Kottayam, Dec. 22: Brothers Chetan Shivram and Dilip Sharan are the National champions. They did not win the Poplular Rally but the experienced duo from Bengaluru conquered the Indian National Rally Championship 2019, thanks to their stunning victories in the second round at Combatore and fourth round in Bengaluru.
The MRF supported duo of Team Akshara, who had suffered a massive crash in the opening stage on Saturday, returned to complete Day 2’s three stages to protect their lead. They did get three valuable leg points, that put the title beyond Fabid and Dean.
They garnered enough points in the two previous rallies nurturing their car and negotiating the dangerous terrain when most of the top guns failed to finish. Both these rounds saw most of the experienced and talented drivers bite the dust one after the other. But Chetan, with Dilip calling the notes, carefully and skillfully negotiated to take the wins under these tricky circumstances and those points stood them in good stead and brought them the championship which they richly deserved.
In cheeful mood after the rally.
After the K1000 rally, a veteran rally fan could not help remember an old saying: “To finish first, one has to first finish the rally.’’ Chetan’s rivals, Fabid Ahmer and Dean Mascarenhas, who had a chance to topple Chetan needing 25 and 29 points respectively before the start of the Kerala leg, could not do much on Sunday. While Dean along with co-driver Shruptha Padival finished overall second in the Popular Rally, Fabid, along with navigator Sanath Gopalanhad, missed the INRC3 title by a whisker as a late penalty at the last TC cost them the title by a point. However, the youngster from Palakkad had the consolation of winning the Junior INRC title for 2019.
Meanwhile, speed maestro Gaurav Gill and co-driver Musa Sherif, retained the Popular Rally title, as the final round of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), promoted by Champions Yacht Club and organised by Southern Adventure and Motorsports concluded here on Sunday. Gill won the Popular Rally for the fifth time.
The Team Mahindra Adventure driver, supported by JK Tyre won SS9 and finished second in SS10 and SS11 on Day 2 to regain his aura over the weekend. Gill’s teammates, Dean Mascarenhas and Suhem Kabeer, too did well, taking the third and fourth positions in Popular Rally’s overall category.
Overall Winners: From left: Dr Bikku Babu & Milen George (2nd place), Musa Sherif & Gaurav Gill (winners) and Dean Mascarenhas & Shrupta Padival (3rd). Photo: CYC release
Chetan, along with Dilip, nursed his car smartly, taking the tenth position in SS9 but revved up to the fifth in the last two stages for a valiant show. Chetan and Dilip also won the INRC3 title for a double dhamaka as Fabid and Sanath, earned a lat penalty.
In INRC3, Fabid who finished second behind Aditya Thakur and co-driver Virender Kashyap, had been demoted and Jacob KJ and PVS Murthy came second. Kuber Sharma and Karan Aukta finished third.
Team Champions’ Dr Bikku Babu (Milen George), a local favourite, finished third in the overall category and first in his own INRC 2 for a highly-rewarding Popular Rally. Tied with JK Tyre’s Dean Mascarenhas (Shruptha Padival) on 72 points at the start of the round, his win surely fetched him the National title in INRC 2 class.
In the INRC 4 category was won by Suraj Thomas and co-driver Sob George while Vaibhav Marathe (Arjun SSB) and Rakshith Iyer/Chandrashekhar finished second and third respectively. Vaibhav and Arjun garnered the National title in this class.
(Note: The results and the report were edited and revised on Dec. 23 at 12 noon after the official results which penalised an INRC3 driver changed the top-3 places and the title winner)
Provisional Results (Round 5): INRC Overall: 1. Gaurav Gill/ Musa Sherif – 1hour, 25min, 01.7sec; 2. Dr Bikku Babu/ Milen George – 1:29:16.300; 3. Dean Mascarenhas/ Shrupta Padival – 1:31:02.600.
INRC 2: 1. Dr Bikku Babu/ Milen George – 1:29:16.300; 2. Dean Mascarenhas/ Shrupta Padivel – 1:31:02.600; 3. Suhem Kabeer/ Jeeva Rathinam – 1:31:22.000.
Chetan Shivram and Dilip Sharan, who rejoined the rally on Sunday. Photo by Angel MabelAction freeze of Fabid Ahmer and Sanath Gopalan (both Palakkad) of Team Champions who missed the INRC3 title by a point but won the National title in Junior INRC on Sunday. Photo by Anand PhilarVaibhav Marath (Goa) and Arjun SSB (Bengaluru), also of Team Champions, who won the National title in INRC4 class. Photo by Anand PhilarJohn D Paul of Kuttukaran Group speaks at the PD as Vicky Chandhok, Chairman of APRC Rally Commission looks on, on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar
Chetan Shivram (left) and Dilip Sharan on the podium after winning the K1000 rally, the 4th Round of Champiojns Yacht Club INRC 2019 in Bengaluru on Sunday. INDIAinF1 photo
Bengaluru, 24 Nov 2019: Gaurav Gill, Dean Mascarenhas, Karna Kadur, Fabid Ahmer… the top drivers, stalwarts, experienced veterans, talented seniors and upcoming youngsters… many of them bit the dust. The unforgiving terrain of Khoday’s Special Stages saw that only 23 of the 50 cars finished the 44th edition of the K1000 rally, which was run entirely on a private property after many years, with special focus on spectator safety.
