INRC 4W
2023
Hat-trick overall win for Aroor Arjun Rao and Satish Rajagopal
INDIA’S FIRST AND ONLY MOTORSPORTS & OFF-ROAD MAGAZINE
OCTOBER 2023 | Rs. 99
IRL + FIA F4 INDIA
India’s first night race at Chennai’s Street Circuit
UDC ‘23
Raj Singh RathoreShivam Thakur win
MotoGP BHARAT
MRF 2W INRC
Tanveer’s second straight win
INDIAN OIL GRAND PRIX OF INDIA
2023
FIA ERC ‘23
Team MRF Champions again
A GREAT SUCCESS
Bezzecchi
ON
A DRAMATIC PODIUM
FORMULA 1 th
6 Title for RED BULL after MAX’S win
WRC2
GAURAV GILL
JK RACING
Double for Tijil Rao & Arjun Nair
SCOOTER RALLY
Venkatesh Shetty crowned overall winner
RFC 2023
DaSilva & Mackwin win in Goa
FEATURE
100 years of MG Motors in 2024
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EDITORIAL / IMPRINT
Hi,
Our New Look. AUTO TRACK is on a new track...
I
IMPRINT
Editor S. Ashok Kumar Tiwari Concept and Design: S. Ashok Kumar Tiwari
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t's indeed a matter of pride for us to complete 16 successful years. We are glad to announce that we are stepping into the 17th year of circulation. It has been a very hard journey, especially coming out of COVID days. It has been three years since we struggled to make ends meet due to the pandemic. MotoGP Bharat was the major event to watch this month and the successful completion was a major boost to Bharat. With most of the championships taking off and going smoothly, the Indian National TSD Championship (INTSD) is yet to take off and the just born Dirt Track Championship in its midway stage has been attracting huge response. With some good news for the scooter riders, the Monsoon Scooter Rally was back but with failed monsoon the slushy environment was missed.
Amidst all this motorsports activity in full swing, there has been a setback though, both were racing incidents. The fraternity lost one of the youngest talents, Shreyas Hareesh, a promising and upcoming rider who had left nothing else to prove at the age of 13 years. Within a short span of 3 years time, he rose from a novice rider to an international rider and was performing to full capacity. And he left us midway leaving the motorsports followers shocked. Another upcoming rider from Nagpur, Mobin Shah, also met with the same fate on a desert track of just below 5 kms. He had a fall in the desert and before he could be attended to, he collapsed due to dehydration under the scorching sun.
The 4wheeler Rally drivers have some good news as the Promoter, once again, is working full time to fulfil his commitment of at least six rounds in 2023. Already three rounds were completed, two rounds have found a venue, and the sixth round, K1000, shall be the season concluding round.
In a major boost, a couple of young Indian riders, have managed to make way to the podium in the Malaysian races recently.
I like to thank my advertisers and supporters who have kept us motivated to keep the momentum despite lukewarm advertisement support. We are absorbing most of the deficit and still the passion has given us the strength to keep the hard copy going after completing 16 years. I wholeheartedly thank my team, who have stood with me in our hard and testing times.
S. ASHOK KUMAR TIWARI Editor M: +919845296190 autotrack.editor@gmail.com
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Staff Photographers: Prakash Rawat, Noorulla Managing Editor: Roopa A. Tiwari Sr. Correspondent: S. Nithyanand
Correspondent: K. Manjunath Ghanshyam A Tiwari Gokul
Spl. Correspondent: David Bodapati Western Region: autotrack.west@gmail.com Mob: 09757176958
Editorial Office:
Auto Track 7/3-1, Lalitha Engineering Building, Subbanna Garden Main Road, Vijayanagar, Bangalore-40 autotrack.editor@gmail.com www.autotrack.ind.in For Subscription, contact: 9845296190
For Advertisement, E: ashok.autotrack@gmail.com The Publisher makes every effort to ensure that the magazine’s contents are accurate. However, he accepts no responsibility of any effects arising therefrom. Printed at Raj Hans Enterprises, Rajajinagar Industrial Town, Bangalore-560044. Published by S. Ashok Kumar Tiwari At # 7/3-1, Lalitha Engineering Building, Subbanna Garden Main Road, Vijayanagar, Bangalore - 560040
VOLUME 16, ISSUE 6
CONTENTS September / October 2023
12 55
34
30 36
NEWS: 03
JK TYRE Natl Racing: 10 Rally of Coimbatore: 14
VM Sports Foundation @ ROC: 20 MOTO GP BHARAT: 22
MRF Natl 4W Racing: 26 JK TSD, Kolkata: 30
48 08
MRF Natl 2W Rally: 32
68 68 48: Karting Nationals, R1
50: F1, Suzuka
MRF Dirt Track Natl: 36
52: Autocross 4W CKM 55: Ultimate Desert Challenge
ATMA: 40
Mg’s 100th Year: 44
14 20
60: Seltos Drive 64: Monsoon Scooter Rally
68: Rain Forest Challenge India
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30 12
50 32
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52 16
10 44
NEW DELHI
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NEWS
Chennai Formula Racing Circuit to host India's first night race Indian Racing League set to create history again
A
fter creating and establishing a historic Hyderabad Street Circuit, which successfully held the first Indian Formula E Championship, Indian Racing League is all set to create history as it launches the Chennai Formula Racing Circuit for the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT). The muchawaited Street Circuit, only the second in India, is launched by Tamil Nadu's Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin here recently.
The new Street Circuit to set to host the night races, a first for Indian Motorsports. Racing Promotions Private Limited (RPPL), the promoter of the F4 Indian Championship and the Indian Racing League (IRL) is also the exclusive rights holder of 4Wmotorsports league in India.
Today, amidst fanfare RPPL launched a street circuit in Chennai, the motorsports capital of India.
Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), roped in the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), the two crucial partners, to collaborate with RPPL, the promoter of Indian Racing League and F4 Indian Championship.
drivers will also showcase their talent as in the IRL last year.
Dr Atulya Misra, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Youth Welfare and Sports Development, J Meghanath Reddy, IAS, Member Secretary, SDAT, Akbar Ebrahim,
President of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (fmsci) and Akhilesh Reddy, MD of RRPL, also spoke. Armaan Ibrahim and Abhinandhan, Directors of RPPL were present and detailed the media about the event.
The 3.5km layout located around the Island Grounds in the heart of the city, will host the firstever night race in Asia. The Chennai Formula Racing Circuit is set to host the F4 Indian Championship and the Indian Racing League's last leg on December 9 and 10, later this year, where drivers from Indian and abroad will take part. Six lady SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023 autotrack.ind.in 03
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Will the MotoGP Bharat bring any changes in Indian Motorsports?
MANJU CHITRADURGA SURAJ RAJASTHAN SHER SINGH DELHI
To change Indian Motorsports, MotoGP is not essential. Because similar anticipation was there, years back, when F1 came into India. But there were a few up gradations which were required for other related events. First thing was, hardly one or two rounds of Motorsports were organised in BIC every year. Not many prefer the circuit considering the organising expenses. Only Tata Truck race was the activity which ran to the fullest potential and since the project was red flagged, the track had to rely only on promotional events and activates unrelated to Motorsports, to survive. But running MotoGP also would have costed a bomb, as most of the facilities were outdated or mismanaged… or left unattended. Off course, every event, specially of this magnitude has some or the other things to learn, but carrying forward is an issue. Never the less, such events give us excitement and there on it shall remain only a Motorsports destination. Since MotoGP had a huge fan followup in India we had a packed race track. This success will definitely play an important role post event.
Do we lack safety standards?
Main priority in this sport is safety and which is taken to the most fullest. But some things are beyond safety, which has to be accepted. I know you are referring to the recent three unfortunate incidents of Kumar KE, Shreyas Hareesh and Mobin Shah. Critics have various versions and reasons which can never be ignored and to some extent it can be imaginary, since the reports of all the three incidents are not made public. The reasons, causes and who is responsible, directly or indirectly, still hangs in balance...
As the competition level is increasing so does speed, safety, recovery and logistics. Medical arrangements undergo periodical upgradation and remain in limelight but sometimes it remains silent once incidents such as these start fading away. Nothing can be done as the fraternity is adventurous and the families are not. Incidents like these can never be
digested in the Indian society.
Nice to see a night race at Chennai
Yes, the promoters of IRL have put too many things in place since the inaugural rounds last year. Their thirst for taking the sport to new heights was visible in 2022 and the same track gave way to India's first Formula E. Moving the sport to multiple cities is also quite challenging. Such races can create more awareness for the sport amongst common man and also in parallel going live on Television adds value. If I am not mistaken, it shall be the first night race to be held in India. Of course, a few night Motorsports events have happened earlier but with a fully secured night event with highest International standards, this shall be the first one.
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NEWS
Jawa Yezdi Motorcycles supports Covelong Classic 2023 again
Surfing Federation of India (SFI) hosts Surf Festival 2023 at Kovalam Beach, Chennai
J
BHARAT KE ANMOL AWARD
for Vamcy Merla Sports Foundation
VMS Foundation supports sportspersons from underprivileged sections
H
veteran), Mir Mothesham (former Mr World silver medallist) and Ms Chandrakala Padia (eminent scholar) were among the elite personalities who were feted.
The Foundation's chairman Vamcy Merla accepted the coveted award, bestowed on him for promoting talented but financially challenged boys and girls across several sports, ranging from soccer, roller skating, kabaddi, badminton to motorsports. Bharat Ke Anmol, is one of its kind National Award, acknowledges and celebrates eminent personalities in India who have not only risen above the rest in their field of speciality but have also done yeoman service to the society and to the disadvantaged. Padmasree Dr Vijay Kumar Shah (a prominent Social Activist), Dr. TS Rao (Father of Vaccines), Dr SM Khan (Doordarshan Director General, News), Air Commodore Rashid Zafar Qureshi (Kargil
“Merla has changed the face of Indian motorsports with his foundation. We hope this award encourages him to help other sports and sportspersons,” Dr. Mohammad Nizamuddin and Dr Venkata Ganjam, the brains behind the Bharat Ke Anmol initiative, said.
yderabadbased Vamcy Merla Sports Foundation became the first sports body to receive the prestigious Bharat Ke Anmol award during a glittering ceremony at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi recently.
“My father Late Merla Chandrashekara Rao used to run several charitable trusts and provide every kind of assistance to the poor and downtrodden. I've been inspired by him,” Vamcy said while receiving the award. “As for me, I have been passionate about motorsports all my life. That's why I am supporting events, racers, rallyists and drivers at several levels. I am grateful for being chosen for this prestigious award. I now feel motivated to do more,” he added.
awa Yezdi Motorcycles partners with the Surfing Federation of India (SFI) once again to promote the thrilling sport of surfing that's rapidly gaining popularity in the country. In its second year of association with SFI, Jawa Yezdi Motorcycles, was one of the main partners for all five rounds of this year's professional surfing calendar, which concluded with the World Surfing League in August. As a brand, Jawa Yezdi Motorcycles is deeply passionate about supporting and growing the adventurous spirit of young India, and sports like surfing evoke the same sense of freedom that motorcycles ignite in the soul. For the national championship, Jawa Yezdi Motorcycles partnered with Covelong Surf Festival 2023 organised at Kovalam Beach in Chennai. The festival held on August 12 and 13, was attended by over 15,000 people.
