INDIA in F1

Tag: Karandip Singh

  • Karandip-Jaidas win but Leela-Farooq clinch National Championship title

    Mangalore, 28 Nov 2001: Karandip Singh and Jaidas Menon conquered the final rally of the 2001 season winning the Coffee Day Action Rally, the eighth and final round of the Motorsports Association of India’s (MAI) Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) which concluded at the Taj Manjuran Hotel, here, on Sunday.

    The combination of Chandigarh-Bangalore pair of Singh and Menon, saw that former National champion Leelakrishnan and co-driver Farooq Ahmed, play second fiddle for the final rally in the south, winning the seventh round Overall honours. But the Coimbatore-Chikmagalur duo of Leela and Farooq clinched the National Championship for the year 2001, with Leelakrishnan taking the National title for the sixth time.

    Karandip Singh displayed enough speed but was in full control as he ruled the stages in this sea-shore city and put Team MRF on the top pedestal as they won the Coffee Day Action Rally 2001, with ease.

    However, the Coimbatore veteran representing MRF regained his National title after a gap of two years. While it is the sixth title for Leelakrishnan, it is the third championship for Farooq Ahmed, who won the National Championship with Leela in 1998 and 1999.

    Last year’s Group N champion, Singh, struggled with his Maruti Baleno, whose wheels did not live up to the gruelling test of a rally. In 2000, Karandip, driving a Maruti Esteem, claimed the Group N title but missed the overall championship by a whisker. Both Leelakrishnan and Karandip won two rounds each but Leelakrishnan won on better points. In between, Sagar Muthappa and Sandeep S Rao, won two back-to-back rallies in Coorg and Cochin and threatened to steal the title from Leela and Farooq but had to be content with the runners-up spot in the National Championship with a DNF here following punctures, the same fate that met Leela

    The stretch of Subramanya-Bisle ghat road, for about 20km, took a toll on the drivers and proved nemesis to many including the Zero car.

    “For five of the eight rounds, I was leading the field, before having to pull out due to car problems. On the two occasions that I managed to finish, I emerged winner,” said Karandip after the Mangalore round, while savouring his victory along with co-driver Jaidas Menon.

    Karandip’s first victory came at the K-1000 at Bangalore, where he ruled the dirt tracks and in Mangalore, too, driving a Maruti Esteem, he managed to nurture his car despite a broken drive shaft, and won the rally. “At that point, I did not expect to complete the first leg,” he admitted. However, he lead the rally after the first leg leading Vikram Mathais, who was placed second behind by 14 seconds on Day 1. Karandip did go all out on the second day but was second fastest in the 1400 category, and the Honda Citys were faster but were not in contention for the title as they failed to fiish the first leg.

    Provisional Results:

    Overall: 1. Karandip Singh/ Jaidas Menon (Team MRF) Esteem (1hour, 43min, 59sec); 2. Vikram Mathias/Sujith Kumar, Esteem (1:44:26); 3. Jagat Nanjappa/ Anita Nanjappa, Esteem (1:45:52); 4. Philipos Mathai/Sudarshan Gowda (1:46:10).

    Rally Star Cup:  1. Dr Bikku Babu/Bonnie Thomas, Esteem, (1:48:45); 2. Lohit V Urs/MK Bopanna, Esteem, (1:48:52); 3. Rahul Kantharaj/ Vivek Bhatt, Esteem (1:51:45).

    National Championship: Winners: Leelakrishnan/ Farooq Ahmed – 59 points;

    2. Sagar Muthappa/ Sandeep S Rao 51 points;

    3. Vikram Mathias/ BS Sujith Kumar – 43 points;

    4. Karandip Singh/ Jaidas Menon – 31 points;

    5. Jagat Nanjappa/ Anita – 29 points.

  • Karandip Singh-Jaidas Menon win K-1000 Rally

    Bangalore, 12 August 2001: Karandip Singh and co-driver Jaidas Menon clinched the 27th K-1000 Rally, the fourth round of the MAI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) here on Sunday.

