Domestic National Rally Championship Rally

Gaurav Gill excited about the fast and flowing stages: INRC Jodhpur Rally

David Bodapati September 20, 2019

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File photo of Gaurav Gill Photo by David Bodapati

Gaurav Gill explaining the stages at Jodhpur on Friday. Photo by David Bodapati

Jodhpur, 20 Sept. 2019: Fresh from the WRC2 campaign, speed maestro Gaurav Gill of JK Racing, looked excited and confident after the recce here on Friday. The reigning champion took a liking to the fast and flowing stages of Rally Jodhpur, the Maxperience Rally 2019, which serves as Round 3 of the Champions Yacht Club fmsci Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) powered by MRF here on Friday.

In the orange colours of Mahindra Adventure in an SUV 300 on JK Tyres, Gill, who just returned from Rally Turkey, said that the stages were very fast. “The stages are perhaps the fastest I ever saw in an INRC event in the past few years. I am really excited and looking forward to tomorrow’s run. We have good upgrades to the car and am confident of a good result,” he said.

During Mahindra Adventure testing on Thursday Gaurav Gill took a huge jump on the route which will be part of the INRC stages. Mahindra Adventure photo: G Harinath

Both in Chennai and Coimbatore, he dominated the proceedings before he was let down by the car. Gill, along with his co-driver Musa Sherif, is currently fifth on the championship standing with 22 points and will be eager to move up quickly.

Another driver who took a liking to the fast stages, is Fabid Ahmer of Team Champions. The youngster from Palakkad, with co-driver Sanath Gopalan, is currently leading the championship table after two rounds with 49 points. “The stages are very quick and the stretches are fast with free-flowing corners. They are a driver’s delight and we are looking for another good outing,” Fabid said.

Dean Mascarenhas talking to media after the road show in Jodhpur on Friday. Photo David Bodapati

Seven points behind him is another youngster from Mangaluru. Dean Mascarenhas, also from the Team Champions, with co-driver Shruptha Padival, is supported by JK Racing. They won the opening round and showed his class in Round 2 as well, jumping 32 places to finish 10th overall and second in his INRC 2 category. He 42 points from two rounds. With three more rallies after Jodhpur, the battle is still

However, it won’t be easy for both of them as Younus Ilyas will be breathing fiercely down their neck. The Race Concepts driver from Kochi, along with his navigator Harish Gowda, was in stellar form in the last round and finished second overall missing the top podium by just 04.600 seconds. He however won his INRC 2 category. He is placed fourth in the INRC overall category with 31 points.

Arka Motorsports Karna Kadur along with Nikhil Pai, Chetan Shivram, with brother & co-driver Dilip Sharan, will also be in the mix and will look to maintain to gain some valuable points.

The Akshara Racing driver Shivram, surprised everyone in the last round by winning the overall title as well as his own INRC 3 category.

Shivram showed great opportunism as he made the most of the top contenders’ misfortune.

He surged ahead on Day 1 itself and drove smartly the next day to avoid all the pitfalls that lurked in the stages, just off Coimbatore.

Fabid Ahmer, the current overall leader, in Jodhpur on Friday.

Fabid Ahmer along with Sanath G of Team Champions has been the stand-out performer of the season so far and will start as the dark horse once again. While the big names have been fighting it out to stay in the hunt, Fabid slowly clawed him way up the table to lead the championship with 49 points. He is also leading the INRC 3 category with 69 points.

Suhem Kabeer along with Jeeva Rathnam is another driver to watch out for in Round 3 of the INRC. Even though he is placed 7th overall, the position does not exactly tell the tale. He was in the hunt for a podium in the last round and was hot on the heels of the eventual winner Chetan Shivram. But, bad luck struck him mid-way into the final where he got stuck in the slush which saw him lose six minutes to slip out of contention.

Vaibhav Marate has been unbeaten in the INRC 4 category winning both the rounds. He is on top of the charts with 79 points and will hope to extend his lead in Jodhpur.

The Rally of Jodhpur, to be run on gravel, will cover about 300 kms over the two days, including 125 kms of Special Stages. As many as 51 teams will be seen in action in what promises to be a fast and furious affair.

The rally not only provides the drivers a great opportunity to prove their mettle but will also offer fans a great opportunity to catch the stars live in action in their mean machines.