In the SUV Challenge, Gagan Karumbaiah (co-driver Thimmu Uddapanda) of Team Champions took the first place to virtually seal the 2019 title.
File photo of Chetan Shivram. @FB
Coimbatore round winners, Chetan Shivaram and Dilip Sharan of Team Akshara won the fourth round of the Indian National Rally Championship after thwarting sustained pressure from Dr Bikku Babu and Milen George of Team Champions, and took the overall win by 12.7 seconds and also topped their class INRC3. The Doctor from Kerala had to be content with the overall second place but topped INRC2 and Team Mahindra Adventure’s second entry Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik were overall third, a good three minutes and 27 seconds behind, but were rewarded for finishing the rally with the top prize in the top class, the INRC. Chetan Shivaram took the overall lead in the Championship replacing Fabid Ahmer, with one round remaining, the Popular Rally in Kerala.
Mujeeb Rahman (left) and Goutham, INRC4 winners
Motoring stalwart and speed demon Gaurav Gill and co-driver Musa Sherif, too, had a disappointing outing as he failed to take the start on Sunday and other pre-event favourites Dean Mascarenhas and Shruptha Padival (SS6), and Karna Kadur and Nikhil Pai (SS5) failed to finish the day along with championship leaders Fabid Ahmer and Sanath Gopalan (SS7).
After the shock exit of Gaurav Gill, order seemed to have been restored, with another JK favourite Dean Mascarenhas winning SS5. But he promptly fell in the next stage, leaving the field for Championship leader Fabid Ahmer. But the MRF driver, who was nursing his car carefully, suffered a mechanical failure in SS7 and tumbled out. “What looked like a promising result ended up with broken tie-rod end! Had to stop in SS7 when running 3rd Overall and 2nd in INRC3. We will bounce back at our home rally in Kerala,” quipped Fabid Ahmer.
“The top guns may not have fired today but we couldn’t have hoped for a more thrilling finish. It was good to see so many of the INRC 2 and 3 teams making a mark here, ahead of the known champions,” Hema Malini Nidamanuri, co-promoter of the INRC, said.
SUV winners of K1000 on 24 Nov 2019. (INDIAinF1 publishes other class winners’ photos as they usually get buried in mainstream media. We encourage drivers to send their winning photos to INDIAinF1@gmail.com) Photo: Prabhu KethanurDr Bikku Babu and Melen George, winners of INRC2 at K1000 on Sunday. Photo: FBChethan Shivaram in action at K1000. Photo by Prabhu KethanoorFabid Ahmer and Sanath G stall in Special Stage 7 due to tie-rod failure on Sunday. @Fabid on FB
File photo of Team Akshara. Courtesy: FB @ChetanShivram
Gaurav Gill leads K1000 at the end of Day 1 in Bengaluru on Saturday. Photo by Sriharsha Nadiger
Bengaluru, 23 Nov 2019: Speed Maestro Gaurav Gill touched his wonted form, making an immediate impact as he returned to rallying, by speeding to the first-Special Stage win of the popular K1000 rally, the fourth leg of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC) at the Khoday’s stages in Amruthnagar, about 20km, near here, on Saturday. But the champion driver was forced to pay attention and drive with caution as the tough stages took a toll on many an experienced driver during the four stages run on Day 1. Still Gill won two of the four stages but displayed controlled aggression and went steady in the other two.
Of the 50 cars that took the flag at the ceremonial start on Friday, 24 cars suffered casualities on Day 1 in the demanding and treacherous dirt stages but five cars out of them will not be able to start the final day of the 44th K1000 Rally, promoted by Champions Yacht Club under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI). Only 45 cars will take the start on Sunday.
The Arjuna Awardee and three-time Asia Pacific Rally Championship winner, Gill, dashed with vengeance taking the 18.5km stage in 13min, 43.6sec, the only driver on the day to go under 14-min mark on Special Stage 1. The five-time INRC champion in JK Tyre colours, was followed by talented Karna Kadur, who took 29 seconds more behind him, but kept the pressure on Gill (co-driver Musa Sherif) to finish the day in second place. Karna Kadur and navigator Nikhil Pai, of Arka Motorsports, won Special Stage 4 to reduce the deficit and will be gunning for maximum points. Then, it was Dr Bikku Babu who sprang a surprise. Watch Prabhu Kethanoor’s 8-sec Video of Karna Kadur here…
But it was Dr Bikku Babu and Milen George, who won SS2. The doctor from Kerala, who was involved in reviving the Popular rally along with his team, pelted to take a stunning win and Karna despite losing time and finishing 7th in this stage came back and took the second place behind Gill and Musa Sherif in SS3 and went on to win SS4 to make up enough time and stand second, behind Gill, the Delhi-based master of speed.
