INDIA in F1

Tag: FMSCI

  • FMSCI’s Sujith Kumar elected Vice-President of FIM Asia

    FMSCI’s Sujith Kumar elected Vice-President of FIM Asia

    Bengaluru, 5 Feb 2018: Seven-time Indian National Rally Champion, Sujith Kumar, was elected Vice- President of FIM Asia on behalf of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) at Thailand on Saturday. Sujith was also the head of the Indian Motorcycle (2W) Racing Commission.

    Hailing the historic win for India as an important step for Indian motorsport, Akbar Ebrahim, FMSCI president said: “This is a significant development for Indian motorsport.”

    Ebrahim who has been bring a string of upgrades and important enhancements in the Indian motorsports set-up at the top added: “We will continue to work towards promoting every discipline of motorsport in the country.” Sujit was nominated as the Indian candidate by the Federation.

    With an unprecedented 11 candidates contesting for four posts of Vice-President position at Saturday’s General Assembly in Bangkok, the outcome was difficult to predict. However, when the results were announced, Sujith Kumar won with a comfortable majority of votes to become the first Indian representative to join the Board of FIM Asia, which is the governing body for motorcycle racing for 28 countries in the region. He will hold the position for a four-year term that began immediately.

    As Chairman of the FMSCI’s Two Wheeler Racing Commission, the Bangalore-based Sujith has already had a positive impact in Indian motorcycle racing, advancing rider training, safety and licensing standards for competitors and race officials. Beyond national competitions, he has been responsible for bringing international events to India, including a round of the Asia Road Racing Championship to Madras Motor Race Track and the Asia Cup of Road Racing to Buddh Circuit. He has also given support and encouragement to the increasing number of Indian racers competing in the international circuit and off-road events.

    Speaking after the election results were announced, Sujith said, “My interest is purely about the development of two-wheeler motorsports and the good of the riders. I believe this is the right time to ensure that India is represented on motorcycle racing’s governing body and can influence the development of the sport in the best possible way.”

    “During 2018 we will have more international events coming to India and more Indian riders competing in other countries and championships. It is an exciting time and we are extremely fortunate to be working together with strong sponsors who recognise the commercial importance of motorcycle racing and are committed to making things bigger and better.”

    Sujith is joined on the FIM Asia Board by Vice Presidents from Bahrain, China and Guam and new President, Stephan Macky Carapiet of Philippines.

    eom/David Bodapati

     

     

  • Madras Motor Sports Club upgraded paddocks inaugurated

    Madras Motor Sports Club upgraded paddocks inaugurated

    • L to R – Khushru Madan, Ajit Thomas, Indu Chandhok, Gopal Madhavan, Vicky Chandhok and Akbar Ebrahim. Image by Anand Philar

      Upgraded Paddock complex unveiled at MMRT

    • Second Paddock on western side with own circuit
    • MMSC VIP Hospitality suites, 20 spacious garages

    Chennai, February 2: The trip around the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) taking the mediapersons to the new Paddock Building on the West was a nostalgic tour for the two `grand daddies’ of Madras Motor Sports Club.

    Two founding members, Indu Chandhok and Gopal Madhavan, were excited to talk about their days. The passion, the commitment and burning desire for motorsport resulted in the duo along with a few others procuring 300 acres of farm land. “We have to negotiate with hundreds of people including the 67 farmers who sold us the land. We had to purchase in small bits and pieces and for some bits there were more than a dozen heirs who had to be the signatories for the registration. We bought the land for Rs.12 lakh, which was a huge amount and we could not sustain the loans and we sold off 100 acres after a year or so for Rs.12 lakh,” revealed Mr Chandhok, who is also one of the founding fathers of FMSCI, the Indian Federation.

    In keeping with its reputation as an institution always on the move and in step with the swiftly changing times, the Madras Motor Sports Club on Friday unveiled a significant upgrade to the Paddock and related facilities. A new pit complex with garages and hospitality suites has been developed at a cost of over Rs 20 Crore, at India’s first FIA-licensed track here.

    In a matter of a year, the MMSC carried out massive development work with 20 pit garages, a spectator viewing terrace and VIP hospitality suites that can accommodate up to 400 people along the the pit-lane on the eastern side, thereby creating a truly international-standard facility at the MMRT in Irrangattukottai, near Sriperumbudur.

    The development work has already received rave reviews from the competitors and aficionados. The spacious garages for the teams allow the competitors and their teams to have plenty of space to work on their cars and bikes.

    The new pit complex follows on from the upgrade done to the race control room with state-of-the-art hardware installed last year as well as India’s first and only bespoke a drag strip. A second paddock on the western side with its own short circuit allows the MMSC to effectively split the track into two and host two separate events concurrently.

    Also being developed is a full-fledged, permanent rally track measuring 7.5 Kms. The MMSC is working closely with triple Asia-Pacific Rally champion Gaurav Gill to start a driving academy in the near future.

