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Tag: K1000
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Triumphant Harkrishan, Kunal clinch iconic K1000 Rally for second Overall win
Tumakuru, 23 Dec. 2023: Delhi’s Harkrishan Wadia and co-driver Kunal Kashyap turned their overnight lead into a memorable victory at the iconic Blueband K1000 Rally, and won the 2023 INRC2 title bagging full 40 points in the sixth and final round of the Blueband Sports fmsci Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) for four-wheelers, which concluded near Gubbi, here on Saturday.
The Mangaluru-Bengaluru pair of Aroor Arjun Rao and co-driver Satish Rajagopal has already won the Blueband Indian National Rally Championship 2023 Overall title winning the first three rounds and took a 45-point unbeatable lead going into K1000. Wadia and Kashyap of Himachal, after their maiden win at the Blueband Robusta Rally of Kodagu last month, took their second straight Overall victory at K1000 to comfortably clinch the title in their class, the INRC2. “I am delighted with the back-to-back wins and the title is a bonus. I am grateful to my father and I thank all my team, especially Leela sir, Karna, Phil and all the boys. But for them, this would not have been possible,” said the 25-year Harkrishan, the 2020 Junior INRC champ and son of former rally star Anil Wadia.

Harkrishan Wadia, left, and Kunal Kashyap, winners of the Blueband 47th K1000 Rally at Tumakuru on Saturday. An INDIAinF1 image Mangaluru’s Dean Mascarenhas along with co-driver Gagan Karumbaiah, who were lying in Overall third overnight, finished Overall second ahead of the Snap Racing pair, Younus Ilyas (co-driver Nitin Jacob). Behind Arka Motorsports’ Wadia (co-driver Kashyap), who was driving an INRC2 spec Volkswagen Polo 1.6, it was 2019 champion Chetan Shivram and co-driver E Shivprakash, who took the second place in the INRC2 class. Ritesh Guttedar and Chetan M finished third.
In the INRC3 class, Jason Saldanha and co-driver Thimmanna Uddapanda, fresh from their exploits in this year’s Malaysian Rally Championship, emerged as winners of K1000 in this class. Jahaan Singh Gill and co-driver Suraj Keshav Prasad finished second, which was enough for them to clinch the INRC3 2023 championship. Daraius Shroff and Shahid Salman, who were in title contention till Hyderabad, lost the plot in the last two rounds. They finished third in their class today.
Jahaan Singh, who won the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) Junior title last month in Indonesia, also won the Junior INRC title.
Ammyfied Rallying pair Abhin Rai and co-driver Rohit Gowda won the K1000 on way to their maiden INRC4 title. Kothamangalam privateers Athul Thomas and Sajil V Saji came second and Praveen Dwarakanath and co-driver Kariyappa KB finished third.
In the Gypsy class, Ammyfied Rallying made a clean sweep of the podium led by Samrat Yadav and Arvind Dheerendra. Darshan Nachappa and co-driver Abhinav Ganapathy were second and that was enough for them to clinch the 2023 FMSCI Gypsy Cup. Dr Akarsh Sunder and V Sekar, who finished third amassed more points but lost on “N minus one’ rule, where drivers can discard one round.
Anushriya Gulati, who won the K1000 Rally, also clinched the Ladies Class championship for 2023.
Of the 59 entries, only 30 cars finished. Six cars on Day 1 and 21 cars on Day 2 did not finish.
Final Provisional Results:
Overall: 1. Harkrishan Wadia/ Kunal Kashyap (Arka Motorsports) (01hr, 26min, 53.5seconds); 2. Dean Mascarenhas/ Gagan Karumbaiah (Pvt.) (01:27:57:2); 3. Younus Ilyas/ Nitin Jacob (Snap Racing) (01:28:06.1);
INRC2: 1. Harkrishan Wadia/ Kunal Kashyap (Arka Motorsports) (01:26:53.5); 2. Chetan Shivram/ E Shivaprakash (Jo1 Rallying) (01:30:34.4); 3. Ritesh Guttedar M/ Suraj M (Pvt.) (01:32:27.5);
INRC3: 1. Jason Saldanha/ Thimmanna Uddapanda (Dark Don Racing) (01:29:39.0); 2. Jahaan Singh Gill/ Suraj Keshav Prasad (Snap Racing) (01:29:49.6); 3. Daraius Shroff/ Shahid Salman (Chettinad Sporting) (01:30:02.0);
INRC4: 1. Abhin Rai/ Rohit Gowda (Ammyfied Rallying) (01:36:25.2); 2. Athul Thomas /Sajil V Saji (Pvt.) (01:47:34.0); 3. Praveen Dwarakanath / Kariyappa KB (Pvt.) (01:51:05.2):
Gypsy: 1. Samrat Yadav/ Arvind Dheerendra (Ammyfied Rallying) (01:40:02.9); 2. Darshan Nachappa/ Abhinav Ganapathy (Ammyfied) (01:43:29.6); 3. Dr Akarsh Sunder/ V Seker (Ammyfied Rallying) (01:44:03.3);
Junior INRC: 1. Jahaan Singh Gill/ Suraj Keshav Prasad (Snap Racing) (01:29:49.6); 2. Arjun Rajiv/ Milen George (Ammyfied) (01:33:14.2); 3. Abhin Rai/ Rohit Gowda (Ammyfied Rallying) (01:34:45.2);
Ladies Class: 1. Anushriya Gulati/ Sherwin Dalmeida (Dark Don Racing) (01:51:35.1);
INRC Champions for 2023:
Overall 2023 Rally champion: Aroor Arjun Rao/ Satish Rajagopal;
INRC2: Harkrishan Wadia/ Kunal Kashyap (Arka Motorsports);
INRC3: Jahaan Singh Gill/ Suraj Keshav Prasad (Snap Racing);
INRC4: Abin Rai/ Rohit Gowda;
Ladies Class: Anushriya Gulati;
Junior INRC: Jahaan Singh Gill;
Gypsy Cup: Darshan Nachappa/ Abhinav Ganapathy;
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Harkrishan, Kunal duo leads Day 1 again at the iconic K1000 Rally: INRC
Tumakuru, 22 Dec. 2023: Delhi daredevil and Arjuna Awardee Gaurav Gill, began with a bang and clocked the fastest stage times in the first two special stages but it was his compatriot young gun Harkrishan Wadia, also from Delhi, who stole the limelight beating the best in the next two stages to emerge as the Overall leader at the end of Day 1 in the iconic Blueband K1000 Rally, the sixth and final round of the Blueband Sports fmsci Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) for four-wheelers, near Gubbi, on Friday. In the previous Kodagu Rally also, the duo took the lead on Day 1 and went on to win the Overall title the next day.
The popular Blueband K1000 Rally, organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC), is the oldest running rally in India and threw more surprises as Wadia, along with Kunal Kashyap of Himachal Pradesh, fresh from their maiden Overall victory at the Kodagu Rally, dominated the proceedings with a late charge and the multiple-champion Gill, who won K1000 many times is trailing in the fifth position, about 84 seconds behind the leaders. Championship leaders Aroor Arjun Rao and Satish Rajagopal, continued to suffer hiccups, but the duo have already clinched their maiden INRC title, with a round to spare.
Arka Motorsports’ Harkrishan Wadia (co-driver Kashyap), driving an INRC2 spec Volkswagen Polo 1.6 did a commendable job to finish the Leg 1 on top on Day 1 but they need to sustain the tempo for a flourish on the last day of the season tomorrow. The duo also topped their INRC2 class. Younus Ilyas and co-driver Nitin Jacob emerged Day 1 in second followed by Mangaluru’s speed merchant Dean Mascarenhas and Gagan Karumbaiah in third.
In INRC2, former champions Philippos Matthai and co-driver PVS Murthy are following Wadia in second and 2019 champion Chetan Shivram is in third along with his navigator E Shivaprakash.