Overall leader before the start of this round, Fabid Ahmer, driving a Volkswagen Polo, with partial sponsorship from MRF tyres, opted for the smart option, driving steadily in each of the four stages, with the finishing post in his mind. He was in the sixth position at the end of the day and could well go full throttle on the big day.
Fabid Ahmer and co-driver Sanath Gopal, of Team Champions, had their strategy of steady and clean driving as the track took a toll on man and machine on Saturday. Only Popular Rally is remaining in the calendar as the Coffee Day rally at Chikmagalur is likely to be cancelled for want of a sponsor. The Palakkad driver began with caution and was keen on completing the day and could only finish 8th in SS1 but reeled out consistent times and made sure he is safe. The duo was fifth in SS2 but again lost time in SS3 and SS4 finishing 7th and 8th respectively. But Dean Mascarenhas of Mangalore with Shruptha Padival as co-driver has finished the day in overall third and with only 7 points behind to Fabid’s 49, is likely to take the overall lead as INRC goes to Kerala for the last round. Dean has a lead of about 75 seconds to Fabid and will be looking to be cautious on the four stages to be run on Sunday.
Fabid and Sanath even fell behind brothers Chetan Shivaram and Dilip Sharan, who also compete in INRC3. The Bengaluru brothers are in 5th place at the end of the day. Chetan managed to take the 6th place in the first stage and put in some consistent time finishing 3rd in both SS2 and SS3 and clocked fourth best time in SS4 to finish overall 5th after four stages.
Mangaluru boy Dean Mascarenhas in action finishing Day 1 in second place in the K1000 at Bengaluru on Saturday. An INDIAinF1 image
Dean, meanwhile, continued to hold sway in the INRC2 category, although he had Dr Bikku Babu and co-driver Milen George, breathing down his neck, only 9.8 seconds behind. The good doctor was the clear surprise package of the day, going past the winning post in SS2; he even left Gill in his wake in SS4, taking the second place to Gill’s third, and claimed the fifth position in SS3 and the 6th in SS1 to boast of the best show of the day. Shahil Khanna and Rajit Kadian are placed third in INRC2.
However, all eyes will be on Karna Kadur and Nikhil Pail. The Arka Motorsports duo, who had two disappointing rounds at Chennai and Coimbatore, showed their mettle to take the overall second position behind Gill and also in the INRC class. Karna showed glimpses of his talent and won SS4 with an impressive timing of 12:24.200. The technically sound driver could be a major threat on Sunday if he can control his speed and manage the tough terrain. They are also second in the INRC class behind Gill and are followed by Phalguna Urs and Chandramouli M, who recovered from a bad crash in Jodhpur.
The INRC 4 class, saw Vaibhav Marate suffering a setback, withdrawing from the first stage itself after a mechanical problem. He should, however, be back in action on Sunday to put his title aspirations back on track, gunning for stage points. In his absence, Mujeeb Rahman and co-driver Gautham CP, privateers on a Honda City took the top position on Day 1. Shirole Prakhyat and Bharath SM, on a Honda City VTech are second, followed by Karthik Arumugam and Lenin Jose in third place.
Thomas Kuncheria M and co-driver Dwarakanth Sudarshan brought their Maruti Gypsy to the top in the SUV Challenge class. Leaders Gagan Karumbaiah and Thimmu Uddapanda are trailing in second place and will be gunning for the final shot on Sunday to take back the lead. K Shivakumar Reddy and Dheeraj KV, also in a Gypsy, are place third with four more Special Stages to be run on Sunday.
“It was an exciting day, opening up the championship in this penultimate round,” Hema Malini Nidamanuri, co-promoter of the rally, said. “We got to see some amazing driving and I am sure it’s going to be even more fun on Sunday,” she added.
Satyapal, communication head, briefing the team at K1000 on Saturday. Photo Moto Port Seena
Provisional Unaudited Results after Leg 1 (Day 1):
Overall: 1. Gaurav Gill/ Musa Sherif (Team Mahindra Adventure) (52minutes; 58.200seconds); 2. Karna Kadur/ Nikhil Pai (Arka Motorsports) (53:47.800); 3. Dean Mascarenhas/ Shruptha Padival (Privateers) (54:14.300).
INRC: 1. Gaurav Gill/ Musa Sherif (Team Mahindra Adventure) (52minutes; 58.200seconds); 2. Karna Kadur/ Nikhil Pai (Arka Motorsports) (53:47.800); 3. Phalguna Urs/ Chandramouili M (Snap Racing) (55:37.800).
INRC2: 1. Dean Mascarenhas/ Shruptha Padival (Privateers) (54:14.300); 2. Dr Bikku Babu/ Milen George (Team Champions) 54:27.100; 3. Sahil Khanna/ Rajit Kadian (Snap Racing) (56:05.800).