    Earlier, work on widening of the run-off areas and resurfacing of a few sections of the track was also carried out as the circuit received FIA Grade-2 certification. The MMSC is thus the only private motorsport club in India owning an international race track.

    Reviewing the development work, MMSC president Ajit Thomas said: “It has been a long journey for MMSC from its humble beginnings 66 years ago. Even after we moved our racing activities from Sholavaram to the new track near Sriperumbudur, we constantly strove to improve, not just in terms of conducting events, but also upgrading facilities over a period of time.

    “In 2014, the track received FIA Grade-2 certification, but in keeping with our philosophy of ever onward, we decided to refurbish and upgrade the existing facilities at considerable expense. The new paddock and facilities will allow us to host not just racing events but also create a venue that auto manufacturers, sponsors and agencies would be proud to use for their events.”

    Speaking on the occasion, Indu Chandhok, one of the founder-members of the Madras Motor Sports Club and the Trust, said it was due to the largesse of the late Chief Minister Dr MGR, who was a regular visitor to the Sholavaram Races, that the MMRT project was made possible.

    The Sholavaram track belonged to the Army and the Navy who wouldn’t allow any upgrading nor resurface the surface which was being used for testing tanks. Indu approached the CM informally who immediately granted permission to the MMSC to buy the land after first offering it free which the club declined, said Indu Chandhok.

    FMSCI president Akbar Ebrahim recalled his first race at the MMRT in 1990, driving for Wallace Sports managed by Vicky Chandhok while Gopal Madhavan who was in charge of the project was felicitated along with Indu Chandhok.

    About Madras Motor Sports Club

    The Madras Motor Sports Club has been the pioneer in developing and promoting motorsport in India since 1953, and we look to further improve in the years to come. It is the club’s endeavor to provide more opportunities for competitors, and to this end, it has chalked out various progressive programmes. From the days of Sholavaram , MMSC built its own racetrack which was inaugurated in 1979 and secured its FIA Grade-2 international certification in 2014, making it the only club which owns such a facility that has been further upgraded with international-standard Paddock, complete with VIP hospitality suites, 20 spacious garages and a separate Paddock on the western side with its own circuit. The club has organised the Porsche Super Cup, Formula Campos, Formula Asia, Asian touring car championships, Formula 3, Tata Prima Truck racing championship, the FIM Asia Road Racing Championships (2-wheelers) besides a host of other motorsport events over the years. The club also has active participation for its events from vehicle manufacturers who also use the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) extensively for testing their products.

    eom/with inputs from MMSC press release

  • Gaurav Gill wins MRF fmsci K-1000, clinches fifth National title: Indian National Rally Championship

    Gaurav Gill wins MRF fmsci K-1000, clinches fifth National title: Indian National Rally Championship

    Gill finally opens up a spray as his co-driver is late in getting off the podium to avoid the champagne attack from the champ. K1000
    PD on 21jan2018 . Image by David Bodapati

    Tumakuru (Karnataka), 21 Jan 2018: King of Indian Motorsports, Gaurav Gill of Mahindra Adventure annexed his fifth National title winning the premier class of the MRF Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) 2017 at the MRF 43rd K-1000 Rally, the sixth and final round of the INRC here, about 100 km from Bengaluru, on Sunday. The two-day National Championship round was organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC) under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (fmsci) and is promoted by Ramakrishna Race Performance Management (RRPM) of Kolkata. Incidentally this is also the fifth K1000 title for both Gill and Sherif.

    The Chennai round of the INRC was canceled due to inclement weather and the Rally of Arunachal was postponed thereby pushing the K1000 round and the championship in 2018.

    The New Delhi based, Gill, a three-time APRC champion underlined his class and control once again, winning all the five Special Stages recording an overall timing of 00:55:41.6 minutes, a 2 minute-45 second lead ahead of second finisher Arjun Rao Aroor, to take his final tally to a perfect 100 points.

    Gill, along with co-driver Musa Sherif (110 points), has been unbeaten in the MRF INRC 2017, romping home in each of the four rounds that they had taken part in. He missed Round 4, the Rally of Chikmagalur, as it coincided with his assault on the APRC title, but that didn’t stop him from being crowned the undisputed king in the domestic arena. “It was a perfect day, a perfect finish for us,” Gill said, shortly after his coronation once again. “The first couple of stages were slippery but we managed to handle them well; we controlled the rally thereafter,” he added talking about the controlled aggression he displayed to conquer the fast and speedy terrain which was also tricky due to the pebbles, ditches, and grass. N Leelakrishnan with seven National titles and Naren Kumar with six are the only other drivers who have won INRC more times.

    INRC 3 champion Dean Mascarenhas, despite rolling into a ditch in the first run of the Alpha Special Stage and falling behind by over 27 minutes, managed to take the second place in the overall standings by 16 minutes.

