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Tag: Rally
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Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT crew Ott Tanak, Martin Jarveoja clinch victory: WRC Rally Sweden
Tanak, Jarveoja celebrate after winning Rally Sweden on Sunday. An FIA image Torsby, 17 Feb 2019: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT crew Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja clinched victory on the FIA World Rally Championship’s second round, Rally Sweden, which promoted them to the overall championship lead for the first time in their career. Fending off the assaults from Jari-Matti Latvala and Teemu Suninen early in the rally, Tänak went on to dominate the event, winning by 53.7s over Citroen Total WRT crew Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm. Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT pair Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul finished 3 seconds only behind Lappi in third place, their third career podium in Sweden, and remain second in the championship standings after two events.
Sunday began with two runs through the 21.19km Likenäs test, which showcased typical Rally Sweden conditions with a proper covering of snow and ice providing good grip for the rally cars. The “Torsby” special stage, host of the Power Stage and used twice previously, presented however different road conditions as the gravel underneath the surface had been exposed.
Rally leader Tänak took a careful approach to the opening two stages, saving his tyres for the Power Stage and its bonus points. His strategy paid off as he dominated the Torsby test by going 3.5s faster than Neuville to score maximum points.
Behind Tänak, Andreas Mikkelsen had started the rally’s final day in second place, tied with Lappi, but the Norwegian struggled in the first pass of Likenäs with his set of used Michelin tyres. He set only the 10th fastest time and dropped behind both Lappi and Neuville.
Lappi slightly increased his gap over third-placed Neuville through both passes of Likenäs but drove conservatively on the Power Stage. The Citroën driver secured second by three seconds overall.
Despite missing out the second place, there was consolation for Neuville as the Belgian collected four valuable bonus points for the FIA World Championship by setting the second-fastest time in the Power Stage. Lappi also picked up one bonus point with the fifth fastest time, just behind Sébastien Ogier, who scored two bonus points as the fourth-fastest driver.
Mikkelsen held on to fourth but a stage win on the second pass of Likenäs by M-Sport’s Elyn Evans put the Hyundai driver under pressure for the Power Stage. Mikkelsen dropped 11.6s on Sunday to finish only 2.8s ahead of his Welsh rival. Fifth-placed Evans was also able to score three bonus points with a third-fastest time through the Torsby Power Stage.
A tense battle for sixth place was expected on Sunday, with Kris Meeke and Sébastien Loeb separated by only 1.6s overnight. In the end, the French did not manage to dominate, dropping five seconds to Meeke on the first pass of Likenäs and eventually finishing 10.9s behind him in seventh place.
Pontus Tidemand ended his home event – the second with the M-Sport Ford WRT team – in eighth, 1m48s behind Loeb, but still scoring valuable manufacturers’ points for the British team.
Ole Christian Veiby picked up ninth place overall in addition to an impressive FIA WRC 2 victory. He had been under pressure on Saturday from Jari Huttunen but won comfortably in the end, as his Finnish rival went off into a snowbank on the second run of Likenäs and retired. Emil Lindholm took second place in the category, 16.1s ahead of FIA World Rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson.
Former Škoda and M-Sport factory driver Janne Tuohino completed the Top 10 overall, nearly 13 years from his last appearance in the FIA World Rally Championship.
Mads Ostberg took the FIA WRC 2 Pro victory for Citroën Total, finishing over three minutes ahead of Škoda Motorsport factory driver Kalle Rovanpera, while Gus Greensmith took third place for M-Sport.
Swedish yougster Tom Kristensson won the FIA Junior World Rally Championship’s inaugural event, finishing his home round 1m31.2s ahead of Estonia’s Roland Poom in second. Jan Solans completed the podium, with all drivers competing in an identical M-Sport-run Ford Fiesta R2s.
