Arjun Balu-Kumar Ramaswamy clinch Mysore Safari Rally

Mysore, 29 May 2005: Talented Arjun Balu and co-driver Kumar Ramaswamy of Team MRF Tyres notched up a deserving victory in the Mysore Safari Rally, the second round of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) here on Sunday.

Arjun Balu defeated teammates and local star Lohith Urs, and the other two MRF drivers Arjun Rao Aroor and Karandip Singh. All the MRF drivers were in Maruti Balenos. Jiby Malliakkal and co-driver Nikhil Pai of Team Gulf Chettinad Sporting finished fifth in their Honda City VTec. Other prominent finishers were privateers Rahul Kantharaj and co-driver Vivek Bhat and Ranjit Ballal, also in Balenos.

Sanjay Agarwal won the 1400cc class after leader Prithveen Rajan who was ahead by 9 seconds on Saturday, lost almost 23 seconds later in the day, due to a mistake at a tricky corner and Sanjay never looked back to win the rally, safely finishing the Super Special on Sunday. Philippos Matthai finished third. Chethan won the Rally Star Cup with Girijashankar Joshy taking the second spot.

The rally organised by Prosports and Motorsport Inc, had 21 entries in various classes and saw a clutch of protests and disqualifications after the thrilling Super Special Stage that was reserved for Sunday.

The rally also marked the return of `Yellow Giants’ with the 1600cc class witnessing JK Tyre teams with lead drivers Naren Kumar (co-driver Ramkumar) and Vikram Mathias (along with Sujith Kumar) behind the wheels. The former champions who both drove earlier for MRF are now in the yellow colours of JK Tyre.

Both the champion drivers displayed their skills and thrilled the crowds but were unfortunate to be disqualified as they were found to be running on rear suspension mounts that failed to pass the scrutiny and were found not as per the technical regulations. Both the cars were prepared by ace tuner N Leelakrishnan. Ironically, winner Arjun Balu’s car too was prepared by Leela’s team.

The 1400cc lineup had last year’s champion Pritveen E Rajan, Sanjay Aggarwal, Philipose Mathai, and the rest of the field was Rally Star Cup guys and with two Gypsies thrown in.

The gravel rally with fast tracks ran through four Special Stages (SS) which were repeated thrice on Saturday and Day 2, Sunday was reserved for two laps of the Super Special Stage (SSS) near Lalit Mahal Palace grounds.

Earlier on Friday, the Ceremonial flag-off was held at the Mysore Palace Grounds and all the Rally cars proceeded to the rally headquarters at Kadur Inn, in a parade. The rally started on Saturday at 8.30 am from Kadur Inn with the first stage run at Bilikere and the second stage at Hosapura, where the JK cars driven by Naren Kumar and Vikram Mathias dominated and showcased their skills to thrill the crowds, especially at the third stage in Marur.

Alas it was the superfast fourth stage which was thrilling and provided seat-edged excitement for the spectators, before it was cancelled. The fine gravel stage at Nigudanahalli village saw both Naren and Vikram touch speeds of over 120kmph. Since the INRC rules prohibit speeds over 110kmph, the stage was declared as transport section for the later cars.

Naren was leading all through Saturday until he hit a cow in the last stage and Vikram took the lead with about 3km to go. The yellow car was completely smashed. Naren re-entered the SSS on Sunday in the Super Rally format and clocked the fastest time to entertain the huge audience. Vikram was second fastest in the Super Special. However, the spectator control left much to be desired at the Super Special Stage.

Lohith Urs, who was running in second place in the overall standings till then on Saturday, also made a mistake, and Arjun Balu shot into the overall lead.

In 1400 class, a big fight was brewing between Pritveen Rajan, Sanjay Aggarwal and Philippos Matthai. But gradually Matthai yielded way and faded away as Rajan took a 9-second lead. However, it was Sanjay Aggarwal who had the last laugh with Rajan making a crucial mistake at one corner to lose 23 seconds.

The results were announced late in the night and the Prize Distribuiton (PD) was held after a four-hour delay only at 11.30pm at Kadur Inn.

Provisional Final Classification:

Overall: 1. Arjun Balu (Team MRF); 2. Lohit Urs (Team MRF); 3. Arjun Aroor Rao (Team MRF); 4. Karandip Singh (Team MRF); 5. Jiby Malliakkal (Team Gulf Chettinad Sporting);

1400cc class: 1. Sanjay Agarwal; 2. Pritveen E Rajan; 3. Philippos Matthai.

Rally Star Cup: 1. Chetan; 2. Girijashankar Joshy.

(Note: The results were compiled and were not the official version)