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Tag: Vamsi Merla
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With virtually no seat time, Geoffrey Emmanuel performs admirably: JuniorGP
Valencia (Spain), May 22: Talented Indian racer and a pioneer in his own right, Geoffrey Emmanuel, amazingly adapted to the well-known circuit, despite taking part in a competitive race here for the first time and came out trumps finishing the race, which in itself is a big success as he is the first and lone torch-bearer for India, paving way for others in the FIM World Championship JuniorGP here on Sunday. He made an amazing comeback after his injury in the last round.
The hard-working Emmanuel, son of Indian racing star of yesteryears, Emmanuel Jebaraj, put in a stunning show to improve his performance and finished a creditable P19 and P25 in the second round in the double-header, considering the experience and access to seat time of his competitors, at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, the popular venue.
Geoffrey, the 18-year old from Chennai, representing the famous Cuna De Campeones team, made a good beginning on his KTM in the season-opener in Portugal a fortnight back, and despite suffering injuries following a crash, made a valiant effort to be within 3.6 seconds of the leaders over the weekend.
Having qualified 26th on the 27-bike grid, Geoffrey, who is sponsored by Fairstreet Sports, Vidiem, Vamcy Merla and Gusto Racing, put in a determined performance to take P25.
In the second race later in the day, Geoffrey fought hard to finish 19th. Considering the amount of opportunities that he had in India and the experience and seat time enjoyed by his rivals, finishing the race is a good progress. But the Indian is soon adapting to the weather and new conditions and achieved his target of completing the race with aplomb. “It is a good learning experience. I am here to test myself and work hard. I am glad that I got a good team and am able to understand and learn from the professional set-up here,” said Emmanuel, who dreams of racing MotoGP one day.
He felt that his learning at this level continues and after two rounds of the seven-round championship, he grew stronger but realises that he has a long road ahead of him. He is keen to make a mark in the JuniorGP which is a feeder series for the FIM Moto3 World Championship and is considered to be among the most-competitive junior championships in the World. The fact that he is the first and only Indian to get till here makes him a pioneer. “I am aware of the gigantic task ahead of me. But I am willing to work hard and I am sure the way we are working, we will be there soon,” he said confidently to INDIAinF1.com.
Emmanuel added: “Both the races were difficult but I was able to fight with the riders. The two races helped me to figure out the areas where I need to work on and come back stronger for the next round.”
Fairstreet Sports, the promoter who is bringing MotoGP to India, Vidiem, who sponsored and brought the MiniGP to India for the first time in 2022, have backed the young prospect. Vamcy Merla, the maverick former promoter of Indian National Rally Championship, and the founder of VM Sports Foundation, the heir torch-bearer of Andhra Pradesh’s Kalyani Group, has also pitched in to help Emmanuel blossom into an international rider.
And it is Gusto Racing India, but for whom, the young rider would not have made it to the foreign land. His dad, the architect of many a youngster taking to the sport in India, runs Gusto. “If not for my dad, I would not have been where I am,” he told this writer once at the MMSC hospitality. This writer has also spotted Jebaraj waiting patiently for Valentino Rossi, at the Sepang a few summers back, and the technically-sound rider of his day, was so disappointed that the legendary rider soon disappeared out of the motorhome where the Indian maestro was waiting. But the delight and joy that one cannot mistake in his jubilant face once he met the legend, made “yours humbly” realise that JEBARAJ breaths MotoGP day-in and day-out.
The third round of the championship is scheduled to be held in Jerez, Spain, from June 2 to 4, and by the time seven rounds are done, we would have an Indian pioneer. The hardworking youngster has the skills, talent and the commitment to go places, and if nurtured properly, can get the break at the right time.
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Hayden Paddon, co-driver John Kennard win Rally of Whangarei: APRC Ro4
Whangarei, Sunday 14 May 2023: Cromwell’s Hayden Paddon and co-driver John Kennard have won the 2023 International Rally of Whangārei in their Hyundai i20N Rally 2 car, finishing 3min35 ahead of Ben Hunt and Tony Rawstorn (Skoda) while Rana Horan and Michael Connor finished third (Skoda).