Rally Sweden – Final unofficial results (subject to scrutineering)
1 Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 2hr47min30.0sec 2 Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm Citroen C3 WRC 2hr48min23.7sec 3 Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2hr48min26.7sec 4 Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jǽger Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2hr48min35.4sec 5 Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin Ford Fiesta WRC 2hr48min38.2sec 6 Kris Meeke / Sebastian Marshall Toyota Yaris WRC 2hr49min08.8sec 7 Sébastien Loeb / Daniel Elena Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2hr49min19.7sec 8 Pontus Tidemand / Ola Floene Ford Fiesta WRC 2hr51min07.7sec 9 Ole Christian Veiby / Jonas Andersson Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 2hr54min04.0sec 10 Janne Tuohino / Mikko Markkula Ford Fiesta WRC 2hr55min51.4sec -
Thierry Neuville, Sebastien Ogier resume their battle with opening Super Special Stage: WRC
Thierry Neuville tops the opening Super Special Stage on Thursday. An FIA image Karlstad, 15 Feb 2019: Thierry Neuville and Sébastien Ogier resumed their battle where they left off on Rallye Monte-Carlo: the pair separated by 0.8s after Rally Sweden’s short opening superspecial in Karlstad in first and second place. Neuville’s team-mate at Hyundai, Andreas Mikkelsen, is only 0.3s behind in third on Thursday night.
Wet and slushy road conditions welcomed the drivers on Karlstad’s 1.9km superspecial, causing quickly forming ruts on the arena’s surface. Ogier went wide with his Citroen in the last corner on the outside loop, a fate that befell several drivers in this section of the track. Ott Tänak, third on the Rallye Monte-Carlo podium, was not one of them, and finished fourth fastest, 1.9s behind Neuville.
Finnish drivers dominated the bottom half of the Top 10. In his 197th start in the series, Jari-Matti Latvala marked a momentous occasion, going fifth fastest. Teemu Suninen and Esapekka Lappi were next for M-Sport and Citroen in sixth and seventh respectively, while two-time FIA World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm marked his one-off return after nine years away from the WRC with the eighth fastest time, at the wheel of a private team entry Toyota Yaris WRC.
Ahead of several WRC’s top drivers, FIA WRC 2 Pro leader Eerik Pietarinen navigated his factory Skoda Fabia R5 to ninth quickest overnight, tied with Toyota’s Kris Meeke and FIA WRC 2 pilot Jari Huttunen.
This meant several factory WRC drivers were outside the Top 10: Elfyn Evans, Pontus Tidemand and nine-time world champion Sébastien Loeb, all within six seconds of stage winner Neuville.
Rallye Sweden – Unofficial results after Section 1
1 Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1min 34.9sec 2 Sebastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia Citroen C3 WRC 1min 35.7sec 3 Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jǽger Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1min 36.0sec 4 Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 1min 36.8sec 5 Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC 1min 36.9sec 6 Teemu Suninen / Marko Salminen Ford Fiesta WRC 1min 37.6sec 7 Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm Citroen C3 WRC 1min 37.9sec 8 Marcus Gronhölm / Timo Rautiainen Toyota Yaris WRC 1min 39.0sec 9 Kris Meeke / Sebastian Marshall Toyota Yaris WRC 1min 39.3sec 10 Eerik Pietarinen / Juhana Raitanen Škoda Fabia R5 1min 39.3sec -
The only snow-and-ice event of WRC begins Thursday: Rally Sweden
Rally Sweden begins on Thursday. An FIA imageTorsby (Norway), 12 Feb 2019: The FIA World Rally Championship resumes with Rally Sweden from February 14 to 17, the only full snow-and-ice event of the year. The stages showcase a winter wonderland spanning two countries – Sweden and Norway – with the drivers using special studded tyres designed to cut through the snow and bite into the more solid surface underneath. The result is a surprising amount of grip and average speeds tend to be high. There are also special technics for driving on snow: the competitors use the big snowbanks that line the roads to lean on and guide the cars through the corners as fast as possible.
With three different manufacturers in the Top 3 at the end of the season’s inaugural event in Monte-Carlo, the high level of competition and unpredictability of the championship is clear to see. Reigning FIA World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier leads the standings after taking the win for Citroën, but he is closely followed by his main title rivals from last year: Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) and Ott Tanäk (Toyota). M-Sport Ford will pin their hopes on Sweden’s own Pontus Tidemand, former FIA WRC 2 champion, who will start only his second rally at the wheel of the Ford Fiesta WRC. The battle on the snow-laden Scandinavian roads looks set to produce another thrilling leg, where the start position is likely to have an influence: the first drivers in the order may face the challenge of fresh snow, while those further down could benefit from a cleaner surface and more grip.
