INDIAinF1 starts a series on champion drivers and riders beginning this week. As we head to the third round of the Indian National Rally Championship in Jodhpur next Sunday, we feature Lokesh Gowda, the winner of SUV Challenge at the second round in the Rally of Coimbatore.
Car #3 Lokesh Gowda and Uday winning the Sprint de Bengaluru near Chikkaballapur in March. Photo by Arun T Pillai
Bengaluru 19 August 2019: The Indian National Rally Championship has always been a flagship event in Indian motorsports and it enjoyed huge patronage and high visibility with both the fans and the participants embracing it to make it popular and ever-green.
However, the Rally Nationals in two-wheelers suffered many breaks and heartaches before the championship was revived once again. Likewise, the rally events in the last few years have taken a beating with rising costs and other ground-level difficulties faced by drivers and teams alike, and the promoters and organisers too despite their best efforts have failed to pump-in the necessary resources both financially and otherwise to promote the sport. INRC has become a shortened event winding up in one-and-a-half days and the huge amounts that the promoters have to pump in, has strained even the big guns.
Under these circumstances, the arrival of Champions Yacht Club as the new Promoter has brought in a whiff of fresh air for the drivers and teams. Though the stage distances and the format remains the same, many drivers found new enthusiasm with the Champions Group fielding teams in all classes and backing them with the much-needed financial and technical support. Many talented and even experienced drivers and co-drivers were supported by the group and some of them have regained their wonted form with many of the nitty-gritty issues taken care of by the Team.
One of such drivers who was back in the limelight with Champions Group picking him up to drive for Team Champions is Lokesh V Gowda. The former celebrated bike rider, who pairs with talented navigator Sudhindra BG, has tuned his Honda CRV to field it in the SUV Challenge in the INRC. After their winning exploits in the curtain-raiser at the Sprint de Bengaluru, the Bengaluru duo put behind the travails at Chennai, where they had suffered a set back in the South India Rally and bounced back in the second round at Coimbatore, thriving the tricky terrain at the Windmill farms of Kethanur, and mastered the slushy conditions to come out triumphant in the SUV class. For the record, Team Champions made a sweep of all the three podium places in this class.
The top three places in the SUV Challenge went to Lokesh Gowda and co-driver Sudhindra BG who won the support class, while Gagan Karumbaiah and Thimmu Uddapanda pair came second followed by veteran Sanjay Agarwal and Smitha N.
Usually, the top classes always hog the media limelight and to support other winners, this Indian Motorsports website, www.INDIAinF1.com, will start a series of articles, beginning today, to feature the winners in the lower categories, as they too deserve appreciation for the hard work and dedication, which is no less than any other class. Today we feature Lokesh Gowda.
Well-deserved winners in the SUV Challenge class, Lokesh Gowda and Sudhindra on the podium in Coimbatore
At the turn of the century, Lokesh Gowda made his debut in motorsports as a bike rider in 2001, at a local Autocross event, and soon he became addicted to motocross after winning his class in his third-ever event. And immediately, the passion found its strong roots.
“As a teenager, I was always intrigued by motorsports especially two-wheelers and the cross-country rallies ignited my interest. In 2001, I started with a local 2w autocross event and it was an instant addiction,” said Lokesh, who took to the sport, like a duck to water.
“From there-on I followed my passion, participated in local autocross events and started competing with professional riders,” he added. Soon his talent was noticed and his dedication yielded results with the stalwarts at Yamaha spotting him. He was selected as a Factory Rider for Team Yamaha India in 2002.
“I toured all over the country, racing for Team Yamaha for the next three years winning multiple events and motorsports became a way of life,” Lokesh quipped. He went on to win the MRF National Motocross Championship in 2003 and retained with equal vigour in 2004 to become a National champion twice in quick succession but unfortunately, he faced a jolt… out of the blue with Yamaha pulling out of racing in India.
He continued rallying as a privateer in the 2-wheeler category for a few more years making that much more effort without the support that factory-backing brings both financially and otherwise but a major on-track crash, at the INRC Chikmagalur event saw him fracture his right elbow and he also damaged his right shoulder in 2009.
Lokesh Gowda in his hey days. A file photo of Lokesh taking a jump during one of the INRC events.
It was the first year when IMG Sports and PSP together began to bring some professionalism into the sport bringing in much-needed facilities for the drivers and riders. The accident brought to focus the need to bring in more safety measures but unfortunately, Lokesh has decided to rest his bike.
But they say passion never dies. And soon Lokesh was back on the track, but this time he switched to cars. “In 2011, I moved into 4-wheeler dirt racing because it offered much comfortable driving in comparison to 2W rallying due to my arm injury as I felt, I could race without causing more damage to my shoulder or elbow,” the champion revealed.
Starting with Indian National Autocross Champion in 2012 he finished as the first runner-up in the championship and moved into Indian National Rally Championship in 2013 as a co-driver.
