INDIA in F1

Tag: Blueband Sports

  • Karna Kadur, Musa Sherif clinch APRC Round 1, along with INRC for a grand double

    Karna Kadur, Musa Sherif clinch APRC Round 1, along with INRC for a grand double

    Chennai, 27 April 2025: After a lapse of three years, Bengaluru’s reigning National champion Karna Kadur of Arka Motorsports won a round of the FIA-Asia Pacific Rally Championship 2025 at the Madras International Circuit, here on Sunday.

    It was a near-flawless drive in the Volkswagen Polo by the 36-year-old Kadur who was greatly aided by his experienced co-driver Musa Sherif from Kasargod as the duo combined beautifully to also clinch the crown in the first round of the Blueband Fmsci Indian National Championship 2025.

    Finishing second in APRC was Kadur’s team-mate and England-based former National champion Amittrajit Ghosh (co-driver Ashwin Naik, Mangaluru) while Delhi’s Harkrishan Wadia (co-driver Harish KN, Bengaluru) completed the APRC podium after Philippos Matthai (Harish KN), who was running third, retired with a mechanical problem about five Kms from the finish of the day’s last Special Stage.

    Wadia, who drove brilliantly today, made a lot of ground to make up a two-minute penalty he had received yesterday for an early check-in at the Start Time Control to win the Junior APRC (28 years and younger) class ahead of overnight leader Arnav Pratap Singh (Rohit N) and Abhin Rai (Moideen Jasheer KM).   

    Kadur attributed his success to a judicial blend of caution and aggression. “After a long time, we had a trouble-free run. The car was great and just about everything fell into place. We had carefully planned our strategy, and it was executed flawlessly. We could have gone faster, but in view of the rising temperature, we had to exercise some caution. A few competitors suffered as they did not back off and having seen this, I kept something in reserve in case I needed to push hard. Anyway, it’s a good start to the season. Also, my co-driver Musa’s calls were spot-on, and it greatly helped,” he said.

    Ghosh had to overcome a misbehaving VW Polo which was put together about three days before the event after his Mahindra XUV 300 packed up during testing. “We had issues with the car throughout the weekend. Today, we lost the clutch, and it slowed us down. But considering everything, including having only a few days to prepare this VW Polo, we did pretty well.”

    Wadia could hardly believe his luck in finishing third in APRC and topping the INRC2 category. “The two-minute penalty I copped yesterday for early check-in at the start, hurt me a lot. Though I was on pace through the two days, two minutes kept getting added to my time. However, I guess, I got lucky in the end with Philippos retiring while I made 50-plus seconds on my rivals today.”

    Another notable performance came from Bengaluru-based Tarushi Vikram (Vybhav Mukund Rao) who took the honours in the Women INRC class, displaying good pace and control.

    Out of the 49 cars that started the rally, 13 cars failed to finish.

    Provisional Final classification:

    FIA-APRC (Asia Cup): 1. Kadur / Musa Sherif (Arka Motorsports) (02 hours, 03 mins, 44.0 secs); 2. Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik (Arka Motorsports) (02:04:35.8); 3. Harkrishan Wadia / Kunal Kashyap (Arka Motorsports) (02:07:38.5) (including 2min penalty).

    Junior APRC: 1. Harkrishan Wadia / Kunal Kashyap (Arka Motorsports) (02:07.38.5); 2. Arnav Pratap Singh / Rohit N (SNAP Racing) (02:09:25.9); 3. Abhin Rai/ Moideen Jasheer KM (Pvt.) (02:10:16.9).

    INRC Overall: 1. Kadur / Sherif; 2. Ghosh / Naik; 3. Fabid Ahmer / Milen George (Chettinad Sporting) (02:06:09.5).

    INRC1: 1. Kadur / Sherif; 2. Ghosh / Naik; 3. Suhem Kabeer / Vinay Padmashali (Pvt.) (02:12:15.2).

    INRC2: 1. Fabid Ahmer / Milen George (Chettinad Sporting) (02:06:09.5); 2. Pragathi Gowda/ Chandramouli M (Pvt.) (02:07:23.5); 3. Wadia / Kashyap;.

    INRC3: 1. Arnav Pratap Singh / Rohit N (SNAP Racing) (02:09:25.9); 2. Vishak B / Chiranth Jain (Chettinad Sporting) (02:09:27.4); 3. Abhin Rai / Moideen Jasheer KM (Pvt.) (02:10:16.9).

    INRC 3T (Turbo): 1. Ramcharan C / Vignesh Mahalingam (Falkon Motorsports) (03:15.3); 2. Naveen Puligilla / Santosh Ritchy Thomas (Pvt.) (02:28:34.9); 3. Jeet Jhabhak / Sekar V (Pvt.) (02:59:09.9).

    Women INRC: 1. Tarushi Vikram / Vybhav Mukund Rao (Chettinad Sporting) (02:17:07.0); 2. Phoebe Nongrum Dale / Nash Ross (Pvt.) (02:20:17.9); 3. Anushriya Gulati / Karan Aukta (Arka Motorsports) (02: 48:58.8).

    Junior INRC: 1. Abhin Rai / Moideen Jasheer (Pvt.) (02:10:16.9); 2. Ajay Shankar / Venu Ramesh Kumar (Falkon Motorsports) (02:11:47.0); 3. RB Kharbirymbai/ Dhanush CP (Snap Racing) (02:14:26.1).

    Fmsci Gypsy Challenge: 1. Sanjay Agarwal / Dheeraj Manae (Pvt.) (02:22:23.0); 2. Kariappa Mekerira / Supreeth Sagar (Pvt.) (02:24:49.7); 3. Pankaj Dutt / Jibran Ahmed (Pvt.) (02:33:15.9).

    Fmsci Classic Challenge: 1. Pramod Raman / Dheeraj KV (Pvt.) (02:21:01.0); 2. Siddhartha Santhosh / Sawan Satyanarayan (Pvt.) (02:22:13.6); 3. Satish P / Dr. Dinesh S (Pvt) (02:31:54.8).

  • Karna Kadur takes control of APRC with a comfortable lead: South India Rally

    Karna Kadur takes control of APRC with a comfortable lead: South India Rally

    Chennai, 26 April 2025: Bengaluru ace Karna Kadur came up with a mature drive to open a sizable lead in the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship promoted by Vamcy Merla which is part of the Indu Chandhok Memorial 48th South India Rally, here on Saturday. With only four Special Stages to be run on the morrow, Kadur and his co-driver Musa Sherif have victory in their sights.