One of the biggest motorsports stars in Sweden – Marcus Gronhölm – makes a one-off return. The Finn, FIA World Rally Champion in 2000 and 2002, who retired at the end of 2007, will be back at the wheel of a Toyota Yaris WRC, co-driven by his loyal navigator Timo Rautiainen. And another legendary pair will also try to demonstrate that they lost none of their skills on snow and ice: 9-time FIA World Rally Champions Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena. Rally Sweden will be their second outing on Rally Sweden of six this season in the Hyundai.
Alongside the strong contingent of FIA WRC 2 entrants, the new FIA WRC 2 Pro category will stage its second leg in Sweden, with local hero Mads Østberg from Norway driving the Citroen C3 R5. A brand new turbocharged R2T Ford Fiesta will be revealed at the FIA Junior World Rally Championship season’s launch event with thirteen youngsters entered for Sweden, the first rally in a five-round calendar that continues in Corsica, Sardinia, Finland and Great-Britain.
THE 2019 ROUTE
There are no significant changes in the 2019 Rally Sweden itinerary compared to last year. The city of Torsby, close to the Norwegian border, is the rally base once more but the rally will start with a Super Special Stage (SSS) in Karlstad, further south, which traditionally kicks off the action on Thursday night. The same stage is repeated at the end of Saturday. Friday crosses the border into Norway, with two loops of three stages, plus a superspecial stage closing the action back in Torsby. The best-known stages, including Hagfors and Vargåsen – home of the iconic Colin’s Crest – are scheduled for Saturday, while the rally concludes on Sunday with three stages: two runs over Likenäs, followed by the Torsby Power Stage. In total, the competitive action covers 319.17 kilometres over 19 stages.
Swedish National Television SvT will feature nightly reports and highlights and all stages are available via WRC All Live on the online WRC+ platform.
RALLY DATATotal distance: 1,460.59 km Stage distance: 316.80 km (21.7%) Number of stages: 19 -
6th win in a row for Ogier-Ingrassia: Monte Carlo thriller
Ogier-Ingrassia duo wins at Monte Carlo for their sixth triumph. An FIA image Monte Carlo (Monaco), 28 Jan 2019: The reigning FIA World Rally Champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia claimed their sixth victory in a row on Rallye Monte-Carlo at the end of a thrilling season opener which held the crowds of spectators spellbound.
Ogier won the rally by only 2.2 seconds ahead of Thierry Neuville, having started the final Power Stage with a fragile lead of 0.4 seconds. On the event’s final day, the Frenchman had to battle a defaulting throttle which affected the behaviour of the car. Nonetheless, he finished second on the Power Stage, 1.7 second faster than Neuville, to claim the championship’s lead on his first rally back with Citroen. It was also the manufacturer’s 100th WRC win, in the company’s 100th anniversary year.Neuville fought hard in the intense battle at the front but he admitted that he definitely gave Ogier a bit of a present on Friday when he made a small mistake in SS7. The Belgian’s little consolation is that he won’t be opening the road at the next event in Sweden.On the Monte-Carlo podium for the third consecutive year was Ott Tänak. The Estonian was the leader of the rally up to the end of SS3 and scored seven stage wins in total over the course of the event, beating Sébastien Loeb and Jari-Matti Latvala in the fight for the podium.Loeb, a seven-time winner on Rallye Monte-Carlo with his long-time partner Citroën, was putting his Hyundai car to the test for the first time. The Frenchman, who had just returned from the Dakar Rally in Peru, set two fastest stage times and finished fourth overall.Latvala was fifth, dropping in the rankings on the final day. The Finn said he wasn’t feeling happy with his driving and the set-up of the car.His new team mate Kris Meeke finished sixth in his Toyota debut after facing tyre trouble on Saturday. Nonetheless, the driver from Northern Ireland won the final Power Stage to secure five bonus points, which put him fourth in the championship.Gus Greensmith