In the Pro-Expert class and driving a Mahindra Scorpio, the pair stole the limelight in the third round of the national championship and wrapped up proceedings with a penalty of 34 seconds, indicating just how well they drove in Jaipur’s classic environs, covering places such as the Jaigarh and Nahargarh Forts, Amer Fort, Achrol, Ramgarh and Raisar.“It was a treat to drive in Jaipur’s great surroundings. The going was not very easy at times but we were able to maintain good time and come out on top”, said Maruthi as he received his prize. Finishing second and only 3 seconds behind was the Round 2 winning duo of Sachin Singh and Chandrashekar M in a Tata Sumo Gold. Privateers Tarun Chaudhary and G. Natarajan (Maruti Gypsy) came third, 6 seconds behind.
“Obviously, it’s always a matter of great joy to come out victorious. The TSD format rallying involves a lot of team co-ordination and in the end, it boils down to those that synchronize the best. We are very pleased with our win and look forward to doing better in the forthcoming rounds”, exclaimed navigator T. Nagarajan after winning the Pro-Stock class of the 200km rally with driver M.D Ganesh Moorthy (00:01:18) in a Volkswagen Polo. Erode’s S Gopalakrishnan and V Sekar (02:35) repeated their second place finish in a Volkswagen Vento even as Bangalore based Chidananda Murthy and B.S Sujith Kumar, who won Round one and two of the six-round championship and are touted as a top TSD rally combination, finished in third place (03:41).
The Novice class, which allows first-timers wanting to experience the thrill of professionally organised motor rallying, saw Manish Chaturvedi and Manis Vohra clinching the category in a Maruti Gypsy with a penalty of 00:21:11. Pratap Singh Thakur and Hitesh Batra (00:32:25) finished second in a Chevrolet Aveo while Gauri and Deepali Gupta (00:39:35) finished third.
Beating three other competitors and continuing their winning streak, Kolkata’s Deepali Poddar and navigator Ipsita Das (Maruti Esteem) took the honours in the All-Ladies class with a penalty of 1 minutes 29 seconds. The pair performed much better than they did in Rounds one and two.
Being conducted under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), the Rally of Jaypore is part of India’s first national Time-Speed-Distance (TSD) Rally Championship and marks JK Tyre’s return to rallying after a decade. It is promoted by the Mysore based Berunda Adventure Club and is being held over six rounds across India.
Final classification
Overall / Pro-Expert:
1. K. P. Karthick Maruthi / Sankar Anand (Scorpio Mahindra) (00:00:34)
2. Sachin Singh / Chandrashekar M (Tata Sumo Gold) (00:00:37)
3. Tarun Chaudhary / G. Natarajan (Maruti Gypsy) (00:00:43)
Pro-Stock:
1. M.D Ganesh Moorthy / T. Nagarajan (VW Polo) (00:01:18)
2. S. Gopalakrishnan / V. Sekar (VW Vento) (00:02:35)
3. Chidananda Murthy / BS Sujith Kumar (TATA Indica Vista) (0:03:41)
Novice:
Manish Chaturvedi / Manis Vohra (Maruti Gypsy) 1 (00:21:11);
Pratap Singh Thakur / Hitesh Batra (Chevrolet Aveo) 2 (00:32:25);
Gauri Gupta / Deepali Gupta (Maruti Swift) 3 (00:39:35)
All Ladies:
Deepali Poddar / Ipsita Das (Maruti Esteem) 1 (0:01:29); Gauri Gupta / Deepali Gupta (Maruti Swift) 3 (00:39:35); Ashima Kaushik / Ankita Sharma (Hyundai i20) 3 (01:37:46)