Documentation by the drivers on Thursday at Resort Area83, the Rally HQ2 for K1000.
By David Bodapati
Bangalore, 22 Nov 2019: Overall championship leader Fabid Ahmer and co-driver Sanath Gopalan, from Kerala, are raring to go and are eager to reinforce their lead in the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) as the 44th edition of the popular K1000 Rally begins here on Saturday.
The rally attracted a record number of 55 entries with the number 13 left out of the lot, with no stickering done due to the supposed bad-omen it brings. About 49 cars took the start at the Ceremonial Start on Friday.
However, Team Champions’ Fabid and Sanath duo, who got their Volkswagen Polo tyres sponsored by MRF, will face stiff competition from rival JK Tyre-supported Dean Mascarenhas and Shruptha Padival, the winners of the season opener in Chennai, also in a VW Polo. But both the pairs will be wary of speed maestro Gaurav Gill, who will be rallying after a gap of two months, after the unfortunate incident in Jodhpur.
The Mahindra Adventure team’s Gill, navigated by veteran Musa Sherif, stated that he put the `tragedy’ behind him and was eager to get back on wheels in the WRC2 in Australia, but the rally was cancelled due to bush fires and the multiple-Indian National champion lost a chance to get back into the groove. But the three-time Asia Pacific Rally Champion want to be back in full force and it would be a pleasure to see him ease into his own gracious self, thrilling the crowds with speeds, only he can churn out. “I have always enjoyed driving here in the K-1000. I am really looking forward to go out there and enjoying myself. Hopefully, things will turn in my favour this weekend,” said Gill who is currently fifth in the championship along with Musa Sherif.
Karna Kadur and co-driver Nikhil Pai, are always a threat to any team in K1000, and Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik, the second team of Mahindra Adventure, will also be looking to make amends for a late-season splash. Rahul Kantharaj and Vivek Bhatt, in INRC2 and brothers Chethan Shivaram and Dilip Sharan winners of the Coimbatore rally will be the others to watch out for. The other INRC2 pair of Dr Bikku Babu and Milen George can spring a surprise, or two.
Gaurav Gill at the Ceremonial Start at the Uru Brewpark in Amruthnagar, on Friday. Photo by Sriharsha Nadiger
Champions Yacht Club promoted National Championship, under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (FMSCI) will enter its final stretch, with its Round 4, the K-1000 Rally at a private property in the Garden City. The premier rally organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club is one of the oldest rallies in the country but after a chequered run, the previous promoters, RRPM, denied K1000 a round in the 2019 National Championship, after many successful decades of running.
The final round, the Coffee Day Rally at Chikmagalur is a doubtful starter with the Coffee Day said to be withdrawing the full sponsorship support after the death of its founder Siddharth but the postponed Popular Rally is likely to be held in December or January. The Popular Rally was put off due to a PIL filed in a Kerala court but the court refused to stop the rally.
Along with Fabid Ahmer, INRC4 topper Vaibhav Marate from Goa along with co-driver Arjun, too would get the support from MRF. Both of them are comfortably placed in their categories and look poised to end the year on a high note. Fabid and Sanath, representing Team Champions are also leading INRC 3 class and have a unique style of driving that can be smooth and graceful. Fabid and Sanath, are also leading the Junior INRC class.
The Mangalore pair of Dean and Shruptha are leading the INRC2 class with 65 points followed by another JK stablemate, Younus Ilyas (42 points).
“We have a very strong field of 55 teams in this round too, creating a record in itself,” Vamsi Merla, the promoter of INRC, said. “Every category is very closely contested, with the backing of two very strong supporters. This is what motorsport is all about,” he added.
The rally will have a Special Stage distance of 125km split into two legs. Leg one on Saturday with six Special Stages will run for a distance of 75km while the leg 2 on Sunday will have 50km distance. There are two physical stages, Khoday’s Lakes and Khoday’s Woods. The rally is run completely in private property, in the Resort Area83 and partly in Khoday’s property. The Lakes stage is 18.5km and Woods stage is 6.5km. Both the stages will be run thrice in the same direction on Saturday and twice in reverse direction on Sunday. Fortunately, the liaison distance will be one of the shortest in the recent times with the drivers taking only 13.8km in transport distance. It is a pity that the crowd favourite stage, the Super Special Stage is done away with, this year.
(Note added on Nov 24: Despite SR on FMSCI (on Nov 22) saying six stages on Day1, only four were run in the actual rally.)
The Rally offers a prize money of Rs.1 lakh for the top three classes and Rs.75,000 for INRC4, and Rs.40,000 for SUV class. Rally teaser!
A new clause is added in the Supplementary Regulations, in hind sight, for “Accident Reporting’’: If a driver taking part in a rally is involved in an accident in which a member of the public sustains physical injury, the driver concerned must report this to the next radio point as specified in the road book and signposted on the route according to Article 3.3.3 of the GP’s. If he fails to observe this rule, the Stewards may impose on the crew responsible, a penalty which may go as far as disqualification. The laws of the country must also be complied with in relation to procedures at accidents.