from Great-Britain claimed seventh overall as well as the winner’s spot for M-Sport Ford WRT in the newly created FIA WRC 2 Pro category, one place ahead of Yoann Bonato in eighth, who took the FIA WRC 2 win. Stephane Sarrazin and Adrien Formaux completed the top 10.Retirements included Esapekka Lappi, who faced mechanical problems, as well as Andreas Mikkelsen and Elfyn Evans, who both made driving mistakes.Next up on the FIA Rally Championship calendar is Rally Sweden from 14 to 17 February, a classic winter event that ventures deep into the frozen and remote forests of Sweden and Norway.Rallye Monte-Carlo – Final unofficial results (subject to scrutineering)1 Sebastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia Citroen C3 WRC 3hr 21min 15.9sec 2 Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3hr 21min 18.1sec 3 Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 23min 31.1sec 4 Sebastien Loeb / Daniel Elena Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 3hr 23min 44.1sec 5 Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 23min 45.8sec 6 Kris Meeke / Sebastian Marshall Toyota Yaris WRC 3hr 26min 52.1sec 7 Gus Greensmith / Elliott Edmondson Ford Fiesta R5 3hr 34min 20.5sec 8 Yoann Bonato / Benjamin Boulloud Citroen C3 R5 3hr 35min 12.4sec 9 Stephane Sarrazin / Jacques-Julien Renucci Hyundai i20 R5 3hr 35min 22.7sec 10 Adrien Fourmaux / Renaud Jamoul Ford Fiesta R5 3hr 37min 19.3sec -
FLASH: Ogier-Ingrassia win WRC Rallye Monte Carlo
Ogier wins. An FIA image Monte Carlo (Monaco), 27 Jan 2019: Citroën’s Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia have won the FIA World Rally Championship’s season opener in Monte-Carlo, notching up their sixth consecutive victory on the event. The Frenchmen claimed the win by only 2.2 seconds over Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul.
Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja took third for Toyota, winning their third podium in a row in Monaco. -
Ogier continues to lead after Saturday morning stages: Rallye Monte Carlo
Sebastien Ogier on Saturday. An FIA image Monte Carlo, 26 Jan 2019: Sebastien Ogier has maintained his Rallye Monte-Carlo lead after Saturday morning’s two stages and the Frenchman has marginally extended his advantage over Thierry Neuville, the rivals still only split by 5.3 seconds. Jari-Matti Latvala has moved up into third, following the retirement of Andreas Mikkelsen.
Today’s route, which ultimately takes the crews to Monaco this evening, takes in two repeated loops of two stages covering 93.38 competitive kilometres. Tyre choices were more straight-forward today and Ogier went into the loop adopting a cautious approach. He immediately took 3.6 seconds out of Neuville in the opener and while the Belgian attempted to strike back in the second stage, he was unable to significantly close the gap. Neuville admitted his tyre choice was not the best in the second stage but was happy with his performance otherwise.
Behind them, the battle for third was intense but ultimately swung in Latvala’s favour. The Finn had a good feeling with the Yaris and from fifth, this morning moved into fourth after the first stage when Andreas Mikkelsen was forced to retire at the end of the stage having taken a wheel off when he hit a wall. Sebastien Loeb initially moved into third after SS9 but then dropped behind Latvala when he stalled at the start of the next stage. He and Latvala are now just 4.7 seconds apart going into the afternoon’s repeated loop.
Ott Tänak has also moved up the leaderboard courtesy of two fastest times, and retirements, the Estonian lucky to escape after nearly going off the road in SS10. Kris Meeke is in the sixth, managing his pace and focusing on points in the Power Stage tomorrow such is the gap to the fifth position.
Gus Greensmith is seventh and leading the FIA WRC 2 Pro Championship ahead of Kalle Rovanperä, the rivals each winning one of the morning stages. Yoann Bonato has also maintained his WRC 2 Championship lead and heads Guillaume de Mevius by over two minutes.
In addition to Mikkelsen, Esapekka Lappi was forced into retirement with an unconfirmed technical issue, and Elfyn Evans went off the road.
