INRC: Ghosh seals national title at K1000

Continuing from where he left off overnight, Amittrajit Ghosh (co-driver Ashwin Naik) sealed his victory at the K-1000 rally held in Tumkur district, around 100 kilometers from Bangalore.

The duo also managed to seal the overall INRC title in the process, with the final round of the championship scheduled at Chikmagalur still to go.

In terms of overall timings, Gaurav Gill continued to steamroll the opposition – finishing two out of day's three stages fastest and ultimately over a minute clear of his closest challenge in the timesheets, Karamjit Singh (co-driver Jagdev Singh).

The Malaysian driver, behind the wheel of a factory-prepared Volkswagen Polo R2, set the fastest time on the opening stage on the day, but had to back off soon after due to some brake issues.

But none of it mattered to Ghosh as he sealed the title in a convincing fashion, driving a Group N Mitsubishi Cedia.

"I am very happy to clinch the championship here. We were under tremendous pressure but we managed to drive safely and clock steady times,'' said the Kolkota rallyist, whose father Arindam Ghosh won the K-1000 in 1981.

Rahul Kantharaj (co-driver Vivek Bhat), who were third overnight, finished second - pushing Prithvi Dominic (co-driver Pruthivi Ithal) to the final spot on the podium.

It was a Volkswagen clean sweep in the 1600cc class, with standings' leader Arjun Rao (co-driver Satish Rajagopal) winning the category, with Phalguna Urs (co-driver Anoop Kumar) second. Sirish Chandran (co-driver Nikhil Pai) finished third – all three drivers piloting Polo cars.

In the Junior INRC class, Suhem MK and navigator Jeevarathinam came first followed by Aroor Viram Rao and co-driver Somayya AG. Rohan Pawar and Arjun Mehta finished third while Championship leader Asad Khan and co-driver Zayne Asrar could manage only a sixth place.

Results K-1000 day 2 (provisional):

INRC Overall / 2000cc: 1. Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik (Cedia)  1hr, 34mins, 46.6 secs; 2. Rahul Kanthraj / Vivek Bhatt 1:36:39.2. 3. Arjun Rao / Satish Rajagopal (VW Polo) 01:37:36.0.

INRC / 2000cc: 1. Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik (Cedia)  1hr, 34mins, 46.6 secs; 2. Rahul Kanthraj / Vivek Bhatt 1:36:39.2. 3. Pruthvi Dominic / Purthivi Sthal (Cedia) 1:45:45.1.

INRC 1600cc: 1. Arjun Rao / Satish Rajagopal (VW Polo) 01:37:36.0; 2. Phalguna V Urs / Anoop Kumar DS (VW Polo) 01:37:37.4; 3. Sirish Chandran / Nikhil Pai (VW Polo, Slidways Industries) 01:37:45.1.

JINRC: 1. Suhem MK / J Jeevarathinam 1:40:49.7; 2. Aroor Vikram Rao / Somayya AG  1:42:45.6; 3. Rohan Pawar / Arjun Mehta 1:44:54.4.

SUV NRC: 1. Gaurav Gill / Musa Sherif (Mahindra Adventure Rally) 1:30:56.3; 2. Lohitt Urs / Bonnie Thomas (Mahindra Adventure Rally) 01:35:24.5.

IRC: 1. Karamjit Singh / Jagdev Singh (VW Polo R2, Slideways Industries) 1:31:50.4; 2. Sumit Panjabi / Prakhyath Shirole (Cedia) 1:53:36.51.