswagen. A series of records went to the Wolfsburg-based manufacturer in 2014. The twelfth of a possible 13 wins saw Volkswagen eclipse the previous record of eleven, held by Citroën. Volkswagen also equalled the record eight one-twos in a season, set by Peugeot back in 2002. And there’s more: Volkswagen also wrapped up the title in the Manufacturers’ Championship at the earliest point of the season for 25 years, as well as becoming only the second manufacturer in WRC history to provide all of the top three drivers in the Drivers’ World Championship. Only Lancia had achieved this feat before them – in 1987 and 1988. Not only were Volkswagen’s achievements impressive, but also the manner in which they were achieved: in 2014, Ogier, Latvala and Mikkelsen added a further 197 of a possible 249 stage wins to the success story of the Polo R WRC. In total, 23 podiums went to Volkswagen over the course of the season’s 13 rallies. Since the Polo R WRC made its World Rally Championship debut in January 2013, the powerhouse has racked up 22 victories and 41 podiums in 26 rallies. The Volkswagen drivers clocked the fastest time on 345 of the 486 special stages over the last two seasons.

    XXL mud pack: extremely difficult conditions in Wales

    The Rally Great Britain is not only the “Rally of Legends”, but is a legend in its own right. The ubiquitous rain and menacing fog hanging over the forests make for perilous Welsh gravel stages, the likes of which are not experienced anywhere else on the WRC calendar. Smooth in places, mostly muddy, but always slippery, the 70th staging of this classic once again posed an extreme challenge to driver, co-driver and World Rally Car alike.

    Disappointment for Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila

    About halfway into the 305.64 kilometres against the clock, a mere 6.6 seconds separated the world champion* and the man who finished runner-up* in the World Championship – the rally in Wales was initially shaped by the same duel that had dominated the 2014 WRC season. The battle between Ogier and Latvala produced no fewer than three of the ten closest WRC finishes in World Championship history, with a fourth only prevented by a slight mistake. Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila fell victim to the perilous Welsh mud on Saturday morning, sliding into a ditch on the ninth stage of the rally – and lost over three minutes in the process. They fought back strongly on Sunday, however, winning four of the final day’s six special stages – including the closing Power Stage – to climb from tenth to eighth place.

    Highs and lows: set-backs and stage wins for Mikkelsen and Fløene

    The rally was to prove an emotional rollercoaster for Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fløene. Five stage wins and four second places on Saturday were unfortunately offset by crashes on Friday and Sunday. Mikkelsen and Fløene were always one of the cars first onto the route – no easy task at the Rally Great Britain. As such, a dream season ended in disappointment for Mikkelsen/Fløene. However, this does not detract from an otherwise impressive record: Andreas Mikkelsen made five appearances on the podium in 2014, including second places on three different surfaces: ice and snow (Sweden), gravel (Poland) and asphalt (France).

    Power Stage: bonus points for Latvala

    Volkswagen continues to dominate the Power Stage, in which extra points towards the Drivers’ and Co-Drivers’ Championship are awarded to the fastest three cars. For the eleventh time in the 2014 season the fastest time was set by a Volkswagen driver. In Great Britain it was the turn of Jari-Matti Latvala to pick up the three bonus points. A Volkswagen driver has picked up at least one extra point on 24 occasions this year. Volkswagen can point to a proud record since joining the championship in 2013: of the 25 Power Stages held in that time, the fastest man was at the wheel of a Polo R WRC on 19 occasions, while the Volkswagen drivers finished in the top three 44 times.

    Three titles*, twelve wins – the conclusion of a demanding season

    The Volkswagen team can look back on what was not only a successful, but also a demanding season, with the three World Championship titles* in the Drivers’, Co-drivers’ and Manufacturers’ competitions as a reward. The 2014 FIA World Rally Championship took team members from 20 nations to 13 rallies in 15 different countries. 4.2 million fans now follow the works team from Wolfsburg on social networks, 101,647 fans were delighted to get their hands on signed autographs of the Volkswagen drivers, while journalists were supplied with information via 703 pages of press releases and 322,488 text messages.

    In extreme conditions, from sea level up to altitudes of 2781 metres, the temperatures on the special stages ranged from minus 12 to plus 34 degrees Celsius. The turbo chargers in the three 315-hp engines completed 1.3 billion revs between the Rally Monte Carlo and the Rally Great Britain. Sébastien Ogier, Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen changed gears in their Polo R WRCs 73,211 times. Using muscle power alone, the mechanics lifted a total of 265 tons moving the roughly 1,100 tyres used. The engineers evaluated about 17.9 gigabytes of data from the year’s 249 special stages – roughly the same as 3.2 million pages of pure text. The team members covered a total of 96,845.99 kilometres as the crow flies between the service parks and the team HQ in Hannover. The equipment for the overseas races travelled a further 46,202.62 kilometres by sea.