This year's national champions, Srikanth D and Sugar Shanti Banarasi – in the Men's and Women's Classes respectively – were awarded a Yezdi Scrambler and a swanky new Jawa 42 Cosmic Carbon, with custom surfboard racks. The motorcycles were awarded to the champions by Udhayanidhi Stalin, Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development, Tamil Nadu and SFI ambassador, and cricket legend, Jonty Rhodes.
SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023 autotrack.ind.in 05
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INTERNATIONAL, NEWS
GAURAV GILL shows FLASHES OF SPEED amid challenging ACROPOLIS Rally
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K Tyre backed, Indian rally ace, Gaurav Gill showcased impressive stage timings amid the tumultuous conditions at the Acropolis Rally of Greece. While the recce helped him develop a good strategy, the weather played a spoil sport from the start of the rally, throwing challenges on the go.
Showing characteristic tenacity, Gill along with JK Tyre was backed by VM Sports Foundation, was exceptional as he made his presence felt throughout all clean stages coupled with split times on the stages where he had breakdowns, his speed was off 0.5 to 1.0 seconds per kilometre of than WRC 2 leader Andreas
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Mikkelsen. Indian motorsport's only Arjuna Awardee, Gill and his codriver Barral Florian had gone into the hot, dusty, stages of the gruelling event expecting to be in their element. The pair were able to put up some wow moments in their Škoda Fabia R5. Despite facing setbacks like torrential rain and dry weather which eventually cancelled the shakedown stage and curtailed few more stages. The route conditions further led to radiator issue in Gill's car. The Punctures picked up on the rockstrewn terrain further dashed his hopes of a strong result. However, bouncing back strongly on the final day ending stage 13 and 14 at 10thand 8th positions in the WRC 2 classification, respectively. The rally seriously tested the mettle of the man and machine by
throwing them offguard with various trials. On his experience at the Acropolis Rally, Gaurav Gill said, “It's not called the 'Rally of Gods' for nothing! This rally is known for its treacherous conditions, the biggest challenge that you can ask for in the WRC in terms of climate terrain and competitors. We didn't get the result we hoped for but we were still able to mix it with the great champion drivers in terms of raw pace, despite it being our first rally of the year, which was incredibly encouraging. We also took away a lot in terms of learning and experience and I'm grateful to JK Tyre and Vamcy Merla for the opportunity. Our full focus now is on the Indonesian round of the APRC and bringing the title back to India.”
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INTERNATIONAL
two fast rallies. Both rallies demanded absolute precision and confidence from the driver and the tyre, with the MRF product performing faultlessly throughout the events.
The backtoback wins put Team MRF Tyres in the prime position for the Team Championship, which was further solidified with another podium in the first Royal Rally of Scandinavia. With more points, including vital Powerstage points for Simone Campedelli and Tania Canton at the Rally di Roma Capitale, the goal of a second Team Championship was achieved. To underline MRF Tyres' success, the second team, the MRF Tyres Dealer Team sits third in the standings, having taken podiums with Mads Ostberg and Patrik Barth, along with stage wins for Andrea Mabellini and Virigina Lenzi. With two wins and two podiums in six rallies for Team MRF Tyres, it has undoubtedly been a year of sheer dominance.
Team MRF Tyres crowned European champions again
The Indian Tyre manufacturers bag the Team title with two rounds to spare
T
eam MRF Tyres are the new 2023 FIA European Rally Champions. Team MRF Tyres scored a historic double as they secured this year's title with two rounds to spare in the eightround 2023 FIA ERC Championship.
With this win, MRF Tyres asserts t hei r do m i nan c e i n W orl d Rallying Championships coming up trumps against other globally renowned tyre companies. MRF Tyres have emerged victorious both on gravel and asphalt surfaces, a release from MRF, Chennai said in August. Team
MRF
successfully
defended its 2022 team crown in what has been a hardfought season with MRF Tyres taking on, and winning, against the established Global MNC rally tyre manufacturers. Having dominated in the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championships for nine wins, MRF Tyres set its sights on rallying in the top levels of European competition and joined the FIA ERC in 2020. With an intensive product development strategy, MRF Tyres soon started winning stages, rallies, and championships. This second championship win in the ERC is proof of the quality, performance and resilience of
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MRF Tyres.
Team MRF Tyres entered the 2023 FIA ERC season with high hopes after a championship winning performance in 2022 and it was immediately clear that any result would have to be earned, as the field was one toughest in years. The season started well with a podium for Efrén Llarena and Sara Fernandez in the Rally Islas Canarias. After the podium success in Spain, the season moved to the fast gravel stages of Rally Liepaja and Rally Poland and Martins Sesks with Renars Francis would dominate these
The 2023 Team's Championship sits alongside 2022 FIA ERC driver's and team championship, along with championships from the Italian gravel and tarmac championship from 2021 and 2022 and the 2021 Finnish Rally Championship. Arun Mammen, ViceChairman & Managing Director, MRF said: “I am extremely proud of the success achieved by MRF Tyres in the 2023 FIA European Rally Championship. As India's leading tyre manufacturer we looked to take India to the world stage and compete in the toughest rally competitions in the world. We knew it would take dedication and determination to succeed and to do it once was a challenge, to back up that success in 2023 proves the talent and skill of the entire team at MRF Tyres. I would like to extend my congratulations to the team and I look forward to our future challenges.”
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Double for Tijil Rao and Arjun Nair Sarvesh Balappa shines in the JK Tyre 250 cup: Bikes
T
ijil Rao in the LGB Formula 4 class & Arjun Nair in the Novice Cup, clinched a double in the Novice Cup of the 26 t h JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship which concluded at the Kari Motor Speedway on August 27.