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Sebastien Ogier takes lead: Rallye Monte-Carlo
Sebastian Ogier takes lead on Friday. An FIA image Monte Carlo, 25 Jan 2019: Reigning FIA World Rally Champion Sebastien Ogier has moved into the lead of Rallye Monte-Carlo at the end of the first full day of competition, but the Frenchman has just two-seconds in hand to Thierry Neuville after a total of eight tricky mountain stages. Andreas Mikkelsen has leapt from fifth at the mid-leg service to third overnight, albeit over a minute adrift already.
The repeated afternoon loop of three stages ran without problems and Ogier closed the gap to Neuville in the opening stage to just 1.4 seconds having set joint fastest time with Jari-Matti Latvala. While the Frenchman didn’t win either of the following stages, a consistent but cautious pace maintained his advantage heading into Saturday. Neuville dropped at least 15 seconds in the first stage when the car wouldn’t turn in and he had to spin his Hyundai back onto the right road. Otherwise, the Belgian has had a good day and high confidence in the last stage helped him reel in another fastest time. Mikkelsen is exercising a degree of caution and has had a clean run, overhauling Ott Tänak and Sebastien Loeb during the afternoon loop.
Latvala took a safe tyre choice which helped him equal Ogier’s fastest SS6 time and the Finn is just 7.4 seconds adrift of Mikkelsen. Loeb knew he would struggle with his tyres on the first stage, gambling on gaining in the following two. He set another fastest time in the middle stage to rocket from seventh to third, only to drop back to fifth in the final stage. He is however only eight-tenths of a second off Latvala. Elfyn Evans had a great feeling in the middle stage but had to take it easy over the icy sections in the final stage; he is sixth, 21.6 seconds behind Loeb. After a great start and the rally lead last night, Tänak is now seventh having stopped to change a puncture which dropped him from third. Kris Meeke had a frustrating afternoon, sustaining another broken rim and a broken damper as a consequence. The Northern Irish driver nevertheless remains upbeat, confident the speed has been there.
Gus Greensmith has now moved into ninth overall and leads the newly-created FIA WRC 2 Pro Championship. He is trading fastest times with Kalle Rovanperä but continues to have a healthy advantage after the Finn lost time off the road last night. Yoann Bonato is also inside the top 10, leading WRC 2 in his Citroen C3 R5. He won one of the afternoon’s three stages and heads Adrien Fourmaux by nearly two minutes.
The leading retirements of the afternoon were Esapekka Lappi and Pontus Tidemand. Lappi hit a rock, damaged a wheel and broke the wishbone and driveshaft, while Tidemand was also forced out with a broken wishbone.
Rallye Monte-Carlo – Unofficial results after Section 3
1 Sebastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia Citroen C3 WRC 1hr 37min 17.3sec 2 Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1hr 37min 19.3sec 3 Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jǽger Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1hr 38min 35.0sec 4 Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC 1hr 38min 42.4sec 5 Sebastien Loeb / Daniel Elena Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1hr 38min 43.2sec 6 Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin Ford Fiesta WRC 1hr 39min 04.8sec 7 Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 1hr 39min 52.2sec 8 Kris Meeke / Sebastian Marshall Toyota Yaris WRC 1hr 42min 50.3sec 9 Gus Greensmith / Elliott Edmondson Ford Fiesta R5 1hr 44min 17.4sec 10 Yoann Bonato / Benjamin Boulloud Citroen C3 R5 1hr 44min 24.0sec -
Ott Tanak powers his Toyota Yaris into lead after opening night: WRC Monte Carlo Rally
Ott Tanak takes lead after opening night. An FIA image Monte Carlo, 25 Jan 2019: Ott Tänak has powered his Toyota Yaris WRC into a 9.1-second lead on the opening night of Rallye Monte-Carlo, the Estonian ahead of reigning World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier after two stages on the first round of the 2019 FIA World Rally Championship. Thierry Neuville heads the Hyundai challenge in third, just 5.2 seconds further adrift.