Shivani Parmar (co-ddriver Arjun Dheerendra) leads the Ladies Class after Day 1 at the K1000 Rally near Gubbi on Friday. Due to Christmas, the K1000 Rally finishes on Saturday, instead of the traditional Sunday. In the INRC3 class, Jason Saldanha and co-driver Thimmanna Uddapanda, who did well in this year’s Malaysian Rally Championship, emerged as leaders with a late kick pushing behind Shashank Jamwal and Aseem Sharma to second. Talented Jahaan Singh Gill of Chandigarh along with Bengaluru co-driver Suraj Keshav Prasad of Snap Racing, who already clinched the Junior INRC title for 2023, is in third place. They are table leaders before going into K1000.
“I have a comfortable margin of over 40 seconds, but I am not going to relax. We will carry the tempo and go for it on the final day of the season. It felt good in the last two stages and I want to keep up the momentum,” said the day’s leader, Harkishan Wadia, who came into prominence in the Asia Pacific Rally Star event at Chennai last year.
Abhin Rai is leading INRC4 class along with co-driver Rohit Gowda, and the Ammyfied Rallying team is looking for a strong finish tomorrow. In the Gypsy Class, another Ammyfied team of Samrat Yadav and Arvind Dheerendra are in P1 looking to sustain the good run on Saturday.
Provisional Results after Day 1:
Overall: 1. Harkrishan Wadia/ Kunal Kashyap (Arka Motorsports) (00hrs, 58min, 26.2seconds); 2. Younus Ilyas/ Nitin Jacob (Pvt.) (00:59:11.7); 3. Dean Mascarenhas/ Gagan Karumbaiah (Pvt.) (00:59:14:4);
INRC2: 1. Harkrishan Wadia/ Kunal Kashyap (Arka Motorsports) (00:58:26.2); 2. Philippos Matthai/ PV Srinivasa Murthy (Arka Motorsports) (00:59:27.2): 3. Chetan Shivram/ E Shivaprakash (Jo1 Rallying) (01:00:44.0);
INRC3: 1. Jason Saldanha/ Thimmanna Uddapanda (Dark Don Racing) (01:00:09.7); 2. Jahaan Singh Gill/ Suraj Keshav Prasad (Snap Racing) (01:00:31.1); 3. Daraius Shroff/ Shahid Salman (Chettinad Sporting) (01:00:38.0).
INRC4: 1. Abhin Rai/ Rohit Gowda (Ammyfied Rallying) (01:03:27.9); 2. Athul Thomas /Sajil V Saji (Pvt.) (01:10:39.5); 3. Praveen Dwarakanath / Kariyappa KB (Pvt.) (01:12:48.3):
Gypsy: 1. Samrat Yadav/ Arvind Dheerendra (Ammyfied Rallying) (01:04;58.5); 2. Darshan Nachappa/ Abhinav Ganapathy (Ammyfied) (01:09:11.6); 3. Dr Akarsh Sunder/ V Seker (Ammyfied Rallying) (01:09:24.8);
Ladies Class: 1. Shivani Parmar/ Arjun Dheerendra (Chettinadu Sporting) (01:03:43.0); 2. Nikeetaa Takkale/ Raghuram Saminathan (Snap Racing) (01:03:55.8); 3. Anushriya Gulati/ Sherwin Dalmeida (Dark Don Racing) (01:04:25.0).
Junior INRC: 1. Jahaan Singh Gill/ Suraj Keshav Prasad (Snap Racing) (01:00:31.1); 2. Abhin Rai/ Rohit Gowda (Ammyfied Rallying) (01:03:27.9); 3. Arjun Rajiv/ Milen George (Ammyfied) (01:03:41.5).
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Karna Kadur-Nikhil Pai win K1000, clinch Indian National Rally title with a round to spare
Tumakuru (Karnataka), 4 Dec 2022: All the hard work and years of patience paid rich dividends as Bengaluru rally stars Karna Kadur and co-driver Nikhil Vittal Pai claimed the Indian National Rally Championship, with a round to spare here on Sunday. This is the second National overall title for the talented duo, who won their maiden Nationals in 2016 in the top class.
Kadur along with Nikhil Pai, one of the senior-most navigators in the country along with Musa Sherif, brought the second National title for Volkswagen Polo. Pai, who made his INRC debut aboard a two-wheeler in 1992, the victory is a justification for his meticulous work ethic, deep knowledge of the sport and the terrain that helps him to guide his driver, engineers in the car set-up and other technical aspects beyond his call of duty, the pace notes.
On the other hand, the seven-time National champion Karna Kadur, who switched from Road Racing to Rally and delighted his fans with his exploits as a young driver of Red Rooster Racing took a mind-boggling tumble in Nashik in 2009 when he graduated to a powerful Mitsubishi Cedia. Undaunted, the champion in him went on to build a successful career, which missed a probable maiden National title in 2012 due to the controversial “Penalty” at the Coffee Day rally in Chikmagalur.
Multiple National champions in the sub-categories, Karna and Nikhil bagged full 40 points with their overall INRC class victory, including full leg points, while their nearest rival Gaurav Gill (Musa Sherif), drew a blank in this round, remaining on 44 points. The Bengaluru duo garnered a total of 112, an unbeatable lead of 68 points, to clinch the National Overall title.
Driving a Volkswagen Polo 1.0 Comfortline tuned by Leelakrishnan, the Arka Motorsports stalwarts clinched their maiden Overall Karnataka-1000 title by finishing first in the Prasaditya 46th Karnataka-1000 Rally, the third and penultimate round of the Blueband FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship at the Special Stage run near Gubbi, in Tumakuru taluk, despite suffering a heavy damage to their car after clipping a rock.

Karna Kadur and long-time co-driver Nikhil Pai, after winning INRC Overall title.
Photos by Anand Philar.Finishing second, over a minute behind Kadur was Mangaluru’s Aroor Arjun Rao (co-driver Satish Rajagopal, Bengaluru) of Mandovi Racing while Delhi’s Philippos Matthai (Harish Gowda, Bengaluru), who returned to rallying after a 13-year break, finished third Overall.

Karna Kadur & Nikhil Pai in action on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar Matthai also took the honours in INRC 3 category while Virajpet’s Suhem Kabeer (Jeeva Rathinam, Bengaluru) topped in the INRC 2 class. Further down the grid, Chikkamagaluru’s Aeman Ahmed (Sagar Mallappa, Bengaluru) of Ammyfied Racing won in the INRC 4 class with Delhi’s Arnav Singh Pratap (Arjun SSB, Bengaluru) of SNAP Racing bagged the Junior INRC crown. Chandigarh’s Samrat Yadav (Chandrashekar M, Bengaluru) of Ammyfied Rallying emerged champion in the Gypsy Challenge, a non-championship category.
The 34-year old Kadur, who enjoyed a comfortable lead after Leg-1 on Saturday, kept his wits about him after suffering some heavy damage to the sump guard in Sunday’s second Stage when he clipped a rock. His mechanics carried out the necessary repairs in 20 minutes flat during the service break which enabled Kadur to continue and finish the second loop without much ado.

