INDIA in F1

Tag: INRC

  • Pragathi Gowda beats `big boys’ to bag fastest-driver tag

    Pragathi Gowda beats `big boys’ to bag fastest-driver tag

    Bengaluru, 22 August 2021: Pragathi Gowda of Bengaluru claimed overall honours bagging the fastest driver tag powering her Volkswagen Polo to a stunning time of 2 min, 22.268 seconds over two-laps of the 1-km United Off-road track in the 2021 Time Attack organised by Chetan Shivram Motorsports, a two-day FMSCI-licensed event that concluded here on Sunday.

    Ashwin Reddy, Abhin R Rai and Syed Salman bagged a double each in the professional class on Saturday and Sunday respectively. Moin Pasha, Sahil Khan and Asad Pasha also won their classes in the pro section. The event supported by Eco-Life, Anvitha Estates, DC Motorsports and Unite Motorsports received overwhelming response with 176 entries which were divided into professional and amateur sections. Trophies were provided by 6T9th.com and Starttline Motorsports manned the timing equipment that gave one by thousandth of a second times for every driver.

    You can watch the Time Attack on Unite Motorsport YouTube here!

    Beating many top male drivers in the 13-car start list of the feature event, the 2nd year MBA student who is just three caps in the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), slided the corners and attacked the straights to top the time-sheets in Race 1 to beat Ashwin Reddy to second and Moin Pasha to third place. Pragathi eased off on Day 2 due to the slippery track where rookie Syed  Salman, proved his mastery on the slushy terrain to beat Asad Pasha and star driver Dhruva Chandrasekhar who was not in his elements on the day due to technical issues with his car.

    Pragathi Gowda, who bagged the Overall honours in the Chetan Shivram Motorsports Time Attack at Unite Off Park in Bengaluru on 21 August 2021.

    “It’s always a good feeling to improve times and Time Attack provided me the right stage as the terrain is very technical and it helped me sharpen my skills to be ready for the INRC. Beating the big boys is a bonus,” added the Bengalurean, who made pundits take notice with her speed in a rally-prep INRC3 spec, in her debut at Itanagar last December.

    Jayanth Samynathan won Race 1 in the Rally Cars class beating Reddy brothers Ashwin and Tarun while in Race 2 on Sunday, Syed Salman took the honours with Ashwin Reddy taking a second again and Asad Pasha completing the podium.

    Ruthuparna Vivek, Amrut Shekar and Mohammad Uzair won the Amateur races on Day 1 while Ruthuparna Vevek got a double gold on Day 2 in 1600cc and 2000cc even as Arvind won the 1400cc and Mohammed Shabaz bagged 1100cc class.

    Naresh of Bro Racing won the Tuner class with veteran INRC tuner Yusuf of Snap Racing taking second and Amju of Ideal Racing came third.

    “Since a lot of newcomers including first-timers are there. We wanted to provide a platform where they would not be fighting with the veterans which is very de-motivating. So we had separate class for modified cars driven by professionals,” explained Chetan Shivram, the Clerk of the Course. Shivram, the 2019 Indian National Rally Champion, is a top motorsports mentor training every month scores of rally drivers to excel and was recently roped in by the INRC Promoters to conduct a Driver school to train over two dozen lady drivers ready for INRC. “I thank Nikhil of Unite Off-track for preparing and providing the beautiful track,” added the man behind the show.

     “We conducted the event in a bio-bubble following all the COVID protocols of the government as safety is always a top-priority in motorsports. With virtually no events for drivers to get their seat time, Time Attack is a great op for them to brush up their skills for the National rallies and gain some practice in a competitive environment,” said Sanjeev P Shah, the Chief Steward and Secretary of Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC).

    Final (Provisional) Results:

    Professional Race 1 (2 laps):

    Pro United Off-road Open Class: 1. Pragathi Gowda (02 min, 22.268 seconds); 2. D Ashwin Reddy (02:23.665); 3. Moin Pasha (02:24.242).

    Pro Upto 1100cc: 1. Moin Pasha (02:30.027);2. Abhisek Gowda (02:32.517); 3.Prakash R (02:34.459).

    Pro Upto 1400cc: 1.Abhin R Rai (02:27.936); 2.Sahil (02:29.277); 3. Moin Pasha (02:29.516);

    Pro Upto 1600cc: 1. D Ashwin Reddy (02:24.567); 2. D Tarun Reddy (02:25.160); 3. Sahil (02:26.295).

    Pro Upto 2000cc: 1. D Ashwin Reddy(02:27.808);2. Dhruva Chandrasekhar (02:28.423); 3. Sahil (2:28.471).

    Pro Rally-tuned cars: 1. Jayanth Samynathan (02:31.352);2. D Ashwin Reddy (02:32.004); 3. D Tarun Reddy (02:34.349).

    Esteem: 1. Abhin R Rai (02:31.543); 2. Jayanth Samynathan (02:32.193); 3. Arvind (02:37.280).

    Ladies Class: 1. Pragathi Gowda (02:40.718); 2. Tarushi Vikram (03:07.681).

    Professional Race 2 (2 laps):

    Pro United Off-road Open Class: 1. Syed Salman (02:37.315); 2. Asad Pasha (02:38.029); 3. Dhruva Chandrasekhar (02:38.803).

    Rally-tuned Cars: 1. Syed Salman (02:34.858); 2. Ashwin Reddy (02:39.594); 3. Asad Pasha (02:39.947);

    Race 2 (2 laps) Upto 1100cc: 1. Sahil Khan (02:30.521); 2. Mohan Raj (02:33.592);3. Mohin Pasha (02:34.171).

    Race 2 (2 laps) Upto 1400cc: 1. Asad Pasha (2:29.207); 2. Mohin Pasha (02:30.336); 3. Sahil (02:30.852).

    Esteem Class: 1. Abin R Rai (02:38.745); 2. Jayanth Samynathan (02:41.746); 3. Mohan (02:50.228).