    All with 100 percent team work.

    Quotes after day three of the Rally Great Britain

    Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #1
    “That is obviously the best way to end a season: with a win. We were under no pressure, as the World Championship was no longer at stake, and just wanted to enjoy the Rally Great Britain. We really had to go flat-out on Friday and had a close battle for the lead with my team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala. That allowed us to open up a big lead over the rest of our rivals. When Jari-Matti made a mistake on Saturday, it obviously completely changed the character of the rally for us. I just had to get the car to the finish line. However, that is anything but easy given the typical conditions here in Wales. All in all, it has been another magnificent season for Julien and me, with a fantastic team behind us. We now have a few tests and official parties before the Christmas holidays begin. A quick word on Mikko Hirvonen: I am delighted for him that he ended his final WRC rally on the podium. He has had a great career, and we will miss driving against him.”

    Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #2
    “I can look back with great satisfaction on the 2014 season: I mounted my first serious challenge for the World Championship title, and kept the title race alive for a long time. I also won my first rally on asphalt, which was an important milestone for me. The duel with Sébastien Ogier was extremely exciting. I will carry on where I left off next season. The Rally Great Britain did not pan out as I had hoped. My goal was definitely to go for the win here in Wales. Apart from the slip-up, our pace was good. As such, I am already looking forward to next year.”

    Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9
    “Unfortunately that was not the end to the season I had hoped for. I would have liked to have given the team something better than two offs. However, the conditions were particularly difficult and mistakes happen quicker at the Rally Great Britain than anywhere else. I am disappointed, but I believe we matched the pace of our team-mates and could have challenged for the win. Despite this disappointment, we can still be proud of what we have achieved this season. With five podiums we have exceeded our own expectations. Third place in the Drivers’ Championship is the best result of my career. I am looking forward to a bit of a rest over the coming weeks, but also to the 2015 season. We are determined to be challenging for victories and podiums right from the word go. That is my goal.”

    Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director
    “Twelve wins in one season – we really can look back on a successful year. We can be proud of what we have achieved, and enjoy every moment in the World Rally Championship. The Rally Great Britain has also been a great success, and Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia did everything right en route to their eighth win of the season. Respect to them. In contrast, Jari-Matti Latvala, Miikka Anttila, Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fløene did not end the season the way they had hoped. However, they can also be proud of what they have achieved. There is no chance of us resting on our laurels. The 2015 season gets underway with the Rally Monte Carlo in just 65 days, and we want to be as well prepared as possible again. Preparations have already been in full swing for a while now.”

    And then there were …

    … Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen. The two Finnish M-Sport Ford drivers were contesting their final WRC rally in Wales after a career spanning 13 years. Volkswagen would like to thank them for some exciting battles and two years of fair competition.