A six-time INRC winner himself, N Leelakrishnan, mentor and coach, gives an appreciative hug to his ward Karna Kadur, who brought the legend his 20th National title as “Tuner” in the Indian National Rally Championship. Photo by Anand Philar (FB) Reflecting on the weekend, Kadur said: “It (the win) still hasn’t sunk in, but I am very happy that we won our first K-1000 Rally. We had a fairly smooth run yesterday, but this morning, we had a scare when we clipped a rock in the second Stage.
“The damage was pretty bad in the front because the sump guard got cut. I managed to come back to service and the boys did a tremendous job in carrying out the necessary repairs, including some cutting, chopping and welding, besides fabricating and fitting a new sump guard, all in 20 minutes flat.
“We checked into parc ferme with just 30 seconds to spare. All kudos to our team who did a tremendous job. Yes, a pretty emotional moment. My dad (late Prakash Kadur) never won a K-1000 Rally and so, I am first in the family.”
Meanwhile, seven times National champion Gaurav Gill (Musa Sherif), who retired in Leg-1 with a drive-shaft issue on Saturday, suffered another setback after rejoining for Leg-2 today with a broken front right knuckle leading to his retirement in the day’s second Stage after being the fastest in the first.
The last round of the INRC 2022 promoted by Blueband Sports is scheduled to be held at Meghalaya pending approval from FMSCI.
Provisional final classification:
Overall / INRC: 1. Karna Kadur /Nikhil Pai (Bengaluru, Arka Motorsports) (01hr,13mins, 56.5secs); 2. Aroor Arjun Rao (Mangaluru)/ Satish Rajagopal (Bengaluru, Mandovi Racing) (01:15:11.9); 3. Philippos Matthai (Delhi)/ Harish Gowda (Bengaluru, Arka Motorsports) (01:16:54.0).
INRC-2: 1. Suhem Kabeer (Virajpet) / Jeeva Rathinam (Bengaluru, Pvt) (01:16:57.1); 2. Rahul Kanthraj / Vivek Y Bhatt (Bengaluru, Arka Motorsports) (01:17:28.5); 3. Harkrishan Wadia (Delhi) / Amber Udasi (Chandigarh, Arka Motorsports) (01:25.08).
INRC-3: 1. Matthai / Harish; 2. Maninder Singh Prince (Delhi) / Vinay Padmashali (Bengaluru, JK Rallying) (01:17:23.1); 3. Arnav Singh Pratap (Delhi) / Arjun SSB (Bengaluru, SNAP Racing) (01:19:51.7);
INRC-4: 1. Aeman Ahmed (Chikkamagaluru) / Sagar Mallappa (Bengaluru, Ammyfied Racing) (01:28:11.4); 2. Rakshith Iyer (Mysuru) / Avinash CA (Bengaluru) (01:31:40.4); 3. Deepak Chandra / Raghuram CG (Bengaluru, DC Racing) (01:43.58.4).
Junior INRC: 1. Arnav / Arjun; 2. Pragathi Gowda / Trisha Alonkar (Bengaluru, Arka Motorsports) (01:20:13.2); 3. Ajay Sankar (Kollam) / Rohit Gowda (Bengaluru) (01:21:24.1).
Gypsy Challenge (Non-Championship): 1. Samrat Yadav (Chandigarh) / Chandrashekar M (Bengaluru, Ammyfied Rallying) (01:18:26.7); 2. Himanshu Arora (Delhi) / Vikram Thakur (Chandigarh, Ammyfied Rallying) (01:22:01.9); 3. Kariappa Mekerira (Kodagu) / Supreeth Sagar (Bengaluru, Ammyfied Rallying) (01:26:06.9).
All Women (Open): 1. Pragathi Gowda / Trisha Alonkar; Shivani Pruthvi / Deepti Pruthvi (Davangere, Pvt) (01:24.16.6); 3. Nikeetaa Takkale (Pune) / Deeksha Balakrishna (Bengaluru, Snap Racing) (1:29:20.9).
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Karna Kadur takes sizeable lead; Gaurav Gill retires: K1000
Tumakuru (Karnataka), 3 Dec 2022: The Bengaluru pair, Karna Kadur and co-driver Nikhil V Pai of Arka Motorsports, stepped up to the challenging terrain to finish Leg-1 as the Overall leaders in the Prasaditya 46th Karnataka-1000 Rally, the third round of the Blueband FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) here on Saturday which also saw the retirement of previous edition’s winner, Gaurav Gill (Musa Sherif) due to mechanical issues.
The day’s schedule was shortened to four Special Stages as against scheduled six following a delayed start due to a technical hitch. However, Kadur, the championship leader, kept his focus and came up with a well-paced drive to take a 47.4-second lead over Palakkad’s Fabid Ahmer (Sanath G) on completion of Leg-1 with Mangaluru’s Aroor Arjun Rao (Satish Rajagopal) of Mandovi Racing in third, trailing the leader by one minute. Four more Stages are scheduled to be run tomorrow (Sunday), the concluding day of the event.
Ahmer, who missed the 2021 National championship narrowly, leads in the INRC 2 category while Maninder Singh Prince (Suraj Keshava Prasad) of JK Rallying is ahead in the INRC 3 category.

Fabid Ahmer and co-driver Sanath G in action on Saturday. Photos: Anand Philar Leaders in the other classes were: Aeman Ahmed (Sagar M) of Ammyfied Rallying, in INRC 4; Arnav Pratap Singh (Arjun SSB) of SNAP Racing in JINRC and Samrat Yadav (Chandrashekar M) in Gypsy Challenge which is a non-championship category.
As well as Kadur drove today, the expected clash with seven-times National champion Gill dissipated in the day’s very first Stage with the Delhi star pulling out due to an issue with the gearbox of his Mahindra XUV 300 barely two Kms in the first Stage. “We had put in some new parts, but in SS-1, we had to pack up due to some issue with the gearbox. I was looking forward to the event as the Stages were to my liking. We will restart tomorrow and I hope to score some leg points,” said a disappointed Gill.
Kadur, aiming to win the National title this season, and who leads Gill by 44 points in the championship standings, said: “We stuck to our plan today which was to bring the car home. We pushed more in the second loop in the afternoon and made time on our morning run. I enjoyed the drive today. As for tomorrow, again, our aim will be to finish the event, exercise caution where required and push when we can. The car is still a work in progress and I am learning it all the time. Hopefully, we will have a good run tomorrow.”