    Ladies Class: 1. Pragathi Gowda (02:40.567); 2. Tarushi Vikram (03:20.593);

    Pro Tuner Class: 1. Naresh (Bro Racing) 2: 53.780; 2. Yusuf (Snap Racing) 2:55.513; ; 3. Amju (Ideal Racing) 2:57.946.

    Diesel: 1. Dheeraj Manae (03:12.696); 2. Kiran (03:18.420).

    Gypsy: 1. Ravi Kumar (02:54.534).

    Amateur Race 1 (2 laps):

    Upto 1100cc: 1. Mohammad Uzair (2:37.150); 2. Mohammed Kaisan (02:38.687); 3. Syed Imran (02:41.670).

    Upto 1400cc: 1. Amrut Shekar (02:37.446); 2. Yuvaraj M (02:43.020); 3. Humayun Pasha (02:44.342).

    Upto 1600cc: 1. Ruthuparna Vivek (02:35.347); 2. TS Rekha Niranjan (02:59.701); 3. Rituraj Das  (03:01.861).

    Ladies Class: 1. TS Rekha Niranjan (02:52.6551); 2. Tarushi Vikram (02:56.566).

    Amateur Race 2 (2 laps):

    Upto 1100cc: 1. Mohammad Shabaz (2:43.579); 2. Manu (02:52.338); 3. Syed Imran (02:52.358).

    Upto 1400cc: 1. Arvind (02:38.155); 2. Amrith (02:44.359); 3. Yuvaraj (02:48.107).

    Upto 1600cc: 1. Ruthuparna Vivek (02:37.782); 2. Nidhi (02:53.035); 3. Agasthya (02:58.240).

    Upto 2000cc: 1. Ruthuparna Vivek (02:35.654); 2. Arvind (02:36.205); 3. Nidhi (02:40.946).

    Ladies Class: 1. Tarushi Vikram (03:05.334); 2. Rekha Niranjan (03:13.305).

  • South India Rally postponed to June 23-25: INRC Round 1

    South India Rally postponed to June 23-25: INRC Round 1

    Chennai, 19 April 2021: The South India Rally, a round of the 2021 Indian National Rally Championship, scheduled for April 23-25, has been postponed in the wake of fresh government restrictions due to rising number of Covid-19 virus cases, organisers Madras Motor Sports Club announced here today.

    The tentative fresh dates for the event, promoted by Champions Yacht Club, and which doubled up as a round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship, are June 25 to 27. The South India Rally had attracted a record 70 entries of which 21 were women crews.

    Chairman of the event and MMSC Vice-President Vicky Chandhok said: “Much as the sport is always our priority, we are very concerned about the huge spike in Covid-19 cases in the recent days. With an all-time record of 70 entries of which 21 are women competitors the enthusiasm for the sport has also spiked and is at its peak! But after discussions with promoter Vamcy Merla who had put in massive efforts, we decided to postpone the South India Rally keeping in mind the safety and health of those involved in the event.”

    Promoter Vamcy Merla said: “Unfortunately, in the last couple of days, a lot of restrictions have been imposed in many States due to the spike in Covid-19 cases in the country. I am in total agreement with the decision to postpone, giving due consideration to the safety and health of participants and organizers.

    “We have had extensive discussions with everyone concerned or associated with the event, and then decided to postpone the event to June 25-27 in the hope that the situation would have improved by then.”

  • Athira Murali tops Talent Hunt as CYC selects 10 Lady drivers for INRC

    Athira Murali tops Talent Hunt as CYC selects 10 Lady drivers for INRC

    Bengaluru, 31 March 2021: Athira Murali, a popular Malayalam Auto vlogger, who made her INRC debut at Coimbatore in January winning the ladies class and taking a well-deserved 5th among 12 INRC4 drivers, is expected to become a regular feature in the Indian National Rally Championship, thanks to promoters, who conducted a Drivers’ School and a selection camp to pick up talented lady drivers for the upcoming season beginning with the APRC round at Chennai from April 23.

    Soon after her topping the selection trials among 25, Athira was picked up by Team JK Tyre, and the Kottayam lass will be taking part in the first round of INRC in Yellow colours. “I am so glad to be sponsored by JK Tyre and excited to wear the yellow colours. I will give my best in the upcoming round in chennai,” said Athira.

    The Champions Yacht Club (CYC) FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship 2021 will see over 10 women drivers and co-drivers line-up for the start for the first time after coming out on top in a nation-wide Talent Hunt conducted here at the Unite Off-Road Track.

    The one-of-a-kind selection and training programme was conducted by 2019 INRC champion Chetan Shivram. The Talent Hunt was supported by promoter Vamsi Merla.

    “We believe that Chetan Shivram Motorsports can be the architect and backbone of motorsports in the years to come, as long as we have support from promoters, the way Mr Vamcy Merla promotes and encourages talent. We would be happy to train and support enthusiasts entering motorsports irrespective of age or gender, as bringing more talent to the National level is our priority,” said Shivram.

    Twenty-five talented but unheralded women racers were shortlisted from across the country and were given beginners’ and advanced training in rally cars by ace rallyists Suhem Kabeer and Dhruva Chandrashekar before the ultimate shootout. The winners were judged on the basis of their lap timings in the final selection round which was supervised by an FMSCI jury team.

    Athira Murali of Kottayam emerged the winner and will be co-driven by her city mate George Varghese, with whom she made the debut in Coimbatore winning the Ladies Class. She would have also taken a podium in INRC4 but a slow car ahead of her prevented her from going further up.

    Renuka G of Andhra Pradesh who will have Chandni Kotian of Mumbai as co-driver came second in the selections with Ojasvi Mehta of Mumbai taking third place. Ojasvi along with Belgaum’s Isha Sharma are expected to make their debut in Chennai. Anupma Bindra of Gurgaon came fourth and she will go with co-driver Pallavi Yadav of Mumbai, and mother-daughter duo from Mumbai Shivani Parmar and Dr Vani Parmar will be the other ladies’ pair to get selected. Shivani came fifth in the selections.

    The will be accorded a fully-sponsored ride by the promoters of INRC which includes entry fee, rally-prepared car, rally tyres and accommodation.