    Dean (and Shruptha Padival), who entered the sixth and final round with a slim outside chance of upsetting Gill, picked up a puncture in SS2 too but hung on to keep pace with the rest of the field in the remaining stages. But the initial meltdown meant that he finished 8th (3rd in this category) and could add only 4 points to his final tally. It didn’t affect him in this category though, as he had already sealed the INRC 3 trophy in the last round itself.

    Defending INRC champion Karna Kadur, however, took advantage of Dean’s bad luck and familiar home conditions to force his way to the third position in the K-1000. It ensured him two podium finishes too, the second place in his INRC 2 category and the third place in the overall  Championship.

    Arjun Rao finally showed his true class, taking the second place in the rally but he had to be content with a sixth-place finish in the Championship thanks to DNFs in three rounds.

    As expected, Rahul Kanthraj and co-driver Vivek Bhat claimed the INRC 2 trophy, despite finishing third (fourth overall) in this category.

    The only one who could have upstaged him, Younus Ilyas, pulled out during SS4 to fade out of his Championship battle with Rahul. He eventually had to settle for the third place, with Karna jumping a place to take the second position.

    The FMSCI 2WD Cup was taken by Chetan Shivram and Rupesh Kholay, as they posted one more victory here.

    Defending K-1000 champion Amittrajit Ghosh, who was hovering in the 3rd to 5th position all the way, crashed at the finish, in the sixth and final stage to take the overall fifth place. His car got completely smashed but he and his co-driver, Ashwin Naik, got away with minor injuries. Ghosh was stuck between the seat and the steering wheel and had to be extricated after an hour or so. He escaped with minor bruises and knees pains. The full medical report is awaited.

    INRC Ranking for the National title: INRC Drivers: 1. Gaurav Gill (100 points) & Musa Sherif (110); 2. Dean Mascarenhas (67) & Shruptha Padival (69); 3. Karna Kadur (58) & Nikhil Vittal Pai (58).

    INRC 2 Drivers: 1. Rahul Kanthraj & Vivek Y Bhatt (97) 2. Karna Kadur  & Nikhil Vittal Pai (75); 3. Younus Ilyas & Harish K.N. (58)

    INRC 3 Drivers: 1. Dean Mascarenhas (115) & Shruptha Padival (118); 2. Saddam Ali Sheikh (54) ; 3. Daraius N Shroff (51).

    INRC 3 co-drivers: 1. Shruptha Padival (118); 2. Nitin Jacob (54) and  3. Mrinmoy Saha (53)

    FMSCI 2WD Cup Drivers: 1. Chetan Shivram (75); 2. Fabid Ahmer (61); 3. Suraj Thomas (48).

    FMSCI 2WD Cup Co-Drivers: 1. Rupesh Koley (75); 2. Suraj M (66) and 3. Thomas Paul (33).

    K-1000 Provisional Unaudited Results: INRC: 1. Gaurav Gill & Musa Sherif (00:48:14.1); 2. Arjuna Rao & Satish Rajagopal (00:50:18.2); 3. Karna Kadur & Nikhil Pai (00:51:10.3)

    INRC 2: Karna Kadur  & Nikhil V Pai (00:51:10.3); 2. G.B. Girijashankar Joshy & Chandramouli M (00:52:03.6); 3. Rahul Kanthraj & Vivek Y Bhatt (00:52:54.2)

    INRC 3: 1. Vikram Rao Aroor & Somayya (00:52:55.2); 2. Saddam Ali Saikh & Abhijeet Singh (00:56:22.8); 3. Chandan M Gowda & Vinay P.M. (01:03:43.5)

    FMSCI 2WD Cup: 1. Chetan Shivram & Rupesh Koley (00:55:19.2); 2. Fabid Ahmer & Sanath G (00:55:35.8); 3. Asad Khan  & Gautam C.P. (00:56:08.8).

    eom/posted by David Bodapati

  • K1000 preview: KMSC all-set to conduct 43rd edition; INRC final round on Sunday

    K1000 preview: KMSC all-set to conduct 43rd edition; INRC final round on Sunday

    K1000 KMSC logo. Courtesy KMSC facebook account
    Standings courtesy promoters RRPM, Kolkota (twitter)

    David Bodapati

    Bengaluru, 20 Jan 2018: King of Indian Motorsports, Gaurav Gill of Team Mahindra Adventure and his co-driver Musa Sherif will once again be the favourites to win the Indian National Rally championship final leg, the popular K1000 (Karnataka 1000) which began its 43rd edition with the recce on Saturday morning at a terrain about 70kms from here.

    The K1000 rally, a regular part of the Indian National Rally Championship is being organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC) one of the oldest active clubs in India. Except for a year or two, K1000 was continuously held for over forty years. It is also a founder member of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (fmsci). The INRC is being promoted by Kolkota-based Ramakrishna Race Performance Managment (RRPM) headed by a veteran rally ace, who was on of the winners of K1000 in its early years. Along with Amittrajit Ghosh, they are the only father-son who have taken part in INRC rallies.

    The number of entries for the popular K1000 this year is a luke-warm 28 which is one of the lowest in the recent years.