In 2014, he participated in the popular home event of K1000 in Bangalore as a driver and followed it with the Coffee Day Rally where he finished 2nd. In the following years, he continued participating in several Dirt events, Autocross events, Quarter-Mile drags along with INRC and won many of them.
But when queried why he maintained a low profile, he said: “Unfortunately, in India, a motorsport rallyist’s passion takes a backseat when it comes to nurturing dreams. The lack of attention to the sport, the ‘Zero’ funding, athletes receive from the government and the lack of sponsors are big obstacles for any participant to go forward. “Each one of us in the sport is deeply into self-budgeting our expenses. Many of us spend from our personal savings to continue the sport and keep up our passions alive and we run dry pretty soon. The same happened to me and so I had to stop rallying again after 2015. Getting a sponsor was a task in itself,” he quipped with a tinge of disappointment writ large on his face.
But his face lit up as soon as we started to talk about the present scenario. “Thanks to Team Champions, who came forward bringing in immense support. They provided the funding and importantly rekindled our interest imposing confidence in me. Their interest towards the betterment of rally drivers and motorsports in the country made me rethink and I joined the Team in 2018,” he said. He did not forget to thank Subhakar Rao, the team owner and promoter Mrs.Hemamalini Nidamanur of Champions Yacht Club. “Vamcy Merla has been a great support and he also helped us to get additional support from the JK Tyre,” he added talking about how drivers were helped to rope-in corporate sponsorship, though partially.
“The second round of INRC at Coimbatore has been great and rewarding considering the unsuccessful run I had at Chennai. Thanks to JK Tyres for their great support and sponsoring at the Rally of Coimbatore, I finished first in the SUV category. I am looking forward to next round in Jodhpur and winning this year’s championship title,” he concluded.
The Round 3 of the Champions Yacht Club fmsci INRC for four-wheelers will take place in Jodhpur, Rajasthan from September 20 to 22.
Five riders and four factories have conquered the venue in recent years. Here’s to another modern classic in the UK
Silverstone, 19 August 2019:
File photo of Marc Marquez at the Red Bull Ring in Austria . A MotoGP image
In 2013 it was Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) who took on now-teammate Marc Marquez in one of the all-time great showdowns. The year after, Marquez returned the favour. 2015 saw Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) emerge from a rain-soaked race day to take to the top step, before Maverick Viñales, now at Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, took the spoils for Suzuki the following year. Then it was Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) painting Silverstone red in 2017, and that makes it five riders and four factories who have made British turf their own in the last five races there. They’ve also all done it in style, because Silverstone usually stages a classic. Can 2019 deliver the same?
As we return to the venue for another year, there’s certainly one big difference: the track surface. The British behemoth is back open for business with high expectations and new asphalt, and Friday’s feedback will be an interesting listen. But one thing that’s never changed is the stunning layout, with 18 corners pushing man and machine to the maximum around a high-speed ribbon of tarmac that snakes it way around the former airfield. Vast and fast is apt.
So who will rule Britannia in 2019? Almost all the likely contenders really have been a winner in the UK. The most recent victor, Andrea Dovizioso, also arrives on top of the world after his stunning Austrian GP triumph. He’ll be one to watch, as is usually the case. But then so will Marquez, who has sometimes had a rockier road on race day at Silverstone but whose pace in qualifying has seen him take four premier class poles at the venue. Could we get another duel? Will the reigning Champion strike back?
Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales, meanwhile, will be aiming to make sure it’s a much bigger fight at the front. Rossi’s speed at Silverstone seems to grow year on year and Viñales’ record at the track is impressive. He won his first race there so there are some good memories, and he was also the man closest to Dovizioso last time we raced in the UK. And then there’s Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT)…
The French rookie will know the venue has often been a good one for his bike, but does that even make that much difference? The number 20 equalled Yamaha’s best result at the Red Bull Ring, where it should have been a much harder task than he made it look, and everywhere he goes, he goes fast. He’s back at the top of the Independent Team rider standings as well, and could be a key contender.
And what of Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar)? His bike is a winner at Silverstone, before he was the man on it or even in the class, and it was a landmark day back in 2016 for the Hamamatsu factory. Rins himself is now back on form after ironing out two uncharacteristic mistakes before the summer break, and he’s unlikely to settle for anything that’s not an assault on the win at the very least. He’s a man with a bigger box to tick than many now he’s taken his first win this season, and is a big candidate to be the sixth different winner at Silverstone since 2013.
The man just ahead of him, Ducati Team’s Danilo Petrucci, could be another although he’s looking for more of a bounce back after a tough Austria, as is Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), the man now behind Quartararo in the aforementioned Independent Team rider standings. And lurking just behind him is Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol). It’s been a tougher year at times for the Brit, but on home turf he’ll give it everything to be back in the fight at the front he’s so often been part of. And he’s had pole at Silverstone before, so the speed is there and he’ll want to convert it into big points and a podium in front of the home crowd. He’s done it before.
