INDIA in F1

Tag: APRC

  • Heartbreak for Gaurav Gill; Chances of retaining APRC crown bleak

    Hokkaido (Japan), 27 Sept 2014: Indian rallying Ace and Team MRF Tyres driver Gaurav Gill put in a blistering performance at the Rally Hokkaido before an accident caused extensive damage to his car in the penultimate round of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC). Any chance of retaining the Asia Pacific Rally Championship that Gill won in 2013 now appears to be remote, although the Team MRF Tyres are working to get the car repaired in time to restart tomorrow. With Gill’s retirement, MRF Tyres driver and teammate Kopecky took over the lead of APRC Rally Hokkaido, 25 seconds ahead of Japan’s Toshi Arai.

    After seven stages and 70 kilometers of flat out competition, MRF Skoda driver Gaurav Gill from India led the 2014 APRC Rally of Hokkaido. Through the first morning of competition Gill has built a steady lead on MRF team-mate Jan Kopecky, arriving at the first break confident he had the right strategy. Unfortunately for Gill  on stage 8 Yam Wakka, a high speed crash ended his rally. Gill commented “I was a little surprised this morning that Jan was faster than me on the first stage, but after that I dug in and put in some good (stages) times to take the lead. We’re not pushing, looking after the car is really important here. It’s a shame what happened as the car felt really good this weekend.” 

    Kopecky, who started the Rally with an 8 point lead is looking to finish the race tomorrow after seeing his main competitor go out. “It’s unfortunate what happened to Gaurav, we were having a good battle but these roads are very unforgiving. Our plan today was to keep the same safe pace especially through the long stages. Tomorrow the stages are very tricky, very difficult and are different from today, so hopefully we can keep our position and bring the car back to the finish. We must finish tomorrow as this will win for the MRF team, the APRC Manufacturer’s award”.

    eom/Adrenna Communications

  • Jan Kopecky takes lead as Gaurav Gill hits trouble: APRC

    New Caledonia, 17 May 2014: Team MRF Tyres Skoda driver and European Rally Champion Jan Kopecky stormed into a comfortable lead in Round 2 of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) in New Caledonia. Defending champion Gaurav Gill suffered a suspension failure which cost him any chance of fighting for the lead.

    Czech driver Jan Kopecky and co driver Pravel  Dresler have a lead of 5min20 sec over team mate Gill after Day 1 of Rally New Caledonia. Gill pulled out a 52 second lead until SS7 where he dropped 1min 40sec then a further 3min 40sec on the final stage of the day with suspension failure.  Despite dropping so much time Gill holds onto second place for the MRF Rally Team with a 10 minute buffer over third place Sanjay Takale. Gill managed to get his car to the service tent with the mechanics confident of getting the car ready for tomorrow.

    Overnight rain and further showers today made the 2 shorter inland stages very muddy and in many places almost impossible to drive.  This created a day of attrition with 6 of the starters failing to finish the day.  Both Australian APRC competitors Mark Pedder and Tom Wilde ended up off the road. The conditions became very tough forcing the organisers to cancel SS5 & SS8.

    How the day unfolded

    1. SS 1 Gill jumps out to a 30sec lead over Kopecky
    2. SS 2 Gill wins by 9.5 sec
    3. SS3 Gill wins by 1.7sec and leads Kopecky by 40.9sec at service after first loop

    Stages are now repeated

    1. SS4  Kopecky wins by .5 sec
    2. SS5 Cancelled
    3. SS6 Gill wins by 11.6 sec and now has lead of 52 sec at second service after second loop

    Stages repeated for third time

    1. SS7 Kopecky wins by 1min 40sec Gill has suspension damage
    2. SS8 Cancelled
    3. SS9  Kopecky wins by 4min 30 sec Gill crawls through stage with makeshift repairs

     

    eom/MRF release from Adre

    Kopecky takes lead in New Caledonia APRC leg on Saturday. An MRF image
    Kopecky takes lead in New Caledonia APRC leg on Saturday. An MRF image

    nna Communications

  • Team MRF Tyres’ Gaurav Gill all set for New Caledonia

    New Caledonia, 16 May 2014: Team MRF Tyres Skoda driver and defending champion Gaurav Gill will return to New Caledonia this weekend for Round 2 of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC). Gill, who won at New Caledonia last year, will be joined by European Rally Champion and Team MRF Tyres Skoda team-mate Jan Kopecký from the Czech Republic, as the two drivers are all set to resume their battle in the Skoda Fabia S2000.

    The MRF team driver line-up is impressive featuring both the current APRC Champion Gaurav Gill and Czech driver Jan Kopecky European Champion. Last month in New Zealand, the MRF Rally drivers made the perfect start finishing 1-2 in the first round. Indian rallying champ Gaurav Gill took the honours after a 23 sec deficit on day 1 to win by 11 secs.

    With both drivers closely matched and MRF Rally tyres ideal for New Caledonia conditions, Skoda factory backed cars prepared by Race Torque engineering are confident heading into Round 2.

    Although twice a previous winner here, two of the stages are relatively new to Gill having been cancelled last year because of rain.  So for a greater part it is a level playing field with team mate Jan Kopecky who showed in New Zealand he was extremely competitive by leading for over half of the rally distance.