    Fresh from their victory in the fifth round at Arunachal Pradesh, the top duo who are leading the INRC class will be followed by young gun Dean Mascarenhas and Shruptha Padival of Mangalore and another seeded pair of Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik, who finished in that order in the overall standings of Rally of Arunachal. However, Dean and Shruptha are leading their class INRC3.

    Experienced stalwarts Rahul Kantharaj and Vivek Bhat who won the INRC2 class will be gunning for a closing bang to win the championship but their job will not be easy with stiff competition coming from the likes of Younus Ilyas and Karna Kadur. The strong pair of talented Kadur and Nikhil Pai had an unfortunate DNF (did not finish) in Arunachal Pradesh, but the youngster will also be a strong favourite to win his class INRC2 besides the leading pair. Kadur slipped on the table standings after that DNF.

    In the INRC overall rankings for the season, Delhi’s Gaurav Gill is leading with 75 points with Dean Mascarenhas on 63 in second and Rahul Kantharaj on 47. Karna Kadur is only four points behind at 43 while Amittrajit Ghosh slipped to 5th place with 40 points. Musa Sherif and Shruptha Padival lead the co-driver rankings with 85 and 63 points respectively. Mahindra Adventure tops with 125 points in the team championship with ARKA motorsports in second place at 90.

    In the INRC2, Rahul Kantharaj (79), Younus Ilyas (58) and Karna Kadur (50) are leading the table in the Drivers’ championship with Vivek Bhat topping the co-drivers’ with 79 points over Harish KN (58) and Nikhil V Pai (50) in that order. ARKA is leading team standings in this class over Snap Racing.

    In the INRC3, Dean Mascarenhas with a century is leading the Driver’s Championship and has already clinched the title in the class but is found wanting in terms of sponsors to show his talent on a better platform. Darius N Shroff, Punyabrata Barma are on 51 and 46 respectively to fight for second and third positions. Likewise, Dean’s navigator Shruptha won the co-drivers title in this class. Nitin Jacob and Mrinmoy Saha will fight for the second position.

    Chettinad Sporting had won the team title in this class beating the only other team entry Snap Racing. They garnered 117 points.

    Stage Distance

    The total distance of the Rally will be 97.26 km. The Special Stage distance will be 69.15 km while the liaison distance will be 28.11km. The two stages Alpha and Beta will be run thrice. Alpha is 14.95 km long while Beta covers a distance of only 8.10km. The first car starts at Alpha 1 at 9 am on Sunday. The one-day rally will not have a spectator-friendly Super Special Stage this year.

    “It has been another exciting season of Indian rallying. I want to thank MRF Tyres, Mahindra Adventure, CARTAir, Isuzu, Arunachal Tourism, York, Arya and Century Club for their support” Arindam Ghosh, RRPM’s Director, the promoters of the MRF FMSCI INRC, said on the eve of the rally. “Gill has dominated despite missing out on one round. He has won the other three rounds but he must bring it to the finish here to win the championship”, he added.

    Supplementary Regulations on INRCindia site

    The MRF 43rd K1000 Rally is round 6 of the MRF FMSCI INDIAN NATIONAL RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP (INRC) 2017 will run in compliance with the International Sporting Code of the FIA (and its appendices), the General Prescriptions of The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), the relevant Regulations concerning IRC championship or cup, the Supplementary Regulations and bulletins issued by the FMSCI can be found at www.inrcindia.com,

    The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) is the ASN of FIA in India. This rally is inscribed on the FIA Calendar under Asia Zone. Asia Zone competitors may take part in this rally and accrue points.

    There will be two Mahindra XUVs in fray with Gill and Ghosh behind the wheels of the Team Mahindra Adventure factory team. There will be six Mitsubishi Cedias competing for the honours in different classes but all of them will be privateers. The Kodagu team of Gagan Karumbaiah and co-driver Amrith Thimmaiah will be the lone entry in the fmsci 4w Cup in a Maruti Gypsy.

    eom/David Bodapati

  • Commanding show, including a hat-trick, gets maiden title for Aaroh Ravindra; Rayo Racing tops

    Commanding show, including a hat-trick, gets maiden title for Aaroh Ravindra; Rayo Racing tops

    Aaroh Ravindra and Aanjan Patodia (right) with their trophies on 15 Oct 2017 in Bangalore. Photo by Rayo Racing

    Bengaluru : Aaroh Ravindra from Rayo Racing, clinched his maiden National Karting Championship, with a 2nd place finish in Round 5 of the Meco FMSCI National Rotax Karting Championship.

    The Mumbai youngster has consistently dominated the championship ever since his victory in round 1 at Hyderabad. He completed a hat-trick of victories at the end of Round 3 and already had a commanding lead of 27 points in the National Championship by then.