Indian businessman from Andhra Pradesh and former Promoter of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) has sponsored the Prize Money for the winners of the APRC segment for both Otago Rally and the International Rally of Whangarei.
The fourth round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) it was also the final round for the sub-category Pacific Cup. Paddon’s successive point scoring reinstated him as champion and was awarded the FIA trophy by representative Mr Wayne Scott.
It’s Paddon’s eighth win in Whangārei – his first was in 2007.
“I’m really proud of our team and being able to take the Pacific Cup again – against strong competition like Ben and Rana,” said Paddon after the finish.
“The event has been nice to us over the years so are honoured to make it win number eight and we look forward to next year. It was a flawless effort from the team. The car ran perfectly, so is a credit to their performance from the workshop to the event.”
The disappointment continued for Shane van Gisbergen and co-driver Glen Weston when they went off the road on the third stage of the morning. Competing for the experience, van Gisbergen’s day started with a spin on the opening stage before setting second-fastest time on the second.
A faultless performance by Cromwell’s Hayden Paddon and John Kennard has rewarded the team with their eighth win at the International Rally of Whangārei on Sunday.
Photo by Geoff Ridder.Following heavy rain in the week leading up to the event the rally ran as scheduled – including the city-side Pohe Island publicity stage. The event covered eight stages to the north on the Saturday and six to the south on Sunday, totalling 707.99km – 225.80km being competitive sections. Attrition was high with 21 of the 48 missing from the finish.
Returning to Whangārei’s Pūtahi Park in the Town Basin, the city’s mayor Mr Vince Cocurullo was on hand to celebrate with the finishers. The top three also received
prize money provided by Indian businessman and promoter Vamcy Merla. Paddon’s team was awarded NZ$3,000 for the win, $2,000 for Hunt and $1,000 for Horan in third.
The Ken Block Memorial trophy was awarded to Auckland’s Rana Horan – for outstanding sportsman like attitude and performance.
“It didn’t all go his way on the Saturday and Rana demonstrated the type of attitude we knew of Ken – his ability to give, accept adversity and still deliver a 100% performance,” said Rally New Zealand representative Chris Carr.
When his name was called out, Horan was speechless: “Awesome. It’s off the hook. Unreal,” he said. “Ken Block is a legend – I was thinking what did I do to deserve this, so am blown away. It really means a lot and I’m so grateful to Rally New Zealand for putting this together.”
Dunlop tyres drive of the event was awarded to Pukekohe’s Zeal Jones – his first time on the Whangārei roads. The 18-year-old finished fifth overall.
First two-wheel drive was Christchurch’s Dylan Thompson (Ford Fiesta Rally 4), finishing just behind Jones in sixth place.
Also the second round of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC), the local teams now return to the South Island for the third round – the 17 June South Canterbury Rally. While Paddon leads the series, he will miss the next round.
The title deciding final round of the APRC will be held at Indonesia’s Danau Toba Rally – 24 to 26 November.
Top-ten overall: 2023 International Rally of Whangārei (provisional)
1 Hayden Paddon/John Kennard – Hyundai i20n Rally 2 2:04:03.0
2 Ben Hunt/Tony Rawstorn – Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo +3:35.6
3 Raana Horan/Michael Connor – Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo +1:08.4
4 Josh Marston/Andrew Graves – Holden Barina AP4 +6:54.8
5 Zeal Jones/Matt Sayers – Subaru Impreza +3:00.0
6 Dylan Thomson/Bayden Thomson – Ford Fiesta Rally 4 +0:00.5
7 Jackson Clendon/Tania Cresswell – Ford Fiesta Rally 4 +0:35.3
8 Jordan Grant/Glenn Goldring – Suzuki Swift Sport +3:12.4
9 Bryn Jones/Sean Lockyear – Ford Fiesta Rally 4 +0:20.4
10 Mike Young/Amy Hudson – Toyota C-HR +0:16.6
(Top-three are FIA APRC registered competitors).
