Chidu-Sujith duo to spearhead Team Tata Motor challenge: TSD Nationals
Jaypore, 28 June 2014: The heat is stifling and the Rally of Jaypore, the second round of the 2014 Indian National TSD Rally Championship, is bound to be a tough one. But it surely looks like the competitors are going to battle the odds to claim the prize in the event on Sunday. The event is being conducted by Thar Motorsports under the leadership of Raj Singh Rathore.
Team Tata Motors is fielding four cars and that includes an all-ladies team. The lead car will have two-time and defending champions Chidananda Murthy and navigator BS Sujith Kumar. They will be driving in the Pro Stock category in a Tata Indica Vista. The second Tata Indica Vista will be driven by Amul Satoskar (Goa) and Nirav Mehta (Mumbai) in the Pro Expert class. The third car will be a Tata Xenon and will be driven by Srikanth Gowda and M Chandrashekar in the Pro Expert class. Tata Motors is also fielding an all-ladies team and the drivers are Vaneeta Kang (Chandigarh) and Poonam Das (Kolkata). They had won in the first round (Rally of Chikmagalur) and they are confident of winning again here on Sunday.
There is a 4×4 class also and it will involve some driving on sand dunes just outside the City. The ceremonial flag-off was held in the City on Saturday afternoon, with the car scrutiny being completed before that. The total rally distance is about 200 Km and will be mostly around the outskirts of the City. The total number of entries received is 50.
Said Chidananda Murthy, “It is going to be a tough rally but we are raring to go and hope to win on Sunday.”
Sujith Kumar added, “This is our first rally, and the only one, of the season in the North zone and we want to make it count by winning.”
The two main categories are Pro Expert and Pro Stock. The Expert class allows the use of unlimited gadgets, while only the stock Odometer and any calculating device are permitted in the Stock class. An exclusive ladies category has been introduced this year. Titles will be given to the best driver, navigator and team in the Expert, Stock and overall classification, and to the driver and navigator in the exclusive ladies Stock category.
After Jaipur, the subsequent rounds will be held in Bengaluru (Aug 16-17), Coimbatore (Sept 6-7), Nashik (Sept 20-21), Baripada, Orissa (Nov 8-9), Kolkata (Nov 15-16), Ranchi (Nov 29-30) and Chennai (Dec 20-21). This is the first time the Championship is moving to so many venues across the country. The interest generated will surely go a long way in promoting the sport.
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