    Renuka G, a software engineer from Vizag, stepped into rallying for the first time, thanks to the encouragement by Promoter Vamsi Merla. She first took part in the Ameo Cup in 2018 and has been a biker taking part in the Nationals. “It was a very exciting two days as I learned a lot about rallying. This is the first time for me in a rally car and it is very challenging to shift from tarmac to dirt tracks. I learnt a lot from handling the car to cornering from experienced drivers and it was a new driving style. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to the Chennai round,” said Renuka, who became freinds with Chandni Kotian and picked her up as co-driver. Renuka was all praise for Chetan, Dhruva and Suhem for the training and said that it was very useful to make the switch from racing to rallying.

    “I have experience in F4 cars and karting, but getting into a rally car is a new experience. I learnt many new things, the judgement when you take into corners and to handle the peculiar shifts… It was a new thrill for me to experience and all it happened because of Vamcy Merla,” said Chandni Kotian, a Mortgage Analyst from Mumbai.

    “The training and experience on the dirt track was awesome. It is the first time I ever stepped into a rally car  and am really happy to grab the great knowledge as a co-driver under the guidance of ace rallyists Suhem Kabeer and Dhruva Chandrashekar. I am looking forward to the INRC round, waiting for that moment to come. This is a great initiative by the FMSCI as women never get much opportunities to rally. I thank Vamsi Merla for bringing more talented women into Indian Rallying and I really enjoyed the two-day training under champion Chethan Shivram,” said Isha Sharma. She will pair up with Ojasvi. “It is a wonderful opportunity to take part in the Women in Motorsport Talent Hunt as I could meet 25 amazing women. The 2-day training and shootout were exceptional and life changing too. So glad to finish 3rd and get a shot at the INRC. From track-walk to understanding the basics of the car, I don’t think I could have got a better experience…, thanks to Vamsy Sir for giving us a chance to showcase ourselves and a huge shootout to Chetan Sir, Dhruva and Suhem for teaching us from the basics. Eagerly waiting for the first round to begin,” said Ojasvi Mehta, a 23-year MBA student from Mumbai.

     “My commitment towards supporting existing and upcoming `Women in Motorsports’ made me launch this initiative.  We had planned this last year as well but unfortunately due to the pandemic we could not go ahead with the camp. But with normalcy finally getting restored in the country we finally conducted the Talent Hunt this year and now here we are with 10 talented women finally getting the platform and the support they deserve,” Vamsi Merla said.

    Last year, the promoter paid the entry fee for six Lady drivers and also helped provide 50 per cent subsidy for transport of cars to over 15 drivers who needed it. “This is the first event of its kind in INRC and we have plans to make it a yearly affair. I am really looking forward to seeing these ladies on the track and hopefully this will mark a new beginning for women in Indian Motorsports,” Vamsi signed off.

    The first round of the INRC kicks-off with the South India Rally on April 23-25 in Chennai which also doubles up as the Asia round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC).

    Note: Updated with driver quotes on April 7, at 1.42pm.

  • India to conduct 11 Nationals in different motorsports disciplines in 2021

    India to conduct 11 Nationals in different motorsports disciplines in 2021

    Bengaluru, 27 Feb 2021: The Indian Federation which runs the motorsports in the country, FMSCI, has announced that 11 National championships would be held in the year 2021. The major difference would be the dropping of the Indian National Drag Championshipo for four wheelers, which was not held in 2020 due to the COVID19 pandemic.

    The addition would be Indian National Gymkhana Championship which the current President Mr Akbar Ebrahim promised in 2018 during his last stint as the chief of the Indian body which is the ASN of FIA. The X30 Karting Nationals too have disappeared from the National Championship list and the Indian National Autocross Championship regains its place after a haitus of a few years.

    FMSCI, the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India, is the governing body for running motorsports in the country and are recognised by the Ministry of Sports but are not in the priority list of sports nor are funded by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), an arm of the Ministry.

    It is interesting to note that Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) the rights holder for the National Racing Championship for both two-wheelers and four-wheelers have also announced the Calendar for 2022 in both the disciplines. MMSC is the promoter for the two events, along with the Drag Nationals for three years from 2019 to 2021, but due to the COVID pandemic, the Federation has granted an extended fourth year for all the promoters.

    Following are the Nationals to be run in 2021:

    1. MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship

    2. JK Tyre  FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship

    3. FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship

    4. MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship

    5. MRF MOGRIP FMSCI National Supercross Championship

    6. MRF MOGRIP FMSCI National Rally Championship 2W

    7. MMS FMSCI National Karting Championship

    8. FMSCI Indian National Autocross Championship

    9. MMSC FMSCI Indian National 2W Drag Championship

    10. FMSCI Indian National Rally Sprint Championship 2021

    11. FMSCI Indian National Gymkhana Championship – 2021

  • Mujeeb, Musa win INRC contender Hampi round

    Mujeeb, Musa win INRC contender Hampi round

    Hampi (Karnataka), 7 Feb 2021: Seven-time National champion co-driver Musa Sherif combined with Mujeeb Rehman as team Kasargod to drive their INRC2 car to overall honours in the Indian National Rally Championship Contender round that concluded the INRC 2020 season here on Sunday.

    The Kasargod duo rallying a Snap Racing prepared VW Polo clocked the best time of 01 hour, 01min, 2.200seconds for the 50.4-km special stage distance run in four Special Stages. Ritesh Guttedar M and co-driver Lokaranjan HJ, also in INRC2 class Volkswagen Polo, took the second spot trailing by over one minute, despite clocking best times in two of the four Special Stages timing 01:02:30.700. However, they were later disqualified by the stewards for a Parc Ferme violation.

    Thus, PSR Yeswanth and co-driver Bharath SM came second overall bringing their INRC4 car home in 01:03:36.300. Ruthvik M Gowda and co-driver Sudheendra came third. Avinash DC and co-driver Kenneth Harsha came fourth in their Honda City VTech while Deepak Chandra and co-driver Mohan Raj, also in an INRC4 car came fifth. Nidhi Sachdeva and co-driver Dheeraj KV brought their Gypsy home in sixth, the last car to finish among the 9 entries. BC Roopesh and Phalguna Raghavendra had a DNF, as they pulled out in the second stage due to a mechanical breakdown.