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Vamcy Merla backs Rally of Whangarei, Pacific Cup winners: APRC
Whangarei (New Zealand), 11 May 2023: The 12-14 May running of the 2023 International Rally of Whangarei is underway with teams now doing pre-event reconnaissance.
“There is prize money of NZ$3,000 for the winning APRC entrant, $2,000 for second and $1,000 for third, provided by Indian businessman and promoter Vamcy Merla,” said the organisers about the contribution of Merla, who is taking forward the legacy of his later father, Merla Chandrasekhar Rao of Kalyani Group in Andhra Pradesh.
Preparation for the return of the international level to the Whangārei region comes after numerous weather events and successive years hiatus through COVID-19 restrictions.
Organisers are now looking ahead following Tuesday’s rain downpour – focussing on delivering the event as planned, with currently only one minor alteration to the timetable.
Scheduled to be contested over 18 special sections of closed road, that has now been reduced to 16.
“On the Sunday we’ve removed the Tangihua road from the timetable – which was to be used twice,” said Mr Steve Foster, chairman of the organising committee.
“Following the weather front that passed through we’ve had to ask and been asked the question as to the usability of some roads. Inspection has confirmed It only affected one section of road where there have been slips that are yet to be cleared. While it’s expected to be open again this afternoon we’ve opted to remove it from our schedule.”
At 14.40km long it will reduce the overall competitive distance from 254.60km to 225.80km.
Foster says Pohe Island is now the current focus. The William Fraser Memorial Park is to host Saturday’s publicity section: “Current conditions make it marginal for hospitality to setup at Pohe Island – we’re working on an alternate option while remaining optimistic the clearer weather mean we can run as planned.”
With light rain expected during the Thursday, weather for the next few days is clear.
“It’s possible a few showers could pass through later on Sunday however that’s a few days out and unlikely to affect anything,” added Foster.
The event brings 48 teams to the region – 11 of them contesting the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) category. Top-seed drivers include Hayden Paddon and Shane van Gisbergen.
Seven cars are offshore entries, including the Cusco Toyota C-HR of Michael Young. Others include Eugene Creugent and Pierre-Henri Brunet from New Caledonia, Julien Lenglet and Nelson Law from Vanuatu, Stewart Reid and Glen Alcorn from Australia.
Activity starts from 1pm Friday with shakedown testing at William Fraser Memorial Park’s Pohe Island. Drivers will then be at the Cameron St Mall from 4:45pm for a signing session ahead of the 5:30pm ceremonial start.
The competitive section begins Saturday morning with four special stage tests to the north of Whangārei. They return from 11:42am for a service stop before repeating the journey in the afternoon. The day concludes with a double run of the Pohe Island 1.15km spectator stage.
Sunday uses four road stage sections to the south – repeated after the 10:39am service break. The remaining teams return for the ceremonial finish at the Pūtahi Park – Town Basin, Whangārei, from 3pm.
Spectator tickets start at $10 for the rural stages for the Saturday or Sunday, or $20 for the Pohe Island stage. Full ticketing information can be found on the website. https://www.rallywhangarei.co.nz/spectators/
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To SIR with love, South India Rally receives huge response
Bengaluru, 16 April 2021: To SIR, with love, is a popular song of the sixties. But now the SIR is on a song. South India Rally, popularly known as SIR, has received an overwhelming response and a record 65 entries for the 43rd edition that begins on April 23, and is also run concurrently with APRC.
To SIR with love, is actually a British drama, on social issues starred by Sydney Poitier in 1967. Here in India we continue our song in motorsports, to SIR with love. And it will be a big tribute to the grand old Sir, Indu Chandhok, who first won the rally in 1954, when it all began as South India 800 Rally. But after another edition of the TSD event in between in 1955, the South India Rally took its birth in 1957.