Maninder Singh Prince and Vinay Padmashali lead INRC3 after Day 1. The Prasaditya Karnataka-1000 rally is being organised by the Karnataka Motor Sports Club under the aegis of FMSCI, the governing body of motorsports in India and promoted by Blueband Sports.
Of the 65 cars that took the start, 24 cars logged DNF and failed to finish on Day 1. Some of the cars will take the start again on Sunday for leg points.
Provisional partial classification (After Leg-1): (After Day1)
Overall / INRC: 1. Karna Kadur / Nikhil V Pai (Bengaluru, Arka Motorsports) (36mins, 03secs); 2. Fabid Ahmer / Sanath G (Palakkad) (36:50.4); 3. Aroor Arjun Rao (Mangaluru) / Satish Rajagopal (Bengaluru, Mandovi Racing) (37:04.7); 4. Suhem Kabeer (Virajpet)/ Jeeva Rathinam (Bengaluru) (37:09.300); 5. Aditya Thakur (Solan) / Virender Kashyap (Shimla, Chettinad Sporting) (37:21.7); 6. Jahaan Singh Gill (Chandigarh)/ Suraj Keshava Prasad (Bengaluru, SNAP Racing) (37:50.700); 7. Maninder Singh Prince (New Delhi) / Vinay Padmashali (Bengaluru, JK Rallying) (38:10.9); 8. Philippos Mathai (New Delhi) / Harish KN (Bengaluru, Arka Motorsports) (38:10.9); 9. Samrat Yadav (Chandigarh) / Chandrashekar M (Bengaluru) (38:54.300); 10. Arnav Pratap Singh (Delhi) / Arjun SSB (Bengaluru, SNAP Racing) (39:05.9); 11. Pragathi Gowda / Trisha Alonkar (Bengaluru, Arka Motorsports) (39:08.7);
INRC 2: 1. Ahmer / Sanath; 2. Suhem Kabeer (Virajpet) / Jeeva Rathinam (Bengaluru) (37:09.3); 3. Aditya Thakur (Solan) / Virender Kashyap (Shimla, Chettinad Sporting) (37:21.7); 4. Jahaan Singh Gill (Chandigarh)/ Suraj Keshava Prasad (Bengaluru, SNAP Racing) (37:50.700).
INRC 3: 1. Maninder Singh Prince (New Delhi) / Vinay Padmashali (Bengaluru, JK Rallying) (38:10.9); 2. Philippos Mathai (New Delhi) / Harish KN (Bengaluru, Arka Motorsports) (38:10.9); 3. Kuber Sharma (Solan) / Kunal Kashyap (Shimla) (38:18.1); 4. Arnav Singh Pratap (Delhi) /Arjun SSB (Bengaluru) (39:05.900).
INRC 4: 1. Aeman Ahmed (Chikkamagluru) / Sagar M (Bengaluru, Ammyfied Rallying) (43:25.2); 2. Rakshith Iyer (Mysuru) / Avinash CA (Bengaluru) (43:45.6); 3. Jagbir Nirwan (Patiala) / Karanpreet Mattu (Kurukshetra) (47:43.2); 4. Ruthuparna Vivek (Chikkamagaluru) /Santosh Thomas (Hyderabad) (59:18.900).
Junior INRC: 1. Arnav Pratap Singh (Delhi) / Arjun SSB (Bengaluru, SNAP Racing) (39:05.9); 2. Pragathi Gowda / Trisha Alonkar (Bengaluru, Arka Motorsports) (39:08.7); 3. Ajay Shankar (Kollam) / Rohit Gowda (Bengaluru) (40:47.8); 4. Shivani Pruthvi/ Deepti Pruthvi (Both Davangere) (41:21.900).
Gypsy Challenge (Non-championship): 1. Samrat Yadav (Chandigarh) / Chandrashekar M (Bengaluru) (38:54.300); 2. Himanshu Arora (Delhi) / Vikram Thakur (Chandigarh, Ammyfield Rallying) (40:14.300); 3. Kariappa Mekerira (Kodagu) / Supreeth Sagar (Bengaluru, Ammyfied Rallying) (43:02.200); 4. Darshan Nachappa /Abhinav Ganapathy (Both Kodagu, Ammyfied Rallying) (43:14.300).

Fabid Ahmer on Saturday. Photo courtesy Twitter @JKtyreracing -

Prasaditya 46th K1000 Rally flagged off: INRC Round 3
Tumakuru (Karnataka), 2 Dec 2022: The Prasaditya 46th Karnataka-1000 rally, the third round of the Blueband FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship, was flagged off here today by former Minister S Shivanna to signal the start of the event which will be run near here over two days starting Saturday, Dec 3.
The Prasaditya K1000 rally, which has attracted 65 entries, is being organised by the Karnataka Motor Sports Club under the aegis of FMSCI, the governing body of motorsports in India and promoted by Blueband Sports.
Following a reconnaissance run this morning of the Special Stages, most of the competitors expressed happiness at the terrain which was variously described as fast, flowing and technical.
Championship leader, Bengaluru’s Karna Kadur (co-driver Nikhil Pai) of Arka Motorsports, said: “I am quite pleased with the Special Stages. The terrain is a good mix of fast, flowing corners, a few jumps and water splashes which should make for a good viewing for the spectators. We have prepared the car well and hope to finish strongly.”
Delhi-based seven times National champion and Arjuna Awardee Gaurav Gill (Musa Sherif), who is currently second in the championship, was impressed with the Special Stages. “I quite liked the stages. The organisers have put in a lot of hard work to prepare the route which I think will take rallying to the next level. The Stages are quite fast in some sections and also technical with blind corners and crests. The pace notes have to be spot-on and it will also test your driving skills. I won the 2021 event despite many setbacks and I hope I can win my eighth K-1000 title on Sunday,” he said.
Karna Kadur holds advantage with a handsome lead
The battle is all set to resume between championship leader Karna Kadur of Arka Motorsports on MRF Tyres and 7-time National champion Gaurav Gill, a private entry in yellow colours, supported by JK Tyres.
The popular Karnataka-1000 rally, the oldest rally in the in the country, which has attracted 65 entries is being organised by the Karnataka Motor Sports Club under the aegis of FMSCI, the governing body of motorsports in India and promoted by Blueband sports.
Karna Kadur and co-driver Nikhil Pai, who won the South India Rally, the first round of the season, lead the championship table with 72 points while strong contenders Gaurav Gill and co-driver Musa Sherif, who had a mechanical failure in first round came back strongly with a victory in the second round in Coimbatore have 44. While Gill will be gunning for his 8th K1000 victory, Kadur with a 28-point lead will be safe and cautious, looking to bag crucial points to protect his lead. With a total of 40 points on offer, the dark horse of the rally, will be defending champions from Himachal Pradesh, Aditya Thakur and Virender Kashyap, who are trailing third with 34 points.
Guttedar leads INRC2
Bengaluru pair of Ritesh Guttedar and co-driver Lokaranjan lead the INRC2 standings with 47 points followed by Thakur and Kashyap while another experienced duo Rahul Kantharaj and Vivek Bhat are in third.
Another Himachal pair Kuber Sharma and Kunal Kashyap lead the INRC3 table while Samrat Yadav and Chandrasekhar M leads the Gypsy class. The Junior INRC will see close competition between the top-two ladies teams. While Dr Shivani Pruthvi (Dr Deepthi) leads the table with 66points, Pragathi Gowda (Trisha Alonkar) is just a point behind with third-placed Arnav Pratap Singh (Arun SSB) on 40 points.
27 entries for INRC3
The top INRC class has six cars while there are nine entries in INRC2 category and ten in INRC4. The bulk of rally cars with 27 entries will feature in the popular INRC3 class. There are 13 entries in the Gypsy section for the Challenge Cup, which is a non-championship class.
“The iconic K-1000 rally is running continuously for close to five decades, except a couple of years, and has once again attracted the cream of talent from all over the country. KMSC has put in place all safety requirements and I wish all the drivers a happy rally,” said Gautham Shantappa, the President of KMSC, who is also the vice-president of FMSCI.
10 Special Stages of dirt tracks
The K-1000 rally will have 10 Special Stages. There will be four physical stages with an total special stage competitive distance of 119.11km. The 15.10-km long Hatyalu and Kondli (9.67km) will be run thrice on Saturday while the cars will take on Yallapura (6.87km) and Thirtharama (15.53km) on Sunday. Along with a liaison distance of close to 105 km, the total distance of the rally will be about 224km.
The final round of the INRC, the Rally of Nagaland is scheduled for Jan 12-14 subject to approval by FMSCI, as it is a new venue.
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TVS’ Rajendra wins K1000; Sarath Mohan, top privateer
Bengaluru, 14 Aug 2022: Former National champion Rajendra RE of Petronas TVS Racing notched up a hard-fought second consecutive victory beating teammate and defending champion Abdul Wahid Tanveer in the K1000 2-wheeler rally, the fourth round of the GodSpeed Racing fmsci MRF Mogrip National 2w Rally Championship 2022 organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club here at the Tribal Adventure Cafe on Sunday.
While Tanveer began the season with a victory at Chikmagaluru, Rajendra bounced back with a fine victory at Coimbatore in Round 3, and with this K1000 win, he took a narrow 1-point lead on the championship table with two rounds to go. All the TVS riders missed Round 2 due to new technical regulations.
Rajendra, the Shivamogga talent, started cautiously as some parts of the Special Stages remained slushy but still clocked the fastest times in all the six Special Stages. However, despite having about 8-second lead, he threw caution to winds and clocked a blistering 7min, 12.207sec in the final Special Stage to make over 12 seconds that left Tanveer clueless. Nataraj, finished a distant third. Samuel Jacob and Imran Pasha (SS 260cc) completed the top-5 sweep for TVS.
Sarath Mohan and Naresh VS are the only riders who have won all the four rounds, thus far, and are well on their way to National Championship honours.