  • 2020 INRC season ends with a bang at Utsav de Hampi

    2020 INRC season ends with a bang at Utsav de Hampi

    Bengaluru, 3 Feb 2021: The COVID19-hit 2020 season ends with a bang after Utsav de Hampi, in Bengaluru with the 45th K-1000. Even as the four-wheel contender for Indian National Rally Championship 2021 gets ready to host the mega event at Hampi from Feb 5 to 7 as part of Motorsports Festival with four major events, the rally season with a reduced four-round calendar will conclude a week later on Feb 14, the valentine’s day, near Bengaluru.

    Including a successfully conducted MRF MoGrip two-wheeler Indian National Rally Championship (INRC2w) that showcased nine champions of the 2020 with the 2019 FIM Baja World Cupper Aishwarya Pissay, getting her fourth National 2w Rally title in her class for the fourth successive year, the Utsav de Hampi proved that motorsport can still be organised with great vigour and passion if one makes an effort. For Aishwarya, it is a great achievement indeed, to get her 7th National title, along with the three other Road Racing titles she had won before she jumped board to Rallying and then to more demanding Cross-Country rallying.

    Then there is the defending champion Rajendra, also of TVS Racing and Asad Khan winning their National titles in their class but it is Samuel Sajan Jacob, also from the stables of TVS, who hogged the limelight winning the Overall honours. The other class champions are yet to be declared but the hosts Vijayanagar Academy of Motorsports get ready to host the contender Four-wheeler rally for INRC to provide that final push to the close of the season.

    Coming back to INRC contender round, one has to see if the top guns will attend the rally as the title is already won by Gaurav Gill and Musa Sherif, and the expenses of bringing cars to Hampi may be a little dampener. But the mood and the festival atmosphere is hard to resist and many are already on their way as a prelude to the last round to be held near Bengaluru.

  • Musa Sherif joins elite club of four with 7 National titles

    Musa Sherif joins elite club of four with 7 National titles

    Bengaluru, 1 Feb 2021: Following are the Statistics of the Indian National Rally Championship after the end of the third round of the four-round INRC 2020 calendar which is pushed to 2021 due to the COVID pandemic.

    The top-most rallying personality who has a gigantic presence in Indian National Rally Championship is N Leelakrishnan, who has six National Drivers’ titles besides 19 titles as a Tuner, including his own six titles. Then we have Naren Kumar, who is the first to bag seven drivers title, which Gaurav Gill equalled at Coimbatore clinching his seventh title with a round (K1000) to spare. Then we have Musa Sherif of Kasargod, who also has topped the Co-Drivers’ list with seven titles. The only co-driver to achieve the feat.

    Gaurav Gill and Musa Sherif have been together for 63 Rallies out of which they finished 39 Rallies, notching up 38 podiums and 36 victories. Gill was behind the wheel of a Mitsubishi Cedia for his first three titles while the last four came through the bulky Mahindra XUV.

    Musa Sherif becomes the leading co-driver with the highest number of rallies, finishing his 293rd rally in the third round at Coimbatore, consecutively calling the notes for 29 years. He has navigated for 47 drivers in that period. These 293 rallies include over 150 rallies in INRC.

    Musa Sherif navigated for the following drivers in his career spanning 29 years from 1993 when he made his debut in Karavali rally in Mangalore. In 1994, he made his debut at the Indian National Rally Riders Championship (INRC 2w, as then titled) and went on to co-drive for cars much later. The different drivers he navigated and made the call are as follows till end of 2020 season on 7 Feb 2921 INRC 2020, contender for 2021 being the last event:

    Mr and Mrs Musa Sherif celebrate their Wedding Anniversary on January 12.
    Photo by Musa Sherif on @Instagram
    File photo of Musa Sherif after winning the Bengal rally in Dec 2011 along with Gaurav Gill (not in pic). An INDIAinF1 image
    1. Gaurav Gill
    2. Karamjit Singh, Malaysia
    3. Naren Kumar
    4. Lohitt Urs
    5. Arjun Rao
    6. Samir Thapar
    7. Sanjay Takle
    8. Vijayant Chaudhury
    9. Manik Raikhy
    10. Gaurav Chirpal
    11. Rahul Kantharaj
    12. Nikhil Taneja
    13. Austin Mascarenhas
    14. Satish Bhat
    15. Prasanna GB
    16. Zuhin TKM
    17. Khalid Faraz
    18. Ravi Agarwal
    19. Saneem Sani
    20. Jasbir Singh
    21. Khalid Al Mohanadi
    22. Monsoor Parol
    23. Ashok Agarwal
    24. Shajan Daniel
    25. Umakanth Alva
    26. Saurabh Chaudhury
    27. Sunny Sidhu
    28. Rohan Rego
    29. Syed Mehtab
    30. Dr Pramod Singh
    31. Ashwin Naik
    32. UT Abdul Khader
    33. Naveen Chandra shetty
    34. Zahir Manipady
    35. Abbas
    36. Prasad Malve
    37. Sachin Meega
    38. Purujit Singh
    39. Bembli Gowda
    40. Abhilash PG
    41. Philippos Matthai
    42. Bajwa
    43. Dr Manender (sandy)
    44. Druva Chandrasekar
    45. Paraag Dhiwar
    46. Santosh and
    47. Samrat Yadav and
    48. Mujeeb Rehman (INRC contender Hampi).

  • Gaurav Gill wins record 7th INRC title; equals Naren Kumar’s feat; surpasses Leela’s

    Gaurav Gill wins record 7th INRC title; equals Naren Kumar’s feat; surpasses Leela’s

    By David Bodapati

    Coimbatore, 31 Jan 2021: Gaurav Gill and experienced navigator Musa Sherif, clinched their 7th National title in the Rally of Coimbatore, the third and penultimate round of the Champions Yacht Club fmsci Indian National Rally Championship 2020 (INRC), with a round to spare here on Sunday.