Manoj Dalal, the long-time navigator of Vicky Chandhok, is the current CoC (Clerk of Course) for the 43rd SIR, the first round of INRC 2021. And the CoC has confirmed that the final number of entries is 65. Sixty five is the record in the 34-year INRC history. The last highest number was at the 2009 K-1000 which attracted 61 entries.
Chandhok Senior, won the rally in 1954 in a Triumph Mayflower and went on to print his name in the history books winning the first edition in 1957 in a Standard Ten.
Vicky Chandhok. File photo by INDIAinF1 Coming back, the Indian National Rally Championship 2021 (INRC), the first round which is clubbed with Asia Pacific Rally Championship, received a record 65 entries and the organisers Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) was forced to restrict further (late) entries. Another record will be over 10 entries by Lady drivers, making it 23 lady participants in the rally. “This is the first time such huge number of ladies are taking part in an INRC round,” said a regular, who lamented about the ban on spectators.
“When Vamsi (Merla) first said that he would make sure that the South India Rally gets sixty entries, I laughed, and asked him if he was joking. But the response is overwhelming and I have not seen such a rush in the past. I must congratulate the Promoter who worked tirelessly, calling drivers and helping with goodies, providing tyres and supporting the Women in Motorsport initiative enthusiastically by getting them sponsors,” said Vicky Chandhok, the chairman of the meet and the man who brought F1 to India. “Yes, he pulled it off,” he added. “There will not be much imported cars and we will have national cars in the APRC. The number will be known only after a couple of days,” he said talking about the APRC entries.
Due to the Covid second wave, the Organisers and the Promoters, Champions Yacht Club have decided that there would no spectators for the first round of the INRC. “Unfortunately, we had to close the doors on spectators. I am really sorry for all the fans but to compensate, we are making arrangements to live stream and put out live results,” said Vamsi Merla, the Promoter. “We believe upon the best club in the country. MMSC has conducted two Nationals in a strict `Bubble’ and they are known to follow all the procedures and government restrictions thoroughly. They are the active and the best club with great infrastructure. So all the safety precautions, both rally wise and Covid wise are taken care of and we are fully confident,” said Merla, who praised the Marshals of MMSC `who are on the toes always’.
Promoter Vamsi Merla, who encouraged more women to participate by providing sponsors, managed to get over 60 entries. Vicky Chandhok, who won the South India Rally four times, in a Dolphin, Montana and a Fiat, predicts tough competition. Gaurav Gill, three times APRC champion, who was crowned with the Arjuna Award, will be raring to go in Yellow colours. Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik, will complete the Mahindra line-up. The rally will also witness talented drivers Karna Kadur, Dean Mascarenhas, Bikku Babu, Chetan Shivram and other youngsters Fabid Ahmer, Aditya Thakur and Arjun Rao.
“I thank MRF for sponsoring many lady drivers. This will be a milestone year in women participation and we wish them all the best,” said Vamci. Apart from regulars Smitha Prasad, Dr Shivani Pruthvi (Deeksha Balakrishna) and Pragathi Gowda (Trisha Jagannathan), 10 other lady teams are expected to take part. Around 10 drivers including Khyati Mody will be supported by MRF. Taking the support of 2019 Overall champion Chetan Shivram, Champions Yacht Club conducted a Talent Hunt over two days in Bengaluru, where about 28 ladies took part. Dhruva Chandrasekhar and Suhem Kabir, also trained the participants. Prominent among them who will be taking part in the INRC Round 1 will be Pathanamthitta lass Athira Murali, a popular Auto Vlogger, and then Renuka G from Andhra Pradesh, who came second in the Talent Hunt, besides Amnadeep Kaur (Amman Jubbal), Madhi Sri Elangovan, Anupma Bindra, Chandrika Thampuratty, and mother-and-daughter duo Shivani and Dr Vani Parmar. However, Ojasvi Mehta, an MBA student from Mumbai, who did well in the Talent Hunt, will not be making it to the first round due to academic clashes.