POINTS TABLE after 3 rounds: INRC: 1. Fabid Ahmed & Sanath G 49 points; 2. Dean Mascarenhas & Shruptha Padival 42 points; 3. Chetan Shivram & Dilip Sharan 40 pts.
Fabid Ahmer kicks up the dust but manouvres the corner in a smooth manner in the Avisa stage of the South India rally in this June photo by Srinivasa Krishnan
Jodhpur, 19 Sept. 2019: Fresh from his WRC2 campaign in Rally Turkey, JK Racing’s Gaurav Gill will be looking to go all-out for the elusive win this season as he spearheads a strong 51-car Jodhpur Rally, termed as Maxperience 2019, the third round of the Champion Yacht Club promoted Indian National Rally Championship from September 20 to 22.
Organised by Madcap Adventure Xperiences in association with Coimbatore Auto Sports Club under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (fmsci), the event will witness two days of intense Stage Rallying which returns to the city after a gap of nine years. The action will be spread over 126.5 kms of Special Stage distance and along with 258.6 kms of liaison will make it a total distance of 385.22 kms.
Gaurav Gill file photo by JK Racing
Piloting the Mahindra XUV 300, along with experienced Musa Sherif as navigator, the champion rally driver, who became the first athlete from motorsports to receive Arjuna Award recently, is raring to go in the orange colours of Team Mahindra Adventure here. Deeply focussed to post a victory and log some valuable points with three more rounds remaining in Bengaluru, Kuttikanum, and Chikkamagaluru, the speed maestro is capable of turning the tables for his 7th INRC title. But the battle is not going to be easy despite 117 points on offer from the three remaining rallies as Team Mahindra is struggling to set-up the optimum car for him, run now on JK Tyres. However, Gill’s teammate, Ghosh, will continue on MRF tyres.
Fabid Ahmer poses with his car during one of his rallies in the 2019 campaign.
But for now, `Mr Clean & Consistent’, Fabid Ahmer and co-driver Sanat Gopalan, who have shown tremendous application and grit with some smooth driving are rewarded with the overall first in the leaderboard after three rounds with 49 points. The Team Champions youngsters from Palakkad in their No#11 Volkswagen Polo are competing in both the INRC3 and Junior INRC classes. But they are keen to continue their good run and keep the lead in the overall category with another good showing in Jodhpur.
Dean’s file photo by Anand Philar
Close on their heels will be Dean Mascarenhas who is second in the standings with 42 points and Chetan Shivaram (40). Younus Ilyas has 31 points with Gill, way behind at fifth place, wtih just 22.
Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik will be the other Mahindra team entry in the top class and will have #3 Karna Kadur and Nikhil Pai of Arka Motorsports in a Polo along with the other 2 INRC competitors of Snap Racing, Phalguna Urs and Srikanth Gowda, and Girija Shankar Joshy and co-driver Chandramouli M, both also in rally-prepared Volkswagen Polos.
The other teams to watch in the INRC2 class will be Younus Iyas and Harish Gowda of Race Concepts in a Mitsubishi Cedia and Rahul Kantharaj and Vivek Bhatt of Arka Motorsports. These two teams are expected to face a tough fight from Team Champions’ team Dean Mascarenhas and co-driver Shrupta Padival, and Vikram Rao Aroor and Somayya AG, also from Team Champions both behind the wheel of a Volkswagen Polo.
The daughter-mother duo of Shivani Pruthvi and Deepti, in the #26 Mitsubishi Cedia is the only all-woman team and will vie for honours in INRC3 and Junior INRC class.
Two physical stages of Camel Hump consisting of 13.45km and Roller Coaster covering 13.70km will be run thrice on Saturday for a total of 121.45km of Special Stage distance on Day 1. On Sunday, four more stages will be run. The two stages of 9.35km Drift Run and 13.2km Precision Drive will be run twice each for a Stage distance of 45.1km on Sunday, the Day 2.
There are 15 teams which are supported by Team Champions vying for honours in every class. “Champions Yacht Club believes in producing champions so we are supporting many teams. That is our mission as we step in to run the INRC,” said Shubakara Rao of Champions Group. “We are now providing an ideal platform to many talented drivers who always suffered because of lack of sponsorship and we also intend to promote them at international competitions on world-class routes,” said Vamsi Merla of Champions Yacht Club.
He also informed that the competitors with valid FMSCI Competition License have been insured for Rs.5 lakh personal accident & Rs. 5 lakh towards medical expenses. Even 100 Officials come under a cover Rs.25 lakh for personal accidents and Rs. 1 lakh for medical expenses.
The Ceremonial Flag-off from Hotel Lariya Resort near the Jaisalmer bye-pass will be at 5 pm on Friday after the Drivers’ Briefing and Press Conference. The prize distribution and podium ceremony on Sunday will be at 5 pm also at the same venue, which is also the Rally Head Quarters 2 (hq2).