The man for whom a return is the real key phrase, however, is Jorge Lorenzo. After a long period of recovery from his injuries sustained in Assen, the five-time World Champion is expected back on track at Silverstone and it’s a good venue for it. Lorenzo has three wins there, including that stunner in 2013, and good memories aplenty. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) is also back in action at Suzuki after his Brno testing crash, so he’ll want to get stuck in to making up some ground to those ahead of him: the likes of Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT), Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu). There’s a lot at stake in the tight fight for the top ten.
The Great British behemoth awaits, and the Great British weather is in the wings too. But come rain or shine, Silverstone usually serves up a storm – so tune in for the GoPro British Grand Prix, with lights out for MotoGP™ at 13:00 local time (GMT +1).
Arjun Balu (centre), winner of Race-3 in ITC category, flanked by second-placed Aditya Patel (left) and Dhruv Shivaji Mohite. Photos by Anand Philar
Chennai, 18 August 2019: On a day which began in heavy showers and ended in bright sunshine, Coimbatore veteran Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) completed a grand double in the Indian Touring Cars class to head the leaderboard as the fourth round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship concluded at the MMRT, here today. Also achieving a double was Bengaluru’s Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) in the Super Stock category.
Overshadowing the day’s proceedings was the 10-car pile-up in the MRF F1600 race that started in heavy showers and lasted barely 300 metres. as pole-sitter Yash Aradhya spun when he put wheels into a puddle, thus losing grip. The cars behind him, with nowhere to go, crashed into one another resulting in the abandonment of the race. None of the drivers suffered injuries barring cuts and bruises, but with 10 cars badly damaged, it was decided to cancel today’s scheduled three races and run them in the next round in September.
Hyderabad’s Jeet Jhabakh (No.5) in action while winning Race-2 in VW Ameo Class.
“The next round in September, will thus have seven races in MRF F1600 category. It was an unfortunate incident with Yash running into a puddle and spinning. With so many cars badly damaged, we decided to put off today’s three races and have them in the next round,” said Chairman of the Meet Vicky Chandhok.
In Race-1 of the ITC category, that was declared “wet”, Balu and Patel were locked in a thrilling fight at the head of the field. Starting from pole, Balu maintained his position with Patel in close attendance. Three laps from the finish, Patel moved past Balu, but slipped back to second in the next lap when he ran wide at the last corner. Balu moved to the front and went on to win.
In Race-2, run in fair weather and reverse grid, the three VW Ventos of Patel, Dhruv Shivaji Mohite and Ishaan Dodhiwala, switched to slicks, while Balu, starting eighth, remained on wet tyres. It was not long before the four moved to the front with Mohite pulling off a fine win ahead of Patel and Balu. The third race in this category, was a virtual procession with Balu, starting from pole, winning comfortably and unchallenged, followed by Patel and Dodhiwala. His two wins this weekend, took Balu’s tally to 148, way ahead of Mohite (119).
Arjun Balu (No.39), who won a double in action .
Spearheading a podium sweep for Race Concepts team, Sudanand Daniel, an airline pilot based in Singapore, won a dramatic wet first race in the Super Stock category for his maiden success of the season, with Rithvik Thomas and R Rajashekar in tow. RP Rajaran (Performance Racing) took the honours in Race-2 ahead of Rithvik Thomas and Daniel. In the next outing, Thomas survived a close fight with Daniel for his second win of the weekend. Rajarajan completed the podium.
Jeet Jhabakh (Hyderabad) and Pune’s Prateek Sonawane won a race apiece in the Volkswagen Ameo Class category. After eight races over three rounds this season, Mumbai’s Saurav Bandyopadhyay (305 points), winner of the first race yesterday, leads the championship in this category followed by Sidharth Mehdiratta (298) from Lucknow and Sonawane (294).
Chennai, 17 August 2019: Bengaluru teenager Sohil Shah made the best of the pole-position start to notch a fine win in the premier MRF F1600 category and head the leaderboard in the Round 4 of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship at the MMRT here today, that had a delayed start owing to the rains in the morning.
Due to the late start, only two of the four races scheduled for the day could be completed. The remaining races would be added to the six slated for tomorrow which will have an early start 8.15 am. It was a difficult day with changing weather conditions leading to several changes in the schedule.
In the day’s other action, Mumbai’s Saurav Bandyopadhyay took the honours in the Ameo Class race while Coimbatore ace Arjun Balu of Race Concepts (01:51.474) and team-mate Bengaluru’s Rithvik Thomas (01:59.425) grabbed pole positions in the Indian Touring Cars and the Super Stock categories, respectively.