Tijil Rao won the first and last race of the season opener while Arya Singh and Ruhaan won a race each in the LGB Formula 4 class while Neythan and Joel won a race each after Arjun took a brace. LGB Formula 4: Tijil started the day finishing on top of the podium in the opening race. It was not easy though for the Bengaluru youngster as his teammates Arya Singh from Kolkata and TS
Diljith from Thrissur gave him a run for his money. The lead kept changing hands lap after lap and, midway through, it was all about holding one's nerve. But Tijil, despite the pressure, kept his cool, waited for the right moment to strike, and planned his move well in the final lap to take the chequered flag in style.
For Team Dark Don racing, it did not matter as Arya and Diljith wrested the next two positions. In the second race, Arya gained sweet revenge over Tijil with a thrilling win. It was wheelto wheel racing between the two and, with three laps to go, it looked like anybody's game. With it, it was another clean sweep for Dark Don Racing. The arrival of the safety car made it
even more exciting for the spectators but not for the top three contenders as the back markers gained a slight advantage. At this juncture, all eyes were on Arya and Tijil but the former did one better than the latter when it mattered most to finish the day on a merry note. Tijil and Viswas Vijayaraj of Ahura Racing had to rest content for the second and third spots respectively. Race 3 turned out to be a battle royal all the way. In the opening race of Day 2, all eyes were on the Dark Don Racing stars but Bengaluru's Ruhaan stamped his class with a stunning final lap victory. Arya Singh dominated for most
JK Tyre Novice Cup drivers in action during Day 2 1O autotrack.ind.in SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023
part but Ruhaan played catch up with some brilliant driving. The former was beginning to feel the pressure. There was a little bumping and jostling now and then between the two but Ruhaan kept searching for space
JK TYRE NATIONAL RACING, R1- COIMBATORE
Battle for supremacy between LGB Formula 4 drivers on day 2
to sneak in. He managed to find one in the final lap and crossed the line much to the joy of his team. The final race was as good as the first but Tijil did one better than the rest to clinch the thriller. With
JK Tyre Presents Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup riders in action SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023 autotrack.ind.in 11
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seconds and settled for third position. In Race 2, it was Arjun once again on top as Sai Shiva Sankaran from MSport followed him in second position with over 5sec difference while his teammate Abhay with less than a second deficit finished third. In the JK Tyre Novice Cup, Bengaluru's Arjun S. Nair of Momentum Motorsports, who cracked a double on Saturday, for once could not celebrate on top of the podium. In the first race, his teammate Neythan McPherson from Pune staved off a stiff challenge from Aman Nagdev (MSport) and also managed to brush aside Arjun and took the flag.
Racers engaged in fiery competition in JK Tyre Novice Cup on Day 1
the reverse grid in play, it was Saran Vikram from Mars Racing who started off on a blitzy note staying in the lead for good five laps, however it was Ruhaan who overtook him. But as luck would have it, Ruhaan spun out of the race giving the Dark Dons a fresh leash of life with Diljith and Tijil battling it out for the victory. While it looked like the senior pro Diljith would close the round on a high, it was the young Tijil who showed grit and great skills to overtake in the 13th lap. It was a sight to behold as both the racers were involved in a to and fro action but eventually Tijil brought in his car ahead of others to end on a high.
The ninelap race saw the safety car out twice and that took some flow and shine out of the event. Aman and Arjun finished second and third respectively.
But in the second race, Joel Joseph (DTS Racing) came out victorious while Arjun and McPherson wrested the next two spots. JK Tyre 250 Cup:
Hubballi's Sarvesh Balappa, starting on P2, ruled the field. Pole sitter G. Abhinav JK Tyre Novice Cup Race 1 winners LGB Formula 4 Racers in action on day 1
JK Tyre Novice Cup:
Bengaluru's Arjun Nair, representing Momentum Motorsports, started the season on a super note as well clinching both the races of Day 1. In Race 1, he was followed by his teammate Neythan Mc Pherson in second with just over a second difference and Joel Joseph from DTS Racing was further behind by over three 12 autotrack.ind.in SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023
JK TYRE NATIONAL RACING, R1-COIMBATORE
Winners of JK tyre presents Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup
Winners of JK Tyre presents 250 Cup on day 2 of Round 1
LGB Formula 4 Race 4 Winners
JK Tyre Novice Cup Race 2 Winners
(Coimbatore) brought some cheer to the home crowd clocking the fastest time of 1:25.00. He maintained a good pace but not good enough to outsmart Sarvesh at the end. Bengaluru's Rohit Lad had to rest content for the third spot. JK Tyre presents Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup R. Anand of Chennai scored over a strong field to take the prime spot on the podium. The incident filled race had to be restarted a
couple of times. Md Samrul Zubair of Hyderabad give Anand a run for his money but Anand crossed the line to take the victory. In Race 2, Bengaluru boys stole the show with a clean sweep. Abhishek Vasudev emerged victorious with an impressive timing of 13:53.248 minutes while his citymates, Ullass Nanda (13:53.651 minutes) and Md Samrul Zubair (13:57.403 minutes) stood second and third, respectively.
LGB Formula 4 Race 2 Winners
LGB Formuala 4 Race 1 winners SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023 autotrack.ind.in 13
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Hat-trick win for Arjun Rao and Satish Rajagopal Philippos Matthai (PVS Murthy) wins INRC2 and takes Overall 2
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nd
RALLY OF COIMBATORE, COIMBATORE
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PHOTO BY: KRISHANU, AKHIL P, VIKRAM S AND GHANSHYAM
Three top rally leaders Gaurav Gill, Karna Kadur and Amittrajit Ghosh fell behind, for the second time in a row.