    Kadur leads his Arka Motorsports team-mate and the Delhi-Himachal Pradesh combination of Harkrishan Wadia and Kunal Kashyap by over a minute. In third place is their team-mate and former National champion Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik) who nursed his patched-up Volkswagen Polo, a late replacement for his Mahindra XUV 300 which blew its engine during a test run a few days before the event.

    In the INRC category of the Blueband Fmsci Indian National Rally Championship Round-1 powered by Vamcy Merla, Kadur leads Ghosh with Suhem Kabeer (Vinay Padmashali) in third spot.

    About his performance today, Kadur said: “I was a bit conservative in the first loop, especially the first Special Stage (AAVISA) which had some small rocks on the road. In the second run, I did not hold back since I knew the terrain would have been swept clean by the cars. So, I was able to make over a minute on my own time. Tomorrow is another day, but I will try to hold position and push only if I must. The main goal is to bring the car home in one piece.”

    Two of the front-runners in the APRC, Jason Saldanha and Chetan Shivram had issues with their respective cars and lost time that saw them drop down the order. The other big disappointment was the retirement of Hyundai i20 which is making its debut in the Indian motorsports scene with Hyderabad’s Jeet Jhabakh packing up with a driveshaft problem but he is likely to rejoin the rally on Sunday, if the car is fully repaired.

    Meanwhile, the competition in the National championship was as razor sharp as ever with positions changing by the minute while Bengaluru-based Tarushi Vikram displayed impressive pace to lead the Women INRC class.

    Provisional, unaudited classifications (After Leg-1):

    FIA-APRC/Overall: 1. Karna Kadur / Musa Sherif (Arka Motorsports) (01 hr, 05 min, 25.4 secs); 2. Harkrishan Wadia / Kunal Kashyap (Arka Motorsports) (01:06:34.2); 3. Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik (Arka Motorsports) (01:06:39.8).

    INRC: 1. Kadur / Sherif; 2. Ghosh / Naik; 3. Suhem Kabir / Vinay Padmashali (Pvt.) (01:09:03.9).

    INRC2: 1. Wadia / Kashyap; 2. Philippos Matthai / Harish KN (Arka Motorsports) (01:06:51.3); 3. Fabid Ahmer / Milen George (Chettinad Sporting) (01:06:56.1).

    INRC3: 1. Arnav Pratap Singh / Rohit N (SNAP Racing) (01:07:37.8); 2. Vishak B / Chiranth Jain (Chettinad Sporting) (01:07:52.8); 3. Abin Rai / Moideen Jasheer KM (Pvt.) (01:08:34.1).

    INRC 3T (Turbo): 1. C Ramcharan / Vignesh Mahalingam (01:14:40.1).

    Women INRC: 1. Tarushi Vikram / Vybhav Mukund Rao (01:11:51.0).

  • Sizzling Gaurav Gill wins Robusta Rally, back in contention for INRC title

    Sizzling Gaurav Gill wins Robusta Rally, back in contention for INRC title

    Ammathi (Kodagu), 24 Nov. 2024:Seven times National champion Gaurav Gill displayed enough speed and skill to emerge triumphant in the Robusta Rally, the fifth and penultimate round of the Blueband Sports fmsci Indian National Rally Championship 2024 organised by Robusta Adventure and Sports Academy here, on Sanday.

    Notching up his second straight win after the success in the Rally of Hyderabad last month, Arjuna Awardee Gill, along with co-driver Aniruddha Rangnekar, was in superb form and exhibited controlled aggression on the final day for a comfortable win and bagged full 40 points.

    The win saw Gill drawing closer to table topper Karna Kadur (Musa Sherif) of Arka Motorsports, who finished second overall. 2021 champion Aditya Thakur (Virender Kashyap) upped the game in the last stage to pip local favourites Jason Saldanha (Thimmu Uddapanda) by a second to take overall third place.

    “It is a nice feeling to win back-to-back. I must thank my team, probably the smallest with just four mechanics, who have put in a lot of hard work to give me a perfect car. JK Tyre also deserves commendation for the tyres they specially developed for my car. I think I am getting better as a driver. I would say I was in total control in both Hyderabad and here. My first aim this season has been to bring the car home and I am happy that I managed to do that in two consecutive rallies this season.”

    Himachal Pradesh duo Aditya Thakur and Virender Kasyap won the INRC2 class beating the Karnataka pair of Jason Saldanha and Thimmu Uddapanda while Mangaluru’s Dean Mascarenhas (Gagan Karumbaiah) powered his way from 11th to third in the class.

    In INRC 3 class, Daraius Shroff (Mumbai) and Arjun Dheerendra of Chettinad Sporting, the championship leaders won by over a minute to stay at the top. Gurugram-Bengaluru pair of Arnav Pratap Singh and Rohin N of Snap Racing came second and Jeet Jhabakh of Hyderabad with Sekar of Erode as co-driver, also from Chettinad Sporting, pushed his way to the third place. Arnav Pratap also won the Junior INRC.

    Dehradun’s Anushriya Gulati (co-driver Karan Aukta) won the Ladies class followed by talented Nikeetaa Takkale (Raghuram Saminathan) in second and Shillong’s Phoebe Nongrum (Nash Ross).

    Provisional Final Results:

    INRC Overall:

    1. Gaurav Gill (privateers, Delhi)/ Anirudha Rangnekar (Pune) (01 hour, 40 minutes, 36.6 seconds);

    2. Karna Kadur (Arka Motorsports, Bengaluru)/ Musa Sherif (Kasargod) (01:41:57.0);

    3. Aditya Thakur (Chettinad Sporting Solan) / Virender Kashyap (Shimla) (01:44:27.3);

    INRC2:

    1. Aditya Thakur (Chettinad Sporting Solan) / Virender Kashyap (Shimla) (01:44:27.3);

    2. Jason Saldhanha (Arka Motorsports, Hassan)/ Thimmu Uddapanda (Kodagu) (01:44:28.5);

    3. Dean Mascarenhas (Pvt. Mangaluru)/ Gagan Karumbaiah (Virajpet) (01:44:51.8);

    INRC3:

    1. Daraius Shroff (Chettinad Sporting, Mumbai)/ Arjun Dheerendra (Bengaluru) (01:45.02.4);

    2. Arnav Pratap Singh (Snap Racing, Gurugram)/ Rohit N (Bengaluru) (01:46:10.3);

    3. Jeet Jhabakh (Chettinad Sporting, Hyderabad)/ V. Sekhar (Erode) (01:46:53.8);

    Ladies Class:

    1. Anushriya Gulati (Arka Motorsports, Dehradun)/ Karan Aukta (Jubbal) (01:52:20.9);

    2. Nikeetaa Takkale (Pvt, Pune)/ Raghuram Saminathan (Coimbatore) (01:55:07.3);

    3. Phoebe Nongrum (Snap Racing, Shillong)/ Nash Ross (Hyderabad) (02:05:49.0);

    Junior INRC:1. Arnav Pratap Singh (Snap Racing, Gurugram)/ Rohit N (Bengaluru) (01:46:10.3);

    2. Abhin R Rai/ Arvind Dheerendra (Ideal Racing, both Bengaluru) (01:47:53.2);

    3. Arjun Rajiv (Chettinadu Sporting)/ Vinay Padmashali (Both Bengaluru) (01:49:14.6);

  • Karna Kadur-Musa Sherif duo clinches Rally of Maharashtra in style: INRC Round 2

    Karna Kadur-Musa Sherif duo clinches Rally of Maharashtra in style: INRC Round 2

    Nashik, 2 June 2024: Bengaluru’s Karna Kadur, a two-time Overall National champion, along with experienced co-driver Musa Sherif, switched up gears and annexed the Rally of Maharashtra in style, as the second round of the Blueband Sports fmsci Indian National Rally Championship for four-wheelers successfully concluded here on Sunday.

    With seven-time National co-driver champion Musa Sherif calling the pace notes, Karna Kadur, trailing in third place by a good two minutes on Saturday, focussed on consistency and gained advantage with skilful driving to win the Overall honours on Sunday. Overnight leaderd, Fabid Ahmer and co-driver Milen George of Chettinad Sporting, lost over five minutes in Special Stage 9 which pushed them down to overall 8th place in the final standings.

    Karna Kadur, left, and Musa Sherif of Arka Motorsports, after winning the Rally of Maharashtra in Nashik on Sunday. INDIAinF1 photo by arrangement

    Kolkata-Mangaluru pair of Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik, a former two-time National champions, also managed to secure a well-deserved second place ahead of young guns Arnav Pratap Singh and Rohit N. Apart from a noteworthy Overall third, the New Delhi-Bengaluru duo from SNAP Racing topped their Class, INRC3.

    Kerala’s Fabid Ahmer and George Milen of Chettinad Sporting won the INRC2 class while talented lady driver Pragathi Gowda came second. Pragathi roped in co-driver Sujith Kumar BS, a veteran multiple National champion and sports administrator, who sat for stand-alone rally. Pragathi’s regular navigator, Trisha Alonkar, is recovering after a surgery. Privateers Shaik Hussain Pasha and co-driver Roshan Claver Crasta won the Classic class while Arnav Pratap Singh also bagged the Junior INRC. Nikeeta Takkale of Pune and co-driver Shivani Parmar of Mumbai won the Ladies class while Baljinder Singh Dhillon and Goutham CP clinched the Gypsy Challenge.

    The four stages today were completed by 11 O’clock and provided enough challenges for the drivers on the tarmac roads which were broken and narrow at many places. Of the 53 cars, 13 logged DNF.

    From left: Premnath K Promoter presenting trophy to Karna Kadur while Ashwin Pandit, right, CoC and founder of WISA presenting trophy to Musa Sherif, co-driver.

    Provisional Unaudited Overall classification (final)

    1. #3 Karna Kadur/ Musa Sherif (Arka Motorsports) 01hours, 47 minutes; 52.9seconds;

    2. #11 Amittrajit Ghosh/ Ashwin Naik (AART) 01:49:08.0;

    3. #43 Arnav Pratap Singh/ Rohit N (SNAP Racing) 01:49:29.2;

    4. #5 Jeet Jabhakh/ V Sekar (Chettinad Sporting) 01:49:45.5;

    5. #17 Daraius Shroff /Arjun Dheerendra (Chettinad Sporting) 01:49:53.6;

    6. #21 Dean Mascarenhas/ Gagan Karubaiah (DB Motorsport) 01:50:08.7;

    7. #40 Abhin Rai/ Moideen Jasher (IDR)  01:50:14.9;

    8. #29 Fabid Ahmer/ George Milen (Chettinad Sporting) 01:51:10.7;

    9. #49  Nikhil J/ Arvind Dheerendra (Pvt.) 01:54:23.5;

    10. #23 Pragathi Gowda/ Sujith BS (Chettinad Sporting) 1:59:32.1;

    INRC 2

    1. #29 Fabid Ahmer/ George Milen (Chettinad Sporting) 01:51:10.7;

    2. #23 Pragathi Gowda /Sujith Kumar BS (Chettinad Sporting) 01:59:32.1;

    3. #16 Yashas M Nayaka/ Sudhindra BG (Pvt.) 01:59:40.5;

    Pragathi Gowda and co-driver Sujith Kumar in action at Nashik. Photo courtesy Sujith FB

    INRC3

    Arnav Pratap Singh and co-driver Rohit N, who won INRC3 in action. Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan

    1. #43 Arnav Pratap Singh/ Rohit N (SNAP Racing) 01:49:29.2;

    2. #5 Jeet Jabhakh/ V Sekar (Chettinad Sporting) 01:49:45.5;

    3. #17 Daraius Shroff /Arjun Dheerendra (Chettinad Sporting) 01:49:53.6;

    Gypsy Challenge

    1 #45 Baljinder Singh Dhillon/ Goutham CP (Pvt.) 01:58:12.3;

    2. #52 Dr Akarsh Sundar/ Ravi Kumar (A & A Motorsports) 01:59:07.7;

    3. #37 Sachin Singh/ Prakash M(Pvt.) 02:04:25.5;

    Classic

    1. #55 Shaik Hussain Pasha/ Roshan Claver Crasta (Pvt.) 02:27:50.9;

    2. #45 Aneeshnath S/ Amitha Aneesh (A&A Motorsports) 02:42:22.5;

    Junior INRC

    1. #43 Arnav Pratap Singh/ Rohit N (SNAP Racing) 01:49:29.2;

    2. #40 Abhin Rai/ Moideen Jasher (IDR)  01:50:14.9;

    3. #42 Nikeeta Takkale/ Shivani Parmar (Pvt.)  02:00.17.5;

    Ladies Class

    1. #42 Nikeeta Takkale/ Shivani Parmar (Pvt.)  02:00.07.5;

    2. #34 Phoebe Nongrum/ Rahul Sancheti (SNAP Racing) 02:05:24.4;

    3. #14 Harshitha Gowda/ M Srivatsa (A & A Motorsports) 02:19:26.7;

    eom

  • Fabid Ahmer steals the lead on Day 2: INRC Round 2, Nashik

    Fabid Ahmer steals the lead on Day 2: INRC Round 2, Nashik

    Nashik, 1 June 2024: Ace Kerala driver Fabid Ahmer and co-driver Milen George of Chettinad Sporting, shod on MRF Tyres, stormed to the front after a tough day that saw Arjuna Awardee Gaurav Gill and defending champion Aroor Arjun Rao suffer casualties in the Rally of Maharashtra, the second round of the Blueband fmsci Indian National Rally Championship here on Saturday.