All-win streak continues: Sarath Mohan sweeps all rounds in Superbike Expert class Kerala’s Sarath Mohan, astride a Husqvarna FE450, became the top privateer, taking sixth place in the overall standings, behind Petronas TVS Racing team, who once again made a clean sweep of all the top five places. Sarath, the 25-year talent from Mallapuram, won the Superbike Expert Class 1A beating state mate Sinan Francis (KTM 450) of Kochi by a huge margin. In fact, his big lead helped him overcome the time he lost going off-route due to a missing ‘bunting’ in the stages and a road penalty later. Still he was fastest in all the stages. “I missed the route and lost about two minutes in the Banana farms. But I am quite happy to continue my winning streak,” said the talented rider, who aims to shift to longer cross-country rallies abroad by 2024. Mithun Gopal of Thiruvananthapuram, on a Suzuki RM450, won the bronze to make the class an all-Kerala affair.
Bengaluru’s Naresh VS conquered the Royal Enfield Class 6 astride a Himalayan. Naresh was fastest in all the six stages taking a healthy five-minute lead before his nearest rival Mahesh Kumar suffered a 1min, 40-sec road penalty. Sajeer Ismail from Ernakulam came third.
Bengaluru’s Aishwarya Pissay, the 2019 World Cup Baja winner, took back the championship lead in the Ladies class with a facile victory. With Aishwarya missing Round 2, Fazeela of Ernakulam, took the title lead after Round 3, but today she lost over six minutes in the very first Special STage and had to be content with a fourth place. Bengaluru’s Sameera Dahiya came second on an Impulse and Deeksha Shrivasta, the reigning Sprint champion, finished third.
Imran Pasha of Mysore won the Supersport 260cc Group B class comfortably despite easing off in the last stages where teammate Banteilang Jyrwa clocked the fastest times. However, the TVS talent and former champion did a creditable job taking the overall fifth position on his RTR200 punching above his weight to beat more powerful bikes. Mangalore’s Adnaan Ahmed who won Round 2 at home, finished third.
Bengaluru’s Anoop Manjappa on a Stunner defeated Chalass Bose (Kottayam) despite a 1min 10sec penalty in the Supersport 130cc class. Chikkamagaluru rider Sudarshan B on a Gladiator finished third. However, Bose, the Kottayam rider, leads the table by a narrow six-points by virtue of his two wins and two second places while Anoop, has two wins and a second and could only finish fourth in Coimbatore, losing precious points.
But Gidyun Benjamin, who clocked fastest times in all the six stages, lost to Sasi Kumar K in the Supersport 165cc Group B class due to a road penalty of 2min 50seconds. Varun Kumar came third. Sasi Kumar, breathes easy as he now tops the table with 83 points as, Francis PV, the table topper going into Round 4, had a terrible crash and suffered a leg fracture.
Mumbai’s Russel Jossy on a KTM 390 clocked fastest times on all the stages except SS4 but his nearest rival Amog Nag lost over 4min Liaison penalty and just managed to beat veteran Venu Ramesh Kumar by about 11 seconds. Coimbatore’s Venu, a regular in the rally scene for over a decade bagged another podium and still leads the Supersport 400cc Group B championship standings going into the final two rounds. Assam’s Hansraj Saikia, who came fifth, is second behind Venu in the standings.
Sanjay Somasekhar won the Superstock Group D upto 450cc class beating Naveen Somasekhar, also of Bengaluru while C Pradeep took the third place.
Pinkesh Thakkar of Aprilia JB Racing topped the standings winning the Scooter class while BK Pawan won the Star of K1000 title.
Of the 87 entries, a total of 76 bikes finished the rally while 10 “Did Not Finish” (DNF) and one rider Harish Eranty could not take the start on time.
Provisional Results (Ro 4 K1000):
Class 1: Superbike Pro-Expert:
1. Rajendra RE (Petronas TVS Racing; Shimoga) RTR 450; 51:21.156;
2. Abdul Waheed Tanveer (Petronas TVS Racing; Bengaluru) RTR 450; 51:41.457;
3. R Nataraj (Petronas TVS Racing; Mysore) RTR 450; 53:00.815;
4. Samuel Jacob (Petronas TVS Racing; Udupi) RTR 200; 53:04.462;
5. Imran Pasha (Petronas TVS Racing – Mysore) RTR 200; 55:55:636;
6. Sarath Mohan (Pvt- Mallapuram) Husqvarna; 57: 03.707;
Class 1A:
1. Sarath Mohan (Pvt- Mallapuram) Husqvarna; 57: 03.707;
2. Sinan Francis (Pvt- Vennala/Kerala) KTM 450; 01:00:36.723;
3. Mithun Gopal (Pvt- Trivandrum ) Suzuki RM450; 01:13:42.547;
Class 2:
1. Anoop Manjappa (Pvt – Bengaluru) Stunner; 01:06:44.802; (including 1min, 10sec penalty);
2. Chalass K Bose (Pvt – Kottayam) Stunner; 01:07:21.388;
2. Sudharshan B (Pvt. Chikkamagaluru) Gladiator 01:09: 01.048; (including 1min, 20sec Penalty);
Class 3:
1. Sasi Kumar (Pvt -Coimbatore) Impulse; 01:00:11:700;
2. Gidyun Benjamin (Pvt – ) 01:01:02. 528; (including 2min, 50sec penalty);
3. Varun Kumar (Pvt. – Bengaluru) Impulse; 01:02:47:117;
Class 4:
1. Imran Pasha (Petronas TVS Racing – Mysore) RTR 200; 55:55:636;
2. Banteilang Jerwa (TVS -Shillong) Xpulse; 57:51.299;
3. Adnan Ahmed (Pvt -Mangaluru) Xpulse; 58:34.018; (incl. 1.30sec penalty)
Class 5:
1. Russel Jossy (Pvt – Mumbai) KTM390; 01:02: 06.696; (20sec penalty);
2. Amogh Nag (Pvt – Bengaluru) KTM390; 01:07:28.620; (4min, 10sec penalty);
3. Venu Ramesh Kumar (Pvt – Coimbatore) KTM390; 01:07:39.403;
Class 6:
1. Naresh VS (Pvt – Bengaluru) Royal Enfield; 01:02:32.481;
2. Mahesh Kumar (Pvt – Kochi) Royal Enfield; 01:09:26.454;
3. Shajeer Ishmail (Pvt – Ernakulam) Royal Enfield; 01:10:14.099;
Class 7:
1. Aishwarya Pissay (Petronas TVS Racing – Bengaluru) RTR 200; 01:07:24.068;
2. Sameera Dahiya (Pvt – Bengaluru) Xpulse; 01:24:17.364;
3. Deeksha Srivastava (Pvt – Pune) Impulse; 01:31:13.909;
4. Fazeela (Pvt – Ernakulam) Impulse; 01:45:09.443;
Class 8:
1. Pinkesh Thakkar (Aprilia JB Racing)Aprilia; 01:06:27:709;
2. Karthik Naidu (Petronas TVS Racing –Bengaluru) NTorq; 01:06:29:973;
3. Subramanya T (Pvt – Bhopal) NTorq; 01:06:46:747;
Class 9
1. Sanjay Somashekar (Pvt – Bengaluru) Xpulse; 01:00:25:746;
2. Naveen Somashekar (Pvt – Bengaluru) Xpulse; 01:06:14:891;
3. C Pradeep (PRN Motorsports – Bengaluru) Xpulse; 01:06:37:032;
Class 10: Star of K1000
1. BK Pawan (Pvt.- Bengaluru) Xpulse; 01:03:47.017;
2. Gowtham Rao R (Pvt. Bengaluru) Impulse; 01:04:02.918;
3. L Bharath (Pvt. Bengaluru) Impulse; 01:10:27.572.
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K1000 flagged off
Bengaluru, March 11: The Karnataka-1000 Rally organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club was flagged off by Karnataka Minister for Youth Empowerment and Sports Narayana Gowda, here on Friday. The 45th edition of the iconic rally that began in 1975 is the second round of the delayed FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship 2021.
With MRF Tyres as associate sponsor, the stage-rally attracted 53 entries from all over the country in all categories. While the top class, INRC, has five entries with strong contenders Gaurav Gill and Musa Sherif, leading the pack with Karna Kadur behind them in a Volkswagen Polo 1.6, along with senior navigator Nikhil Pai. The two INRC cars will open the stages in that order followed by 2019 champion brothers Chetan Shivram and Dilip Sharan, who spearhead the INRC2 bunch, followed by current INRC2 leader, Fabid Ahmer (co-driver Sanath G) and Sahil Khanna and co-driver Harish KN.
There are 10 INRC2 cars while the number in INRC3 reduced from 23 in the first round in Coimbatore to 19 here. INRC4 will be with 9 entries while the FMSCI Gypsy Challenge will witness 10 competitors. Five of these drivers are eligible for the Junior INRC title-fight and the number of lady drivers reduced from 10 in Coimbatore to seven here. The fastest lady driver Athira Murali has skipped the event as her co-dirver George is not well and the popular Malayalam vlogger could not find a replacement in time.