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t was a hatrick of victories for the MRFsupported pair from Mandovi Racing, Aroor Arjun Rao and Satish Rajagopal, who managed to win the Rally of Coimbatore, the Round 3 of the Blueband FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship 2023 (INRC) for four wheelers held at Coimbatore recently. The twoday rally was held at SM Agro on Day 1 and Day 2 stages were around Kethanur windmill farms. A total of 10 stages decided this victory. Arjun Rao won with a margin of 31 seconds over the pair of Philippos Matthai and PVS Murthy from Arka Motorsports supported by MRF and VM Sports Foundation. Amittrajit Ghosh along with Ashwin Naik, also from Arka Motorsports, completed the podium. This high speed rally had two disqualifications (DNQ), 19 DNF's (Did Not Finish) on Day 1 from six stages and a total of 29
DNF's up to Day 2 from four stages.
Disaster struck in the third stage of Day 1 for Gaurav Gill, who along with codriver Anirudfha Rangnekar, supported by JK Tyre, was fastest in both the first two stages and was leading by over 15 seconds. As the car knocked against a cut stem, they had to pull out. There on MRF
Jahaan Gill and Suraj K winners of JINRC
supported pair of Karna Kadur and Nikhil Pai from Arka Motorsports led the charge but in Special Stage 6 they had to give up due to technical issues. By then the pair of Amittarajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik had gained a good lead of the day with over 19sec advantage over Arjun Rao and Satish Rajagopal. Philippos Matthai along with co
Nikeetaa Takkale and Venu Ramesh Kumar second runnerup
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driver PVS Murthy were just 8 seconds behind the leaders and Rahul Kanthraj and codriver Vivek Y Bhatt, also from Arka Motorsports, were third with another 27sec difference. JK Tyre supported pair of Jahaan Singh Gill and Suraj Keshava Prasad from Snap Racing did a creditable job taking fourth just 5sec apart and ahead of Dr. Bikku
RALLY OF COIMBATORE, COIMBATORE
Philippos Matthai and PVS Murthy winners of INRC2
Babu, navigated by Milen George and supported by MRF, who were a further 9sec behind. Day Two
It was a day of twists and turns with 29 drivers droping out and six not taking a start on Day 2. Only 13 of the drivers who dropped out on Day 1 took start on Day 2. The first to pull out was Gaurav Gill due to drive shaft issue. With loads of issues Amittrajit, had fallen back. He had to drive both the stages in first run with 'Nil' brakes and the exhaust bolts had given up too. Thus Arjun Rao and Philippos Matthai capitalised and rose up the order. Arjun was headed for a hattrick of wins with a clean 31sec lead.
In the allotted service time it was not possible to complete the rectification and hence regaining the lost position
became impossible for Amittrajit and he settle for third position with a difference of 11sec on Philippos.
Finally after six years of failed efforts, and four years on a VW Polo R2 and two years on Maruti Baleno, Arjun Rao emerged with a well deserved Hat trick and is heading for his first overall INRC National title with a handsome lead over second placed driver.
Fabid Ahmer and Sanath G supported by JK Tyre were driving a Chettinad Sportingprepared Polo. They started from seventh position on the final day and missed the podium by six seconds. Dr. Bikku Babu managed to climb a position up on the final day and finished fifth overall with a further difference of 22 seconds. JK Tyre supported pair from Snap Racing Jahaan Gill and Suraj K Prasad slid one
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Ritesh Guttedar and Lokaranjan HJ, representing Ammyfied Rallying, finished in sixth position with a further difference of 1min 32sec. Charen Chandran and Vignesh Mahalingam from Arka Motorsports finished seventh while Harkrishan Wadia and Kunal Kashyap driving for Arka Motorsports faced technical issues and came eighth. Jahaan Gill wins INRC3 class
Jahaan Gill along with codriver Suraj Keshava Prasad, supported by JK Tyre, driving a snap Racing prepared car, were the winners with a total time of 01hr 55min 37sec. They managed to keep the pair of Jason Saldanha and Thimmu Uddapanda from Dark Don Rallying behind in second position beating them by 7 seconds. Daraious Shroff and Shahid Salman from Slideways Industries driving a Chettinad Sporting car, came third just a second behind.
Darshan Nachappa and Abhinav Ganapathy winners of Gypsy class
position down in the final results than Day 1 with a difference of 37sec and finished sixth. Bengaluru pair of Rahul Kanthraj and Vivek Y Bhatt from Arka Motorsports couldn't hold on to the fourth position of Day 1 as they finished seventh with a further difference of just one second. Jason Saldanha and Thimmu Udapanda from Dark Don Racing finished eighth.
Fabid Ahmer & Sanath G in action on Day 2
Philippos tops INRC2
Philippos Matthai from Delhi and PVS Murthy from Bengaluru driving for Arka Motorsports supported by MRF and VM Sports Foundation topped the INRC2 class. They managed it with a lead of 17sec over Fabid Ahmer and Sanath G from Kerala, who were supported by JK Tyre and their Polo was prepared by Chettinad Sporting. The Kerala duo Dr Bikku Babu and Milen George, supported by MRF, completed the podium another 22 seconds behind.