    Fabid Ahmer, a talented driver, who lost course in the last couple of years due to mechanical failures and punctures, is back on track with a measured performance in Red colours, to take the Overall lead on Day 1. The Kerala duo also topped their class INRC2. With a healthy lead of over one minute, Fabid, who narrowly missed the national championship, a couple of years back, looks good to challenge the title this year.

    Aroor Arjun Rao was fastest in the first stage of the Day (SS2) but soon he went out. Then Fabid Ahmer was fastest in three stages today. While Harkrishan Wadi set the fastest time in SS5, the fourth stage today, Amittrajit Ghosh, topped the timesheets in the last stage of the day.

    Crowds watching the Rally of Maharashtra. INDIAinF1 photo

    Fast-improving Sardarji, Harkrishan Wadi and Kunal Kashyap of Arka Motorsports, who were threatening to topple the best, clocked the second best Overall time once again and will fight for the win till the end, with four more stages left on Sunday. Former Overall champions Karna Kadur, who had the privilege of the best navigator in the field, Musa Sherif, notched up a hard-fought Overall third placing with four stages still to go. Following Fabid, Harkrishan is trailing in second place in INRC 2 class and Ramcharan is in third place. If Ramcharan can retain his place on the last day tomorrow, it would be a good maiden result for him and experienced navigator Jeevarathinam.

    Pragathi Gowda to trail behind Nikeetaa (not in pic) in Ladies Class. She had co-driver Sujith Kumar, who is making a comeback after several years. Her regular co-driver Trisha Alonkar recently underwent a surgery and is still recovering. Photo courtesy Sujith BS

    In INRC 3 class, Ajay Sankar and Nitharshan (Mandovi Racing) were leading the class. Hyderabad’s racing driver, who shifted to rallying recently, Jeet Jabhakh and co-driver V Sekar from Chettinad Sporting are placed second. Skilled youngster Arjun Rajiv is trailing in third behind. Along with Mysore’s Vinay Padmashali as co-driver, the Bengaluru driver needs to up the game tomorrow as the three are within 10 seconds. Arnav Paratp Singh, Abin Rai and Daraious Shroff are all behind them within 30 seconds..

    Baljinder Singh Dhillon and co-driver Goutham CP topped the Gypsy class at the end of Day 2 followed by Dr Akarsh Sundar and Ravi Kumar. Privateer veteran Sanjay Agarwal and Dheeraj Manae are placed third after Leg 1. The Classic class saw only two finishers on the day.

    A rare photo of three cars of a rally in one frame. INDIAinF1 image

    Of the 53 cars that took the start on Day 2 on Saturday, 23 cars suffered retirements. However, 17 will take the restart on the final day on Sunday. Gaurav Gill, Jehaan Gill, Aditya Thakur, Anushriya Gulati, Naveen Puligilla and Praveen Dwarakanath logged DNF (Did Not Finish). Chandan Gowda was out dut to MPL.

    The Rally of Maharashtra run on tarmac and broken tarmac roads provided a completely virgin stages that were not run previously in the INRC which ran till 2016. The stages were run in Nashik and Palghar Districts, close to the areas of Jyotirlinga temple and Trimbakeshwar. These new stages offered extremely challenging terrain and put the crews and machines to the highest test. The scorching heat also exhausted the man and machines and high competition is set for Sunday.

    A vantage point for spectators to watch cars perform from close quarters.

    Provisional Results: Overall: After Leg 1 (Day 2):

    1. #29 Fabid Ahmer/ George Milen (Chettinad Sporting) 01hours, 07 minutes; 05.8seconds;

    2. #69 Harkrishan Wadia/ Kunal Kashyap (Arka Motorsports) 01:08:08.8;

    3. #3 Karna Kadur/ Musa Sherif (Arka Motorsports) 01:09:20.1;

    4. #11 Amittrajit Ghosh/ Ashwin Naik (AART) 01:09:55.6;

    5. #36 Ajay Sankar/ Nitharshan (Mandovi Racing) 01:10:00.0;

    6. #5 Jeet Jabhakh/ V Sekar (Chettinad Sporting) 01:10:09.8;

    7. #7 Arjun Rajiv/ Vinay Padmashali (Chettinad Sporting) 01:10:13.8;

    8. #43 Arnav Pratap Singh/ Rohit N (SNAP Racing) 01:10:38.4;

    9. #40 Abhin Rai/ Moideen Jasher (IDR)  01:10:46.0;

    10. #17 Daraius Shroff /Arjun Dheerendra (Chettinad Sporting) 01:11:05.0;

    INRC 2

    1. #29 Fabid Ahmer/ George Milen (Chettinad Sporting) 01: 07: 05.8;

    2. #69 Harkrishan Wadia/ Kunal Kashyap (Arka Motorsports) 01:08:08.8;

    3. #33 Ramcharan C/ Jeevarathinam (Pvt.) 01:15:09.0;

    INRC3

    1. #36 Ajay Sankar/ Nitharshan (Mandovi Racing) 01:10:00.0;

    2. #5 Jeet Jabhakh/ V Sekar (Chettinad Sporting) 01:10:09.8;

    3. #7 Arjun Rajiv/ Vinay Padmashali (Chettinad Sporting) 01:10:13.8;

    Junior INRC

    1. #36 Ajay Sankar/ Nitharshan (Mandovi Racing) 01:10:00.0;

    2. #7 Arjun Rajiv/ Vinay Padmashali (Chettinad Sporting) 01:10:13.8;

    3. #43 Arnav Pratap Singh/ Rohit N (SNAP Racing) 01:10:38.4;

    Ladies Class

    1. #42 Nikeeta Takkale/ Shivani Parmar (Pvt.)  01:16.33.7;

    2. Pragathi Gowda /Sujith Kumar BS (Chettinad Sporting) 01:19:07.6;

    3. Phoebe Nongrum/ Rahul Sancheti (SNAP Racing) 01:20:52.6

    Gypsy Challenge

    1. #45 Baljinder Singh Dhillon/ Goutham CP (Pvt.) 01:15:44.7;