    Gill equalled the record of Naren Kumar’s seven National titles and surpassed Narayanaswamy Leelakrishnan (6), his current tuner. Incidentally, Gill also won three FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship titles and he has also taken part in the World Rally Championship in WRC2 class.

    Gill garnered 116 points from three rounds and with only K-1000 with a maximum of 39 points on offer, left in the calendar, Gill has sealed the championship with a round to spare. Here in Coimbatore, Gill’s XUV 300 turbo suffered from electrical issues and he struggled to do even 100 Kmph.

    Yet, Gill won five of the six stages and despite having electrical issues from the very beginning that hampered his speed, he brought home his limping car to get him the latest National title that put him on a pinnacle.

    Dr Speed Bikku Babu takes a right-hander in SS5 on Sunday. Babu finished 2nd overall and first in his class in the Round 3 of the Indian National Rally Championship.
    Gaurav Gill, left and Musa Sherif, who won the seventh National title together

    “Yes, the stages were very narrow and rough terrain which made it highly technical. This year the stage distance was increased and now it is one of the longest (over 19 Kms) stages in Indian rallies, so the route became very tough. But I like it because, it is always nice to win the Stages which are tough and demanding. I did suffer initial hiccups but as the saying goes, it is nice to conquer things when the going gets tough,” quipped Gill.

    The Arjuna Awardee and Delhi-based driver, who is nick-named the King of Indian Motorsports, is truly a force to reckon with, and had he progressed to the WRC earlier than he did, in his peak, India and FMSCI would now have boasted of a World Champion.

    But all is not lost as Gill still dreams of WRC, and the champion in him is eager to produce big results. For now, he will be taking part in the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) again with the first round of 2021 season in Chennai from 26 to 28 March. It will be run simultaneously for Asia Cup and South India Rally as the 2021 INRC Round, provided the calendar is approved by FMSCI for INRC.

    Meanwhile, two entrants from Kerala, “Dr Speed” Bikku Babu, who is maturing like old wine, won in the INRC 2 class and “Mr Clean” Fabid Ahmer topped the INRC 3 category, to make up for a bad outing in Itanagar. Ahmer managed to recoup, fight and get back with his clean-and-steady driving to lead the championship once again by eight points in INRC3.

    Dean Mascarenhas, who retired with a gear box failure, still leads the championship in INRC2 with one round to go. The A seeded driver, Babu, and B seeded Ahmer, are not the only drivers from the stable of Chettinad Sporting, as the Goa-Coorg combination of Vaibhav Marathe, a product of Champions Group, won INRC 4 class, along with co-driver Suhan M Kabir. The duo clinched the issue after some hiccups in Round 1 at Itanagar. The Champions Yacht Club Director in Goa, Marathe, is leading the championship table in his class with a podium in Round 2 and a win here.

    Dr Speed Bikku Babu, left, and Bonny Thomas, INRC Overall second and INRC2 winners in the Rally of Coimbatore on Sunday. Photo by David Bodapati

    The Team which hogged limelight on the day was Chettinad Sporting, led by Thyagarajan and Roshan, the men behind the cars’ performance. The team won three out of four Championship classes and had one more podium to boost as a bonus. It was in 2014 in Nashik that the team had swept all the classes but one, and today is a great day for a team which started its journey with South India Rally in 1996 and went on to field two cars for the rally in Coorg in 2007, where Chettinad Sporting had a good presence with their blue colour dominating the car livery. And today, after 25 years, they came out with flying colours with three wins. “Three cheers to all the mechanics, the drivers, co-drivers and the men who believed in them who made the journey possible… For us, drivers and co-drivers are always the heroes and all praise should go to them,” said Thyagarajan.

    Gill, too, has played no less a role, as both Bikku Babu and FabidAhmer were part of his Rally School and learnt the tricks of the trade to blossom and perform to their potential. Chettinad Sporting provieds technical support to Gill’s academy in the Kethanur windmill farms near Coimbatore.

    Meanwhile, defending champion Chethan Shivram with a new navigator in Shahid Salman, in his Volkswagon Polo 1.6 bereft of the usual LSD, still managed to finish fourth overall and second in his class which is a big achievement. But the luck that deserted with Dilip Sharan, who is now navigating for Rakesh Shukla in an Esteem, may have dampened the spirit, but the champ in Shivram continues to fight for honours with K-1000 still on the radar. Chetan and his brother Dilip had won the 2019 championship with FRK led by Fazal Khan tuning the car, for Team Akshara Racing, as they got into the exclusive club of 10 Overall INRC winners in 32 years.

    Vaibhav Marathe and Suhan Kabir bring Yokohama their first class win in ten years with their last title coming in 2010 for Red Rooster Racing. Photo by David Bodapati

    Harikrishna Wadi and co-driver Chirag Thakur put their Honda City on top in the Junior INRC category and 11th overall, while Pragathi Gowda, driving with a new navigator in her third rally, in Trisha Jagannath, came second in their VW Polo. Mysore lad Rakshith Iyer and co-driver Chandrasekhar were third in Junior class in an Esteem.

    Sanjay Razdan and navigator Karan Aukta won the Gypsy Challenge with veteran Sanjay Agarwal and co-driver Smitha Prasad taking second and the pair of Divyanshu Vyas and VenuRemesh Kumar third.

    In the Ladies Class, 27-year debutante Athira Murali of Kottayam won the Round 3 in an INRC4 Esteem along with co-driver George Varghese, despite losing a lot of time due to a slower car ahead which had technical issues. Another lady driver from the north, Amandeep Kaur, who is also making her debut in the INRC, came second, with ever-smiling navigator Mohit Malik in a Baleno ahead of mother-daughter pair of doctors in Dr Shivani Pruthvi and Dr Deepthi Pruthvi, from Davangere in Karnataka, who finished on the podium, despite some issues with the car, in this class.

    Of the 59 cars that took the start on Day 1, only 33 cars completed the rally and 26 failed to finish. The fourth and last round of the delayed 2020 INRC 2020, K-1000, is scheduled to be run by Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC) from 12 to 14 February, 2021.

