Karna surges to victory

Bengaluru ace Karna Kadur along with co-driver Kumar Ramaswamy (Coimbatore) of Arka Motorsports survived a turbo failure and surged to victory in the 49^th South India Rally, organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club, at the Madras International Circuit, as his arch-rival Gaurav Gill retired with mechanical problem.

The 37-year-old Kadur’s pace through the weekend was literally as hot as the weather itself as he blitzed the combined FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship powered by Vamcy Merla and the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship grids while yet again showcasing his undoubted talent. Finishing in second spot in the APRC was Hyderabad’s Jeet Jhabkah and co-driver Musa Sherif from Kasargod, while the Spanish husband-wife team of Edgar Vigo Lopez and Fatima Ameneiro Teijeiro completed the podium.

MMSC honoured Musa Sherif with a memento in recognition of him achieving a landmark figure of competing in his 350^th career rally, both National and international.

In the INRC Overall segment, the top three finishers, besides Kadur, were from Bengaluru as Ritesh Guttedar and Suraj M (AART Motorsports) finished second ahead of Arvind Dheerendra and Shahid Salman (Duran Racing). Ritesh topped the INRC 2 class.

Meanwhile, two female competitors, Tarushi Vikram (Chikkamgaluru) of Chettinad Sporting and Anushriya Gultati (Dehradun) were among the top 10 finishers in the INRC. Tarushi, along with co-driver Athreya Kousgi walked away with a double, topping the Ladies and Junior INRC classes while Anushirya (co-driver Karan Aukta) of Arka Motorsports finished second in the INRC 3T category, behind Vishakh Balachandran.

Bengaluru’s Arvind Dheerendra and co-driver Shahid Salman, marked their Duran Racing team’s debut by winning the INRC 3 class.

The only hiccup for Kadur in an otherwise perfect run was the sudden loss of turbo power in Sunday’s second Special Stage that cost him over a minute when leading Gill by about 30 seconds. However, three times APRC champion Gill himself stopped with a mechanical problem in the same Stage and that turned the tide irrevocably in Kadur’s favour whose service crew did a superb job in resolving the turbo issue during the 30-minute service break.

“It was a bit of a struggle for me after I lost the turbo barely 700 metres into the Stage (19.38 Kms), but somehow survived. Though I lost over a minute, I had sufficient lead to retain my top position. Also, I was lucky that there was a break for service after the Stage and I was able to get back on pace over the remaining two Stages. I was positive through the weekend and it helped me a lot to have the mechanics who have worked with me for over a decade and they knew exactly how and what to do. Of course, I am thrilled to win here and get a good start to the season,” said Kadur.

For young Jeet Jhabakh, in his debut APRC season, it was as good an outing as he could have hoped for. “When Gill dropped out, I could breathe easy and with no chance of catching up with Karna (Kadur), I opted to secure my APRC points even if it meant easing off a bit. There was a moment when I saw Gill parked on the Stage and I spun, but recovered. It was close!” said a relieved Jhabakh who had finished fourth in the APRC Round-1 in Otago, New Zealand earlier this month.

For Edgar Vigo Lopez, it was a trial by fire. “We are happy to finish on the podium, but it was very challenging. The heat! We are not used to it, but seriously, we are thankful to Arka Motorsports for giving us a great car. Overall, our first trip to India was enjoyable and we now look forward to doing well in the remaining two APRC rounds in China and Indonesia,” said Lopez.

Provisional classification:

Asia-Pacific Rally Championship: 1. Karna Kadur/ Kumar Ramaswamy (Arka Motorsports) (01hr, 59mins, 55.5secs); 2. Jeet Jabhakh/ Musa Sherif (pvt.) (02:04:58.0); 3. Edgar Vigo Lopez/ Fatima Ameneiro Teijeiro (Spain) (02:05:47.8).

Indian National Rally Championship:

INRC Overall: 1. Karna Kadur / Kumar Ramaswamy (Arka Motorsports) (01:59:55.5); 2. Ritesh Guttedar / Suraj M (AART Motorsports) (02:04:27.4); 3. Arvind Dheerendra/ Shahid Salman (Duran Racing) (02:04:29.2).

INRC 2: 1. Ritesh Guttedar / Suraj M (AART Motorsports) (02:04:27.4); 2. Jeet Jabhakh / Musa Sherif (pvt.) (02:04:58.0); 3. Arjun Y Mavaji / Jeevarathinam J (Chettinad Sporting) (02:07:49.8).

INRC 3: 1. Arvind Dheerendra / Shahid Salman (Duran Racing) (02:04:29.2); 2. Chandan Manchegowda / Suraj Keshav Prasad (Arka Motorsports) (02:06:02.4); 3. Tarushi Vikram / Athreya Kousgi (Chettinad Sporting) (02:06:46.1).

INRC 3T: 1. Vishakh Balachandran / Chiranth Jain (Duran Racing) (02:05:43.6); 2. Anushriya Gulati / Karan Aukta (Arka Motorsports) (02:06:38.8); 3. Adith KC / Avinash CA (Arka Motorsports) (02:11:01.9).

Ladies: 1. Tarushi Vikram / Athreya Kousgi (Chettinad Sporting) (02:06:46.1); 2. Athira Murali / Arun Chakkalakkal (Duran Racing) (02:15:30.0); 3. Sonakshi Paranthaman / Dheeraj Salimath (Chettinad Sporting) (02:20:56.8).

Junior INRC: 1. Tarushi Vikram / Athreya Kousgi (Chettinad Sporting) (02:06:46.1); 2. Sonakshi Paranthaman/ Dheeraj Salimath (Chettinad Sporting) (02:20:56.8); 3. Hoshmand Elavia / Venu Ramesh Kumar (Pvt.) (02:50:41.3).

Masters Cup: 1. Pradeep Ravi / Thimmu Uddapanda (Arka Motorsports) (02:07:15.1); 2. Balakrishna Jayasimha / Arjun Dheerendra (Pvt.) (02:18:13.6).

Classic Cup: 1. Sreejesh MP/ Naushad KM (Pvt.) (02:38:28.7).