Murthy and Kumar seal National TSD title

Chidananda Murthy and BS Sujith Kumar, driving for Team Tata Motors’ clinched the 2014 Indian National TSD Rally Championship title after winning the Monsoon Drive 3, round 7 of the championship held at Kolkata. 

The two Bangaloreans, piloting a Tata Indica

The duo managed to win five rounds enroute the championship tile in 2014, including Jaipur, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Goa and Kolkata, which ensured they finished ahead of another Tata Motors' pairing Saurav Chatterjee and Ashoke Kumar Basu, who has 125 points.

In Kolkata, the duo racked up a total time penalty of two minutes and six seconds to win the event ahead of Chatterjee and Basu. The third Team Tata Motors entry of Rajiv Sarkar and Moulinath Ghosh finished third, making it another 1-2-3 for Team Tata Motors in the Pro Stock category.

 “It feels great to have won three titles in a row. This is a title we will always cherish due to all the hard work and effort we have put in all through the year in the TSD Championship,” said Chidananda Murthy.

 Sujith Kumar said: “Celebration time has come a little early for us and this title is very close to our heart because it is the third in a row. Nevertheless, we will be giving it our best in the two remaining rounds.”

Team Tata Motors’ Sachin Singh and Prakash M clinched second place in the Pro Expert category here and their teammates MD Ganesh Moorthy-T Nagarajan finished third. Singh and Prakash have 78 points, while Moorthy and Nagarajan have 92 points.

What is TSD rallying?

About TSD Rally:

TSD rallying (Time Speed Distance) is a form of motor sports usually conducted on public roads as well as off-road and dirt sections. The objective of these rallies is to maintain precise times and precise speeds on various segments of a predefined route mentioned in a road book. Each team usually consists of a driver and navigator. Teams usually start a TSD rally at fixed intervals of a minute or two.

At the time of flag off, each team is given a road book (tulip), which guides the navigator with the route and average speed to be maintained. Along the route there are several Time Control zones, the positions of which would be unknown to the teams. The marshals will note the timing at which the team arrives at the TCs. The difference between a team's actual times and the ideal times determine their penalties. (Late and early arrival both attracts penalties). The team with the lowest number of penalty points wins.

Teams use several instruments like different types of navigational devices such as Terratrip, extra speedometers, GPS and rally computers for achieving in their ideal speed and time.

Monsoon Drive 3
Round 7, Indian National TSD Rally Championship

Results:

Pro Stock:

1. Chidananda Murthy-BS Sujith Kumar 0:02:06 minutes
2. Saurav Chatterjee-Ashoke Kumar Basu 0:02:32 minutes
3. Rajiv Sarkar-Moulinath Ghosh 0:17:00 minutes

Pro Expert:

1. KP Karthik Maruti-Sankar Anand 0:00:35 seconds
2. Sachin Singh-Prakash M 0:00:41 seconds
3. MD Ganesh Moorthy-T Nagarajan 0:00:49 seconds