Naren Kumar-Ram notch up third straight win, clinch Kerala Rally

Kochi, 31 Aug 2003: Reigning National champion VR Naren Kumar and co-driver D Ramkumar of Team MRF notched up their third consecutive win clinching the overall title Kerala Rally 2003, the third round of the MAI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) here on Sunday.

Naren, behind the wheel of a Honda City, clocked a time of 1hour, 23minutes and 16 seconds to complete the special stages beating teammate Karandip Singh, who paired with Bangalore navigator Jaidas Menon. Karandip took a time of 1.25:32 secs while multiple-national champion N Leelakrishnan and Farooq Ahmed finished the course in 1.26:54 secs to take the third spot.

In the 1600 cc category, Naren Kumar took the honours while Karandip bagged the second and Leelakrishnan the third place.

In the 1400 cc category, R Karthikeyan and co-driver G Sathish won the top spot in the class with a time of 1.35:04 seconds followed by George Antony and Bijoy Paul who clocked 1.38:01 seconds. Renjith Paul and co-driver Anoop Xavier came third in a time of 1.45:43.

In the MAI Rally Star Cup category, Arjun Rao and experienced CK Chinnappa won with a penalty time of 1.33:59 secs followed by Thirtha Patil and co-driver Lohith Anand who took 1.36:56 secs ahead of third-placed K Ranjith Ballal and co-driver Shanmuga with a time of 1.38:33, a Scorp News release said.

Organisers add:

The Kerala Auto Sports Club organised and hosted the Kerala Rally 2003, the third round of the MAI Indian National Rally Championshipo for Cars, which was run through the forest stages of Bhoothanthankettu and Edamalayar Dam. One of the most-alluring aspects of the event is its excellent picturesque, smooth and winding tarmac.

The Kerala Rally covered a distance of approximately 380km. There were nine Special Stages which covered a distance of 117km and run over a period of two days. Apart from Team MRF, Team Chettinad and Team Blue Lines participated in this year’s event.

The entire event was tracked and controlled with the aid of HAM Radios. Ham Radios have linked the Clerk of the Course (CoC) to all Stage Commanders, Ambulances, and important officials of the event. The Mobile Control Room was stationed at Thundam. The Radio Network this year was coordinated by Girish Babu, code name `VU2 KGB’ and Jacob Elias, `VU2 ADV’.