Sohil Shah photos by Anand Philar
The lights-to-flag win today was Sohil’s third success in a row, having won the last two races in the previous round last month. With three more races are scheduled for this category tomorrow, Sohil heads the championship with 81 points, well clear of Mumbai’’s Nayan Chatterjee (63).
The finish to the six-lap race (reduced from eight laps), which Sohil dominated while enjoying a commanding lead, was under the Safety Car which came out following an incident on Lap 5. As the Safety Car came in on the last lap, Sohil, rolled his car over the finish line ahead of Chennai’s Sandeep Kumar and Manav Sharma (Faridabad).
“I enjoyed a good lead through the race until the Safety Car period. We all bunched up behind the Safety Car, and I played it safe before crossing the finish line,” said Sohil who has taken a “gap year” after completing 12th standard.
Further down the grid, Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai) who was leading the championship coming into this round, and Vishnu Prasad (Chennai) received 30-second penalties for overtaking under yellow flag, denying them any points.
Bostalsee (Germany), 17 August 2019: Round 10 of the 2019 FIA World Rally Championship takes the crews back onto tarmac for Rallye Deutschland (22-25 August), an event known for its demanding roads and often changeable weather conditions.
First run in 1982, it was part of the FIA European Rally Championship before becoming Germany’s round of the WRC in 2002. Although the rally base moved from Trier to Bostalsee two years ago, it has remained faithful to a popular formula combining twisty vineyard roads above the Mosel river, the varied and sometimes broken surfaces of the Baumholder military ground, and fast country lanes of the Saarland region.
Winner of the last two editions, Ott Tänak could target a hat trick to further increase his championship lead, which grew to 22 points after the triumph of the Toyota driver on the last round in Finland. His rivals Sébastien Ogier (Citroën) and Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) – who are separated by just three points – are also both former winners of the event, opening up the prospect of a thrilling, flat-out battle between the trio.
With Elfyn Evans continuing to recover from a back injury, Gus Greensmith gets another top-level start with M-Sport. After skipping Finland, Rally Sardinia’s winner Dani Sordo returns to the Hyundai line-up alongside Neuville and Andreas Mikkelsen. Meanwhile, Toyota offers its Japanese protégé Takamoto Katsuta his first WRC outing in a Yaris – entered by Tommi Mäkinen Racing – after several impressive demonstrations in FIA WRC 2.
FIA WRC 2 Pro leader Kalle Rovanperä has four consecutive class wins under his belt but the Finn will face stiff competition in Germany, from his Škoda team-mate and asphalt expert Jan Kopecký, as well as Citroën’s Mads Østberg and Eric Camilli, competing in M-Sport’s latest Ford Fiesta R5.
Fresh from his maiden win in Finland, Russia’s Nikolay Gryazin heads a strong 15-car entry in the FIA WRC 2, which includes the French trio Adrien Fourmaux, Nicolas Ciamin and Stéphane Lefebvre, and the German pair Marijan Griebel and Fabian Kreim.
Tidemand returns with Fiesta WRC
Pontus Tidemand will return to the wheel ofthe EcoBoost-powered Ford Fiesta WRC to contest the 11th round of the FIA World Rally Championship at the next month Rally Turkey. Partnered by Norwegian codriver Ola Foene, the pairing were in action at Rallye Monte Carlo as well as Rally Sweden earlier this year, and are now keen to show what they can do with the top-spec Fiesta on gravel.
THE 2019 ROUTE
This year’s Rallye Deutschland begins with a new twist, as the 5.2 kilometre “St. Wendeler Land” Shakedown is then run again on Thursday evening as the first competitive stage. Friday’s loop consists of a pair of vineyard stages, plus the Wadern-Weikirchen circuit test, with all three run twice. Saturday’s format offers two Saarland country lane stages to be run twice in the morning, ahead of two loops around Baumholder in the afternoon. On Sunday, the rally returns to the vineyards for another pair of repeated stages to conclude the event. RALLY DATA
Chennai, 16 August 2019: Popular international driver Aditya Patel will replace Karthik Tharani Singh for the Volkswagen Works team in the ITC class and he will be racing against his mentor and former coach Arjun Balu, as the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2019 flows into a critical phase with the fourth and penultimate round scheduled to start at the MMRT on Saturday.
Karthik Tharani escaped with a one-race ban after a grave violation in the third round. Though he is serving only one-race suspension, Volkswagen Motorsport, who promised `clean racing’ as they made their debut in the National Championship this year at Coimbatore, decided to keep him out for the entire round and Tharani will miss three races. Incidentally, Aditya is set to make his saloon car debut in the championship and will be racing at this track after a lapse of 11 years.
With the front-runners in the championship stakes tightly bunched in all the categories that will be on view this week-end. The expectations of close racing are high in all the classes including premier MRF Formula 1600, Indian Touring Cars and Volkswagen Ameo Class.