    Aaroh qualified 2nd as the weekend began, after Nirmal USB of M Sport clinched pole position with a lap time of 54.694, a mere 2 hundredths of a second ahead of Aaroh. Manav Sharma was third. Heat 1 saw Nirmal lead from pole & win the heat, while Aaroh won the 2nd heat, ahead of Nirmal.

    The pre final saw Nirmal from Chennai, once again start from pole & win ahead of Aaroh & Manav. Aaroh’s earned enough points in the pre final, to be practically assured of the title, irrespective of the outcome of the final. However, Aaroh was not content with merely finishing.

    he final saw Nirmal pulling away as soon as the green flag dropped, while Aaroh fell to third. He regained second, coming out of corner 2 but lost ground immediately to Akash. Soon, it was Rayo Racing 2nd & 3rd as both Aaroh & Aanjan overtook Akash on lap 3. Mid-way through the race, Nirmal picked a puncture which promoted the Rayo Racing duo into 1st & 2nd. Aanjan being quicker, soon passed Aaroh for the lead & won a really close race. Aaroh crossed the line a mere 0.3 seconds behind Aanjan, while local lad Akash finished 3rd, ahead of another Bengaluru lad – Danesh Vakharia from Rayo Racing.

    Bengaluru’s Chirag Ghorpade from BPC racing won the junior finals ahead of M Sport Racing boys, Shahan Mohsin from Agra & Yash Aradhya from Bengaluru. Bengaluru boys sealed the Micro Max podium as Ruhaan Alva of Birel Art won the finals ahead of Rohaan Madhesh of Peregrine Racing & Rishon MR from Birel Art.

    Aaroh’s domination in the Senior National Championship saw him pick the award for most wins in the entire championship. His worst finish of the season being a 2nd place, he won the National Title with a lead of 33 points & earns himself a ticket to represent India in the World Finals at Portugal in November.  Aaroh’s participation in the series came as a result of his sponsorship from Tata Motors, JK Tyres, Rayo Racing & IndiKarting after finishing runner up in the JK Tyre IndiKarting National Series last year. The winner of that series – Aanjan Patodia, finished 3rd overall behind Nirmal USB in spite of not finishing a couple of races. He tied on points with Rayo Racing Teammate – Danesh Vakharia.

    Yash Aradhya of M Sport, with 2 victories in the season, won the junior title by 9 points from Chirag Ghorpade & Shahan Mohsin. Arjun Rajiv won the Micro title by 8 points, ahead of Ruhaan Alva & Rishon MR.

    “It was an amazing start to the year, with a hat trick of victories. A double runner-up finish in the last 2 rounds was not bad either. It has been hard work by everyone involved & I really want to thank Steve for his efforts, as well as all our sponsors & my family for their support” said an ecstatic Aaroh after the prize distribution ceremony.

    He continued, “I have had very limited track time over the last 2 years due to the lack of a budget. The World Finals are going to be tough competing against the 72 best drivers from around the world, but I will be working hard over the next few weeks to prepare in the best possible way.”

    As reported earlier, Aaroh Ravindra, Yash Aradhya and Ruhaan Alva, will represent India, in the World Rotax Finals in Portimao, Portugal from 5th to 11th November, as the champions from over 50 countries will vie for the title of World Rotax Champion 2017. Over 300 competitors will race at this prestigious World Finals.

    eom/with inputs from Rayo Racing

  • Ruhaan Alva, Yash Aradhya, Aaroh Ravindra for World Rotax Grand Finale in Portugal

    Bangalore, 15 Oct 2017: Ruhaan Alva (Micro Max), Yash Aradhya (Junior Max) and Aaroh Ravindra (Senior Max) will represent India in the World Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals at Portugal from November 4-11 according to sources. Portimao in Algarve will be the venue for the 16th edition where 288 of the best kart drivers in the world will compete in four categories supported by independent chassis partners.

    Meanwhile, in the Nationals, Arjun Rajiv of Birel Art India won the Micro Max Championship while Yash Aradhya (MSport) and Aaroh Ravindra of Rayo Racing won the Junior Max and Senior Max Championships respectively. Team Rayo Racing won the team championship while Nirmal Umashankar became the best driver of the year.

    Ruhaan Alva, won the final race of the fifth and final round in the Micro Max class at the Meco Kartopia in the Rotax Max Karting National Championship organised by Meco Motorsports under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (fmsci) here on Sunday.

    However, the 11-year old Bengaluru boy, who recently won the second runners-up place in the Italian EasyKart 60cc championship, was given a third place after the stewards’ ruling following a protest. That did not, however, deny him a second place in the Micro Max championship.

    Aaroh Ravindra, Senior Max National Champion. Photos by Srinivasa Krishnan
    Ruhaan reacts at the Meco Kartopia on Sunday after hearing the news of World finals. Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan, commissioned for INDIAinF1.

    Ruhaan’s teammate Arjun Rajiv could only finish sixth and fifth in the two races this week-end but that was enough for him to garner a total tally of 416 points, eight more than Ruhaan, to win the Championship crown. Rishon MR, also of Birel Art India, came third for a clean sweep by the Birel team. Both Ruhaan and Rishon had 408 points.