    Unaudited Provisional Results: (Round 3 after Sunday’s six Special Stages):

    Overall: 1. Gaurav Gill/ Musa Sherif (Mahindra Adventure3 00) (1hour, 27min, 56.700seconds); 2. Dr Speed – Bikku Babu/ Bonnie Thoma (VW Polo) (1:29:21.100); 3. Fabid Ahmer/ Eldo Chacko (JK Tyre) (VW Polo) (01:29:57.200); 4. Chetan Shivram /Shahid Salman (VW Polo) (01:31.05.500); 5. Aditya Thakur/ Virendra Keshyap (VW Polo) (1:31:36.700); 6. Ritesh Guttedar M/  Lokaranjan HJ (VW Polo) (01:31:43.600); 7. Sahil Khanna /Vidit Jain (Snap Racing) (VW Polo) (01:32:54.200); 8. Maninder Singh Prince/ Vinay Padmashali (JK Tyre – VW Polo) (1:32:57.400); 9. Phillippos Mathai/ Kumar Ramasamy (Mahindra XUV 500) (1:33:18.600); 10. Mohammed Kasim/ Sanath G (VW Polo) (1:33:45.300).

    INRC2:1. Dr Speed – Bikku Babu/ Bonnie Thomas (1:29:21.100); 2. Chetan Shivram /Shahid Salman (01:31.05.500); 3. Ritesh Guttedar M/  Lokaranjan HJ (01:31:43.600); 4. Sahil Khanna /Vidit Jain (Snap Racing) (01:32:54.200); 5. Rahul Kantharaj/ Vivek Bhatt (01:54:07.500); 6. Suhem Kabir/ Jeevarathinam (2:12:24.600); 7. Lakshay Veer Dabas/ Sagar Mallappa (Snap Racing/ VW Polo) (2:13:27.500); All in VW Polo.

    INRC3: 1. Fabid Ahmer /Eldo Chacko (JK Tyre) (VW Polo) (01:29:57.200); 2. Aditya Thakur/ Virendra Keshyap (VW Polo) (1:31:36.700); 3. Maninder Singh Prince/ Vinay Padmashali (VW Polo) (1:32:57.400); 4.Mohammed Kasim/ Sanath G (VW Polo) (01:33:45.300); 5. Harkrishnan Wadia /Chirag Thakur (Honda City) (01:34:42.300); 6. Pragathi Gowda/ Trisha Jagannath (Team Vasundhara/ VW Polo) (1:37:08.200); 7. Ashad Pasha/ Deeksha Balakrishna (VW Polo) (01:37:18.300).

    INRC 4: 1. Vaibhav Marathe/ Suhan MK (Honda City) (01:36:51.700); 2. Yeswanth Padale/ Bharth SM (Honda City) (1:40:34.300); 3. Pradeep Ravi/ Arvind Dheerendra (Maruti Suzuki Esteem) (01:42:13.200); 4.Sumesh M/ Anil Abbas (Maruti Suzuki Esteem) (01:46:31.700); 5. Athira Murali/ George Varghese (1:52:10.400); 6. Amandeep Kaur/ Mohit Mallik (Maruti Suzuki Baleno) (01:14:18.300); 7. Rakesh Shukla / Dilip Sharan (Maruti Suzuki Esteem) (01:53:01.300).

    Junior INRC: 1. #28; Harikrishna Wadi/ Chirag Thakur (JK Tyre -Honda City) (1:34:42.300); 2. #38; Rakshit Iyer/ M Chandrashekar (Maruti Suzuki Esteem) (2:04:07.800); 3. #36; Shivani Pruthvi/ Deepthi Pruthvi (JK Tyre Mitsubishi Cedia) (2:15:15.200); Only 4 cars of the 6 eligible for Junior INRC finished.

    Non-Championship class

    Gypsy Challenge: 1. Sanjay Razdan/ Karan Aukta (01:40:40.200); 2. Sanjay Agarwal/ Smitha Prasad (01:42:44.700); 3. Divyanshu Vyas/ Venu Remesh;Kumar (01:44:03.900);4. Mohd. Kaif Khan/ Arjun Dheerendra (01:44:30.900); 5. Dheeraj KV/ Pramod Raman (01:45:31.700); 6. Daksh Gill/ Mrinmoy Saha (1:57:58.600);

    (Only 6 of the 12 Gypsies finished).

    Ladies Class: 1. #47 Athira Murali/ George Varghese (Esteem); 2. #46 Amandeep Kaur/ Mohit Malik (Baleno); 3. #36 Shivani Pruthvi/ Deepthi Pruthvi (Mitsubishi Cedia).

    eom/david/31jan2021

  • Gaurav Gill powers his limping Mahindra to top spot after Leg 1: INRC Round 3

    Gaurav Gill powers his limping Mahindra to top spot after Leg 1: INRC Round 3

    Kethanur (near Coimbatore), 30 Jan 2021: King of Indian motorsports, Gaurav Gill and co-driver Musa Sherif, powered their limping Mahindra XUV 300, to clock the fastest timing of the day, finishing ahead of the pack to lead the Day 1 of the Rally of Coimbatore, the third round of the Champion Yacht Club fmsci Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) for four wheelers here at the Kethanur windmill farms on Saturday.

    The Arjuna Awardee and three-time APRC champion, Gill with Sherif, who is taking part in his 293rd rally, had trouble even before they started the Special Stages, as they faced electrical issues and the car failed to gain speed. They did continue despite the `misfiring’ and still clocked better timings than the others in three of the four stages.

    “I was definitely off the pace, by some four minutes. Not sure what the problem is, but hopefully, it would be sorted out tonight. The misfiring started in the very first corner of the first Stage. So much so, I couldn’t even do 100 Kmph! It was frustrating in the sense that I would like to deliver good results to my sponsors and the team. Anyway, tomorrow, I hope to be on the kind of pace I want to,” said Gill at the end of the day.