The competitors who tasted the terrain finishing the reccee on Friday headed back for tedious drive to Bengaluru again for the ill-conceived schedule pitted the important Driver’s briefing and Ceremonial start in a star hotel in the Garden city. Ideally, the show should have been completed on Thursday in Bengaluru. That would have allowed some breathing space for the competitors. The now have the Special Stages for two days of competition near the town of Gubbi, about 100 Kms from Bengaluru on Saturday and Sunday. The first Special Stage is scheduled to start at 9:15 am on Saturday.
At a pre-event Press Conference, seven times National champion Gaurav Gill, along with co-driver Musa Sherif who is participating in his 300th Rally, described the Special Stages after this morning’s reccee as “super-fast and technical”, a view shared by all competitors.
“There are some fast tarmac stretches where the speeds can touch 180kmph and there are some rough and tricky bits too. So, it is important to get the right speeds. For me, the mantra is controlled aggression to maximise the points,” Gill, a three times FIA Asia Pacific Rally champion, said.
Sherif, 50, from Kasargod, in response to felicitations on reaching a milestone of 300 rallies, said: “It started as a hobby in 1993 but soon became a full-time passion and I never thought I would do so many rallies without a break. I thank all the drivers, sponsors, crews, teammates, and my fans, for this wonderful moment. It is they who gave me these opportunities.”
Musa Sherif, will be starting his 300th rally. Starting as a rider in 1993, he shifted to cars in 1995. These 300 include bike rallies, four-wheeler rallies and also the TSD . rallies, both in India and abroad, for an overall triple century. He read pace notes and “called” for 49 different drivers and competed in 69 international events. Some of the top drivers who he ably assisted were Gaurav Gill, Karamjit Singh and Naren Kumar. He was nominated for Khel Ratna by the federation last year. He won 35 INRC 4W rounds out of which 33 victories came with Arjuna Awardee Gaurav Gill, the longest and greatest partnership ever in the history of Indian National Rally Championship.
Leader in the INRC-2 category after a class win in the first round at Coimbatore a fortnight back, Palakkad’s Fabid Ahmer said: “The terrain is very technical, rough and bumpy. It is a challenge to understand the car at these speeds, but I have made good pace notes with my co-driver and am looking forward to a fast rally.”
Echoing the sentiments, Mujeeb Rehman, winner of the INRC-4 class in Coimbatore, said: “The terrain is super. I like the fast stages and as they are technically tough, co-ordination with co-driver is very important.”
Special invitees to the press conference were two top female drivers, Dr. Shivani Pruthvi from Davangere and Pragati Gowda (Bengaluru) who recently represented India in the Formula Woman McLaren (GT) trials in England. Both concurred that the Special Stages are “fast with flowing corners”, but the terrain called for a bit of caution.
Dr. Shivani Pruthvi:
“First stage has fast and flowing corners while there are rough, narrow and tight corners that will challenge us in the second stage. So it is very technical and it is important to keep the basics right,” said the Doctor from Davangere, who is also competing in the Junior INRC.
Pragathi Gowda, who just represented India in the Formula Woman selections in England for a seat in the McLaren Customer Racing drive in the GT said: “Bringing the car home will be our primary goal as the stages are quite tricky compared to Coimbatore. There are uphill and downhill sections with fast-moving corners. We are game for it and looking forward to a good rally.”
“The iconic K1000 is the mother of all rallies as it is the only rally in India which is active from 1975. The stages for the 45th edition are a re-visit to the 2014 stages and will challenge the drivers’ skills. All safety aspects are taken care of and I wish all the drivers a safe rally,” said Praneeth Perumal, Clerk of the Course, and a veteran administrator of KMSC.
Pragathi Gowda said: “Bringing the car home will be our primary goal as the stages are quite tricky compared to Coimbatore. There are uphill and downhill sections with fast corners. We are game for it and looking forward to a good rally.”
About the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship 2021The Indian National Rally Championship 2021, promoted by The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India, comprises three rounds – Rally of Coimbatore (Feb 25-27), Karnataka-1000 (March 11-13) and the South India Rally (Chennai, March 25-27). The grid is segregated into five categories based on various specifications – the INRC, INRC-2, INRC-3, INRC-4 and Junior INRC (26 years and below, and without a win). Competitors are eligible for Overall classification and also separately in their respective categories. The top 15 finishers are eligible for points ranging from 30 to 1. The five quickest on each of the two days (Leg-1 and Leg-2) and in each category receive bonus points (5 to 1) in the respective Legs provided they complete the Rally. The maximum points that can be won in each round is 40. A stand-alone sixth category, the FMSCI Gypsy Challenge, restricted to Maruti Gypsy, and not eligible for championship points or classification, completes the grid.
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Suhail Ahmed hogs limelight; DNF for Rajendra again: 2w K1000
By David Bodapati
Bengaluru, 6 Dec 2020: Privateer with no sponsor, Suhail Ahmed, astride a KTM 450EXC, stunned the top guns with another good performance to take the overall lead in the championship while defending champion Rajendra RE logged another DNF in the second round of the MRF Mogrip fmsci Indian National Rally Championship for bikes where TVS Racing continued its domination in the other Group B classes in the K-1000 rally here on Sunday.
Organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC), one of the oldest active members of Federation of Motors Sports Clubs of India (fmsci), its flagship K1000 rally is promoted by God Speed Racing of Pune, the COVID19 guidelines were followed and medical partner MEDISPRO sanitised the bikes and provided safety guidance including masks and sanitisers.
“Overall experience was great and I enjoyed this round especially with my riding and the bike on these fast and tricky stages. The Tribal Special Stage was a bit technical with a jump after a huge elevation dip and bend and some tight corners while the first physical stage, Kaadu suited me as it was fast with flowing corners. I am buoyed now and looking forward to the Coimbatore round to increase my lead,” said the Bengaluru rider, astride a KTM 450 EXC.
Rajendra, who lost the opening round in Puttur, suffered an engine failure in SS3 after taking the initial lead in the first two Special Stages and his teammate Nataraj, who could only finish overall 8th won the Group A Superbike Pro-Expert class, which has only two bikes. “It was a bad day again. My engine gave up after I was 2km into SS 3 but I am looking forward to bouncing back as we still have 100 points to fight for in four rounds,” said the defending champion who is on a hat-trick of titles if he claims the championship this year too. The Shimoga rider who spearheads the TVS Racing campaign on an Apache RTR 200 clocked the second-fastest stage time for both Tribal SS (8: 58.722) and Kaadu SS (7:47.160). Through the six stages in the day no one beat his times except Suhail who clocked 8:55.906 in SS1 and went on to perform better and better. He rode the same stage in 8:46.078 (SS3) and 8:42.714 (SS5) as they were run alternately. For the Kaadu Stage, he clocked 7min 46.341sec in the first run (SS2) and dipped it to 7:41.902 in SS4, the second run and eased off in the final SS6 timing 7:51.851 for a comfortable victory as he becomes K1000 Overall Champion, a credit many riders crave for and joins the Hall of Fame with the likes of multiple-champion and legends like Jagat Nanjappa and CK Chinnappa. Suhail Ahmed is the defending champion in Class 6 for SuperSport 55cc.