    In the Senior Max championship, it was Aaroh Ravindra of Rayo Racing who won the National title with 436 points after he finished second in both the races in the last round here. Nirmal Umashankar of MSport was second with a tally of 403 points while Aanjan Patodia, also of Rayo Racing, got the second runners-up with 388 points.

    It was Yash Aradhya of MSport who won the National Championship in the Junior Max category with 432 points edging out Chirag Ghorpade, who won both the pre-finals andn finals this week-end but fell short by six points in his last-round dash with only 423 points. Yash came third in the pre-final and second in the last race of the season. Shahan Ali Mohsin MSport came third with 405 points with a second and third place this week-end.

    Championship winners:

    Micro Max

    1. Arjun Rajiv – 416 – Birel Art India
    2. Ruhaan Alva – 408 – Birel Art India
    3. Rishon M R – 408 – Birel Art India

     Winning Team Champion  – Peregrine Racing

    Junior Max

    1. Yash Aradya – 432 – MSPORT
    2. Chirag Ghorpade – 423 – BPC Racing
    3. Shahan Ali Mohsin – 405 – MSPORT

     Winning Team Champion  – MSPORT

    Senior Max

    1. Aaroh Ravindra – 436 – Rayo Racing
    2. Nirmal Umashankar – 403 – MSPORT
    3. Aanjan Patodia – 388 – Rayo Racing

    Winning Team Champion – Rayo Racing

    Maximum Number of Pole Position – Ruhaan Alva

    Maximum Number of Wins – Aaroh Ravinda

    Best New Corner – Rishon M R

    Best Driver of the Year – Nirmal Uma Shankar

    Akbar Ebrahim Most Improved Karter of the Year – Rohaan Madhesh

    eom/with inputs from official results

    edited at 11.15 am on 16 Oct 2017 correcting names following an official revisions

     

     

  • Gaurav Gill, Musa Sherif conquer Nashik Rally

    Nashik, 28 August 2016: Team Mahindra Adventure’s Gaurav Gill and long-time co-driver Musa Sherif won the Rally of Maharashtra for the sixth time, winning the Round 2 of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) which concluded at Nashik on Sunday. Gaurav and Musa clocked 52min 8sec for the win.

    Gill was fastest in four of the six stages and took a commanding lead of 1min 4sec over Arjun Rao Aroor and co-driver Satish Rajgopal. Kolkata driver Amittrajit Ghosh along with navigator Ashwin Naik, who were the winners of the first round at Coimbatore, could only finish third here timing 53min 59sec, almost two minutes adrift of the toppers. Ghosh’s said, he had punctures in SS 1,3 and 4.

    In the Indian Rally Championship class (IRC), Abhilash PG and co-driver Srikanth Gowda took the overall win clocking 55min 20sec. Suraj Kute and navigator Shamim Khan came second in 1min 7sec while Amol Satoskar and co-driver Dinesh S were third clocking 1min 13sec.

    Dr Bikku Babu won the INRC 2000 class, with Milen George calling the pace notes as the Kerala duo clocked 54min 33sec. Bangalore pair, Karna Kadur (co-driver Nikhil Pai) finished just a second behind to take the second place.

    Switching to a new format under RRPM promoters, the Rally of Maharashtra this year was held in a one-day format with three Special Stages run in two loops. The Special Stage distance was only 70km and along with liaision the entire rally covered almost 400km. SS1 which doubled up as SS4 in the second run, is the new physical stage this year. It took the competitors through a narrow tarmac road with hardly any run-off area and it tested the drivers concentration. According to Musa, it was a very technical stage that helped bring in all the aspects of a rally stage. The consistent drizzle made the roads quite slippery making it more challenging for the drivers.

    The next round of the INRC will be held in Gurgaon on September 17 and 18.

    Provisional Unaudited Classification:

    Overall and INRC: 1. Gaurav Gill/ Musa Sherif (52min, 08sec); 2. Arujun Rao Aroor/ Satish Rajagopal (53:12); 3. Amittrajit Ghosh/ Ashwin Naik (53:59).

    IRC: 1. PG Abhilash/ Srikanth Gowda (55:20); 2. Suraj Kute/ Shamim Khan (1:00:07); 3. Amol Satoskar/ Dinesh S (1:00:13); 4. Mohammed Kasim/ G Sanath (1:00:25).

    INRC 2000: 1. Dr Bikku Babu/ Milen George (54:33); 2. Karna Kadur/ Nikhil Pai (54:34); 3. Younas Ilyas/ Suraj Prasad (54:55).

    FMSCI Cup:  1. KJ Jacob/ Manoj Mohanan (57:21); 2. Yashas Nayaka M/ Uday Kumar D (59:06); 3. Michu Ganapathi/ Venu Ramesh Kumar (1:00:37).