After the opening ceremony in Gap, crews immediately headed to two new stages, both run in darkness and totalling 41.35 competitive kilometres. Tänak was on the pace from the outset and won the opener to claim a five-second advantage over the returning Kris Meeke. In the second stage, third fastest was enough to extend his lead, despite a spin in the tricky conditions. Ogier’s tyre choice proved safe for the first stage and he dropped 10.6 seconds, but regained some time in the next to climb into second position. Neuville dropped nearly 30 seconds in the opener, but then reeled in his rivals with fastest time on the clearer roads and overnights just 14.3 seconds off the lead.
Behind the leading trio Esapekka Lappi admitted he hadn’t had the best tyre strategy, but the Finn overnight in fourth on his debut with Citroën. Former team-mate and Yaris WRC driver Jari-Matti Latvala felt the car was too soft for the conditions and he lacked confidence as a consequence, but he is just 1.2 seconds behind Lappi. Elfyn Evans is in the lead Fiesta WRC in sixth, kicking himself for not pushing harder but happy to have a clean start. In comparison, team-mate Teemu Suninen went off and into retirement in the first stage. After setting a great pace, Meeke dropped down the order with a puncture and is seventh ahead of nine-time FIA World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb. The Frenchman, despite his lack of seat-time in the Hyundai, was fourth but then eighth fastest through this evening’s stages – the second not optimum for his tyres – and he overnights in eighth. Andreas Mikkelsen is ninth and Pontus Tidemand rounds out the top 10 after a cautious start.
In the newly-created FIA WRC 2 Pro Championship, Gus Greensmith leads after Kalle Rovanperä went off, and Yoann Bonato tops the standings in the WRC 2 Championship, which is now solely for private entrants. He heads Nicolas Ciamin and Guillaume de Mevius.
Rallye Monte-Carlo – Unofficial results after Section 1
1 Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 26min 33.0sec 2 Sebastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia Citroen C3 WRC 26min 42.1sec 3 Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 26min 47.3sec 4 Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm Citroen C3 WRC 27min 18.2sec 5 Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC 27min 19.4sec 6 Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin Ford Fiesta WRC 27min 21.2sec 7 Kris Meeke / Sebastian Marshall Toyota Yaris WRC 27min 26.8sec 8 Sebastien Loeb / Daniel Elena Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 27min 28.2sec 9 Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jǽger Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 27min 32.6sec 10 Pontus Tidemand / Ola Fløene Ford Fiesta WRC 28min 14.1sec -
Gill begins favourite as INRC returns to Kerala
INRC drivers pose with the trophies after the drivers’ briefing for the Popular Rally which begins on Friday at Kochi. INRC Photo Kochi, 13 Dec 2018: The 2018 MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship is set for an exciting winner-takes-all finish, with Kerala’s iconic Popular Rally, the fifth and final round of the championship, emerging as the stage for the grand showdown at Kuttikanam near Kottayam. The rally moves to the Special Stages in Kuttikanam after the Super Special Stage at Kochi.
Mahindra Adventure’s two-time INRC champion Amittrajit Ghosh comes into the last round with the highest points (79) but will still start behind his teammate and three-time APRC champion Gaurav Gill due to the N-1 rule which allows the drivers to discard one round’s result.
Gill, in fact, will not only begin on pole position but also as the favourite, given his aggressive style of driving. He has 62 points while Ghosh, with 61 points after the N-1 factor, will be right in his tail.
Ghosh, the European Rally Championship driver, will also fancy his chances, especially two very good rounds in the INRC.
Both will, however, be wary of Arka Motorsports’ Karna Kadur, who is not too far behind with 55 points after the N-1 factor. The former INRC champion is competing in the INRC 2 category but has shown the speed and desire to topple his fancied opponents. He can take his second title if he wins the Popular Rally and Gill finishes third or lower.
The rally was flagged off by Shri. K. Padmakumar, IPS, Hon. Transport Commissioner, Govt. of Kerala, from Hotel Le Meridien, Kochi, today. It will unfold in 9 special stages on the smooth tarmac in the Mundakkayam-Kuttikanam sector in Idukki district on Saturday. Two more special stages will follow on Sunday, after which the rally drivers will head to Ernakulam for a Super Special Stage (SSS), at HMT Colony Road, Kalamassery.