The first round of the INRC will be held at Irungatuukottai on April 24 and 25. There will be two Special Stages, Avisa (16.8km) and Track (12.10km) besides a Super Special Stage of two laps covering a total distance of 4.8km on the tarmac of MMRT.
There will be four classes, Overall INRC, INRC2, INRC3, INRC4 and INRC NR4 for the National Championship. The SUV class and the Gypsy class will also be run as support classes, and the National Junior Championship will test the best juniors below 25 years who never won any round. The APRC Asia Cup round will have 4 more stages to complete the mandatoroy 150km mark. Yes SIR, we are ready!
Note: Updated on 17 April 2021 at 3.20pm
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Vasundhara Jewellery Group enters INRC with 2 all-woman teams
Hyderabad, 12 Nov 2020: Champions Yacht Club pulled off another first in Indian Motorsports roping in a prominent woman entrepreneur of the city to field a first sponsoring two all-woman teams in the CYC FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) 2020, which is slated to begin with a back-to-back double leg in the North-Eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh from December 15.
Mrs Vasundhara, a well-known Telangana businesswoman of Vasundhara Diamond Roof Private Limited fame, has come forward to sport a rally team for the first time. The Hyderabad -based jewellers will own two teams, a mix of experience and youth, comprising of renowned Indian woman rallyist Dr Bani Yadav of Gurgaon and another talented youngster, Pragathi Gowda of Bengaluru, with Mrs Vasundhara, taking the initiative to plunge into the sport with the first-time entry as a sponsor and team owner with two entries.
Andhra Pradesh, hosted the finals of the Indian National Autocross Championship last January, before the pandemic halted all motorsports events with the scheduled first round at Chennai, the South Indian Rally, being put off just a week before it was supposed to take off in March last week. Hyderabad, on the other hand, was famous for the Charminar Challenge rally, INRC event season finale, for many years in the past, and rallying is not new to the Telangana capital which has produced many rallyists of yore and had Andhra Pradesh Motor Sports Club during the combined state status which is now Telangana. With the coming of Team Vasundhara, Hyderabad will make its presence in INRC once again through a Team Owner, that too a woman owner, and with Bani Yadav in the driver’s seat, it is something to look forward to for a Rally fan.
Champions Yacht Club, the promoters of INRC, headed by young rally enthusiast Vamsi Merla, has already roped in Yokohama Tyres, who are fielding defending champion Chethan Shivaram and also announced a slew of benefits for woman teams by organising clubs waiving off entry fee to all women and their teams. Merla also promised to make transport arrangements for taking the cars to the venue at subsidised rates and accommodation is being provided free for all the participants beginning with the first two rounds at Itanagar, where the Government of Arunachal Pradesh and the Tourism Department of the State are also roped in by CYC.
Christened as ‘Team Vasundhara’ the two lady drivers will take part in INRC 3 class in a rally-spec Volkswagen Polo 1.6 shod with MRF Tyres.
Mrs. Vasundhara, who started the journey 22 years back, was the first women jeweller in entire South Asia and the idea behind promoting women in motorsports is in line with their company’s ethos of `women empowerment’ in all walks of life.
“A woman team owner, coming forward to promote and empower an all-woman team is a huge moment for Indian motorsports and a first time in Indian Rallying. As a promoter we have always strived for more women participation as part of the `Women in Motorsport’ concept introduced by FIA and FMSCI, and this association is seriously a stepping stone towards bringing in more women enthusiasts into motorsports,” Vamcy Merla, promoter of INRC and director of Champions Yacht Club said.
“Being a woman, my mother had to overcome many tough hurdles and challenges to make for herself. Our brand is all about woman empowerment as that is a personal journey for me. So keeping up the motto, we want to promote and empower women in all walks of life. We are pleased to have this opportunity to be part of an all-woman’s team and are glad to have been able to convince Bani (Yadav), a legend in her own right and Bengaluru youngster Pragathi (Gowda),” said Ashish, Director of Operation, Vasundhara Diamond Roof.