Aroor Vikram Rao and Somayya AG, supported by MRF, with a further difference of 53 seconds missed the podium. Jacob KJ and Shanmuga SN driving from Arka Motorsports came fifth with another 18sec difference. 18 autotrack.ind.in SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023
Ladies class winners Anushriya Gulati and Sherwin Dalmeida
Vishakh B and Sumesh from Chettinad Sporting missed the podium by 30 seconds. The pair of Riyas Abdul Majeed and Lenin Joseph also from Chettinad Sporting came fifth with a difference of 1min 21sec. Privateers Ajay Sankar and Nitharshan finished sixth taking another 25 seconds to complete the course while lady drivers Anushriya Gulati and Sherwin Dalmeida from Dark Don Rallying were seventh with a fractional difference of 400th of a second. Pradeep Ravi and Avinash CA driving for Arka Motorsports were eighth with another 31sec difference. Nikeetaa Takkale and Venu Ramesh Kumar from Snap Racing finished ninth and Yashas M Nayak was tenth. Ruthuparna bags INRC4 class
Ruthuparna Vivek and Athreya Kousgi winners INRC4
Ruthuparna Vivek along with Athreya Kousgi from Ammyfied Rallying supported by VM Sports Foundation won the INRC4 class. They managed to hold their lead right from Day 1 as the championship leader was reeling under technical difficulties. His
teammate Shirole Prakhyat H and Bharath SM, both from Bengaluru, with 4min 52sec difference finished second. Privateers who have come back to rallying after a long gap, Prajwal HM and Vinay SM, driving a Maruti Esteem, managed to finish on podium in third position, some 4min 38sec behind.
Maninder Singh Bobral and Sirisha Venkatram from Ammyfied Rallying supported by VM Sports Foundation came fourth with a further difference of 2min 37sec. Manoj Mohanan along with Senthil Kumar Kannan finished fifth. Abhin Rai and D Uday Kumar, also from Ammyfied Rallying supported by VM Sports Foundation, came sixth.
Jahaan takes Junior INRC too
Jahaan Gill along with Suraj K from Snap Racing also stood on top of the Junior INRC class followed by privateers Ajay Sankar and Nitharshan. They had a huge lead of 3min 44sec difference. Lady competitor Nikeetaa Takkale along with Venu Ramesh Kumar, supported by VM Sports Foundation put their Snap Racing prepared car in third place with a 2min 36sec difference. Anushriya wins Ladies class
Anushriya Gulati along with rookie co driver Sherwin Dalmeida from Dark Don Rallying won the class with a total time of 1hr 59min 22sec. Pune's Nikeetaa Takkale who paired with Coimbatore's codriver Venu Ramesh Kumar in a Snap Racing prepared car that was supported by VM Sports Foundation finished second with 2min 56sec difference. Shivani Parmar from Mumbai and Bengaluru's Arjun
Dheerendra from Slideways, driving for Chettinad Sporting managed to finish third another 20min 28sec behind. They lost a lot of time on Day 2 as their car was stuck in a mud mount at one of the left corners. The pair of Pragathi Gowda and Trisha Alonkar supported by MRF and Sidvin driving from AART Motorsports was on the neck of the winners but exceeded MPL and bowed out.
RALLY OF COIMBATORE, COIMATORE
Nachappa clinches Gypsy class
The Coorg pair of Darshan Nachappa and codriver Abhinav Ganapathy from Ammyfied Rallying supported by VM Sports Foundation were the winners of the class with a total time of 2hr 6min 10sec. They were running second till the 9th stage but after championship leader Samrat Yadav navigated by Chandrasekhar suffered a setback and pulled out as the front wheel ripped out on stage. Privateer Abishek Gowda and Dheeraj Manae finished second with a difference of 1min 18sec while Jayanth Somanathan and R Rajashekar finished third another 4min 46sec behind.
The pair of Sanjay Lal and V Sekar finished fourth with a further difference of 1min 6sec and Vamcy Merla, founder of VM Sports Foundation, in his debut rally navigated by Raghuram Saminathan finished fifth. They had the bonnet popping up and covering the windscreen and had to put it back in place a couple of times on the stage and lost time. Dr Akarsh Sundar and Ravi Kumar Reddy came sixth. Madhusudhan along with Harsha were seventh. The Gypsy class witnessed eight DNF's.
Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik second runnerup SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023 autotrack.ind.in 19
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Vamcy Merla in action on Day 2
VM Sports Foundation bags seven podiums
Supports 37 drivers to boost the record number of entries
S
even drivers supported by VM Sports Foundation were on the podium in the Rally of Coimbatore, the Round 3 of the Blueband FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship 2023 which concluded recently.
Many youngsters and beginners were part of VM Sports Foundation brigade in the Coimbatore round which saw very challenging and rough stages. The main highlight was the debut by Vamcy Merla, founder of VM Sports Foundation, who recently won an offroad event in Coorg.
VM Sports Foundation which supported 37 drivers in a total of
71 was a record as more than fifty percent participation was from the foundation. It has boosted the overall entries. With this 7 podium finishes from a total of 21 podiums, VMSF dominated taking onethird of the podium places.
his bonnet started flying. He had to put it back a couple of times in the third stage and lost time.
Topping the table were the
pair of Philippos Matthai from Delhi and PVS Murthy from Bengaluru, both racing for Arka Motorsports. They were on the
Apart from the regular classes, this support brought life in to INRC4 and Gypsy classes. VM Sports Foundation entries boosted the Gypsy class to 15 vehicles and INRC4 entries to 11.
Vamcy Merla with zero time spent on testing the car, managed to bring it back safe and finished the rally in fifth position despite losing time as
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Vamcy Merla and codriver Raghuram Saminathan
podium twice as they finished overall second with a difference of 31 sec to the winner and they won their class, INRC2 as well. The pair of Nikeetaa Takkale from Pune and Venu Ramesh Kumar from Coimbatore also achieved a double podium with a second position finish in Women's category and a third position in JINRC. The pair from Coorg, Darshan Nachappa and Abhinav Ganapathy topped the Gypsy class. Ruthuparna Vivek from Chikkamagaluru and Athreya Kousgi were the winners of the INRC4 class followed in second by the Bengaluru pair of Shirole Prakhyat H and Bharath SM.
RALLY OF COIMBATORE, COIMBATORE
Gypsy Class winners Darshan Nachappa and Abhinav Ganapathy
"It was so nice to see Mr Vamcy Merla on the wheels, driving at a very short notice on a basic prepared Gypsy and finishing fifth. We had earlier seen him at an offroad event."
