MOTORSPORTS | Aditya, Virender seize overall lead in MMSC South India Rally

Aditya Thakur, right, and co-driver Virender Kashyap lead the INRC field.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Aditya Thakur and Virender Kashyap lead the timesheets with a near-flawless drive in the 47th MMSC South India Rally, a round of the AVT Gold Cup FIA APRC-Asia Cup and the Blueband FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship at the Madras Motor Sports Club here on Saturday.

In the Asia Cup, Aroor Arjun Rao and co-driver Satish Rajagopal shrugged off a launch control issue with their Mandovi Racing’s Maruti Baleno to snatch a four-second lead over Harkrishan Wadia (co-driver Kunal Kashyap).

Pragathi Gowda and Trisha Alonkar, in a 4-wheel Drive Subaru Impreza were placed third.

The South India Rally concludes on Sunday when five more stages will be run.

The results: Partial classification (after Leg-1): FIA APRC-Asia Rally Cup: 1. Aroor Arjun Rao and Satish Rajagopal (Mandovi Racing) 01:09:39.8s; 2. Harkrishan Wadia and Kunal Kashyap (Arka Motorsports) 01:09:53.5; 3. Pragathi Gowda and Trisha Alonkar 01:10:01.2.

Blueband Indian National Rally Championship: Overall: 1. Aditya Thakur and Virender Kashyap (Chettinad Sporting) 01:08:46.0; 2. Dean Mascarenhas and Gagan Karumbaiah (DB Motorsports) 01:09:24.5; 3. Aroor Arjun and Satish 01:09:39.8

INRC 2: 1. Thakur and Kashyap 01:08:46.0; 2. Philippos Matthai and P.V. Srinivasa Murthy (Arka Motorsports) 01:09:49.0; 3. Aroor Vikram Rao and A.G. Somayya 01:09:52.8.

INRC 3: 1. Arjun Rajiv and Vinay Padmashali (Chettinad Sporting) 01:10:41.2; 2. Vishak Balachandran and Anil Abbas (Chettinad Sporting) 01:11:36.8; 3. Arnav Pratap Singh and N. Rohit (SNAP Racing) 01:12:03.5.

Junior INRC: 1. Arjun and Vinay 01:10:41.2; 2. Arnav and Rohit 01:12:03.5; 3. Ajay Shankar and S. Nitharshan (Mandovi Racing) 01:13:45.9.

Women INRC: 1. Anushriya Gulati and Karan Aukta (Arka Motorsports) 01:02:36.1; 2. Phoebe Nongrum and Ross Nash (SNAP Racing) 01:07:42.7.

FMSCI Gypsy Challenge: 1. Sanjay Agarwal and Dheeraj Manae 01:05:44.5; 2. Baljinder Singh Dhillon and C.P. Goutham CP 01:06:10.4; Jayanth Somanathan and R. Rajashekar 01:06:49.8.