After the North-East round in scenic settings, INRC 2020 will move to Southern India with three rounds in Coimbatore, Hampi and the season-finale will be held in Bengaluru, with the iconic K-1000 as the last stop.
Began in 1988 as a National Championship, INRC the flagship event of Indian Motorsports will have five rounds in the depleted 2020-calendar, due to the Corona Virus, and will extend to two more months in 2021. The 33rd year of INRC will also see Hampi, the famous tourist spot in Karnataka, as a new venue to host INRC. The Hampi round will be in between the two Southern Cities once the venue is inspected and approved by the Federation, which looks like a formality as a non-championship curtain-raiser was run last year successfully. Champions Yacht Club who bagged the rights to promote the National Championship will be in-charge of INRC for two more years, with the Federation extending all championship rights for an extra year due to the disruption of regular events, by the pandemic this year.
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Team Nutulapati, an Andhra company, enters INRC as a sponsor with 3 cars
Team Nutulapati to line-up with Kerala’s Bikku Babu, Bengaluru’s Dhruva Chandrashekar and Delhi Aditya Thakur
Hyderabad, 2 Nov 2020: Construction giants from Andhra Pradesh, Venkata Rama Constructions, have announced that they will be entering the Champions Yacht Club FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship 2020 (INRC), which is set to begin at Itanagar in December before Christmas with a double-dhamaka of back-to-back rounds in five days.
Nutulapati Mallikharjuna Rao, the man behind the move, announced that they are roping `Dr Speed’ Bikku Babu from Kerala, a veteran rallyist who is known for his consistency and speed over the years. He will be joined by another aggressive driver from Bengaluru, Dhruva Chandrasekhar, and young talent from Delhi Aditya Thakur. It is impressive to note that the Real Estate giant had preferred to support established and talented drivers rather than go for drivers from his own state.
As INRC is gearing up for the new season in a new avatar, after announcing their association with Yokohama Tyres, they now joined hands with Sri Sai Venkata Rama Constructions who will be fielding a team for this year’s competition.
Nutulapati Mallikharjuna Rao India’s premier rally championship has indeed hit the ground running and in a year where all the other major sporting entities are struggling to run their show, INRC not only announced a five-round season but also have managed to draw attention from the corporate world.
Owned by Nutulapati Mallikharjuna Rao, Venkata Rama Constructions, giants from Andhra Pradesh will become the first real estate company to own a team in INRC and shall field a team comprising of last season’s INRC overall second runner-up and INRC 2 champion Dr Bikku Babu of Kerala, Dhruva Chandrashekar of Bengaluru and Aditya Thakur of Delhi. They will be rallying under the banner ‘Team Nutulapati’.
Bikku Babu and Dhruva are expected to take part in INRC 2 category while Aditya will spearhead the team’s challenge in INRC 3 category. All the drivers will be driving a Volkswagen Polo and will be on MRF Rally Tyres.
“It is indeed a great sign for INRC as well as for the overall motorsports scene in the country. Apart from car and tyre companies, no one else has shown shown interest in the motorsports and have invested their time and money in the sport. We promised to take INRC to a different level and we certainly are on the move. We are in talks with other big companies as well and very soon we will announce new partners and teams. We express our gratitude to Mallikharjuna Rao and his team to have understood and decided to support our vision,” said Vamsi Merla, promoter of INRC said.
“We are very excited with this new venture as this is the first time that we are involving in sports in a big way. When we were presented with the opportunity to own a team, at first we were a little apprehensive. But after due diligence by our team, we decided to go ahead and take a plunge. We are confident of our chances in the season, with the kind of drivers we have at our disposal, and we fancy our chances,” Mallikharjuna said.