INRC2 winners Philippos Matthai and PVS Murthy
Speaking on the occasion Vamcy Merla said: “It was very encouraging to see such good results from drivers supported by us. Seven podiums is just a beginning. Completing the rally itself is a very challenging task in Coimbatore as the stages are rough but very fast. It took the toll on the drivers and dropouts increased to 29 out of 71. I just wanted to casually finish the event but looking at my friends, fans and followers on the stage, gave me a boost to me and my supported drivers to drive to full potential. I congratulate all the winners and also my supported teams who tried their best and missed the podium." One of his fans from Coorg said:
“I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to VM Sports Foundation for the unwavering support and mentorship provided to my trained drivers. Vamcy Merla's encouragement and dedication have been instrumental in nurturing the talent of young motorsport
enthusiasts, enabling them to chase their dreams with conviction and passion,” said Chetan Shivram from CSM (for whom VM Sports Foundation had procured an INRC2 car in no time).
Aeman Ahmed from Ammyfied Rallying said: "We had fielded 22 drivers in fray and most of them from Gypsy and INRC4 class as they were in need of a platform. VM Sports Foundation's support came as a boon to these leftout classes which finally constituted over 26 entries."
Vamcy Merla fans at the Service Park SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023 autotrack.ind.in 21
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Bezzecchi wins historic MotoGP BHARAT
A stunning turn of speed, a shocking crash of championship leader Bagnaia, two duels to the wire: India spices up MotoGP title race in style
PHOTO BY: SRINIVASA KRISHNAN
MotoGP Race Winner: Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing Team 22 autotrack.ind.in SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023
M
arco Bezzecchi of Mooney VR46 Racing Team, made a stunning statement as he destroyed the field at the inaugural IndianOil Grand Prix of India at the Buddh International Circuit near New Delhi on September 24. The Italian put in a true masterclass to escape in the lead, coming home over eight seconds clear to scythe right back into the title
fight after some seriously hot pace. Thus he made history dominating the weekend and winning the main race to become champion of the inaugural race at the Grand Prix of India. Fight for the podium
The fight for the podium behind, if possible, was even hotter than the hot pace set early on. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) had to first contend with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) as the reigning Champion stalked and passed him, but there was a shocking crash out of second place for Pecco not long after, rider ok. There was then some drama as Martin lost time redoing his leather suit after a Dashboard Message to do so after it was open... and by the end of the race, he was being absolutely hounded by Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). The Pramac rider just held on after a stunning last lap duel, in doing so cutting Bagnaia's Championship lead to just 13 points. Blink and you miss it
The top trio in the title fight led the way on Lap 1 as Martin and
MotoGP BHARAT, GREATER NOIDA
Bagnaia got lightning starts to jump polesitter Bezzecchi. Bagnaia was in full attack mode in to ensure Martin didn't pull away.
When Pecco went for a move on the brakes, Martin tried to resist but ran wide and dropped back, gifting Bagnaia the lead. Bezzecchi then saw his opportunity to make a move, and once he hit the front, he truly did not look back. As he put in searing lap after searing lap, the fight behind began to light up.
Martin made a lunge with 17 laps to go, and it was a brutal one sitting up the Italian. But Bagnaia regrouped, and just behind them, Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was trying all he could to put himself in the mix as he watched on from fourth place.
The first crash drama at the front hit for the number 93 though as he suffered an agonisingly slow off at Turn 1, getting straight back on but dropping right down out the points. Next stop: more drama
In the fight for second, Martin tried all he could to break away but Bagnaia wasn't going anywhere. The Italian made his move with eight laps to go with a poetic sweep past the number
89, but it wouldn't last long.
Soon after, the #1 machine suddenly slid out, with Pecco up and ok but remonstrating with himself in the gravel. And understandably so, with Bezzecchi leading Martin the two closest in the title fight.
As the laps ticked down, Martin started to fade, lost time doing up his leathers, and then found himself right in the crosshairs of Quartararo on the last lap. The Frenchman struck and the battle was on, but Martin forced his way back past. Still, Quartararo tagged back onto the rear wheel and tried all he could to find a gap, running out of corners as the duo ultimately crossed the line split by almost nothing. Last laps of the titans
We didn't see much of the race leader Bezzecchi as he brought home an incredible victory, taking a 25point chunk out of Bagnaia and his third win of the season. Behind, Martin held off Quartararo, and then came Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and another last lap scrap. He was embroiled in an epic battle with Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) for 4th place and the South African got the better
MotoGP Podium: Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing, Race winner Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing Team, Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023 autotrack.ind.in 23
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of the Spaniard, or more didn't enable Mir to get the better of him, after flying his way through the pack from 13th on the grid. For Mir, however, it's still a best result by far with Honda, and a return to the top five for the factory.
Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing Team, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) bagged P6 ahead of Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing), the latter of whom was sent well wide at Turn 1 and had to dig in. Teammate Aleix Espargaro suffered a technical DNF. On Marc Marquez watch, the number 93 made an incredible recovery to take ninth place, slicing back through the pack to finish seven seconds up the road from Raul Fernandez (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP™ Team) who rounded out the top 10.
Moto3 Race Winner: Jaume Masia, Leopard Racing
The Championship has been turned on its head once again in MotoGP as the firstever IndianOil Grand Prix of India threw up an absolute treat. MotoGP now turns its attention to the next race, the Mobility Resort Motegi in Japan for the Motul Grand Prix of Japan.