    2. #52 Dr Akarsh Sundar/ Ravi Kumar (A & A Motorsports) 01:15:48.4;

    3. #37 Sanjay Agarwal / Dheeraj Manae (Pvt.) 01:16:11.9;

    Classic

    1. #55 Shaik Hussain Pasha/ Roshan Claver Crasta (Pvt.) 01:33:06.3;

    2. #45 Aneeshnath S/ Amitha Aneesh (A&A Motorsports) 01:45:51.5;

    (Note: Car number is given after position number)

  • Gaurav Gill tops time-sheets on tarmac Super Special: INRC Nashik rally

    Gaurav Gill tops time-sheets on tarmac Super Special: INRC Nashik rally

    Nashik, 31 May 2024: Arjuna Awardee and three-time APRC winner Gaurav Gill, along with co-driver Aniruddh Rangnekar topped the timesheets with a blistering run in the Super Special Stage in the Rally of Maharashtra, the second round of the Blueband fmsci Indian National Rally Championship here on Friday.

    A total of 53 cars, including a guest driver in Daksh Gill, took the start in Triple S. There are six cars led by Gaurav Gill in the top INRC class. Western Indian Sports Association, popular as WISA, is conducting an INRC round after 2016. The outfit headed by Ashwin Pandit boasts of a dedicated team and is known to excel in good organisation and conduct of the rally both for the drivers and spectators.

    The Delhi daredevil, Gill, has been going through a difficult period for want of a well-prepared machine, has recently partnered with a new co-driver in Pune’s Aniruddh Rangnekar and is raring to go in one of his favourite destinations on tarmac at the Nashik rally, which is held on picturesque foothills of Sahayadri hill ranges. Backed by JK Tyre, the seven-time INRC overall champion, Gill, showed glimpses of his prowess on tarmac clocking more than six seconds faster time than the nearest rival Mangalore’s Aroor Arjun Rao and co-driver Satish Rajagopal of Bengaluru, the defending champions. Rao and Rajagopal of Mandovi Racing team, did well to beat seasoned Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik to third, while INRC 3 driver Arnav Pratap Singh along with Rohit N came a stunning fourth in the Overall classification and first in his class, INRC 3.

    Jason Saldanha and Thimmu Uddapanda topped the INRC 2 class and also came a creditable sixth in Overall classification after the 2.10km Super Special Stage. Pragathi Gowda in MRF colours, along with new co-driver Sujith Kumar BS came second in the INRC2 class. Trisha Alonkar, her regular navigator, who underwent a surgery recently is still under recovery and rehab. Delhi’s Philippos Matthai and PVS Murthy, also in MRF colours, were third today, but are expected to give a fight on the actual stages from tomorrow.

    Defending champions Aroor Arjun Rao and Satish Rajagopal were second fastest in the Super Special Stage at Nashik on Friday. Photos by Srinivasa Krishnan
    Arnav Pratap Singh and Rohit N were a creditable overall fourth and also topped their class INRC 3. Super Special Stage is a short 2.10km tarmac sprint that is designed to attract spectators.

    In INRC3, Arnav Pratap Singh and co-driver Rohit N came out triumphant setting the top time while another youngster Arjun Rajiv along with Vinay Padmashali were second. Venunath V and Arun V were third fastest in the Super Special.

    Veteran Sanjay Agarwal and co-driver Dheeraj Manae clocked the top time in the Gypsy class.

    Former champions Aditya Thakur and Virender Kashyap during SSS.
    Philippos Matthai and PVS Murthy, overall 8th in Triple S.

    Including a liaison distance of about 263 km, the total rally distance will be 384.35km. There will be three Special Stages namely, Amboli which is 5.96km long, Dandwal, 22.25km, the longest stage and Poshera stage of 9.31km. All the three stages will be run twice on Saturday. On Sunday, Amboli will be run twice and the two other stages will be run once each making it 10 special stages. This year, there will be no INRC 4 category but NR4 class is included. Since the wear and tear is expected to be negligible on a tarmac stage, Amboli will be run four times with special permission. That will make the rally meet the required distance of Special Stages.

    As the real test begins tomorrow, another 118.52km of Special Stage distance needs to be conquered on Saturday and Sunday to claim the honours.

    Pragathi Gowda and Sujith Kumar BS, who is sitting for injured Trisha Alonkar, did well in MRF Colours to take the 7th spot in Triple S. The times are only ornamental in nature as real battles start on Saturday. PHOTOS by Srinivasa Krishnan
    Dean Mascarenhas and Gagan Karumbaiah during SSS.

    Provisional SSS Results: Overall:

    1. #4 Gaurav Gill/Aniruddh Rangnekar 1min, 34.5seconds;

    2. #1 Aroor Arjun Rao/Satish Kumar Rajagopal 1:40.7;

    3. #11 Amittrajit Ghosh/ Ashwin Naik 1:42.3;

    4. #43 Arnav Pratap Singh/ Rohit N 1:44.8;

    5.#31  Younus Ilyas/ Nitin Jacob 1:44.9;

    6. #9 Jason Saldanha/ Thimmu Uddapanda 1:45.9;

    7. #23 Pragathi Gowda/ Sujith Kumar 1:46.0;

    8. #64 Philippos Matthai/ PVS Murthy 1:46.8;

    9. #7 Arjun Rajiv/ Vinay Padmashali 1:47.0;

    10. #26 Jahaan Singh Gill/ Suraj Keshav Prasad 1:47.2;

    INRC

    1. #4 Gaurav Gill/Aniruddh Rangnekar 1min, 34.5seconds;

    2. #1 Aroor Arjun Rao/Satish Kumar Rajagopal 1:40.7;

    3. #11 Amittrajit Ghosh/ Ashwin Naik 1:42.3;

    INRC 2

    1. #9 Jason Saldanha/ Thimmu Uddapanda 1:45.9;

    2. #23 Pragathi Gowda/ Sujith Kumar 1:46.0;

    3. #64 Philippos Matthai/ PVS Murthy 1:46.8;

    INRC3

    1. #43 Arnav Pratap Singh/ Rohit N 1:44.8;

    2.  #7 Arjun Rajiv/ Vinay Padmashali 1:47.0;

    3. #41 Venunath V/ Arun V 1:47.7;

    Gypsy Challenge

    1. #47 Sanjay Agarwal/ Dheeraj Manae 2:00.3;

    2. #52 Dr Akarsh Sundar/ Ravi Kumar 2:03.4;

    3. #45 Baljinder Singh Dhillon/ Goutham CP 2:04.5;

    Classic

    1. #44 Praveen Dwarakanath/ Kariappa KB 2:05.0;

    2. #45 Aneeshnath S/ Amitha Aneesh 2:08.4;

    3. #55 Shaik Hussain Pasha/ Roshan Claver Crasta 2:13.3;

    ends

  • Harkrishan-Kunal clinch the victory in APRC Asia Cup; claim INRC hattrick of wins

    Harkrishan-Kunal clinch the victory in APRC Asia Cup; claim INRC hattrick of wins

    Chennai, 17 March 2024: On a day of drama, Delhi’s Harkrishan Wadia (co-driver Kunal Kashyap, Himachal) of Arka Motorsports emerged champions in the 47th MMSC South India Rally, the first round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) Asia Cup round and the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) here on Sunday.