  • Abhilash-Srikanth protest upheld; declared Coimbatore rally winners

    Coimbatore, 18 August 2016: PG Abhilash and co-driver Srikanth Gowda won the MRF Rally of Coimbatore in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 as the stewards upheld their protest and elevated them to the winner status on August 18 in the Indian Rally Championship (IRC) class.

    The Coimbatore rally, which opened the season, was held on July 23 and 24. Though the Provisional results were announced, the final results were withheld following the protest.

    Earlier, JCT Rallying’s Samir Thapar (co-driver Gurinder Singh Mann) came first and also were the fastest overall in the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X before they were demoted by the stewards. Thus, Abhilash PG and co-driver Srikanth Gowda) in the Evo VIII finished overall first and in the IRC class. Mohammed Khasim, along with co-driver Sanath G, was third in the Mitsubishi Cedia.

    Earlier on July 24, Amittrajit Ghosh and co-driver Ashwin Naik led a 1-2 finish for the Mahindra Adventure team as they won the first round of the MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship INRC class here on Sunday, July 24.

    Ghosh and Naik, who scored their third win in this event. Finishing second behind them were team-mates Sunny Sidhu and co-driver PV Srinivas Murthy while young Dean Mascarenhas from Mangaluru along with Shanmugha SN came third in the INRC Overall class.

    Mascarenhas also topped the time charts in the INRC 2000 class after nursing his Volkswagen Polo to the finish ahead of Bopaiah KM (Karumbaiah G) and Team Yokohama India’s Karna Kadur (Nikhil Pai).

    The FMSCI Cup class honours went to KJ Jacob (co-driver Manoj Mohanan) with Tarun Reddy (co-driver Lalit Kishore) finishing second while Veeresh Prasad (co-driver Suraj M) completed the podium.

    One of the biggest disappointments of the one-day Rally was the retirement of favourite Gaurav Gill (co-driver Musa Sherif) of Team Mahindra Adventure in the day’s very first Special Stage due to a mechanical problem as the brand new knuckle that was fixed on Thursday, sheared off. Gill was permitted to rejoin the Rally, but could not score any points.

    Speaking on his victory, Ghosh said: “We had a few problems with our car throughout the day, but happy that we managed to bring the car back safely. In the third and last loop, I had gearbox problem and ran both the Stages in third gear, not wanting to take any chances.”

    Final classification: (after the protest was upheld on Aug 18):

    INRC Overall: 1. Abhilash PG / Srikanth Gowda (Pvt) (Evo VIII, 1hr, 1min, 42.3sec); 2. Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik (Mahindra Adventure, XUV 500) 1 (1:3:15.1 secs); 3. Sunny Sidhu / PV Srinivas Murthy (Mahindra Adventure, XUV 500)  (01:03:59.3); 4. Dean Mascarenhas / Shanmugha SN (Pvt) 3 (VW Polo, 01:04:23.3).

    INRC 2000: 1. Dean Mascarenhas / Shanmugha SN (Pvt) (VW Polo, 01:04:23.3); 2. Bopaiah KM / Karumbaiah G (Pvt) (VW Polo, 01:04.47.5); 3. Karna Kadur / Nikhil Pai (Team Yokohama-India) (VW Polo, 01:05:03).

    FMSCI Cup: 1. KJ Jacob / Manoj Mohanan (Pvt) (Honda City, 01:08:41.1); 2. Tarun Reddy / Lalit Kishore (Pvt) (Honda City, 01:11.44.7); 3. Veeresh Prasad / Suraj M (Pvt) (Honda City, 01:13.13.5).

    IRC: 1. Abhilash PG / Srikanth Gowda (Pvt) (Evo VIII, 01:01.42.3); 2. Samir Thapar / Gurinder Singh Mann (JCT Rallying) (Evo X, 01:01.03.6); 3. Mohammed Khasim / Sanath G (Pvt) (01:09.32.9).

    Note: Result changed after the protest by Abhilash was upheld.

  • Zayn Khan elected President of FMSCI, vows to continue Bharath’s work

    Bangalore, 22 Sept. 2015: For Zayn Khan, the ever-smiling motorsport official from Hyderabad,  the birthday present came in a big way and a bit early. Five days before his birthday on Sept 26, the genial giant, was unanimously elected as the new President of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) at the council meeting held here on Tuesday. He was elected to replace the late R Bharath Raj, who passed away while serving as President on August 15 this year.

    Khan is a resident of Hyderabad and represents the Western India Automobile Association. He has years of hands-on experience in the sport and has contributed a lot for the technical side of the sport in India. He was heading the stewards development, training and deployment. He has extensive knowledge about rallying and that will certainly give a fillip to the sport in India. He also has experience in officiating at the international level and is hence a true administrator.

    Khan said: “My initial reaction is that it is overwhelming. I hope to bring unity to the FMSCI. Bharath was a good friend and I would like to take forward his tenure on a high note.