The trophy presentation to the winners of the Popular Rally 2018 and the champagne shower will be held at the SSS venue itself. The official podium ceremony will be held at Le Meridien later in the evening, before invited guests.
“We have had a very good championship this year, with intense competition in all the key categories,” the promoter of the championship, RRPM’s Arindam Ghosh, said. “We are set for an exciting finish and I wish all the competitors a grand run,” he added.
“I thank title sponsor MRF Tyres, main associate Mahindra Adventure and associates York & Arka Motorsports,” Arindam said, expressing his gratitude for their three-year association.
Kerala is hosting the INRC for the first time since 2010 which is doubling up as the Popular Rally. It is in its 24th edition, having made a grand comeback last year after running it successfully for 22 years before a brief hiatus.
“Popular Rally is a matter of great pride for us. We have created a great legacy and are determined to take it to greater heights,” John K. Paul, MD of the organisers Popular Vehicles & Services Ltd, said.
Most of the country’s other top drivers, including Dean Mascarenhas, Vikram Rao and Rahul Kanthraj, will line up to get their hands on the silverware in various categories as the curtain comes down on the 2018 MRF FMSCI INRC.
Kerala will be well represented too, led by Dr Bikku Babu, the National Autocross Champion, along with the rising stars and INRC regulars like Younus Ilyas, Jacob K J, Fabid Ahmer, Nibu Sayed and Noufal Sayed.
For the first time in India, a Mobile App on Popular Rally will be launched to provide all rally related news, events, programme schedules etc. Developed by Appzoc, it can be downloaded free from the Google Play Store or the Apple Store and also through QR code scanning.
Standings for the key categories: INRC Overall: Gaurav Gill / Musa Sheriff (Mahindra Adventure) 62 points; Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik (Mahindra Adventure) 61 points; Karna Kadur / Nikhil V Pai (Arka Motorsports) 55 points
INRC 1: Gaurav Gill / Musa Sheriff (Mahindra Adventure) 62 points; Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik (Mahindra Adventure) 61 points;
INRC 2: Karna Kadur / Nikhil V Pai (Arka Motorsports); Rahul Kanthraj / Vivek Y Bhatt (Arka Motorsports); Jacob K.J / Shrikanth Gowda (Arka Motorsports)
INRC 3: Aroor Vikram Rao / Somayya A.G (Falkon Motorsports); Dean Mascarenhas / Shruptha Padival (Chettinad Racing); Suhem Kabir / Jeevarahinam (Team Champions)
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Hat-trick for Karna Kadur, Nikhil Pai; Scratch times help Amittrajit Ghosh edge out Bopaiah
Odd-man out Amittrajit Ghosh (right) on the podium in Chikkamagaluru on Sunday. Chikkamagaluru, 2 Dec 2018: Karna Kadur and his co-driver Nikhil Vittal Pai of Arka Motorsports scored their third consecutive Coffee Day Rally victory for a hat-trick in Chikkamagaluru as the fourth round of the MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), concluded here on Sunday. The duo, in a Volkswagen Polo, nursed their healthy overnight lead with a sensible drive.
While Kadur, who had won this rally in the previous two years, kept it clean through the three Special Stages, all run in the reverse direction, Amittrajit Ghosh (co-driver Ashwin Naik) of Mahindra Adventure took advantage of the scratch times that were allotted to the cancelled Special Stage (SS) 7, to overcome a tough fight from Bopaiah KM (Gagan Karumbaiah) of Team Champions, who drove manfully but fell short by about three seconds. Leading by five seconds overnight, the second-placed duo was defeated off-track by a scratch time of 10-seconds less than what Amittrajit Ghosh was given, that eventually helped the Kolkata driver win the second place behind Karna Kadur. The 10-second parity given by the CoC Ram Kumar, who is an experienced former rally driver himself, appeared odd as Boppaih was faster than Amittrajit Ghosh in all the stages on Day 2, Leg 1. However, it should be noted that the CoC has the privilege to give scratch times, as he deems it fit and it is well within the rules and regulations prescribed in the GP.