Aditya Patel is set race against his mentor and former coach Arjun Balu, left, in the ITC races on Saturday for Volkswagen team. Photo: Anand Philar
In the previous rounds, winner-picking was a hazardous guess and it would be much the same this weekend with a clutch of India’s top racing drivers, ranging from bubbling teenagers to battle-hardened veterans, lining up on the grid, each seeking precious championship points.
The MRF F1600, with four races scheduled over two days, and a maximum of 100 points on offer, has four drivers – Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai, 63 points), Chennai’s Vishnu Prasad (58), teenager from Bengaluru Sohil Shah (56) with two wins from four starts and A Bala Prasath from Coimbatore (43) – heading the leaderboard, but wary of others who have them in their sights.
The popular Indian Touring Cars category, a triple-header for this round, has developed into a bitter fight involving veteran racer from Coimbatore Arjun Balu (80 points), driving a Race Concepts-prepared Honda Vtec car, and championship leader Chennai’s Karthik Tharani (86) in a factory-supported Volkswagen Vento. Tharani, winner in two of the five outings, failed to take a drive-through penalty and ignored the black-flag in the previous round to attract the suspension.
Tharani is replaced by Aditya Patel, the 2007 Formula Rolon champion, who has been a participant in various international touring cars series abroad (VW, Audi, GT Asia) in the past decade.
“Obviously, I am quite excited to be racing at the MMRT, virtually my home circuit, after over a decade (his last outing was in 2008, a one-off race). Interestingly, my Formula Rolon car in 2007 when I won the championship for NK Racing, was prepared by Arjun Balu and his brother Sanjay. So, it’s quite extraordinary that this weekend, I am racing against Arjun!” said Aditya.
The Super Stock category, to be run on a combined grid with the ITC class, presents a similar picture with Bengaluru’s Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) leading RP Raja Rajan (Performance Racing) from Chennai by eight points. The pair has won three races apiece and with three more to be run this weekend, a thrilling battle between the two is on the cards.
The VW Ameo Class, which was upgraded to National Championship status, and boasting of 18-car grid, has three drivers, Pratik Sonawane (Pune), Jeet Jhabakh (Hyderabad) and Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Mumbai), in that order separated by eight points with Delhi’s Anmol Singh Sahil in fourth, a further nine points behind.
The intermediate and lightweight classes put in a few more laps on Monday at the Red Bull Ring
Brad Binder was back on track the day after his win and birthday. A MotoGP image
Spielberg, 12 August 2019: After an action-packed myWorld Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich, 23 Moto2 and six Moto3 riders were back on track to put in a day of testing on a sunny Monday at the Red Bull Ring, with most working on gearing up for the remainder of the season.
Moto2™ Championship leader Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) was one of the key names putting in the work and the Spaniard had an evolution chassis from Kalex to test for the 2020 season. Key rival Tom Lüthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) and his teammate Marcel Schrötter were also there, working on race setup in Austria after a tougher than expected weekend for both.
Fellow Kalex rider Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2), who had a tricky weekend in Austria, was also out and able to find the setup he was looking for all weekend on Monday. Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) and teammate Nicolo Bulega were in testing action too. Compatriot Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) was meant to be, but the Italian is still hurting from Sunday’s Turn 9 crash with the same Marini.
Elsewhere, Austrian GP race winner Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was getting more laps under his belt ahead of the rest of the campaign, with teammate Jorge Martin having a 3D printed front air intake to try, as well as having a different fairing to Binder. Both Martin and Red Bull KTM Tech 3’s Marco Bezzecchi were trying the front air intake, which had the same look as the original 2019 version, but without a split in the middle. Bezzecchi was also given the new KTM from Brno to test. Fellow KTM rider Iker Lecuona had a few bike issues at the start of the day as the American Racing KTM team were also out testing with Lecuona and Joe Roberts.
Beta Tools Speed Up’s Jorge Navarro and Fabio Di Giannantonio gave a new, leaner front fairing a go. Simone Corsi was out testing Steven Odendaal’s NTS RW Racing GP bike with the aim of helping the South African out, with Odendaal also trying teammate Bo Bendsneyder’s bike for setup comparison as NTS continue their development. MV Agusta Temporary Forward were likewise focused on development for the rest of 2019. A few of the Moto2™ riders also tried Dunlop’s new front tyre for 2020.
In the Moto3™ class, fourth-place Austrian GP finisher and rookie Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) did a fair amount of work on the 2020 KTM, and the young Italian seemed to be the only rider testing it. The new bike had a full carbon fairing. Can Öncü, meanwhile, stayed in Austria to continue his work on the 2019 Red Bull KTM Ajo machine as he aims for more rookie success.
Jakub Kornfeil (Redox PrüstelGP) was joined by FIM CEV Repsol Moto3™ Junior World Championship rider Jason Dupasquier as he had a run out on a World Championship level machine for the first time, and BOE Skull Rider Mugen Race riders Kazuki Masaki and Makar Yurchenko were on track, too.