Arun T, who won the Class 3, in action, on Sunday – K1000 2w INRC Suhail, the fastest rider of the day apart from Overall honours, also bagged his class Group A Superbike Expert class. TVS Racing redeemed their pride bagging three of the eight classes in Group B with Baja World Cupper Aishwarya Pissay and Syed Asif Ali continuing their domination in the Ladies class and Scooter class respectively. Sachin D, another professional rider with TVS Racing, delivered another well-deserved win in SuperSport 260cc class.

Varun Kumar A who won Class 2 in K1000, the Round 2 of INRC for 2w at Tribal Adventure Cafef on Sunday. Photo by David Bodapati But it was Star of Karnataka rider Stephen Roy, the unsung hero on Sunday, as he beat many a stalwart taking 10th overall. Varun Kumar, Arun T, Sajeesh Reghunathan and Naresh VS were the winners in other Group B classes.
Naresh VS, known as Bruce Lee, among the fraternity, astride the solid-looking Himalayan also clocked cautious times in the first two stages on the first run and then switched up gears to deliver knock-out speeds before relaxing for a facile win with almost a two-minute lead, which may translate into more than 2km lead. “I am on a high and the feeling is definitely great for two reasons: I am participating after a gap of a year in any event, rally or race. Secondly, in my 10-year riding career, I am riding the Bullet Himalayan for the first time. And finishing first in both the rounds makes me very happy and leading the INRC championship in this class with an overall 11th position is a bonus. I am working hard to continue the same pace and look forward to clocking better times in the rounds to come,” quipped Naresh, the Lee, who is on a Himalyan high, after two wins.
Of the 70 entries received, 68 bikes started the rally and 3 were disqualified while 13 failed to finish the 48.48 km Special Stage distance which included two Stages that were run thrice each.

Naresh VS aka Bruce Lee winning Class 6 in the INRC Round 2, K1000 on Sunday. A David photo Provisional Final Results (Round 2 – 6 Special Stages)
(Privateer if team is not mentioned; Karnataka if State not mentioned)
Overall: 1. Suhail Ahmed (Bengaluru) (Privateer) (KTM 450EXC) (49 minutes, 44.598 seconds); 2. Sachin D (Bengaluru) (TVS Racing) (Apache RTR 200 4v(49:51.536); 3. Samuel Shajan Jacob (Mangalore) (TVS Racing) (Apache RTR 200 4v) (51:12.785).
Group A:
Class 1: Superbike Pro-Expert: 1. Nataraj R (Kanakapura, Bengaluru) (TVS Racing) (Apache RTR200) (52:50.844); 2. Rajendra RE (Shimoga)(TVS Racing) (Apache RTR200) (DNF in SS3);
Class 1A: Superbike Expert: 1. Suhail Ahmed (Bengaluru) (Privateer) (KTM 450EXC) (49:44.598); 2. Sharath Mohan (Malappuram, Kerala) (Suzuki RMX 450Z) (52:01.686); 3. Asad Khan (Chikkamagalur) (Suzuki RMX 450Z) (52:21.017).
Group B:
Class 2: Super Sport upto 130cc: 1. Varun Kumar A (Bengaluru) (Yamaha YBX) (58:50.342); 2. Nithesh G Poojary (Mangalore) (Honda CBF Stunner) (1:00:21.715); 3. Rakesh Kumar V (Bengaluru) (Yamaha YBX) (01:01:06.161).
Class 3: Super Sport 165cc: 1. Arun T (Hassan) (Hero Impulse) (54:48.775); 2. Francis PV (Chikkamagaluru) (Hero Impulse) (55:29.837); 3. Ahmed Abrar (Mysuru) (Hero) (56:01.513).
Class 4: Super Sport 260cc: 1.Sachin D (Bengaluru) (TVS Racing) (Apache RTR 200 4v) (49:51.536); 2. Samuel Shajan Jacob (Mangaluru) (TVS Racing) (Apache RTR 200 4v) (51:12.785); 3. Yuva Kumar (Bengaluru) (Hero MotoSports) (Hero Xpulse) (52:22.727)
Class 5: Super Sport 400cc: 1. Sajeesh Reghunathan (Bengaluru) (KTM Duke) (56:52.044); 2. Harish S (Bengaluru) (KTM Duke 390) (58:08.696); 3. Karthikeyan D (Coimbatore, TN) (KTM Duke 390) (1:02:16.020).
Class 6: Super Sport 550cc: 1. Naresh VS (Bengaluru) (Himalayan) (54:30.919); 2. Sharath Kumar (Bengaluru) (Bullet) (56:29.533); 3. Arun Joy M (Ernakulam, Kerala) (Himalayan) (57:26.009).
Class 7: S0 to S3 Scooter 210cc: 1. Syed Asif Ali (Bhopal, MP) (TVS Racing) (NTorq125) (57:43.255); 2. Karthik N (Bengaluru) (Privateer) (Bike: TVS) (57:57.044); 3. Shamin Islam Khan (Nashik, Maharashtra) (TVS Racing) (NTorq125) (58:21.325).
Class 8: Ladies Class: 1. Aishwarya Pissay M (Bengaluru) (TVS Racing) (Apache RTR 200 4v) (59:20.729); 2. Tanika Shanbag (Satara, Maharashtra) (Hero Impulse) (1:00:12.227); 3. A Ryhana Bee (Chennai) (Hero Impulse) (1:09:23.693).
Star of Kanataka: 1. Stephen Roy (??) (Hero Xpulse 200) (54:21.090); 2. Dhanush P (Kodagu, Karnataka) (Hero Xpulse) (59:23.719); 3. Syed Thowhid (??) (Hero Xpulse) (1:03:53.947).
(Editor’s note: Revised results and report edited on 8Dec2020. Riders who want to the contact INDIAinF1 can reach us through WhatsApp on 98455 69496 for editing factual errors. Thanks)
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Gautam and Sanjeev take over KMSC reins, promise more activities
By David Bodapati
Bengaluru, 15 Nov 2020: International Formula 1 Marshal, BS Gautam, and former K1000 champion in his class, Sanjeev P Shah, were elected as the President and Secretary, respectively, of the Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC) at the AGM held here on November 12.

