Vikram Rao, Somayya pair emerges leader in FMSCI championship

Bengaluru driver Rahul Kanthraj and co-driver Vivek Bhatt stormed into the lead in the top INRC class with Younus Ilyas and Hyderabad’s co-driver Nitin Jacob in second.

Hyderabad: Mangalore’s Aroor Vikram Rao along with co-driver AG Somayya of Chettinad Sporting emerged as overall leader on day 1 of the Blueband Sports FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) at Sanghi Nagar near Ramoji Film City on Saturday.

Bengaluru driver Rahul Kanthraj and co-driver Vivek Bhatt stormed into the lead in the top INRC class with Younus Ilyas and Hyderabad’s co-driver Nitin Jacob in second.

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Kolkata’s Amittrajit Ghosh and co-driver Ashwin Naik were third, with two more tough stages to go on Sunday. Aroor Arjun Rao had drive shaft failure in the second stage and later multiple title winner Gaurav Gill and defending champion Karna Kadur too failed to finish the day.

Former champion Chetan Shivram and Shiv Prakash were second in the INRC2 class behind leaders Vikram Rao and Somayya, and Fabid Ahmer and co-driver Jeevarathinam were in third at the end of day 1.

In the INRC3 class, Vishakh Balachandran and Anil Abbas topped the day’s times with young Arjun Rajiv and Rohit Gowda in second followed by Riyas Abdul Majeed and Lenin Joseph.

Ruthuparna Vivek and Aditya Kousgi were leading the INRC4 class while Pragati Gowda and Trisha Alonkar were heading the Ladies class. Two more special stages, Sanghi SS4 and SS5 will be held in Sanghi Nagar on Sunday.

Results:

Overall: 1. Aroor Vikram Rao/AG Somayya (Chettinad Sporting) (54:15.3s), 2. Chetan Shivram/Shiv Prakash (54:19.0s), 3. Fabid Ahmer/J Jeevarathinam (54:39.2s), 4. Jacob KJ/Shanmugha SN (55:14.3s), 5. Vishakh Balachandran/ Anil Abbas (55:18.6s); INRC: 1. Rahul Kantharaj/ Vivek Y Bhatt (55:47.8s); 2.Younus Ilyas/ Nitin Jacob (55:56.6s); 3. Amittrajit Ghosh/ Ashwin Naik (1:00:45.4s); INRC2: 1. Aroor Vikram Rao/AG Somayya (54:15.3s), 2. Chetan Shivram/Shiv Prakash (54:19.0s), 3. Fabid Ahmer/J Jeevarathinam (54:39.2s); INRC3: 1. Vishakh Balachandran/ Anil Abbas (55:18.6s), 2. Arjun Rajiv/ Rohit Gowda (55:45.1s), 3. Riyas Abdul Majeed/ Lenin Joseph (55:50.9s).