The riders now have a weekend off before heading to Silverstone in under two weeks’ time for the GoPro British Grand Prix.
Aishwarya Pissay receiving the World Cup on Sunday. Photos courtesy FIM
Bengaluru, 11 August 2019: Aishwarya Pissay, the 23-year old from Bengaluru, created history by annexing the FIM Bajas World Cup in the Women’s category after the fourth and final round of the championship, at Varpalota (Hungary), on Sunday. She became the first Indian ever to win a World title in Motorsport. Aishwarya also finished second in the FIM Junior category on the conclusion of the four-round Championship.
Aishwarya, who won the first round in Dubai and was placed third (Portugal), fifth (Spain) and fourth (Hungary) in the subsequent outings, finished with a tally of 65 points, just four ahead of Portugal’s Rita Vieira in the final Overall standings for Women. She was placed second in the Junior category with 46 points, behind championship winner Tomas de Gavardo (60) of Chile.
The TVS Racing’s Bengaluru rider, emerged victorious in the four-round cross country rally based on the total points, with her victory in the first round in Dubai standing her in good stead. In the fourth round in Hungary, the second-placed Vieira Rita, could only finish third for 15 points and thus Aishwarya who finished fourth managed to keep her lead and won the World Cup Baja in the women’s category gaining 13 points for her 4th. Romero Font Rosa won the Hungarian round in this class and Garcia Alvarez Sara finished second.
After 805km, including 588km on competitive selective sections around Várpalota and Lake Balaton, the Hungarian Baja rounded off the 2019 FIM Cross-Country Bajas World Cup. For the record, Adam Tomicek (Husqvarna) claimed his maiden motorcycle victory, the Pole finishing ahead of Stefan Svitko (KTM) and Maciej Giemza (Husqvarna), while Juraj Varja (Yamaha) took the laurels in the quad category from Aleksandr Maksimov (Yamaha).
The 23-year-old Aishwarya is sponsored by TVS, Sidvin, Mountain Dew, Scott Motorsports India, K&N, Cult Sport and BigRock Dirt Park. Before the start of the final round she was leading the women’s category by seven points, after having won in Dubai, finished third in Portugal and fifth in Spain.
A proud moment for Team TVS Sherco’s Aishwarya Pissay from India as she stands on the top step of the podium at FIM Bajas Women’s World Cup on Sunday. An FIM image
An ecstatic Aishwarya, said after the podium ceremonies: “It’s absolutely overwhelming. I am out of words. After what happened last year, my first international season, when I crashed in Spain Baja and suffered career-threatening injuries, to come out and win the championship, is a great feeling.
“It was a tough phase of my life, but I believed in myself and was determined to get back on the bike which I did after nearly six months. So, winning the World Cup is huge for me and I will look to better my performance having gained this experience. I also hope I will be able to get more sponsors on board and eventually realise my dream of participating in and finishing the Dakar Rally (considered World’s most difficult cross-country race). In any case, I will pursue that dream no matter what.”
Reflecting on her Hungarian Baja performance, Aishwarya said: “Without a doubt, the Hungarian Baja was one of my best races though I didn’t win. It wasn’t an easy race. Given the nature of the terrain, it was more of endurance than just pace. I was riding a smaller bike (250cc) as against the 450cc bikes other girls were on. So, there was always a difference of 20-25 minutes between me and the other riders.
Aishwary’a medals!
“Also, I was wrongly given a road penalty for early check-in which wasn’t my fault. All these factors added to my time. On the positive side, I was happy that I was closing the gap between me and other riders in front of me. I was able to get within seven minutes of Rita (Vieira) and that gave me the confidence. However, it was more about finishing the race and I was focussed on that.”
Aishwarya is scheduled to return to Bengaluru in the early hours of Wednesday, August 14, via Qatar.
The Hungarian Baja comprised of five Special Stages totalling 588.26 km besides 205.66 of Liaison section. The competitors were flagged-off late on Thursday for SS-1 (7.18 Kms) near to this former mining town.
Miss Pissay has topped many events in India in the women’s category which included Raid De Himalaya 2017, Dakshin Dare for two years in 2016 and 2017. She also won the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) in 2017 and 2018 but before that her focus was on racing and she won the TVS Apache Ladies One Make Championship 2017 and then the top honours in the MRF MMSC Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2017, when the women’s category was recognised as a national event by FMSCI, the Indian federation for the sport.
