Naren-Ram win thrilling Coffee Day Rally; Gill crashes out

Chikmagalur, 28 May 2006: In a nail-biting finish, winner Naren Kumar and co-driver D Ramkumar, who were leading by a narrow margin of a second had to wait anxiously for the pair of Gaurav Gill and Musa Sherif to finish the last stage. But with Gill crashing out, the champion duo, claimed the Overall honours in the Coffee Day rally, the second round of the MAI Indian National Rally Championship here on Sunday.

The reigning champions lost the first round of Motorsports Association of India (MAI) organised National championship, held at Pune to strong contenders Gaurav Gill, who had the advantage of an experienced navigator Farooq Ahmed. Unfortunately, trying to gain that wee bit advantage in the last stage, Gill had crashed out and Naren equalised the National Championship standings with this win.

Starting the last stage, the Birur Canal Stage, Gaurav Gill was just a second behind as Naren just finished the rally. But alas, the speed king crashed out in the stage and Naren Kumar heaved a sigh of releif.

But like a true champion, Naren expressed sympathy for his JK Tyre teammate saying: “Gaurav is an excellent driver and his entry into the INRC has infused a greater degree of competition. It’s much tougher to win now,” he conceded, praising the young talent.

Naren too had some hiccups in the last stage but recovered from a spin as he managed to reverse and get back on the road.

The stages on Sunday proved to be competitive. Though, Naren had taken a lead of 20 seconds in the morning, Gaurav upped the pace and drove flat out to reduce the margin and was within seconds before starting the last stage.

Gill had a golden chance when Naren made an off-road spin but as fate would have it, Gill hit a ridge and crashed into the fence after a roll. Thanks to the roll-cage, both the driver and the co-driver were safe.

Thus Karandip Singh and Jaidas Menon of Team MRF, gained a place, finishing second though more than a minute behind Naren. Lohith V Urs and Musa Sherif came third.

Sanjay Aggarwal, who missed the Pune round, paired with co-driver Pradeep Kumar, to win the 1400cc class.

Provisional results: Upto 1600cc: 1. Naren Kumar/Ramkumar (JK Tyres) (1hour, 48min, 45sec); 2. Karandip Singh/Jaidas Menon (Team MRF) (1.49.57); 3. Lohith V. Urs/Musa Sherif (Team MRF) (1.50:57); 4. Arjun Rao Aroor/Chandramouli (Team MRF) (1.51:28).

Upto 1400cc: 1. Sanjay Aggarwal/ Pradeep Kumar (2.03.52); 2. Ravi Aggarwal/ Prakash D’Souza (2.09:18).

Rally Star Cup: 1. Rajesh Gadakh/ Paritosh Kohok (2.06:20); 2. Amanpreet Ahluwalia/ Manoj Shadija (2.06:49); 3. Hitesh Sharma/ E Shivaprakash (2.15:19).

Gypsy Class: 1. Sandeep Sharma/ CK Chinappa (2.02:01); 2. Sanket Shanbagh/ Rajesh Shanbagh (2.03.32).