Satyavrath KMSC is the founding member of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI). Formed in 1954, the Bangalore Motor Sports Club founded by Fred Webb, later became KMSC to cover the motorsports activity in the entire Mysore State, which is now Karnataka. This story published by a German in the erstwhile kmsc.org was verified by INDIAinF1.com with the three granddaughters of Webb, who are now settled in Australia, and visit India, only once in a while. It has a chequered history and is the only active club which has been continuously conducting the K-1000, a premier National rally for 44 years, as part of Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) except in 2018 when it was denied a national round.
The members of KMSC elected its Managing Committee for a period of two years. A long-standing member and specialist route-setter for the Indian rallies, DA Bhaskar Gupta, now takes the reins as Vice-President after serving as Secretary for the last two years. BS Prakash will be the new Joint Secretary while MD Sathyavratha will be the new Treasurer. The list also includes another senior member Praneet Perumal, Janardan Babu and Shanmuga, elected to the managing committee. The new panel is also expected to co-opt three members and currently advocate and motorsport enthusiast VS Harish is the first to be co-opted and he is likely to take care of the legal issues of the club.
Praneeth Perumal, a veteran of KMSC, who has been instrumental in the club reaching great heights with various teams in the past, especially with the late Bharat Raj, has served in various commissions of the FMSCI and also has been a steward, but has not been able to give enough time in the last few years. His re-entry into the active action, along with another long-standing and active member Satya, will be a boon to the club and the new office-bearers will do well to take their experience in handling the motorsports activities.

Praneeth Perumal, a stalwart of KMSC, is
back into the managing committeeShivu Shivappa, the outgoing president, who recently relinquished the vice-president post of FMSCI, is not in the new committee as he opted out after two terms of service to the club. “Time to move on and give space to new faces to take the club forwards,” said Shivappa.
“On behalf of the Newly- elected Managing Committee, I thank all the members, my predecessor Mr Shivu Shivappa and the past committee for the efforts and wonderful work they have put in to keep the flag of one of the most-prestigious motorsports clubs in India flying high,” acknowledged the incumbent President.
When asked about his priorities as the new president, Gautham said: “Reviving grassroots motorsports and the time-regulated rallies, what used to be the TSDs, will be among one of the immediate things we want to do as a team. These events are the life-line of the club and are stepping stones for bigger things in motorsports for riders, drivers and navigators. So we will take up more activities to encourage budding sportspersons in each of their sport, irrespective of the discipline. Whether be it rally, or racing, or motocross or sprints and bike events, improving the participating and increasing the number of activities will be our top priority.”

Sanjeev Shah is elected as the KMSC Secretary. “Karnataka has been one of the cradles of motorsport activities and it has produced scores of champions over the years, its flagship event, the K1000 has etched a name for itself as a popular and vibrant event year after year, for 45 years. But many of the experienced and senior motorsports aficionados are feeling left out. So to help youngsters gain from their experience and knowledge and to create a platform for enthusiastic co-operation and learning between the generations, we are planning to start a veterans event,” said the Fire and Recovery Marshal at the Yas Marina F1 Grands Prix, for the last 10 years. He was also an F1 Marshal at all the three Indian GPs from 2011 to 2013.

Janardhan “I have received a call from our new FMSCI President Mr Akbar Ebrahim and he is very keen that we revive all grassroots activity. And we are also hopeful that we will get all the support from the federation,” concluded Gautam, who is a member of KMSC from 1982. He is currently a Covid Warrior supporting the Karnataka officials with HAM radio and communication work along with other Ham team members, many of whom are active Club members.

Bhaskar Gupta, moves up from secretary to Vice-President for the current 2-year term. Sanjeev P Shah, a member of the Club from 1987, was a former biker, who began with one of the first teams under Shekar Bojanna, way back in the nineties. He won the K1000 in 1991, in the 350 class, navigating for the legendary late Rajan Joshua and went on to win the first runners up spot in the Nationals in 1997 after he switched over to cars, the year which saw a huge number of riders and drivers from KMSC winning honours at the national level. “Secretary is just a badge and we at KMSC have always worked as a team and I look forward to contributing to the growth and continue for the betterment of the club. It is the passion for motorsports which kept us hooked to the sport and I am thankful to get this opportunity to give something back to the club,” said Shah, who is now active as a steward and an administrator.

BS Prakas, Joint Secretary, KMSC Another senior member of the club, Bhaskar Gupta, who just relinquished the post of secretary will now be the vice-president of the club. With three decades of experience as a steward and sports administrator, having served the club in various capacities, Gupta is known for his route-setting skills. Along with Satya, he was instrumental in setting the 1996 K-1000 route, near Maddur, and at India Mines which is talked about even now for the five superb stages, after the National championship shifted to the European stage rallying format for the first time that year. Following in the footsteps of his uncle Chakrapani EG, he took to motorsports and never looked back.
“Our focus and priority will be to increase the number of activities. We want more and more people to take up the sport and also we want to do events at the grassroots in all disciplines including TSD and Picnic rallies. Only when we encourage more sportspersons to take up the sport, then we will have more champions in the making. So it is important to keep organising the activities and get the right sponsors to back them up,” concluded Gupta.

Shanmuga, new member of the managing committee. Office bearers: President: BS Gautam; Vice-President: DA Bhaskar Gupta; Secretary: Sanjeev P Shah; Joint Secretary: BS Prakash; Treasurer: MD Sathyavrath. Managing Committee: 1. Praneet Perumal; 2. Janardan Babu; 3. Shanmuga. Co-opted members: 1. VS Harish; 2 & 3. To be co-opted soon.
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Chetan Shivaram-Dilip Sharan thwart pressure from Dr Bikku Babu-Milen to win K1000 Rally

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 Kethanur 
Dr Bikku Babu and Melen George, winners of INRC2 at K1000 on Sunday. Photo: FB 
Chethan Shivaram in action at K1000. Photo by Prabhu Kethanoor 
Fabid 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 Final Provisional Unaudited Results:
Overall: 1. Chetan Shivaram/ Dilip Sharan (Akshara Racing) (1hour, 47minutes, 37.200seconds); 2. Dr Bikku Babu/ Milen George (Team Champions) (1:47:49.900); 3. Amittrajit Ghosh/ Ashwin Naik (Team Mahindra Adventure) (1:51.04.300).
INRC: 1. Amittrajit Ghosh/ Ashwin Naik (Team Mahindra Adventure) (1:51.04.300); 2. Phalguna Urs/ Chandramouli M (Sanp Racing) (1:53:00.500). (only two cars finished out of six)
INRC2: 1. Dr Bikku Babu/ Milen George (Team Champions) (1:47:49.900); 2. Sahil Khanna/ Rajit Kadian (Snap Racing) (1:52:00.200); 3. Younus Ilyas/Harish Gowda (Race Concepts) (4:50:24.200).
INRC3: 1. Chetan Shivaram/ Dilip Sharan (Akshara Racing) (1:47:37.200); 2. Jacob KJ/ Murthy PVS (Arka Motorsports) (1:53.35.600); 2. Pradeep Kumar/Ahammad Ansary (Pipe & Pipe) (2:19:58.000).
INRC4: 1. Mujeeb Rahaman/ Gautham CP (Privateers) (1:55:17.900); 2. Shirole Prakhyat H/ Bharath SM (Pvt) (1:57:16.300); 3.Satish Peddineni/ Vinay Kumar PM (Team Champions) (2:33:19.500).
FMSCI SUV Challenge: 1. Gagan Karumbaiah/ Thimmu Uddapanda (Team Champions) (2:47:46.800); 2. Thomas Kuncheria M/ Dwarakanath Sudarshan (Pvt.) (2:13:41.200); 3. Sanjay Agarwal/ Smitha N (Team Champions) (5:03:17.100).
(Note: Results were revised after confirmation from official version at 6.15pm.)



