Andrea Dovizioso stuns Marc Marquez at the last corner in the Austrian GP on Sunday. A MotoGP image
Spielberg, 11 August 2019: Do not adjust your set: that was Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) slicing past Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) at the final corner as the Italian turned the tables on the reigning Champion, the hunted turning hunter to keep Ducati’s 100% winning record at the Red Bull Ring intact. After all-out war in Austria, ‘DesmoDovi’ became the first repeat winner since the venue’s return to the calendar in 2016, with the gloves coming off early as a vintage Dovi vs Marquez duel lit up the Red Bull Ring. The Italian has won most of them, but in Spielberg he didn’t play defence. Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) completed the podium after another impressive ride from the rookie, equalling Yamaha’s best result at the track.
Polesitter Marquez was lightning off the start but so was Dovizioso as the two pre-race favourites headed into Turn 1 already locked together, despite Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) heading in slightly hot and almost clipping the number 4 Ducati ahead of him. But all’s well that ends well and this was just the beginning, with the Italian and Spaniard even making slight contact on the run into Turn 3 at 300km/h. Marquez was on the inside and Dovi on the outside, but the number 93 went in hot and ran wide, the Ducati then also forced to sit up. That let Quartararo sweep through to lead, with Miller and Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins then also pouncing on the exit and Marquez having another wobble as he gassed it to try and slot back into the pack.
Dovizioso was behind Marquez after the shuffle, but he was back past into Turn 4 as Quartararo started putting the hammer down in the lead. The Frenchman was 0.5 ahead onto Lap 2, but Dovizioso and Marquez started to make up ground as they recovered from a frantic opening lap. Dovi was soon back up to second, with Miller holding off Marquez – for the time being – and fast-starting Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) not far off, ‘The Doctor’ climbing his way up to fifth from P10 in the opening exchanges and initially in the battle for the podium.
Before long, Marquez had dispatched Miller and the top three started to edge away from the number 43, Rossi and Rins. Then on Lap 7, Quartararo was under serious attack: Dovizioso blasted past into the lead, before Marquez shot past the Yamaha moments later. The two were back in front, and the duel was just getting started.
The pin wasn’t yet pulled, however, with the top five remaining within a second and a half before heartbreak struck for Miller as the Australian slid out at Turn 9. Just metres ahead on track, Marquez struck for the lead at the final corner, too, and then the duo started to pull clear. Not by a massive margin each lap, but Quartararo couldn’t match the pace of the Ducati and Honda as another almighty Austrian battle started to take shape.
Marquez threatened to stretch away but the gap didn’t rise above 0.4 seconds, with the number 93 strong in the first half of the lap and Dovizioso the stronger in the second part. The laps ticked by and there was nothing between them, Dovizioso shadowing the reigning Champion. Then, out of nowhere, a move was made with nine to go. Dovizioso powered alongside Marquez, and the number 93 even looked across at the Italian heading into Turn 1. But the Ducati made the pass stick and it was now the 2017 Austrian GP winner in control.
Tensions were bubbling to boiling point for the next five laps, with Marquez trailing Dovi by 0.1, 0.2. The question was not if, but when and where. Then, with three to go, we found out. Turn 7 was the unlikely location as Marquez stuck it underneath Dovizioso to take back the lead, and it settled back into strategic chess until Turn 1 on the penultimate lap as the number 04 went for it. Could he make it stick? Not quite, Dovizioso running wide and Marquez straight back through.
Onto the last lap, there was nothing separating the leaders and again, Dovi went for it at Turn 1 but ran wide, so it was Marquez who led going down into Turn 3. The Italian was close but not close enough around the final lap, and it started to look like the Borgo Panigale factory’s stranglehold on the Red Bull Ring could be under threat. But it was far from over as down to the last sector, with the two glued together once again as the Ducati powered up the hill out of Turn 8. He was close, but no pass came at Turn 9. It was going down to the wire.
Heading into the last corner, the Ducati pulled out from behind the Honda as Dovizioso pulled a Marquez – pushing his machine into the gap and on the verge of creating space rather than using it. It was roles reversed from 2017 as the Italian lunged down the inside, keeping it perfectly pinned to deny Marquez and power towards the line ahead for his second win of the season. With no chance to strike back, Marquez was forced to settle for second.
Behind the duel, Quartararo took the chequered flag in a lonely third to claim his third MotoGP™ rostrum and bank another huge haul of points in his impressive 2019, coming home top rookie, top Independent Team rider and top Yamaha – equalling the Iwata factory’s best result at the track from 2016.
Just behind him, Rossi had been caught by teammate Maverick Viñales and Suzuki rider Rins as the trio battled for fourth, with Rossi ultimately able to pull a tenth or two clear of Viñales as three Yamahas sat in the top five at a tougher track for them. Rins, meanwhile, was only 0.021 off the number 12, the number 42 running it close and only just fended off.
Behind the Yamaha train, Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) took P7 and a big haul of points after a much more positive weekend, finishing just ahead of fellow rookie Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3). The Portuguese rider finished as the best KTM on the Austrian factory’s home turf, taking a sensational P8 and some serious scalps.
Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) will be disappointed with P9 on a Ducati-friendly circuit, with compatriot Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) completing the top 10 ahead of Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) and the second KTM of Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).
Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol), meanwhile, crashed out of contention on Lap 2 at Turn 3, the British rider hitting the back of Tito Rabat’s Reale Avinita Racing Ducati after the Spaniard had to take avoiding action after a problem for Pol Espargaro’s (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) bike.
The 2019 Austrian GP will live long in the memory after another breathtaking Dovizioso vs Marquez battle, and it’s the Italians who emerge victorious again. Can they repeat the feat in Silverstone next time out? Two weeks will tell us.
Andrea Dovizioso: “I think this is my best victory, for many reasons…we didn’t have Marc’s speed, we had to make a good strategy, we had to fight aggressively in the first few laps and the last four…and we’re struggling a lot to fight for the Championship so this gives us a lot of energy for the future. And the work in the practice paid off in the race because at the end I had more grip, giving me the possibility to fight until the last corner.
“To win in this battle at the last corner in the opposite way to normal is so exciting, so nice…and when you have your friends there after the first corner, seeing them go crazy, screaming, it’s so nice!”
Chetan Shivaram and Dilip Sharan of Team Akshara win the overall title in the Rally of Coimbatore. Photo by Venu Ramesh
Coimbatore, 11 August 2019: Brothers Chetan Shivram and Dilip Sharan of Team Akshara, played a cautious game and focussed on keeping the car on track with a safety-first approach, to chalk-out a deserving win in the Rally of Coimbatore, the second round of the fmsci Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), promoted Champions Yacht Club, at the Windmill farms of Kethanur, near here on Sunday.
Chetan painted the town yellow in his stock Volkswagen Polo prepared by FRK Racing and supported by Ideal Racing and displayed controlled aggression with his brother Sharan calling the notes. The focussed Bengaluru duo weathered a sustained challenge from Race Concepts’ Younus Ilyas and Harish Gowda, the INRC Sprint champions and won by a narrow margin of 4.6 seconds. Further behind, the talented youngster from Kerala Arakkal Fabid Ahmer, with co-driver Sanath Gopalan, also in a Polo prepared by Chettinad Sporting came third for Team Champions. Fabid who was trailing 5th overnight also won the second place in the INRC 3 class.
Chetan Shivaram and Dilip Sharan on the podium. Photo. Chetan’s FB post
Nurturing their four-second lead was made easy as overnight second-placed privateer Suhem Kabeer and co-driver Jeevarathinam clocked 14min, 43.10sec and lost time in the 6th stage to Chetan’s 8:21.30, as they got stuck in the slush but behind them Younus Ilyas (Harish) of Race Concepts who were running third, started reducing the 19-second gap. Chetan Shivaram, however, managed to cling on to the lead and not only won the overall title but also topped the INRC 3 category. Despite losing six minutes or so, Suhem held on to the third place in INRC 2 class but lost the overall podium finishing 15th. Younus was ahead in two of the three stages but that was not enough as they settled for overall second place.
But Younus and Harish had the consolation bagging the title in the INRC 2 category. For the record, it was the doctor from Kerala, Bikku Babu, along with co-driver Milen George who won all the three stages today with top-notch driving. But the experienced Kerala duo found it too difficult to make up the time, over an hour, which they lost in SS5 on Saturday.
Vaibhav Marate and Arjun Balachandran’s Honda City flying through windmill stages. Photo Prabhu Kethanur
But the highlight of the day was the drive from talented youngster from Mangalore Dean Mascarenhas, who fielded his VW Polo as a privateer along with navigator Shruptha Padival. The duo who are leading the championship coming into Round 2, lost a lot of time on Saturday but made tremendous progress jumping 32 places to finish overall 10th and had the bonus of a second place in the INRC 2 category.
While many started today to get leg points, 17 cars failed to finish among the 57 that took the start on Saturday. Pre-event favourites Gaurav Gill and Musa Sherif of Team Mahindra Adventure once again suffered for want of dependable machine and finished 44th in line with teammates Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik who were 43rd. Karna Kadur and Nikhil Pai of Arka Motorsports too had a forgettable event finishing 50th overall.
Younus Ilyas and Harish Gowda pose during the Rally of Coimbatore. Photo: FB
In the SUV Challenge, Team Champions swept the podium winning all the top-three places. Lokesh Gowda and co-driver Sudhindra BG won the support class while Gagan Karumbaiah and Thimmu Uddapanda pair came second followed by veteran Sanjay Agarwal and Smitha N.
The next round of the championship will move to Jodhpur in Rajasthan from Septemeber 20 to 22. Kochi, Bengaluru, and Chikkamagaluru will host the last three rounds respectively in November and December.
Gagan Karumbaiah and co-driver Thimmu Uddapanda who won the SUV Challenge cruising on Saturday stages. Photo: Venu Ramesh
