Gill-Musa score an emphatic win in Nashik: INRC

Pune, 7 May 2006: Team JK Tyre’s Gaurav Singh Gill, along with co-driver Farooq Ahmed, prefered to let his driving do the talking as he dominated the rally winning the Xtra Premium Overdrive Rally of Pune, in four minutes, 22 seconds ahead of the second-placed Karandip Singh of Team MRF here on Sunday.

The 24-year-old driver from Delhi, in only his second rally after a gap of six years, routed a field of tried and tested names to finish the 13-stage event in 1 hour, 15 minutes and 46 seconds, leading a trio of drivers from the North to the first three spots, creating a record of sorts in Indian rallying. Karandip  with co-driver Jaidas Menon of Team MRF finished in second place, coming home in 1: 19.08 while Sunny Sidhu and co-driver Vivek Anandan of Team JK Tyre takfing the third place in a time of 1:19.13.

Arjun Rao Aroor and navigator Chandramouli of Team MRF, who were in second place overnight, also had to pull out of the race after their car went off the road in the 12th stage while the jinx of flat tyres continued to dog defending champion Naren Kumar and co-driver Ramkumar of Team JK Tyre, and they had to settle for fourth place with 1:19.22. Lohit Urs of Mysore and co-driverMusa Sherief came home in 1:20.04 to take the fifth slot.

The 1400cc category was witnessing a tough battle between overnight leader Girijashankar Joshy and Shrikanth GM and Chetan Shivram and co-driver Rupresh Kholay with just four seconds separating the two, before the latter had to withdraw from the fray in the 12 th stage. Joshy clocked 1:22.19.

Also making a successful comeback after a gap of one year was Rajesh Gadakh (Paritosh Kohok) won the Rally Star Cup with a timing of 1: 26.04. The Gypsy Cup saw the father-son duo of Sanket Shanbagh and Ramesh Shanbagh win the top spot with a time of 1:29.27.

Gill, who was leading Aroor by 2 minutes, 5 seconds overnight, said he took it easy on the final four stages of the second day, but even the cautious driving was good enough to finish fastest on two of the stages.

“The going was great for me on both the days. I had two flats on the first day, but since they both were soft punctures, I could drive through and did not lose too much time,” said Gill, who had now proved his skills on dirt as well as tarmac.

The 2004-2005 Formula Maruti champion, who made no specific preparations before his re-entry into rallying, hopes to carry his brilliant beginning into the rest of the rallying season. “I am going to concentrate 100 per cent on rallying now,” said Gill, who has been racing on bikes and cars in the past.

Gill also came in from praise from Naren Kumar, who said, “He drove an excellent rally and had done very well for himself.”

Karandip Singh was also pleased with his performance on the second day that saw him leapfrog from overnight fifth position into second. “I did some smart times today and was very happy with my setup,” said the genial Sardar.

Provisional unaudited results:

Overall: Gaurav Singh Gill/Farooq Ahmed (Team JK) 1:15.46; Karandip Singh/Jaidas Menon (Team MRF) 1:19.08; Sunny Sidhu/Vivek Anandan (Team JK) 1: 19.13; Naren Kumar/Ram Kumar (Team JK) 1:19.22; Lohit Urs/Moosa Sherief (Team MRF) 1:20.04.

1600cc: Gauravsingh Gill/Farooq Ahmed; Karandip Singh/Jaidas Menon; Sunny Sidhu/Vivek Anandan.

1400cc: Girijashankar Joshy/Srikanth GM 1:22.19; Domnic Prithvi/T Arumugam 1:42.06; Arindam Ghosh/Sourabh 1:54.48.

Rally Star Cup: Rajesh Gadakh/Paritosh Kohok 1:26.04; Vatcha Mazdayar/Kaushik Shinde 1:27.56; Amanpreet Ahluwalia/Manoj Shadija 1:27.58.

Gypsy Cup: Sanket Shanbagh/Ramesh Shanbagh 1:29.27.