    Wadia and Kashyap, who won the last two rounds in the 2023 calendar, made it a hattrick of wins in the INRC and also won the prestigious APRC round even as several leading title contenders retired due to various issues with their vehicles.

    Wadia not only topped the round of AVT Gold Cup FIA APRC-Asia Cup but also the season-opener of the Blueband Fmsci Indian National Rally Championship 2024 besides taking the P1 spot in the INRC 2 category for a triple crown.

    His main rivals in Asia Cup, SIDVIN-MRF Tyres sponsored Bengaluru pair of Pragathi Gowda and co-driver Trisha Alonkar, in a Subaru Impreza 4-wheel drive car whose windshield was shattered when hit by a stone thrown by a miscreant in the penultimate Stage, failed to finish as they ran out of fuel two Kms from the finish of the three-day event’s last stage.

    Consequently, second spot went to Hyderabad pair of Naveen Puligilla and co-driver Santosh Thomas with Coimbatore’s Ramcharan C (co-driver Jeevarathinam, Bengaluru) of Arka Motorsports completing the podium. Only three of the nine starters in the Asia Cup completed the event.

    Former World Rally champion (Production Cars), Karamjit Singh from Malaysia who is training Pragathi, was a shattered man. “We lost P2 in the Asia Cup. We are still figuring out how they ran out of fuel, but on the positive side, I am happy at the progress Pragathi made in the past one week. She was stepping up the pace Stage by Stage and getting comfortable with the car. She has a lot of talent and potential,” said Karamjit.

    In the National Championship, Wadia won the Overall and INRC 2 titles with overnight leader Himachal’s Aditya Thakur and co-driver Virender Kashyap (Chettinad Sporting) were docked a 30-second penalty for late check-in as they stopped to repair a damaged exhaust pipe after completing a Stage, and had to be content finishing second in INRC Overall and INRC 2 categories.

    Earlier, overnight leader in the Asia Cup, Aroor Arjun Rao (co-driver Satish Rajagopal) of Mandovi Racing, packed up after the day’s first Stage when he lost power steering. Also retiring was Day-1 leader Dean Mascarenhas (co-driver Gagan Karumbaiah) of DB Motorsport due to a fuel pump issue in the day’s penultimate Stage.

    Harkrishan, son of former Rally ace Anil Wadia, could barely stop smiling. “I pushed hard today as I had to make some time. The car was great and I am thankful to MRF Tyres for all the support. I made just one mistake when I overran a corner, but fortunately, it did not impact my position on the leaderboard. Overall, a good start to the season.”

    A dejected Thakur rued that he slipped to second after looking primed to win. “We had an exhaust issue. So, after SS-11, we stopped on the transport section to carry out some running repairs. It cost us time and we had to take a 30-second penalty for check-in at the next Time Control. We are extremely disappointed but hope to do better in the next round,” said Thakur.

    Kerala’s Vishak Balachandran (co-driver Anil Abbas), supported by MRF Tyres, took the honours in the INRC 3 while Shillong’s Phoebe Nongrum (co-driver Nash Ross, Hyderabad) of SNAP Racing, topped the Women INRC category with two front runners, Anushriya Gulati and Tarushi Vikram retired with mechanical problems. MRF Tyres-backed Arjun Rajiv from Bengaluru (co-driver Vinay Padmashali, Mysuru) of Chettinad Sporting drove well to clinch the title in the Junior INRC category.

    Delhi’s Baljinder Singh Dhillon (co-driver CP Gautam, Chikkamagaluru) emerged on top in the Fmsci Challenge Gypsy Cup.

    Of the 51 crews who started the Rally, 23 retired. The second round of the INRC is scheduled to be held in Nashik from May 31 to June 2.  

    Provisional final results:

    FIA APRC-Asia Rally Cup:

    1. Harkrishan Wadia (Delhi) / Kunal Kashyap (Himachal) (Arka Motorsports) (02Hrs, 04mins, 59.8secs); 2. Naveen Puligilla / Santosh Thomas (both Hyderabad) (Pvt.) (02:15:22.0); 3. Ramcharan C (Coimbatore) / Jeevarathinam (Bengaluru) (Arka Motorsports) (02:17:24.1).

    Blueband Indian National Rally Championship:

    INRC Overall: 1. Harkrishan Wadia (Delhi) / Kunal Kashyap (Himachal) (Arka Motorsports) (02:04:59.8); 2. Aditya Thakur / Virender Kashyap (both Himachal) (Chettinad Sporting) (02:05:05.0); 3. Vishak Balachandran (Thiruvananthapuram) / Anil Abbas (Ernakulam) (Chettinad Sporting) (02:10:02.6).

    INRC 2: 1. Harkrishan Wadia / Kunal Kashyap (02:04:49.8); 2. Aditya Thakur / Virender Kashyap (02:05:05.0); 3. Naveen Puligilla / Santosh Thomas (02:15:22.0).

    INRC 3: 1. Vishak Balachandran / Anil Abbas (02:10:02.6); 2. Daraious Shroff (Mumbai) / Srikanth Gowda (Chikkamagaluru) (Chettinad Sporting) (02:10:48.1); 3. Samrat Yadav (Chandigarh) / Arvind Dheerendra (Bengaluru) (Pvt.) (02:11:48.2).

    Junior INRC (2 finishers): 1. Arjun Rajiv (Bengaluru) / Vinay Padmashali (Mysuru) (Chettinad Sporting) (02:13:47.9); 2. Ajay Shankar (Kollam)/ S Nitharshan (Kallakurichi) (Mandovi Racing) (02:14:00.0).