    “My immediate priorities would be to visit a lot of the clubs and promote the sport. We are at the absolute peak of motorsport in the country. Promotion of motorsport, publicity, getting more eyeballs to the sport and generally pushing the sport to the forefront in India are things I would like to strive at with the help of the team.

    “There are three rounds left in the rallying season this year. Rallying will be in focus in Chikmagalur in December since the town is hosting the Asia Cup round. If all goes well, we could see an Asia-Pacific Rally Championship round in 2016.”

    Khan added: “We would like to interact with the media at more regular intervals. We seek the support of the media in spreading the sport in the country. I would say this is the golden period for the sport in India. With the way things are in Europe and China, Indian can become the centre of motorsport if we play our cards right.”

    The meeting was chaired by FMSCI Chairman Dr Vijay Mallya and was attended by all councillors. Before the start of the meeting, tributes were paid to Bharath Raj, MR Raj Kumar (FMSCI 2-wheeler racing technical regulations Chairman) and scrutineer Pradeep

    Zayn Khan after being elected FMSCI president in Bangalore on Tuesday. An FMSCI image
    Zayn Khan after being elected FMSCI president in Bangalore on Tuesday. An FMSCI image

    Mhaskar.

    Eom/FMSCI press release

  • Lohit Urs, Srikanth Gowda win Coimbatore rally

    Coimbatore, 2 August 2015: Mysore businessman Lohit Urs and long-time winning navigator Srikanth Gowda of Bangalore won the IRC class and Overall title in the Rally of Coimbatore, the second round of the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship here on Sunday. Gaurav Gill and Musa Sherif retired due to technical problems.

    They were in a Mitsubishi Evo VIII car and timed a total of one hour, 34 minutes, 59.1 seconds.

    Mahindra Adventure’s Sunny Sidhu-PVS Murthy (01:39:27.6) finished second Overall, while their teammates Amittrajit Ghosh-Ashwin Naik (01:39:59.0) were third. Karna Kadur-Vivek Ponnusamy (01:40:30.5) finished fourth Overall and also won the IRC 1600 title here.

    Defending National Overall champion Gaurav Gill (Musa Sherif) retired with car problems on Friday and started Leg 2 on Saturday. However, Urs and Gowda had put themselves in a good position and clinched the title.

    An elated Urs said: “The road was rough but we managed to do good times today. We were faster than yesterday. There were niggling problems with the car and we had to ease off.

    “All our efforts have paid off and our main target is to do well in the Asia Cup in Chikkamagaluru this year. The IRC is going to be good practice for us as we continuously aim to improve the car and our driving.”

    Co-driver Gowda said: “I am happy with the win. With the Evo being a much faster car than the others I have rallied in, it was a big leap in terms of learning. Basically, the calls had to be much faster and Lohitt has helped me cope up with the new challenge. It is good that we got this win.
    Bengalureans Rahul Kanthraj-Vivek Bhatt (Team Yokohama), in a Mitsubishi Cedia, wrapped up the IRC 2000 title with a total time of 01:43:06.5. They retained the Rally of Coimbatore title and made it two in a row this season after winning in Nashik. Second was the combine of Hrishikesh Thackersey-Ninad Mirajgaonkar, while Sumit Panjabi-Nitin Jacob finished third.

    Kanthraj stated: “The lead we now have in the championship is heartening. We have been winning and are settling into a nice rhythm. The team has done an excellent job.”

    It was a mix of joy and relief for Karna Kadur (co-driver Vivek Ponnusamy), who clinched the IRC 1600 title.

    “There was a lot of pressure on me and this win has come in good time. It is a relief and I am happy as well. We drove clean today and made up a lot of time. We now have to begin work for the next tarmac rally,” said Kadur.

    Last year’s champions Adith KC-Harish KN won the FMSCI Cup with a total time of 01:43:53.2.

    There were five retirements from the 30 who started the rally on Saturday. Prominent among them were Arjun Rao Aroor-Satish Rajagopal with car problems.

    Results (provisional):

    Overall IRC: 1. Lohit Urs & Srikanth Gowda 01:34:59.1s; 2. Sunny Sidhu & P.V. Srinivas Murthy 01:39:27.6s; 3. Amittrajit Ghosh & Ashwin Naik 01:39:59.0s.

    IRC 2000: 1. Rahul Kantharaj & Vivek Y. Bhatt 01:43:06.5s; 2. Hrishikesh Thackersey & Ninad Mirajgaonkar 01:44:00.8s; 3. Sumit Panjabi & Nitin Jacob 01:46:10.7s.

    IRC 1600: Karna P. Kadur & Vivek Ponnusamy 01:40:30.5s; 2. Bikku Babu & Milen George Cherian 01:42:15.4s; 3. Aroor Vikram Rao & A.G. Somayya 01:42:41.4s.

    FMSCI Cup: 1. K.C. Adith & K.N. Harish 01:43:53.2s; 2. D. Ashwin Reddy & M. Suraj 01:44:49.7s; 3. Habib Mohammed & Shahid Salman 01:45:21.0s.