Amittrajit Ghosh may have taken these crucial points, thanks to the scratch times, but as he rightly said in the pre-event press conference, his lead in the championship is worth nothing as he has to forego one round and so will lose 18 points while Gill will discard his zero-point North East round of Arunachal Rally.
Behind the trio, hot favourite Gaurav Gill (Musa Sherif), also of Mahindra Adventure, and celebrating his 37th birthday on Dec 2, set a scorching pace to top the timesheets in all the three Stages today and finished fifth Overall behind private entrants Younus Illyas (Harish KN) who are tuned by Team Race Concepts and second in the INRC-1 category. More importantly, he earned 10 championship points, but the official standings page shows as 12 points as on Dec 3.
The results meant that Ghosh continues to lead Overall in the Indian National Rally Championship, promoted by the Ramakrishna Race Performance Management, run by his father Arindam Ghosh, with 79 points as against Kadur’s 67 and Gill’s 62, as officially announced on the inrcindia.com website. Thus, the title will be decided in the fifth and concluding round of the Championship to be held in Kerala next month.
Ghosh and Kadur also topped the INRC-1 and INRC-2 categories, respectively, while Delhi’s Arjun Bani Rao (Milen George) won in the INRC-3 class as the three-day event, organised by the Motor Sports Club of Chikmagalur, concluded here today.
“The result did not surprise us considering the lead that we had overnight. So, there was no need to push today and I was intent on bringing the car back home safely. We backed off a bit, used the advantage we had and finished the three Stages safely. We are very happy that we won for the third time in a row here in Chikmagalur,” said Kadur.
Meanwhile, Ghosh, still to recover fully from an allergy that also hampered his breathing, said he was happy to have finished second which fetched him precious championship points. “Today, we decided to take it easy in the long stage and push in the two shorter stages. In the context of the championship, it is always good to have points in the bag. So, now, whoever among the three of us (Kadur and Gill being the others) wins in Kerala will emerge champion,” said the London-based Ghosh.
For Gill, who was docked six minutes penalty yesterday after failing to complete the last two Stages following a mechanical problem that forced him to pull out, it was a matter of pushing hard and gain positions keeping in mind the championship stakes. A philosophical Gill, winner of the opening two rounds in Chennai and Coimbatore before a retirement in Arunachal Pradesh, said: “We had a good run the past couple of seasons, but things go up and down. It was not the best of weekends here or in Arunachal. So, now, we will go to Kerala next month and hope to win there. Today, I gave it all I had and drove 110 per cent. It is good that the championship has gone down to the wire. It is good for the sport.”
The results (Provisional):
Overall: 1. Karna Kadur / Nikhil Pai (Arka Motorsports) (02hrs,19mins,59.9secs); 2. Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik (Mahindra Adventure) (02:22:15.3); 3. Bopaiah KM / Gagan Karumbaiah (Team Champions) (02:22:18.8).
INRC-1: Ghosh / Naik; 2. Gaurav Gill / Musa Sherif (Mahindra Adventure) (02:23:49.2); 3. Michu Ganapathy / Venu Rameshkumar (Team Champions) (02:27:18.1).
INRC-2: 1. Kadur / Pai; 2. Bopaiah / Karumbaiah; 3. Younus Ilyas / Harish KN (Pvt) (02:22:34.7).
INRC-3: 1. Arjun Bani Rao / Milen George (Chettinad Sporting) (02:24:29.4); 2. Fabid Ahmer / Shahid Salman (Chettinad Sporting) (02:26:34.7); 3. Aroor Vikram Rao / Somayya (Team Falkon) (02:27:57.4).
FMSCI 2WD Cup: 1. Vikram Gowda / Sudheendra BG (Team Champions) (02:31:51.6); 2. Prakhyat Shirole / Bharath SM (Pvt) (02:32:53.0); 3. Manoj Mohanan / Sob George (02:35:32.7).
FMSCI 4WD Cup: 1. Sanjay Agarwal / Smitha Prasad (Team Champions) (02:31:20.0); 2. Sachin Murthy / Satyapal (02:35:00.5); 3. Avin Nanjappa / Suraj M (Pvt) (02:39:26.5)
Edited on 4 Dec 2018 at 1.20am