Chetan Shivaram and Dilip Sharan of Team Akshara win the overall title in the Rally of Coimbatore. Photo by Venu Ramesh
Coimbatore, 11 August 2019: Brothers Chetan Shivram and Dilip Sharan of Team Akshara, played a cautious game and focussed on keeping the car on track with a safety-first approach, to chalk-out a deserving win in the Rally of Coimbatore, the second round of the fmsci Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), promoted Champions Yacht Club, at the Windmill farms of Kethanur, near here on Sunday.
Chetan painted the town yellow in his stock Volkswagen Polo prepared by FRK Racing and supported by Ideal Racing and displayed controlled aggression with his brother Sharan calling the notes. The focussed Bengaluru duo weathered a sustained challenge from Race Concepts’ Younus Ilyas and Harish Gowda, the INRC Sprint champions and won by a narrow margin of 4.6 seconds. Further behind, the talented youngster from Kerala Arakkal Fabid Ahmer, with co-driver Sanath Gopalan, also in a Polo prepared by Chettinad Sporting came third for Team Champions. Fabid who was trailing 5th overnight also won the second place in the INRC 3 class.
Chetan Shivaram and Dilip Sharan on the podium. Photo. Chetan’s FB post
Nurturing their four-second lead was made easy as overnight second-placed privateer Suhem Kabeer and co-driver Jeevarathinam clocked 14min, 43.10sec and lost time in the 6th stage to Chetan’s 8:21.30, as they got stuck in the slush but behind them Younus Ilyas (Harish) of Race Concepts who were running third, started reducing the 19-second gap. Chetan Shivaram, however, managed to cling on to the lead and not only won the overall title but also topped the INRC 3 category. Despite losing six minutes or so, Suhem held on to the third place in INRC 2 class but lost the overall podium finishing 15th. Younus was ahead in two of the three stages but that was not enough as they settled for overall second place.
But Younus and Harish had the consolation bagging the title in the INRC 2 category. For the record, it was the doctor from Kerala, Bikku Babu, along with co-driver Milen George who won all the three stages today with top-notch driving. But the experienced Kerala duo found it too difficult to make up the time, over an hour, which they lost in SS5 on Saturday.
Vaibhav Marate and Arjun Balachandran’s Honda City flying through windmill stages. Photo Prabhu Kethanur
But the highlight of the day was the drive from talented youngster from Mangalore Dean Mascarenhas, who fielded his VW Polo as a privateer along with navigator Shruptha Padival. The duo who are leading the championship coming into Round 2, lost a lot of time on Saturday but made tremendous progress jumping 32 places to finish overall 10th and had the bonus of a second place in the INRC 2 category.
While many started today to get leg points, 17 cars failed to finish among the 57 that took the start on Saturday. Pre-event favourites Gaurav Gill and Musa Sherif of Team Mahindra Adventure once again suffered for want of dependable machine and finished 44th in line with teammates Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik who were 43rd. Karna Kadur and Nikhil Pai of Arka Motorsports too had a forgettable event finishing 50th overall.
Younus Ilyas and Harish Gowda pose during the Rally of Coimbatore. Photo: FB
In the SUV Challenge, Team Champions swept the podium winning all the top-three places. Lokesh Gowda and co-driver Sudhindra BG won the support class while Gagan Karumbaiah and Thimmu Uddapanda pair came second followed by veteran Sanjay Agarwal and Smitha N.
The next round of the championship will move to Jodhpur in Rajasthan from Septemeber 20 to 22. Kochi, Bengaluru, and Chikkamagaluru will host the last three rounds respectively in November and December.
Gagan Karumbaiah and co-driver Thimmu Uddapanda who won the SUV Challenge cruising on Saturday stages. Photo: Venu Ramesh
Coimbatore, 9 August 2019: Multiple National champion and APRC winner Gaurav Gill and his trusted co-driver Musa Sherif, will start a firm favourites despite Dean Mascarenhas stealing a victory at the South India Rally with navigator Shrupta Padival in the season opener of Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) at Irungattukottai, as the second round starts at the rain-beaten windmill sections of Coimbatore from Saturday.
Round 1 winner Dean of Mangaluru will aim to consolidate his lead at the top of the leader-board, as the Rally of Coimbatore, the Round 2 of the Champions Yacht Club promoted National event begins under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) here over the weekend.
Dean, who beat a last-minute rush to get his car ready due to some unavoidable situation, heads his INRC 2 table (with co-driver Shruptha Padival) will, however, need to be at his best as he tackles a 65-strong field and slushy conditions out here. He will keep his eye firmly on INRC 3’s Fabid Ahmer (co-driver Sanath.G) of Team Champions, who showed great skill and composure to take the second overall place in the Chennai round.
Sporting the yellow colours, Dean will, however, be wary of his JK Tyre teammate Gaurav Gill, a three-time APRC champion. Gill and Musa Sherif spearhead Mahindra Adventure’s campaign and will be looking to make amends for missing out on the top podium place in the opening round.
