Chikkaballapura (near Bengaluru), 24 March 2019: Kerala’s Younus Ilyas survived a late attack from Bengaluru’s Dean Mascarenhas to win the INRC overall and INRC 2 categories in the Sprint de Bengaluru 2019, the non-championship event, a prelude to the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) on Sunday.
The two-day stage rally on dirt track was organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC) under the aegis of the new promoters of INRC, Champions Yacht Club.
The Race Concepts driver, along with his navigator Harish Gowda, seemed to be in control after storming into a comfortable ten-second lead in the night stage on Saturday.
But Mascarenhas, driving in the INRC 3 category, showed a glimpse of his speed and prowess on Sunday. Despite driving his stock car, he began day two with a bang, finishing just two seconds off Ilyas’ Cedia. He was equally brilliant in the next stage, clocking 4:58.30 which was just one second behind Ilyas.
The two stages, at LG Tranquil, tested the drivers and cars thoroughly, with tarmac, gravel, loose soil, sharp climbs and steep falls marking the route.
Mascarenhas then came into his own, winning the next two stages at the LG Champions County track handsomely. With only long straights and sharp curves and turns to conquer, he went all out and gained 9 and 8 seconds each to make up for his 10-second shortfall in the opening stage.
Sadly for him, he was penalised six minutes for getting to the starting point on Saturday night late which proved to be too big a deficit to overcome. He slipped all the way to the bottom of the table.
“It was just bad luck,” Mascarenhas said. “My car didn’t start so I got delayed. I am, however, very happy with the way I drove and I am looking forward to a good season,” he added.
Ilyas expressed happiness at his performance and praised the stages. “It was a great outing, and I loved being out here. The stages were interesting and challenging at times. But I am really glad to have come out on top,” he said.
Dhruva Chandrashekar, with his navigator Musa Sherif, quietly made his way up to take the second place in the INRC overall category. The duo clinched the INRC 3 category in the process.
Provisional Unaudited Final Classification: INRC Overall: 1. Younus Ilyas / Harish KN; 2. Dhruva Chandrashekar / Musa Sherif; 3. Sanjay Agarwal / Smitha N
INRC 1: Suhem Kabeer / J. Jeevarathinam; 2. Lokesh Gowda / D Uday Kumar
INRC 2: 1. Younus Ilyas / Harish KN; 2. Ritesh Guttedar / Lokaranjan; 3. Lanusanen Pongener / Vinay Kmar PM
INRC 3: 1. Dhruva Chandrashekar / Musa Sherif; 2. Chetan Shivram / Dilip Sharan; 3. Aroor Vikram Rao / Somayya AG
FMSCI CUP / 4WD: 1. Sanjay Agarwal / Smitha N; 2. Avin Nanjappa / Darshan Nachappa; 3. Nikhil J / Arjun Dheerendra
FMSCI CUP / 2WD: 1. Vaibhav Marathe / Arjun SSB; 2. Avinash DC / Kenith Harsha; 3. Adith KC / Venu Ramesh Kumar
Ladies Class: 1. Shivani Pruthvi / Deepti Pruthvi; 2. Harshita Gowda / Vidya M