    Women INRC (2 finishers): 1. Phoebe Nongrum (Shillong) / Nash Ross (Hyderabad) (Snap Racing) (02:28:27.4); 2. Harshitha Gowda (Bengaluru)/ Vignesh Mahalingam (Coimbatore) (Pvt.) (02:45:42.8).

    Fmsci Gypsy Challenge: 1. Baljinder Singh Dhillon (Delhi) / Goutham CP (Chikkamagaluru) (Pvt.) (02:21:51.9); 2. Dr Akarsh Sundar (Chikkamagaluru)/ Ravi Kumar (Bengaluru) (Pvt.) (02:24:45.7); 3. Jayanth Somanathan / R Rajashekar (Both Bengaluru) (Pvt.) (02:24:51.9).

  • Kelam coconut stage makes it tough for the drivers: A photo gallery

    Kelam coconut stage makes it tough for the drivers: A photo gallery

    As the Indian National Rally Championship enters its 37th year, the South India Rally provides the season opening thrills by adding another car-breaking stage Kelam, that provided colour to the images with coconut trees everywhere. The bright and beautuful gypsies had their day while many took it easy in the new stage that promises to be better next year.

    Here are some images from our celebrated motorsports photographers:

    Srinivasa Krishnan Insta: @srinivasakrishnan

    Adithya Thakur
    Anushriya Gulati. Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan
    Young turk Arjun Rajiv. Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan
    Defending champion Aroor Arjun Rao, who crashed out on Sunday. Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan
    Veteran evergreen driver Sanjay Agarwal thrills the sparce crowd with a brilliant jump. Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan

    Photos by Samuel Rajkumar, www.AceImages.in

    Pre-event favourite Karna Kadur and Musa Sherif packed off on Day 2 due to gear box issues. Photo by Samuel Rajkumar
    Maninder Singh Prince, had his moments before lady luck deserted him. Photo by Samuel Rajkumar
    Dean Mascarenhas, who led the field after Day 1 displaying some stunning speed was hit with mechanical issues on Day 2. Photo by Samuel Rajkumar
    The Monster! The car built by APRC legend Possum Bourne and driven by World champion in Production cars Karamjit Singh of Malaysia, who is currently mentoring Pragathi Gowda and Trisha Alonkar in their Subaru Impreza #23 at MIC on Friday. Photo by Samuel Rajkumar

    Photos by Karan Ravi, the young motorsports photographer:

    Arnav Pratap Singh and Rohit flying in the track stage on Saturday. Photo by Karan Ravi
    Arjun Rajiv, the youngest driver in the INRC kicks up dust at the MIC track stage. Photo by Karan Ravi
    Asia Pacific Rally Championship Asia Cup leg comes to India again. Photo by Karan Ravi
    Blueband Sports, the Promoters’ branding at the Track stage
    Starting point for the Track stage. Photo by Karan Ravi
    Aroor Vikram Rao. Photo by Karan Ravi
    Harkrishan Wadia, who won back to back rallies towards the end of 2023 is going great guns. Photo by Karan Ravi
    Clean and calm driving from the Polo Cup racing champ from Hyderabad. He could not resist jumping into the rally car after he drove the Zero car faster than the rest, at the sanghi stages last year… He is now gunning for a podium in his class INRC3. Photo by Karan Ravi
    Refuelling station all set for action on Day 2. Photo by Karan Ravi
    Baljinder Singh Dhillon and Goutham CP, the Delhi-Chikkamagaluru combo in a gypsy running for a podium finish. Photo by Karan Ravi
    With JK Tyre pulling out of full-time sponsorship of Rally cars, Maninder Singh Prince remains the lone warrior flying the yellow colours. Photo by Karan Ravi
  • Philippos Matthai wins INRC2, claims stunning overall 2nd; Third win for Aroor Arjun Rao

    Philippos Matthai wins INRC2, claims stunning overall 2nd; Third win for Aroor Arjun Rao

    Coimbatore, 30 July 2023: Philippos Matthai, the Delhi Daredevil from Team Speedsport, claimed a stunning victory in the INRC2 class and finished ahead of many higher-spec cars with an Overall second, even as Aroor Arjun Rao continued his winning spree in the top Overall class annexing the Rally of Coimbatore, the third round of the Blueband fmsci Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) 2023 for four-wheelers which concluded here at the Kethanur Windmill farms on Sunday.

    Hat-trick of INRC wins: Aroor Arjun Rao and Sathish Rajagopal en route to a big win in the Rally of Coimbatore at the Kethanur Windmill farms on Sunday. Photo by Rahul Reghu

    Team Mandovi Racing’s Aroor Arjun Rao with co-driver Satish Rajagopal put in a consistent performance to notch up his third Overall victory in as many rounds and retained his Championship lead while Philippos Matthai and co-driver PV Srinivasa Murthy in a Volkswagen Polo prepared by Leelakrishnan of Arka Motorsports powered to the top of the podium winning INRC2 and beat all the other top-spec INRC cars except that of Arjun Rao in the Overall standings. In the last round in Arunachal Pradesh, Philippos finished second in INRC2 and came Overall 5th after a forgettable first round in the South India Rally where he was forced to pullout within 2-km of the finish due to mechanical problems while leading second Overall.

    Pre-event favourites Arjun Awardee Gaurav Gill (Aniruddha Rangnekar) and defending champion Karna Kadur (Nikhil Pai) failed to finish the rally.

    “With a calculated strategy we garnered as many points as possible in the previous two rallies and our consistent and steady performance helped as we are back on the top in our class. I am very happy and with three more rallies to go, our target is to win the championship,” said the 39-year four-time National champion in different motorsports disciplines. The lawyer by education and car-builder and rally driver by passion, Philippos is remembered for driving the medical chase car at the F1 Grands Prix races held at Buddh International Circuit in 2012 and 2013.

    Philippos Matthai and PVS Murthy in the windmill section… Photo by Rahul Reghu

    Talented Chandigarh driver Jahaan Singh Gill along with Suraj Keshav Prasad won the INRC3 class ahead of Jason Saldanha of Mangaluru with co-driver Thimmu Uddapanda, who last week got on to the podium of RAAT the Rally of Thailand in their class.

    Aroor Arjun Rao, left, and Sathish Rajagopal, after sweeping all the three rounds, celebrate in Coimbatore on Sunday. Supplied photo

    Ruthuparna Vivek and co-driver Athreya Kousgi claimed INRC4 category beating Shirole Prakhyat and Bharath SM by a huge distance. Behind them the Chikkamagaluru paid of Prajwal HM and Vinay SM finished in third place.