INRC 2020 will begin on December 15 in Arunachal Pradesh with two rounds in the scenic North-Eastern State. Then INRC will move to Southern India, with three rounds to be held in Coimbatore, Hampi and the season-finale K1000, in Bengaluru.
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We want to send talented drivers for ERC, says Vamsi Merla
Bangalore, 12 June 2020: The Champions Group has started providing free rally training sessions in Mysore for drivers who are newcomers, and novice lady drivers to promote `Women in Motorsports’, according to Vamsi Merla of Champions Yacht Club (CYC), the Promoters of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) for 2020.
The training sessions for the newcomers are being undertaken by ace rally driver and Autocross champion Den Thimmaiah and all the infrastructure including the rally-prepared cars are being provided by the Promoters. “Soon we will rope in other senior drivers to take the training sessions. Last year, the drivers trained by Gaurav Gill have done admirably during the season and we want to continue to nurture these young and talented drivers,” he added.
“We will be training the drivers in basics of rallying but important tips like how to nurture the car are being given prominence,” said Den Thimmaiah, former INRC round winner in his class.
The Promoters, who are into their second year, are getting ready for the Rally season which was affected by the COVID 19 pandemic. “All the preparations are going on and we are ready from our side and even the organisers of the individual rounds are ready and we are expecting the season to begin in September. If all goes well, the first round will begin with the South India Rally in Chennai,” said Vamsi, the Director of the Champions Yacht Club. However, he cautioned, “I am very eager to start immediately. But it is better not to start if we are putting the drivers at risk. For me, the drivers are very important.”
Vamsi Merla of Champions Yacht Group, the INRC Promoters The promoters have made sincere efforts to not only sponsor many drivers from Team Champions’ side but have also supported many other drivers by getting sponsorships, at least in part, from different corporate houses, and one prominent name is JK Tyres. They have also announced free entry and support in the form of tyres and free transportation of the cars for all woman rally drivers.
In one of his rare interviews to `Indian Motoring’ on Instagram recently, Vamsi Merla revealed how he took to the sport. “I always loved speed and occasionally used to enjoy and do speed drives on the Nice road near Bangalore. Once, a gentleman stopped me and said: `If you have talent go and race on race tracks but don’t play with your life.’ That has changed my life and after that I took part in rallies where I noticed the scenario in INRC and realised that talented and skilled drivers are not able to continue rallying for want of sponsors. That is when I started Team Champions.”
Talking about sponsors, he said that big Corporates like Accenture support F1 but not the local motorsports or the local drivers. “So I thought let’s start something and then I thought everybody will join me. It is actually, not me. Everybody should join to support Indian Motorsports,” he said. Talking about the Director of Champions Group, he said: “Mr Shubakara Rao went to a large extent. But how far can he stretch his limit. I too want to support everyone. My mind tells me support all these drivers but my resources tell me, you can only do this much,” he lamented.
Asked about the tyre giants, Vamsi praised both MRF and JK Tyres, saying that both of them have supported Motorsports from the very beginning. “They are the lifeline of the sport. But what I have seen in the commitment and dedication. I have never in my life seen such committed people in their companies. It is because of such dedicated employees, the companies are doing well. Whether it is Sanjay Sharma or Hari Singh of JK Tyres, or Madhusudhan or Murali of MRF. These are the names that come to my mind immediately but it is such sincere stalwarts who put their companies above their own families that keep the ball rolling. I am pleasantly surprised to see such dedication,” he said.
Vamsi promoted a concept of rallying, similar to that of a league where Indian States can support rally teams. “I am approaching different State Governments. Like, if each State promotes two drivers and two cars, it is not much of a burden. AP Tourism, Karnataka Tourism and others should chip in. Goa Tourism and North East, have already supported some rallies in the past. I will get the support from the Telugu States and I need friends in other States to talk to the governments,” he put forth an idea.