    * Subject to the official publication of the results by the FIA.
    FIA World Rally Championship (WRC),
    Rally Great Britain – Results
    Friday,
    14 November 2014    		 km #1
    Ogier/
    Ingrassia    		 #2
    Latvala/
    Anttila    		 #9
    Mikkelsen/
    Fløene
    SS 01 Gartheiniog I 14.58 P01 P03
    (+ 4.6s)    		 P02
    (+ 4.5s)
    SS 02 Dyfi I 21.90 P01 P02
    (+ 4.3s)    		 Retired
    SS 03 Hafren Sweet Lamb I 23.55 P02
    (+ 2.2s)    		 P01
    SS 04 Maesnant I 12.86 P01 P02
    (+ 2.8s)
    SS 05 Gartheiniog II 14.58 P02
    (+ 5.7s)    		 P01
    SS 06 Dyfi II 21.90 P01 P02
    (+ 3.4s)
    SS 07 Hafren Sweet Lamb II 23.55 P02
    (+ 0.4s)    		 P01
    SS 08 Maesnant II 12.86 P02
    (+ 0.2s)    		 P01
    Overall classification P01 P02
    (+ 6.6s)
    Saturday,
    15 November 2014    		 km #1
    Ogier/
    Ingrassia    		 #2
    Latvala/
    Anttila    		 #9
    Mikkelsen/
    Fløene
    SS 09 Clocaenog East I 08.25 P08
    (+ 4.9s)    		 P61
    (+ 3m 15.4s)    		 P01
    SS 10 Clocaenog Main I 13.74 P05
    (+ 3.8s)    		 P14
    (+ 14.6s)    		 P01
    SS 11 Aberhirnant I 13.87 P10
    (+ 12.0s)    		 P13
    (+ 13.4s)    		 P01
    SS 12 Dyfnant I 19.98 P09
    (+ 6.3s)    		 P12
    (+ 11.1s)    		 P01
    SS 13 Chirk Castle 02.06 P13
    (+ 5.1s)    		 P11
    (+ 4.4s)    		 P02
    (+ 0.2s)
    SS 14 Clocaenog East II 08.25 P04
    (+ 1.9s)    		 P11
    (+ 4.0s)    		 P02
    (+ 1.4s)
    SS 15 Clocaenog Main II 13.74 P08
    (+ 7.7s)    		 P10
    (+ 8.7s)    		 P02
    (+ 1.8s)
    SS 16 Aberhirnant II 13.87 P07
    (+ 7.3s)    		 P03
    (+ 3.9s)    		 P01
    SS 17 Dyfnant II 19.98 P05
    (+ 5.0s)    		 P01 P02
    (+ 0.8s)
    Overall classification P01 P08
    (+ 3m 28.1s)    		 P44
    (+ 31m 48.1s)
    Sunday,
    16 November 2014    		 km #1
    Ogier/
    Ingrassia    		 #2
    Latvala/
    Anttila    		 #9
    Mikkelsen/
    Fløene
    SS 18 Brenig I 10.81 P13
    (+ 13.3s)    		 P04
    (+ 2.7s)    		 P02
    (+ 1.4s)
    SS 19 Alwen I 10.04 P09
    (+ 7.9s)    		 P03
    (+ 3.1s)    		 Retired
    SS 20 Kinmel Park I 02.21 P02
    (+ 0.9s)    		 P01
    SS 21 Kinmel Park II 02.21 P04
    (+ 1.3s)    		 P01
    SS 22 Alwen I 10.04 P11
    (+ 10.9s)    		 P01
    SS 23P Brenig I 10.81 P10
    (+ 12.1s)    		 P01
    Overall classification P01 P02
    (+ 2m 47.5s)
    FIA Rally World Championship (WRC),
    Rally Great Britain – Final Results
    1. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), Volkswagen 3h 03m 08.2s
    2. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (FIN/FIN), Ford + 37.6s
    3. Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson (N/S), Citroën + 1m 03.6s
    4. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (B/B), Hyundai + 1m 14.9s
    5. Elfyn Evans/Daniel Barritt (GB/GB), Ford + 1m 24.3s
    6. Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (GB/IRL), Citroën + 2m 03.0s
    7. Ott Tänak/Raigo Mõlder (EST/EST), Ford + 2m 29.7s
    8. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN), Volkswagen + 2m 47.5s
    9. Martin Prokop/Jan Tománek (CZ/CZ), Ford + 3m 43.3s
    10. Hayden Paddon/John Kennard (NZ/NZ), Hyundai + 3m 48.5s
    FIA Rally World Championship (WRC),
    Rally Great Britain – Power Stage Results
    1. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN), Volkswagen 7m 04.7s
    2. Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (B/B), Hyundai + 2.3s
    3. Mads Østberg/Jonas Andersson (N/S), Citroën + 3.1s
    FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Overall Standings
    Drivers’ Championship
    points
    1. Sébastien Ogier 267
    2. Jari-Matti Latvala 218
    3. Andreas Mikkelsen 150
    4. Mikko Hirvonen 126
    5. Mads Østberg 108
    6. Thierry Neuville 105
    7. Kris Meeke 92
    8. Elfyn Evans 81
    9. Martin Prokop 44
    10. Dani Sordo 40
    11. Henning Solberg 26
    12. Bryan Bouffier 20
    13. Juho Hänninen 20
    14. Hayden Paddon 19
    15. Ott Tänak 17
    16. Robert Kubica 14
    17. Benito Guerra 8
    18. Chris Atkinson 7
    19. Pontus Tidemand 6
    20. Dennis Kuipers 4
    21. Jaroslav Melichárek 4
    22. Nasser Al-Attiyah 4
    23. Lorenzo Bertelli 2
    24. Matteo Gamba 2
    25. Craig Breen 2
    26. Yuriy Protasov 2
    27. Jari Ketomaa 1
    28. Karl Kruuda 1
    29. Khalid Al-Qassimi 1
    Manufacturers’ Championship
    points
    1. Volkswagen Motorsport 447
    2. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT 210
    3. M-Sport 208
    4. Hyundai Motorsport 187
    5. Volkswagen Motorsport II 133
    6. Jipocar Czech National Team 49
    7. Hyundai Motorsport N 28
    8. RK M-Sport WRT 26
     ends/A Volkswagen Motorsport releaseVW pic Wales Ogier 16nov2014 win