    Meanwhile, other top-guns Karna Kadur (co-driver Nikhil Pai), Amittrajit Ghosh (co-driver Ashwin Naik) and Dean Mascarenhas (co-driver Shruptha Padiwal), had a bad day. Kadur, running with a new engine, encountered “teething problems” through the day and lost time, but will be eyeing leg points on the morrow.Ghosh had his share of problems and had stopped while Mascarenhas dropped out due to gearbox issues.

    Gaurav Gill, left, and Musa Sherif, who is on his 293rd rally after reccee on Friday.

    Dr “Speed” Bikku Babu, once again was in his elements and finished the day second overall with another talented Kerala youngster Fabid Ahmer, along with new co-driver Eldo Chacko, overall third at the end of the day after four Special Stages. Two more stages will be run on Sunday.

    While Dr Bikku Babu is leading the INRC 2 class from Chetan Shivram, who is now with a new co-driver Shahid Salman and running on stock engine. Sahil Khanna, navigated by Vidit Jain, is in third place. In INRC 3, Arjun Rao (co-driver Shanmuga Sundaram) is trailing Fabid Amer by just 22 seconds. Adiya Thakur (co-driver Virendra Kashyap) is in third.

    In INRC 4, the Goa-Kodagu combination of Vaibhav Marathe and Suhan MK are ahead of Yeswanth Padale and Bharath SM, and Rounak Singh and  Amit Waghchaure.

    Other casuality on Saturday was Rahul Kantharaj (co-driver Vivek Bhatt), who had a puncture and lost precious time.

    Provisional Unaudited Results: (Results are given till 7 places, were available, to facilitate drivers and co-drivers to count their leg points)

    Overall: 1. Gaurav Gill/ Musa Sherif (Mahindra Adventure3 00) (58:41.800); 2. Dr Speed – Bikku Babu/ Bonnie Thoma (VW Polo) (1:00:01.300); 3. Fabid Ahmer/ Eldo Chacko (JK Tyre) (VW Polo) (01:00:08.300); 4. Arjun Rao/ Shanmuga Sundaram (VW Polo) (1: 00:30.800); 5. Aditya Thakur/ Virendra Keshyap (VW Polo) (1:01:04.500); 6. Chetan Shivram /Shahid Salman (VW Polo) (01:01.13.100); 7. Sahil Khanna /Vidit Jain (Snap Racing) (VW Polo) (01:01:33.100); 8. Ritesh Guttedar M/  Lokaranjan HJ (VW Polo) (01:01:37.400);

    Note: Phillippo Mathai/ Kumar Ramasamy (Mahindra XUV 500- MRF Tyres) 01:02:47.600 get six leg points for 2nd in INRC class; However, INRC is not a separate class.

    INRC2:1. Dr Speed – Bikku Babu/ Bonnie Thomas (1:00:01.300); 2. Chetan Shivram /Shahid Salman (01:01.13.100); 3. Sahil Khanna /Vidit Jain (Snap Racing) (01:01:33.100); 4. Ritesh Guttedar M/  Lokaranjan HJ (01:01:37.400); 5. Dhruva Chandrasekhar/ PVS Murthy (01:04:11.700); 6. BC Roopesh/ Ragavendra Phalguna (01:13:10.400); 7. Rahul Kantharaj/ Vivek Bhatt (01:23:29.700). All in VW Polo.

    INRC3: 1. Fabid Ahmer /Eldo Chacko (JK Tyre) (VW Polo) (01:00:08.300); 2. Arjun Rao/ Shanmuga Sundaram (VW Polo) (1: 00:30.800); 3. Aditya Thakur/ Virendra Keshyap (VW Polo) (1:01:04.500); 4. Maninder Singh Prince/ Vinay Padmashali (VW Polo) (01:02:36.400); 5.Mohammed Kasim/ Sanath G (VW Polo) (01:02:39.900); 6. Harkrishnan Wadia /Chirag Thakur (Honda City) (01:03:17.400); 7. Daraius Shroff/ Nitin Jacob (VW Polo) (01:03:22.900).

    INRC 4: 1. Vaibhav Marathe/ Suhan MK (Honda City) (01:04:15.300); 2. YeswanthPadale/ Bharth SM (Honda City) (1:07:27.500); 3. Rounaq Singh/ Amit Waghchoure (Maruti Baleno) (01:08:41.900); 4. Pradeep Ravi/ Arvind Dheerendra (Maruti Suzuki Esteem) (01:09:13.400); 5.Sumesh M/ Anil Abbas (Maruti Suzuki Esteem) (01:11:54.700); 6. Amandeep Kaur/ Mohit Mallik (Maruti Suzuki Baleno) (01:14:18.300); 7. Rakesh Shukla / Dileep Sharan (Maruti Suzuki Esteem) (01:15:51.700).

    Junior INRC: 1. Pragathi Gowda/ Trisha Jagannath (01:05.10.300); 2. Rohit Iyer/ M Manjunath (01:21:32.200); (Only 2 Junior INRC cars finished the four stages today)

    Non-Championship class: Gypsy Challenge: 1. Sanjay Razdan/ Karan Aukta (01:07:17.700); 2. Abhishek Gowda/ Dheeraj Maney (01:08:34.100); 3. Sanjay Agarwal/ Smitha Prasad (01:08:39.000); 4. Divyanshu Vyas/ Venu Remesh;Kumar (01:08:48.600); 5. Mohd. Kaif Khan/ Arjun Dheerendra (01:10:20.600): 6. Dheeraj KV/ Pramod Raman (01:10:49.600); 7. Shyam Gopinath/ Ashwin Gururaj (01:1103.500).

    Leg points as follows: 1st Place: 7 points; 2nd Place: 6 points, 3rd Place: 5 points; 4th Place: 4 points; 5th Place: 3 points; 6th Place: 2 points; 7th Place: 1 point.

    Pragathi Gowda, left, who won the Junior INRC in Itanagar first round with Deeksha (not in pic) has a new navigator, a childhood friend and schoolmate Trisha Jagannathan, after the Reccee on Friday.