    Gaurav Gill was optimistic after winning last year. He commented, “I am thrilled to be back in New Caledonia with the MRF Tyres Skoda team. The stages will be slightly different this year with the roads been made wider and smoother and in most places it’s going to be faster than last year. Hopefully it will be dry this year. In New Caledonia it is important not to push too hard, it can be very tough on both drivers and cars and as the saying goes, first you must finish. Experience has taught me we don’t try to go faster we need to be more precise”.

    New Caledonia is nestled in the South West Pacific and surrounded by the most beautiful tropical lagoons however venture inland and you will find the rugged interior roads that can catch out even the most experienced driver

    The rally course is situated 50 kilometres to the north of the capital Noumea on mining and rural roads.  There is 235 km of high speed tests broken down into 17 stages, 3 stages repeated 3 times on Saturday and the course run again in reverse on Sunday.

    While the weather is normally fine and the temperature a balmy 25c this time of the year, rain can have a significant impact turning parts of the course into a skating rink.

    2014 Asia Pacific Rally Championship Points after first round

    (1) Gaurav Gill (IND) 38, (2) Kan Kopecky (CZE) 31, (3) Mark Pedder (AUS) 25

    Gaurav Gill in New Caledonia on Friday. An MRF image
    Gaurav Gill in New Caledonia on Friday. An MRF image

    eom/MRF Release from Adrenna Communications

  • Lohith Urs-Bonnie Thomas win INRC; Karamjit-Allen clinch APRC

    Pune, 5 Dec 2004: Ace Mysore driver Lohit Urs and Bonnie Thomas steered their Maruti Baleno to a stunning victory beating Team MRF’s Arjun Balu and co-driver Kumar Ramaswamy and excelled among the Indian drivers to clinch the top honours in the seventh round of th eIndian National Rally Championship (INRC), the MRF India Rally which was held concurrently with the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) here on Sunday.

    Ranjit Ballal and co-driver Venu Ramesh Kumar won the 1400cc class pushing aside Philippos Mathai and Ashwin Naik while Sandeep Sharma and Shrikanth GM won the Gypsy Cup beating Along Aier and co-driver Ashok Agarwal. Jasbir Singha and Jatinder Nath came first in the Rally Star Cup for novice drivers.

    Karamjit Singh of Malaysia, tackling tough terrain with ease, clocked 2 hours, 1 minute and 17.5 seconds to finish 29.8 seconds ahead of challenger Katsuhiko Taguchi and won the APRC Indian round. The Team Proton Pert driver efficiently managed to steer safely to the finish on a day when when three stages were cancelled in the MRF India Rally 2004, as a safety measure by the stewards. Drivers complained that non-rally vehicles and spectators and other village crowds were straying onto to the track in the closed Special Stages.

    Japanese driver Katsuhiko Taguchi of Team MRF Tyres timed 2:01:47 to take the Overall second position in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo8. He navigated the tricky terrain to be the only driver in APRC category to counter Karamjit in the 3 special stages at Tahir.

    Naren Kumar, along with co-driver D Ramkumar, who clocked 2:18:14, could only finish fourth in overall APRC classification, behind Karamjit, Katsuhiko and Geoffrey Argyle.

    “It took some time for me to get used to the car and thus finishing fourth in APRC is very satisfying,” said the to Indian ace Naren.

    Malaysian navigator, Allen Oh, who called the notes for the last time expressed mixed feelings about his retirement after this rally: “I am happy to be part of the winning team, at the same time sad that my last event as co-driver happened to be one of the worst.”

    Nazir Hoosein of MAI, the governing boday, said: “Allen is an experienced competitor and his partnership with Karamjit has been nothing short of phenomenal. So such opinions have to be respected and should act as a motivation for all of us.”

    The Head of the Indian federation also expressed apprehension that APRC may not be held in India next year. Nazir Hoosein, the vice-president of FIA and chairman of organising committee of the rally said: “We will request FIA to shift the rally dates in the calendar from December to February as it is the best month in India for good road conditions. If FIA agrees, the next APRC event can be held only in Feb but only in 2006.”

    Final Provisional Classification:

    APRC: 1. Karamjit Singh/ Allen Oh (Team Proton Pert) (2hours, 1min, 17.5sec); 2. Katsuhiko Taguchi/ Mark Stacey (MRF Tyres) (2:01:47); 3. Geoffrey Argyle/ Chris Cobham (Team Total Lubricants) (2:06:15); 4. Naren Kumar/ D Ramkumar (2:12:14); 5. Brian Green/ Fleur Pedersen (Team Total Lubricants) (2:18:54).

    INRC: 1. Lohith V Urs/ Bonnie Thomas (1:10:32); 2. Arjun Balu/ Kumar Ramaswamy (MRF Tyres) (1:11:05).

    1400cc: 1. Ranjith Ballal/ Ramesh Kumar; 2. Phillipos Mathai/ Ashwin Naik; 3. Jiby Maliakkal/ Nikhil Pai.