    Dehradun’s Anushriya Gulati with a new co-driver in Sherwin Dalmeida of Managaluru won the Ladies class. Representing Dark Don Rallying, the duo had a huge lead over second-placed Nikeetaa Takkale (Venu Ramesh Kumar). Mumbai’s Shivani Parmar and Bengaluru”s Arjun Dheerendra of Chettinad Sporting finished third.

    Provisional Results:  Final Unaudited Classification:

    Overall: 1. Aroor Arjun Rao, Mangaluru / Satish Rajagopal, Bengaluru (Mandovi Racing) 1:53:48.4;

    2. Philippos Matthai, Delhi/ PVS Murthy, Bengaluru (Arka Motorsports) 1: 54:20.0;

    3. Amittrajit Ghosh, Kolkata/ Ashwin Naik, Mangaluru (Arka Motorsports) 1: 54: 31.1;

    INRC:

    1. Aroor Arjun Rao, Mangaluru / Satish Rajagopal, Bengaluru (Mandovi Racing) 1:53:48.4;

    2. Amittrajit Ghosh, Kolkata/ Ashwin Naik, Mangaluru (Arka Motorsports) 1: 54: 31.1.

    3. Rahul Kanthraj Vivek Y Bhatt (Both Bengaluru) (Arka Motorsports) 1: 55: 39.1;

    INRC2:

    1. Philippos Matthai, Delhi/ PVS Murthy, Bengaluru (Arka Motorsports) 1: 54:20.0;

    2. Fabid Ahmer/ Sanath G, both Palakkad (Chettinad Sporting)  1:54:37.7;

    3. Dr Bikku Babu / Milen George, Both Ernakulam, (Chettinad Sporting) 1:55.00.3;

    INRC3:

    1. Jahan Singh Gill, Chandigarh/ Suraj Keshav Prasad, Bengaluru (Snap Racing) 1:55:37.6;

    2. Jason Saldanha, Bengaluru/ Thimmu Uddapanda, Coorg(Dark Don Rallying) 1: 55:45.3;

    3. Daraious Shroff, Mumbai/ Shahid Salman, Bengaluru(Chettinad Sporting) 1:57:04.5.

    INRC4:

    1. Ruthuparna Vivek/ Athreya Kousgi, Privateers, both Chikkamagaluru 2: 03:10.5;

    2. Shirole H Prakhyat/ Bharath SM, Both Bengaluru, 2:06:32.6;

    3. Prajwal HM/ Vinay SM, pvt, both Chikkamagaluru, 2:12:40.6;

    Gypsy: 

    1. Darshan Nachappa/ Abhinav Ganapathy (Both Coorg) Ammyfied Rallying, 2:06:10.7;

    2. Abhishek Gowda, Chikkamagaluru/ Dheeraj Manae, Pvt, Bengaluru 2:07:29.6;

    3.Jayanth Somanathan/ R Rajashekar, Pvt,  2:12:16.0.

    Ladies class:

    1. Anushriya Gulati, Dehradun/ Sherwin Dalmeida, Mangaluru, (Dark Don Rallying) (1:49:14.2);

    2. Nikeetaa Takkale, Pune/ Venu Ramesh Kumar, Coimbatore (Ammyfied Rallying) (2:02:18.4);

    3. Shivani Parmar, Mumbai/ Arjun Dheerendra, Bengaluru (Chettinad Sporting) (2:22:47.0).

    Junior INRC:

    1. Jahan Singh Gill, Chandigarh/ Suraj Keshav Prasad, Bengaluru (Snap Racing) (1:55:37.6);

    2. Ajay Sankar, Kollam/ Nitharshan, Kollakurichi, pvt, (1:59:21.7);

    3. Nikeetaa Takkale, Pune/ Venu Ramesh Kumar, Coimbatore (Ammyfied) 2:02:18.4);

    (Note: Results corrected after release of Official results)

  • Gaurav Gill raring to go; Arjun Rao keen to keep the lead; 23 Ammyfied cars

    Gaurav Gill raring to go; Arjun Rao keen to keep the lead; 23 Ammyfied cars

    Coimbatore, 28 July 2023: Arjuna Awardee Gaurav Gill and co-driver Aniruddha Rangnekar are eager to bounce back while championship leader Aroor Arjun Rao and Satish Rajagopal are looking to looking for a decent finish to garner as many points as possible to keep their title fight alive as the third round of the Blueband fmsci Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) for four wheelers begins at the Kethanur Windmill farms here on Saturday.

    A total of 76 cars are in fray for the rally organised by Coimbatore Auto Sports Club, one of the oldest and founder clubs of fmsci, the Indian federatioin. Though this high number is not a National record, it is one of the events with highest number of competitors in fray. Of these, 23 cars are fielded by Ammyfied Rallying which is sponsored by businessman Vamcy Merla through his sports foundation.

    After the ceremonial start at the traditional Jenneys club on Friday evening, the drivers looked confident with the recce under their belt and Philippos Matthai who just managed to log in some important points in the slippery mountains of Itanagar is raring to go all out in the fast stages of Coimbatore in INRC2 class. The Arka Motorsports driver from Delhi in a rally-tuned Polo will have a fight in hand with Kerala drivers and former champions Dr ‘Speed’ Bikku Babu (Milen George) and advocate Fabid Ahmer (Sanath G).

    Jehan Singh Gill and co-driver Suraj Keshav Prasad, dominated with their raw speed last year but became victims to some errors by the tuners. This year Jehan Singh Gill is expected to showcase his talent to be in the frontrunners not only in INRC3, his class, but is capable of beating the higher-spec machines. Arnav Pratap Singh (Arjun SSB), Darious Shroff (Shahid Salman) and Vishak Balachandran (Anil Abbas) will be vying with each other to be on the top in INRC3 which has a huge number of 28 cars.

    The cars to watch out for in the INRC4 class are Abhin Rai and co-driver Uday Kumar, Ruthuparna Vivek and co-driver Athreya Kousgi, and Jagpreeth Singh Nirwan and Karanpreet Singh Mattu, who are leading the championship in that order.

    The Gypsy class, which is a non-championship Cup event, has attracted more numbers thanks to the generosity of Vamcy Merla.

    Both the Junior INRC and Ladies class will also have stiff competition with the season getting into the midway mark.

    The windmill stages are fast and have two physical stages namely the 8.4km SM Agro and 10.4km BBS which will be run thrice each on Saturday. On Sunday, the longer special stages of Black Thunder (18.2km) and Thunder World (14.99km) will be run twice in the same direction.

    The next round of the six-round calendar, K1000, is expected to be near Bengaluru in August.