Top Indian drivers to display skills at Indian National Autocross Finals
Vijayawada, 10 Jan 2020: The cream of motorsport talent from across the country will showcase their talent in the Champions Yacht Club Indian National Autocross Championship Finals 2019 which will be held at Pavithra Sangamam, near Ibrahimpatnam, about 25km from here on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad highway, on Saturday. The 2019 National Championship is approved by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India to spill over into 2020 and is being organised with the Technical Support of Motor Sports Club of Chikmagalur.
The Nationals will be supported by the Race of Titans where all the top guns in the country are expected to vie for honours on Sunday. INRC champions Chetan Shivram, Dilip Sharan, Dean Mascarenhas, Younus Ilyas, Dhruv Chandrasekhar and Bikku Babu are expected to take part.
The top-4 finalists in the nine classes held across the country in the five regional championships in 2019 will vie for the grand finals. “Champions Yacht Club has made unprecedented preparations providing competitors a slew of benefits including free entry fee, free transportation of cars and accommodation,’’ said Gautam Shantappa, one of the top F1 Marshals in the country and the Chief Safety Officer for the event.
“It is the endeavour of the Champions Group to dig out Champions in every region and as such we are bringing a National-level prestigious championship for the first time to Vijayawada. All safety aspects are taken care of. Ambulances and fire vehicles will be in place. All are invited to attend the top-class event as many of the champions in the country will be taking part,’’ said Vamsi Merla, the head of Champion Yacht Club, the promoters of Indian National Rally Championship, who have also accepted to organise the INAC Finals this year.
The Championship began with the West Zone qualifying round in Thane on the dirt tracks on October 18 and 19 with the North Zone round happening a day later on October 19 and 20 at Delhi on Tarmac surface. The South Zone was held at Bengaluru on gravel from Novemeber 8 to 10 while Mumbai conducted the second round of West Zone from Nov 29 to Dec 1 on tarmac and the Chandigarh North Zone was held on gravel on Dec 6 and 7. The Haldia Autocross 2019 was the East Zone Qualifier-1 and the proposed round in north-east was not held.
Abhijit Pai of Motor Sports Club of Chikmagalur (MSCC) will be Clerk of the Course, the sporting director who will conduct the event looking after all the technical and sporting regulations while he will be assisted by an experienced MSCC team. Nishanth Bendict is the Secretary of the Meet and Samrud Pai will be coordinating the drivers as the Competitor Relations Officer. Dilip Kumar will be the event coordinator.
The finals will start at 8am on Saturday while the scrutiny and documentation will be on Friday. The prize distribution is scheduled for 5pm on Sunday. A prize money of around Rs.2 lakhs will be on offer and the gates are open. However, the VIP tickets for Rs.2000 and Rs.5,000 (with lunch) can be purchased at bookmyshow.
The following classes are open to vehicles manufactured in India:
Group A – Stock
Class 1 Stock : 2-wheel drive | up to 1650 cc
Class 2 Stock : 2-wheel drive | above 1651 cc
Group B – Modified
Class 3 Stock : 2-wheel drive | upto 1400 cc
Class 4 Open : 2-wheel drive | upto 1650 cc
Class 5 Open : 2-wheel drive | above 1651 cc
Group C – Unrestricted
Class 6 Open : 2-wheel drive | upto 1650 cc
Class 7: 2-wheel drive | above 1651 cc
Group D – Unrestricted
Class 8: 4-wheel drive cars/SUVs | Open
Group E – Stock
Class 9: Ladies Open