Mysore. The rustic surrounds and terrains around Mysore witnessed an exciting round of rallying in the 'Mysore Safari', the sixth and final round of JK Tyre-FMSCI Indian National TSD Rally Championship 2012. The duo of Chidanand Murthy and Sujith Kumar B S showcased their expertise to navigate their way through the route to win in the Overall and Pro-Stock class.
Representing Team Tata Motors Full Throttle, the pair of Chidanand Murthy and Sujith Kumar BS, driving an Indica Vista, collected a penalty time of 3 minutes 31 seconds to win in the Overall class in this round. Driving a Maruti Esteem, the team of M D Ganesh Moorthy and T Nagarajan finished second, 15 seconds behind the winners. Completing the top-three on the standings in the Overall class was the duo of Sourav Chaterjee and Moulinath Ghosh who finished with a penalty time of 00:05:44. The top 3 Overall finishers were all from the Pro-Stock class.
The Pro-Expert class was dominated by the team of Nirmalya Das and Prasenjit Ray driving a Maruti Esteem, they got home with a penalty time of 13 minutes 39 seconds, coming in second was the team of Anubhab De and Chandan Sen in a Maruti Esteem with a penalty time of 00:34:58, followed by the pair of G B Girijashajkar Joshy and Chandra Mouli who finished with a penalty time of00:38:44.
Speaking after winning the round, Chidanand Murthy and Sujith Kumar BS said, "It has been a wonderful experience for us to rally here in Mysore. The route while scenic was challenging and we're glad to have finished on top. We would like to thank and congratulate the organisers for conducting the rally in such a professional manner".
The 'Mysore Safari' began from the magnificent Lalitha Mahal Palace in the morning and covered a distance of 170 kms before concluding at the same venue in the afternoon. The route went through varied terrains around the historic city of Mysore and the major areas it touched include Chamundi Hills, Nanjangud, Gundlupet, Heggadadevana Kote and Hunsur. 37 cars participated in the rally and included some of the top rally drivers and co-drivers from across the country.
The rally weekend will conclude tomorrow with an Autocross event in the morning followed by a glittering prize distribution ceremony where the winners of the championship will be crowned.
Classification (Provisional)
Overall / Pro-Stock: Chidanand Murthy and Sujith Kumar BS (Indica Vista) 1 (00:03:31); M D Ganesh Moorthy and T Nagarajan (Maruti Esteem ) 2 (00:03:46); Sourav Chaterjee and Moulinath Ghosh (Maruti Esteem) 3 (00:05:44)
Pro-Expert: Nirmalya Das and Prasenjit Ray (Maruti Esteem) 1 (00:13:39); Anubhab De and Chandan Sen (Maruti Esteem) 2 (00:34:58); G B Girijashajkar Joshy and Chandra Mouli (Tata Safari) .