Gill had shown remarkable recovery, after struggling with his car in the initial stages, to finish third. He comes into this round on the back of a thrilling win in the Dakshin Dare and will come out all guns blazing for his seventh INRC title.
Arka Motorsport’s Rahul Kanthraj (along with Vivek Bhatt) is just a second off Gill in the overall standings and will also be a driver to look out for. He is currently second in the INRC 2 category.
Team Champions’ Arjun Rao (along with navigator Shanmuga Sundaram) will be another top driver who will look to maintain his good run in the championship. He is second in the INRC 3 category and will be keen to topple his teammate Fabid from the top spot.
The Rally of Coimbatore has attracted a record number of 65 teams, with Team Champions fielding as many as 25 teams, a record of sorts in the INRC.
The rally will span over two days covering a total distance of 141.09 kms, with 119.70 kms earmarked for eight special stages.
The three-day rally was flagged off on Thursday evening at Kethanur on the outskirts, where it be run around 120 kms at special stages on gravel and dirt tracks, Club Head Gautham Shantappa said earlier.
Four women teams are participating in the event. A woman contestant, Shivani from Davangere in Karnataka, who was present said women were receiving good encouragement to participate in such rallies.
The third round will be held in Rajasthan in September, followed by events in Kochi in November, Bengaluru in November and the sixth and final round in Chikkamagaluru in December, Gautham concluded.
Team Champions’ Dean Mascarenhas(L) & Shrupta Padival(R) after winning the South India Rally at MMRT on Sunday. A Team Champions image
Irungattukottai (Sriperumbudur), 30 June 2019: Team Champions’ Dean Mascarenhas survived a late but spirited onslaught from three-time APRC winner and WRC2 driver Gaurav Gill to win the opening round of the Champions Yacht Club – FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship here on a nail-biting Sunday.
Going into the third and final leg with a 10-second overall lead and a handy 1.41 minutes over Gill, Mascarenhas (Shruptha Padival) would have hoped for a pressure-free day in the office. But an errant car and a possessed Gill saw his lead being steadily wiped out from both ends, raising the specter of a sensational last-minute upset.
However, Team Mahindra’s Gill (Musa Sherif) who finished second in the day’s first stage and won all remaining four, suffered a massive blow in the penultimate stage. Just as he was racing like the wind, a herd of cows came in his path, costing him anything between 7 to 10 seconds.
Dean gets an affectionate hug from his mother after winning the INRC opening round at MMRT on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar
He was awarded 10 seconds by the Stewards for the unfortunate delay, catapulting him to the third position in the overall category. It was sufficient to win him the INRC category too but not good enough to dislodge Mascarenhas or Fabid Ahmer.
Rahul Kanthraj (Vivek Bhatt), however, was edged out of the podium in the overall category by a mere one second.
“We worked very hard to make up for the lackluster first two days,” Gill said. “We changed the tyres and the setup at every opportunity and it paid dividends until bad luck hit us,” he added.
Gill’s JK Tyre partner Mascarenhas was, however, delighted with his breakthrough victory. “My car had lost one of the four cylinders on Saturday itself and it kept stalling, adding to the pressure. I, however, held my nerves and came through, making this one of my sweetest wins,” he said.
The South India Rally, Round One of the INRC powered by MRF, turned out to be a thrill-a-minute blockbuster, with the 19-strong Team Champions stunning all and winning almost all the categories.
Dean and Fabid Ahmer (Sanath G) made it a sensational 1-2 for the Shubhakar Rao-owned team, with Dean also taking the INRC 2 and Fabid the INRC 3. Vaibhav Marate (Arjun SSB) annexed the INRC 4.
RESULTS
INRC Overall
1) Dean Mascarenhas & Shruptha Padival – 1:45.10.800 hr; 2) Fabid Ahmer & Sanath G – 1:45:24.400 hr; 3) Gaurav Gill & Musa Sherif – 1:45:27.800 hr
Bengaluru, 22 March 2019: Champions Yacht Club, the new promoters of the Indian National Rally Championship, presents the two-day Sprint de Bengaluru 2019, a mouth-watering curtain-raiser to the six-round rally calendar of the year. Organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC), the rally will be held at Champions Green County on the Bengaluru-Hyderabad highway on March 23 and 24.
Over 40 entries have been received from all over the country and some of the top drivers and navigators are expected to compete for top laurels on dirt tracks in the rally approved by Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (FMSCI). The rally has a special stage distance of 30 kms and along with a transport distance of 108.63 kms, the total distance will be 138.63 kms. There are two short stages which are run thrice each. The Alpha stage is 4.5-km long while the Beta stage is 5.5 km. The two stages are run once each on Saturday as a night stage and twice each on Sunday. The prize distribution and podium ceremony will be held at 3 pm on Sunday.