    (15of the 59 cars that took the start, failed to finish all the four Special Stages, but many of them will be rejoining on Sunday in the Super Rally format to earn Leg Points).

  • Karna Kadur & Nikhil Pai raring to go: 4w INRC Round 3

    Karna Kadur & Nikhil Pai raring to go: 4w INRC Round 3

    By David Bodapati

    Coimbatore, 25 Jan 2021: Karna Kadur and Nikhil Pai, make a rare combination. It is a rare species! If I may call it so, an endangered species! Two of the most-talented and skilled drivers and co-drivers in the country, arguably best in their class. It is difficult to say, if the navigator is better because of the driver or the Driver is better because of the co-driver.

    If we leave top guns, like Ram Kumar and Kumci Kumar, and the legendary Farooq Ahmed, currently not rallying in the season, Nikhil Pai, one of the senior most, if you put aside the Kasargod king, Musa Sherif, is a class in his own. Both have their unique features and respect each other. Musa is a veteran of over 200 rallies in INRC. Musa’s story is another great story, we must tell in these pages. Watch out!

    Today, it is Nikhil Pai, a sound engineer, cool, calm and composed! For the first time, I was able to hear his speed, sound and watch the moon at the same time. It was Karna Kadur who produced the sound, but the man who directed the show was Pai. Both are made for each other. One is as good as the other. A co-driver worth his salt, Nikhil Pai was a joy to watch at Arunachal Pradesh, as always. Karna came into his own after a reluctant run and excelled with controlled aggression and with the exception of the likes of Gill, a Speed demon, there is none that can stop the duo. INDIAinF1 rated them as the best in their class and next only to Gaurav Gill, as we have to take notice of their class, car and the machine. It is a VW Polo INRC NA.

    Yours humbly, (I am) is a big fan of Karna Kadur. All I have for the co-driver, Nikhil Pai, is #Respect. Besides, National Championship titles in other classes, they were crowned as Overall Champions in the Indian National Rally Championship 2016, a great honour to enter the list of National INRC Champions. They achieved it in a Volkswagen Polo in Group N and the unsung hero but for whom the victory may not have been possible is the duo’s mentor – a friend, philosopher and guide, N Leelakrishnan, who tuned the machines and coached them.

    In 2010, I was sitting with the tribals under the foothills of Sahayadri mountain ranges in Western Ghats, in front of a right hander, leading into a tricky bounce before they enter a straight. Here, Karna, who graduated to a bigger machine in Mitsubishi, after Red Rooster Racing identified him as a precious talent and gave him a powerful Cedia.

    INRC giant: N Leelakrishnan, right, who has 25 National titles in the 32-year history of Indian National Rally Championship from 1988 to 2019. He has six drivers National titles and as he tuned his own car and went on to be the tuner for 13 other overall winners. An impeccable record of 19 wins as a tuner. Here he is preparing Karna Kadur’s car for the second round of INRC 2020 after taking the driver feedback. Photo by David Bodapati

    The triple somersault and the safe exit, was baptism by fire. Pai was not his navigator then. The genial giant, Karna, never looked back, missing his first National title in 2012 but went on to win multiple National titles in every class he entered.

    And soon he had Nikhil Pai, giving the calls and the sound engineer, sound and steady in his performance, ever smiling and willing to enhance the show by his driver with impeccable prep, hardwork and disciplined attitude, and what it takes to beat the best… When they first became the National champions both were together.When they first won a National title for Polo, they were together. No driver misses the advantage of such a navigator. I love Karna, I admire Nikhil. Both are good and complement each other. It was also the dependable duo, who brought the first National title for VW Polo, winning their overall National Title in 2016.

    The other driver I admire and follow is Dean Mascarenhas, who faded away after a stunning debut as a 18-year teenager. But in Itanagar, he had a mature drive and proved that he still can hog limelight, only if sponsors back him up. Wish talented drivers are nurtured and sponsored!

    Karna on the other hand is already moulding youngsters and is good at managing teams. Karna, born into a sporting family, is a talented and hardworking driver, nay a thinking driver! And he is made of champion stuff, as he excelled in many forms of motorsports, a teacher in the mould of his guru, Leela, the 6-time National champ, an impeccable master of holistic driver development!

    “It is not fair to compare drivers, or for that matter co-drivers of different eras,” he told this reporter recently. But `we journalists’ end up writing good (and sometimes bad) without much thought. So, I may have missed some greats from the past, in the glorious 33-years (including 2020) of INRC… May Their Tribe increase!

    Unsung heroes: Mechs and Engineers are the unsung heroes behind any rally winner. The three here and other team members, worked day and night as the double-header with just a rest day in between took a toll on the mechs. Next round we promise you to get their names.

    The third round of the Indian National Rally Championship 2020 (INRC) for four-wheelers is scheduled to be held at the Kethanoor windmill farms near here from Jan 29 to 31. Promoted by Champions Yacht Club and organised by Coimbatore Auto Sports Club (CASC), under the aegis of fmsci, the governing body of motorsports (FIA ASN) in India, the top drivers in their class Karna Kadur and Nikhil Pai are raring to go in their (the magic behind the car with legendary Leelakrishnan at work) VW Polo shod on MRF tyres, expect some fireworks on Karna’s favourite gravel terrain, the patchy, pebble-filled windmill farms.

    “It’s rally week! While Karna (Kadur), me (Nikhil Pai) and everyone at Arka Motorsport , MRF Racing and Volkswagen Motorsport India are busy getting our car ready, here’s a little peek at the last two rounds of the Rally of Arunachal where we finished 2nd and 3rd overall respectively. Hoping to better that performance this weekend at Coimbatore, the 3rd round of the INRC. See you there!,” say the champion duo.

    See you in Kethanoor! Happy Rallying!!

    Watch the Arunachal Pradesh INRC Round 1 & 2 short Video here!

    Editor’s Note: David Bodapati, has been following INRC from 1988 as a sub-editor in Indian Express and has been covering at least one round (read K1000) from 1996, except an year or two, and did research for over 10 years to compile INRC Hall of fame.

    This article has been last updated on 28 Jan 2021 at 12.12pm