In reply to a query, he said that the promoters are supporting drivers from all zones in the country and he named some youngsters who are doing well like Arjun Rao, Fabid Arakkal, Aditya Thakur and Mohamad Kaif from Bhopal. “Off the cuff, these names come to my mind and I have missed some names. But these are talented ones and if nurtured properly, they can go a long way,” he felt.
Finally, talking about talented drivers he said that they should be promoted abroad. “At the end of the day, it is not just rallying in India. I want to support and get sponsors too, so that our talented drivers can go abroad and take part in bigger events. Once they get laurels for the country, I will be proud. I wanted to start with the European Rally Championship but due to COVID situation, we had put if off for now,” he concluded.
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Champions Group keen to begin INRC season in June
Bengaluru, 24 April 2020: The sporting activities all over the world have come to a standstill and it is no different in India. No wonder, the motorsports in India, too, had to bow its head to the epidemic that changed the way people lead their life outdoors. However, with the lifting of the lockdown looming large and the government expected to relax certain activities from May 4, the Champions Yacht Club, the Promoters of the Indian National Rally Championship are looking at June-July to begin the season.
“If all goes well, we are expecting to start the season with the South India Rally towards June-end and the Rally of Coimbatore would be the second rally followed by the Rally of Arunachal as the third round, weather-permitting,” said Vamci Merla of Champions Yacht Club. “We will abide by all the regulations of the government and make sure that all safety and health aspects are taken care of both for the participants, marshals and other officials. We are planning to put up all the competitors in one hotel or nearby areas and ear-mark areas demarcating the gatherings and briefings for medical check-ups. The Madras Motor Sports Club had made all the arrangements and is ready to conduct the event and once the restrictions are relaxed, we will start the season. The first round also doubles up as an Asia Pacific Rally Championship leg,” added Merla.
Vamci Merla, Promoter Over the years, the Indian National Rally Championship has earned a reputation as the flagship event and has commanded the crowd patronage as the top event of the motorsports calendar of the Federation. However, after a lull in the activities, 2019 saw the entry of Champions Yacht Club of Champions Group as the Promoters and the new team has pumped in a lot of enthusiasm and cheer into the event as it arranged sponsorship for different drivers and some part sponsorship for tyres and other necessities. The curtain-raiser before the season was a big hit and the group also took an initiative and arranged training for select drivers, who were not in a position to afford it, under the tutelage of none other than Gaurav Gill, the multiple Asia Pacific Rally and Indian National Rally champion. The king of speed did his school especially for the group of drivers selected by Champions Group in Coimbatore with Chettinad Sporting providing the technical back-up for the cars. The Champions Group also had their team, which gave a chance to many talented drivers. Thus, last year, almost all the rounds saw a record participation of over 50 cars in all the rounds.
File photo of a Gypsy driven by Sanjay Aggarwal in 2018 K1000. An INDIAinF1 image The media in Jodhpur last year, were greeted by a Chennai rally enthusiast Gopi, who was providing voluntary services, taking reporters around. It was a pleasant surprise to see such passionate fans get a chance to take part in the rally this year. “I am very much interested in rallying but never had the resources to pursue my passion. This year, the Champions Yacht Club is sponsoring me and I am excited to take part in my first rally at Chennai. This is a golden chance for me as they are supporting me to enter all the rounds this season,” said the 31-year old Gopinath Ganapathi, said. A few such lucky competitors will get a chance to fulfil their dreams this year, thanks to the sponsorship support by the Promoter.
Vamci Merla thanked the MRF Tyres for providing the sponsorship and extending it this year too. He also expressed his thanks to, JK Tyre, who heeded to their request and sponsored some teams and drivers last year and will continue to do so this year also. He added that the season would have five rounds and after the Bengaluru K1000, the calendar will end with a round in either Chikkamagaluru or Kerala.
Most of the drivers and co-drivers have been taking to social media, especially Instagram to go live and have expressed eagerness to resume rallying. “It is too long and I am looking forward to the first rally,” Gaurav Gill had said.