    The Delhi-Bangalore duo may not be the fastest drivers on the track but their consistence performance saw them receive rich dividends as they clocked the best time recording 1hour, 49minutes and 5seconds to clear the eight Special Stages ahead of others. Though the pair did not record any fastest stage time in any of the Special Stages, they emerged faster than the next best pair, the multiple former National champions Leelakrishnan and Farooq Ahmed by 24 seconds and are more than a minute ahead of the third-placed husband and wife biking legends Jagat Nanjappa and Anita Nanjappa, who clocked 1:50:16 to take the third place in the Overall honours.

    Youngsters Vikram Mathias and BS Sujith Kumar began on a blistering pace setting the fastest time in the first stage clocking 10min 33 seconds but the duo with great potential slowed down in the next two stages finishing third and fourth and had to pull out in SS 4. That ended their campaign.

    Then another formidable pair Sagar Muthappa and co-driver Sandeep S Rao, who overcame initial hiccups and appeared to be going on top of everyone clocking the fastest stage times in three stages, topping SS2, SS3 and SS4 but thereafte could not sustain the tempo finishing fifth, fourth, fourth an fifth respectively in the last four Special Stages. However, they finished Overall runners-up to Singh and Menon.

    Former Multiple National Champion Leelakrishnan and co-driver Farooq Ahmed, who set the fastest timing in Special Stage 7 came third in the Overall placings followed by biking legends, the husband-and-wife pair of  Jagat Nanjappa and Anita Nanjappa, who topped Special Stage 5. Talented Arjun Balu and co-driver KR Kumar, who managed to clocke fastest times SS6 and SS8, were in the reckoning for top spots but lost too much time in SS4 that put paid to their hopes and they ended in Overall fifth place.

    The next Rally at Goa, the Old Anchor Rally de Goa, the fifth of the 8-round MAI National calendar will be held from September 7 to 9.

    Provisional Results:

    Overall: 1. Karandip Singh/ Jaidas Menon (1 hour, 49minutes, 05seconds); 2.  B Sagar Muthappa/ Sandeep S Rao (1:49:09); 3. N Leelakrishnan/Farooq Ahmed (1:49:33); 4. Jagat Nanjappa/Anita Nanjappa (1:50:16); 5. Arjun Balu/ KR Kumar (1:54:39).

    Stage winners

    SS-1: 1. Vikram Mathias/BS Sujith Kumar 10:33; 2. Leelakrishnan/Farooq Ahemd 10:35; 3. Arjun Balu/KR Kumar 10:42;

    SS-2: 1. Sagar Muthappa/Sandeep S Rao 15: 37; 2. Arjun Balu KR Kumar 15:39; 3. Karandip Singh/Jaidas Menon 15:40;

    SS-3: 1. Sagar Muthappa/Sandeep S Rao  10:03; 2. Karandip Singh/Jaidas Menon 10:09; 3. Vikram Mathias/BS Sujith Kumar 10:19;

    SS-4: 1. Sagar Muthappa/Sandeep S Rao  14:47; 2. Karandip Singh/Jaidas Menon 14:56; 3. Jagat Nanjappa/Anita Nanjappa 15:36;

    SS-5: 1. Jagat Nanjappa/Anita Nanjappa 10:45; 2. Arjun Balu KR Kumar 10:48; 3. Leelakrishnan/Farooq Ahemd 11:02;

    SS-6: 1. . Arjun Balu KR Kumar 16:03; 2. Leelakrishnan/Farooq Ahemd 16:23; 3. Karandip Singh/Jaidas Menon 16:44;

    SS-7: 1. Leelakrishnan/Farooq Ahemd 10:42; 2. Jagat Nanjappa/Anita Nanjappa 10:43; 3. Arjun Balu KR Kumar 10:47;

    SS-8: 1. . Arjun Balu KR Kumar 16:25; 2. Jiby Maliakkal/ Rohan Rego 17:15; 3. Philioppos Matthai/Sundarshan Gowda 17:49;

    ends