Experienced and talented drivers like Chetan Shivaram, Dr Bikku Babu, Vikram Rao Aroor, Dean Mascarenhas, Dhruv Chandrasekhar, Fabid Ahmer and Sanjay Agarwal will be in the fray as the rally is run in the same format and same classes as INRC. There will be a separate ladies class and the Champions Group is supporting 17 teams. The Sprint organised by KMSC, one of the oldest and active motorsports clubs in India, is expected to provide a glimpse of the rally action to be held this year. The Champions Group is the new promoter and the season is expected to start in June after the election process is completed.
“It is a huge responsibility but we are fully geared up to make INRC vibrant and popular and bring back the glory days of rallying. Champions Group wants to support talented drivers, including women, so that new champions can be spotted and nurtured,” said Merla Vamsi, Director, Champions Yacht Club.
“The entry of Champions Group is a boon to the INRC and to many talented drivers. It has created a buzz and we hope to make rallying popular so that more competitors will enter motorsports. All the safety aspects are taken care of and the Sprint will usher in new rally season,” said Shivu Shivappa, president of the KMSC. He is also the vice-president of FMSCI and the Clerk of the Course (CoC) for the event.
The rally will be run in the following classes: INRC (upto 3500cc including turbo factor), INRC 2 (upto 2000cc as per Rally Sport regulations), INRC3 (upto 2000cc as per Group N regulations), FMSCI 4WD (Group N, N4, T1 and T2 cars), FMSCI 2WD (Honda City VTech, Maruti Esteem, Maruti Baleno) and Ladies Class.
The 2018 MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship winners Gaurav Gill, left, with his trusted navigator Musa Sherif, in Kochi Sunday. An INDIAinF1 image
Kochi, 16 Dec 2018: Speed maestro Gaurav Gill was at his fast and furious best as he drove a matured race on the broken tarmac in the picturesque plantations of Kerala to conquer his sixth Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) title here on Sunday.
Gill who won his first INRC in 2007 and added more titles in 2009, 2011 when the rallies were professionally organised by late Bharat Raj of KMSC along with Annabelle on the IMG and PSP banner, before winning the 2014 and 2017 titles.
The three-time APRC champion was at his imperious best along with his long-time co-driver Musa Sherif, winning seven stages in the Popular Rally, the fifth and final round of the MRF FMSCI INRC 2018, to win the title.
One would look for a Gill, who goes for an aggressive start and wins all the stages with the impeccable record! The very fact that he let go a couple of stages and allowed his speeding mind to be controlled, is a sign of maturity which he has been displaying for quite some time now. In Chikkamagaluru, the previous round, too, he did not quite get the applause that was usually reserved for him for many years past, in the Super Special Stage. But now he is no more the showman! The Gaurav Gill you see as a pilot in the world Rally Championship is a matured magician! There may not be any pleasing visible drifts or dashing straights in the short Indian stages, but he cleverly knocks off several seconds from his rivals with clean lines and judicious driving. He was the best, but there was nothing much to fly around in the dust anymore! Sheer speeds, best times!
Earlier, many a time, he lost Championships and Titles, within a few metres off the finish. Take for example the two SSS casualties in 2010 which cost him the title. Those Nashik days are beyond him now.
Going into this iconic rally in the scenic backdrop of Kerala on equal terms with teammate Amittrajit Ghosh (official table credits Gill with a one-point lead at 62) Ghosh’s 61), who had never been any match, the Master sealed the issue with a comfortable drive.
Gill began slowly, finishing second in the first two stages before he came into his own. Guided by local boy Musa, he quickly got a feel of the terrain and unleashed his magic to win the next five stages with convincing authority. It was controlled aggression at display.
“It was a difficult year for us, especially towards the end due to mechanical issues which were beyond our control,” Gill was humble in his victory. “Kochi was the most difficult, with narrow roads which were fast and had broken tarmac too. We had to push extra hard to stay ahead of the others,” he added.
Amittrajit Ghosh, who had jumped into the championship lead after Gill had a mechanical failure in Arunachal Pradesh, never really had any chance due to the N-1 rule which allows the competitors to discard one round. Ghosh, along with Ashwin Naik, just couldn’t manage the win that would have mattered.
Here in Kochi, the Kolkata driver was beaten by a couple of other drivers from lower classes. It was, however, good enough to give him the second position in the overall championship.
“It was a great year for us compared to last season. The championship just gets more and more competitive, which is great for the sport,” Amittrajit said. “The beginning of the season was really good but we hit issues from Chikmagalur and were really hit by the lack of pre-event testing and wrong set up choices in Kochi,” he said.
INRC 2 competitor, Arka Motorsports’ Karna Kadur with co-driver Nikhil V Pai finished third to take the third place behind the Mahindra Adventure duo in the championship.
Kadur, however, had the consolation of winning the INRC 2 title which he had wrapped up in the previous round itself along with Nikhil Pai.
POPULAR RALLY RESULTS –
OVERALL – INRC
1 Gaurav Gill | Musa Sherif (Team Mahindra Adventure; 01:29:58.9)