    Gypsy Cup: 1. Sandeep Sharma/ Srikanth GM; 2. Along Aier/ Ashok Agarwal; 3. Anil Wadia/ Satinder Singh.

    Rally Star Cup: 1. Jasbir Singh/ Jatinder Nath; 2. Nitin Batra/ Prashant Mehta.

  • Birthday boy Armin Kremer takes lead after Day 1: APRC

    Pune, 5 Dec 2003: Birthday boy Armin Kremer of Germany put his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7 in the lead on the opening day on Friday. Driving along with co-driver Fred Berssen for Team MRF Tyres, the duo emerged as the early leaders in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship conducted along with Indian National Rally Championship here on Friday.

    Kremer, the Group N (unmodified) 2003 APRC champion and the 2001 European champion, led Japan’s Fumio Nutahara (co-driver Satoshi Hayashi) by 66 points to 54, going into the MRF India Rally, the fifth and concluding round of the 2003 APRC series. Thus, he clinched the Group N title when Nutahara retiring after a crash in Special Stage-3.

    Kremer, who celebrated his 40th birthday on Thursday, topped the time charts at the end of Day One and with it earned three points for being the fastest in Leg 1. The three points saw him overhaul the overall championship leader, Geof Argyle (co-driver Steve Smith) of Racetech Seats, New Zealand, and lead by 46 points to 45.

    Argyle, driving a Group A Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 6.5, lost considerable time due to a puncture, a broken strut and an overheating engine that capped a rather disappointing outing as he returned to the cool of his hotel room without a point after finishing fifth in Leg 1.

    And in between, strong contenders Karamjit Singh and co-driver Allen Oh of Malaysia, driving a Group A Proton Pert for Team Petronas Eon Racing, had a puncture and lost two minutes in SS-5. In the process, Karamjit, had to concede the lead to Kremer who was ahead by a minute on Friday.

    “Yes, it is good to win the Group N championship, but Saturday would be crucial as I am sure, Karamjit will be pushing hard to make up time. A one-minute lead is nothing much and I need to drive well to hold off both Karamjit and Argyle,” said Kremer.

    Kremer too suffered a puncture in SS-3 but recovered fast to carry on his campaign. “I somehow managed to finish the Stage, but lost about 18 seconds due to the puncture,” Kremer, the 3-time German champion added.

    David Doppelreiter of Austria (co-driver Ola Floene of Norway), also of Team MRF Tyres, drove conservatively to finish Leg 1 fourth Overall and third in Group N, behind Kremer and Domenico Caldarola (co-driver Paolo Cecchni) of Italy.

    Karandip-Jaidas lead: In the MAI Indian National Rally Championship, the seventh and concluding round of the series, a lot of drivers failed to finish the day. Karandip Singh and co-driver Jaidas Menon of Team MRF, driving a Honda City V-tec, Overall first at the end of Leg 1 with a lead of over four minutes on second-placed Jiby Maliakkal and co-driver Nikhil Pai.

    Top guns like VR Naren Kumar and co-driver D Ramkumar, and his MRF team-mates N Leelakrishnan (Farooq Ahmed), Arjun Balu (Kumar Ramaswamy) and Vikram Mathias (Sujith Kumar), retire due to mechanical problems.

    Provisional/unaudited classifications after Leg 1 (90.08 Kms):

    APRC Overall: 1. Armin Kremer/ Fred Berssen (Team MRF Tyres) (1hr, 21mins, 34.9secs); 2. Karamjit Singh/ Allen Oh (Team Petronas Eon Racing) (1:22:34.9); 3. Domenico Caldarola/ Paolo Cecchini (1:23:14.5); 4. David Doppelreiter/ Ola Floene (Team MRF Tyres) (1:23:49.2); 5. Andrew Hawkeswood/ Paul Fallon (Force Motorsport Ltd) (1:26:08.1); 6. Geof Argyle/ Steve Smith (Team Racetech Seats) (1:30:30.3); 7. Chris Atkinson/ Ben Atkinson (Monster Sport Australia) (1:32:58.0); 8. Brian Green/ Fleur Pedersen (Team Racetech Seats) (1:33:38.8).

    APRC Group N: 1. Kremer/Berssen; 2. Caldarola/Cecchini; 3. Doppelreiter/Floene.

    Leg points: Kremer/Berssen 3 pts; Karamjit/Oh 2 pts; Caldarola/Cecchini 1 pt.

    MAI-INRC Overall: 1. Karandip Singh/ Jaidas Menon (Team MRF Tyres) (1:35:44.4); 2. Jiby Maliakkal/Nikhil Pai (1:40:31.2); 3. Lohit V Urs/ Musa Sherif (1:42:24.5); 4. Rahul Kantharaj/ Vivek Bhat (Team Movva) (1:47:08.7).

    Rally Star Cup: 1. Arjun Rao Aroor/ CK Chinnappa (Team Mandovi) (1:48:00.7); 2. Ranjit Ballal/ Shanmuga Nataraj (1:48:34.7); 3. Sanjay Agarwal/ Ashwin Naik (Team GMW) (1:50:28.9); 4. Prithveen Rajan/ Jay Kumar (1:52:37.3).