Gaurav Gill, the only Arjuna Awardee in motorsports, demonstrated his remarkable skill and car control to emerge victorious in the BlueBand Rally of Hyderabad. This thrilling event, the fourth round of the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship, took place in Shamshabad. Gill, along with co-driver Anirudha Rangnekar, and supported by JK Tyre, set the pace on the second day, starting with a blistering run in the first stage. He then maintained a consistent pace, nurturing the car with exceptional skill and securing a well-deserved victory.
The competition was fierce, with former champion Chetan Shivram and co-driver E Shivaprakash of A & A Motorsports taking an impressive second place overall. Their performance, which included two stage wins, also earned them the top spot in the INRC2 category.
Kerala’s skilled driver Fabid Ahmer, along with co-driver Milen George, supported by MRF, demonstrated great resilience to claim a podium finish. Their impressive performance edged out the formidable Arka Motorsports pair of Karna Kadur and co-driver Musa Sherif by a mere two seconds. However, Karna and Musa, also supported by MRF, secured the overall lead in the INRC 2024 championships with two more rallies remaining.
The rally also saw other notable performances. Gurugram’s Arnav Pratap Singh and co-driver Rohit of Bengaluru claimed victory in the INRC3 class and also took the top spot in the Junior INRC. Anushriya Gulati of Dehradun, partnered with Karan Aukta, secured victory in the Ladies’ class. Meanwhile, the Chikmagalur-Bengaluru pair of Dr Akarsh Sundar and co-driver Ravikumar dominated the gypsy class. The husband-wife duo of Aneeshnath and Amitha Aneesh of A & A Motorsports from Bengaluru triumphed in the FMSCI Classic Challenge Cup.
The challenging terrain of the rally proved to be a test for many drivers, with 12 cars recording a DNF out of the 55 that started the competition. The next round of the INRC will take place in Coorg, followed by the season finale, the popular K-1000 rally in Tumkur, both in Karnataka.
Final Provisional Results:
*
INRC Overall:
1. Gaurav Gill (privateers, Delhi)/ Anirudha Rangnekar (Pune) (01hour, 48 minutes, 18.7 seconds)
2. Chetan Shivram/ E Shivaprakash (A&A Motorsports, Both Bengaluru) (01:49:39.4)
3. Fabid Ahmer (Chettinad Sporting, Palakkad)/ Milen George (Kottayam) (01:51:06.1)
*
INRC2:
1. Chetan Shivram/ E Shivaprakash (A&A Motorsports, Both Bengaluru) (01:49:39.4)
2. Fabid Ahmer (Chettinad Sporting, Palakkad)/ Milen George (Kottayam) (01:51:06.1)
3. Jason Saldhanha (Arka Motorsports, Hassan)/ Thimmu Uddapanda (Kodagu) (01:51:14.0)
*
INRC3:
1. Arnav Pratap Singh (Snap Racing, Gurugram)/ Rohit (Bengaluru) (01:51:46.1)
2. Daraius Shroff (Chettinad Sporting, Mumbai)/ Arjun Dheerendra (Bengaluru) (01:51.59.4)
3. Arjun Rajiv (Chettinad Sporting)/ Vinay Padmashali (Both Bengaluru) (01:52:00.2)
*
Ladies Class:
1. Anushriya Gulati (Arka Motorsports, Dehradun)/ Karan Aukta (01:55:26.0)
2. Nikeetaa Takkale (Pvt, Pune)/ Arvind Dheerendra (Bengaluru) (01:58:23.3)
3. Phoebe Nongrum (Snap Racing, Shillong)/ KP Aravind (Bengaluru) (02:11:00.7)
*
Junior INRC:
1. Arnav Pratap Singh (Snap Racing, Gurugram)/ Rohit N (Bengaluru) (01:51:46.1)
2. Arjun Rajiv (Chettinad Sporting)/ Vinay (Both Bengaluru) (01:52:00.2)
3. Abhin Rai (Ideal Racing)/ Moideen Jasheer (both Chikmagalur) (01:53:08.3)
*
FMSCI Classic Challenge:
1. Aneeshnath S (A & A Motorsports)/ Amitha Aneesh (Both Bengaluru) (02:03:48.0)
2. Shaik Hussain Pasha (Addons Motorsports, Hyderabad)/ Ashfaque Afrid (Sattupalli, AP) (02:30:43.9)
3. Praveen Dwarakanath (Pvt., Bengaluru). Arun V (Tirupur) (02:39:38.7)
*
FMSCI Gypsy Challenge:
1. Dr Akarsh Sundar (Pvt., Chikmagalur)/ Ravi Kumar (Bengaluru) (02:02:51.2)
2. Baljinder Singh Dhillon (A & A Motorsports, Delhi)/ Goutham CP (Chikmagalur) (02:04:39.8)
3. Sachin Singh (Pvt., Hyderabad)/ Anand Raj (Erode) (02:05:47.5)