After a gap of 17 years, Promoters Blueband Sports bring back the fmsci Indian National Rally Championship to the iconic city, which used to host the popular Charminar and Deccan Rallies. The Round 4 of the Blueband fmsci Indian National Rally Championship 2023 organised by Telangana Motor Sports Foundation and Motorsports Club India is promoted by Blueband Sports and it attracted 55 entries including the cream of talent from the rallying world across the country.
Aroor Arjun Rao and co-driver Satish Rajagopal of Mandovi Racing, who won all the three rounds this year, garnered a huge lead of 60 points, and will be looking for a safe finish to clinch the Overall championship. Arjuna Awardee Gaurav Gill, Amittrajit Ghosh, Karna Kadur, Chetan Shivram, Aditya Thakur and Rahul Kantharaj are some of the other top drivers who will display their wares along with four lady drivers, including Shivani Parmar and Pragathi Gowda, at the rally stages on Saturday and Sunday on the outskirts, near Ramoji Film City here.
Philippos Matthai and PV Srinivasa Murthy lead the INRC2 table while Daraius Shroff tops the INRC3 drivers class and Shahid Salman co-drivers’ tally. Abhin Rai is leading the INRC4 drivers’ table with Pramod Raman heading the co-drivers’ tally. Shivani Parmar is leading the Ladies section.
“We are delighted to bring back the Blueband National Championship to Hyderabad after a long gap as it is our endeavour to make it a truly pan-India event. The Talent Hunt is a big success as it fast-tracks the entry of local drivers into the Nationals. With just two rounds remaining, the championship hots up ind different classes and I wish all the drivers a great time,” said Premnath K, the promoter.
The Ceremonial start was flagged off at 4pm on Friday. The competitive Special Stages, closed for traffic, will be run on Saturday and Sunday. There are two Special Stages (SS), JVR and Sanghi. While the 12.30km JVR runs in the forward direction twice on Saturday, the longer 30-km Sanghi stages runs in the reverse direction once on Saturday and twice in the forward direction on Sunday. The five Special Stages make a timed rally distance of 114.6km and along with 97.67km liaison distance (transport section), the length of the total rally distance is a little above 212km.
The dirt tracks are new to all the drivers and rally is expected to throw-in surprises. The prize distribution ceremony is scheduled for 4pm on Sunday. The next round, the Rally of Coorg is scheduled for November 17 to 19 before the final round, the iconic K1000 Rally from December 8 to 10.