CM Yogi Adityanath visits MotoGP
MotoGP welcomed Honourable Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, on Sunday. First, the MotoGP Bharat Investment
Moto2 Podium: Tony Arbolino, Marc VDS Racing Team, Race Winner Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Ajo, Joe Roberts, Italtrans Racing Team
Moto2 Race Winner: Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Ajo 24 autotrack.ind.in SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023
Moto2 Race Start
Summit saw the Honourable Chief Minister take centre stage as keynote speaker, with leaders and key figures from the world of MotoGP joining the round table event. Jorge Viegas, FIM President, and Carmelo Ezpeleta, Dorna CEO, also took to the stage.
The Honourable Chief Minister was then joined by Shri Nand Gopal Gupta (Nandi Ji), Industry Minister, and Shri Rakesh Sachan, MSME Minister, as well as Mr Viegas and Mr Ezpeleta, for a star studded photo alongside much of the MotoGP grid.
As a historymaking MotoGP race came to a close in India, Honourable Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, then also waved the chequered flag. Moto2: Acosta untouchable ahead of Arbolino
Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) put in an inchperfect performance to take victory at the IndianOil Grand Prix of India. The Spaniard controlled the race perfectly as he cleared off at the front, but there were still positives for title rival Tony Arbolino (Elf MarcVDS Racing Team) as the Italian took his first podium since the German GP. Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) was embroiled in an epic lastlap scrap with rookie Sergio Garcia
(Pons Wegow Los40), just coming out on top as the American made a return to the Moto2 rostrum.
Moto3: Masia puts in a masterclass as the title fight tightens up The gauntlet has been
MotoGP Race Winner Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing Team receives the trophy from Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
Moto3 Podium: Kaito Toba, SIC58 Squadra Corse, Race Winner Jaume Masia, Leopard Racing, Ayumu Sasaki, Intact GP
MotoGP BHARAT, GREATER NOIDA
thrown down and the heat turned to the maximum in the 2023 Moto3™ title battle! After a dominant display from Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) at the IndianOil Grand Prix of India, the Spaniard is now equal on points with his title rival Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) with both riders on 174 points. Holgado, on win count, stays ahead. Kaito Toba (SIC58 Squadra Corse) took his first podium since 2022 in second as he came out on top in a threerider fight to complete the podium behind Holgado, with Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) sits just one point behind the Spanish duo as he took 3rd place in a dramatic lastlap scrap. Masia got the perfect start from pole and took the holeshot, but he had Sasaki all over his rear wh e e l as t h e c h as i n g p ac k scrapped it out behind. Masia put the hammer down right from the off though, beginning to stretch out the field in the opening stages. Sasaki wasn't letting Masia out of his sights however as the Japanese rider latched himself onto the Leopard machine to pull away from the chasing pack.
KY Ahamed, first Indian in Moto3
T
he MotoGP weekend also saw the debut of an Indian in the Moto3 races when KY Ahamed of Chennai earned a wildcard and took part in the qualification sessions. But the tough session of the World Championship was a learning experience as he did his best clocking withing three seconds of the qualifying mark but fell short in the end and could not make it to the main race. “It was a dream come true. But I realised the experience at the top in India is nothing at this world class event. It is a good learning experience egging me to motivate myself and give it a shot again,” said Ahamed, a product of the TVS Racing factory team.
MotoGP Race Start: Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing leads the pack SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023 autotrack.ind.in 25
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Deepak Ravikumar, en route to winning the Formula LGB 1300 race
Deepak Ravikumar dominates Nationals first Round Triple delight for Diljith, Angad Matharoo; ITC double for Arjun Balu
PHOTO BY: ANAND PHILAR / SHAHJAHAN
C
hennai's Deepak Ravikumar dominated the first round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2023 at the Madras International Circuit with three wins and two podium finishes in six races as he led a Team Performance Racing sweep in both Indian Junior Touring Cars and Formula LGB 1300 categories. It was a Triple delight for Diljith, Angad Matharoo while Arjun Balu scored a double in ITC class in the first round that concluded in Chennai on July 23. Indian Junior Touring Cars All the three frontrunners taking part in the Indian Junior Touring
Cars category went on to deliver a podium sweep for Team Performance Racing with Ravikumar finishing well ahead of Prasad and Teja. Ravikumar, who celebrated his 36th birthday on July 20, shuttled between the two categories with ease to underline his fitness and adaptability to conditions that turned wet on Sunday after a persistent drizzle. He reserved his best for the three Touring Cars races that had a combined 17car grid comprising three categories, the Indian Touring Cars, IJTC and Super Stock. He won two races and notched up a second place finish behind teammate
26 autotrack.ind.in SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023
Akkineni Anand Prasad in Race 3. Pole Sitter Deepak Ravikumar from Chennai won Race 1 by a narrow margin of less than half a second over Akkineni Anand Prasad also from Chennai. The third Chennai driver Srinivas Teja came third finishing within a second to Prasad. In Race 2, Team Performance Racing drivers dominated again. It was Deepak in front and Akkineni finished second followed by another local driver Hatim Shabbir Jamnagarwala in third. Akkineni managed to win the third race as Deepak with less than a second difference finished second and Srinivas Teja managed to complete the
podium for the second time. Formula LGB 1300 Raghul Rangasamy from Chennai representing MSport, polesitter Viswas Vijayaraj and Deepak Ravikumar forged ahead after the initial jostle through first of the eight laps. Viswas was harried by Ravikumar through much of the six laps, including a brief Safety Car period until the two made contact in the closing stages. Ravikumar dropped to ninth where he finished while Raghul passed Viswas who was nursing a damaged camber strut following the incident, to take the lead and eventually win the race. Viswas came second followed by Bengaluru's Chetan
Surineni (MSport) who had started from P6. “Unfortunately, I was involved in an incident in the first race and so, had to make up for that in the next race. It was fun as I managed to overtake all the 13 cars in front of me and win. I should have more such performances,” said Tijil after finishing ahead of Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Ahura Racing) and last year's champion Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) who started from P11 on the reverse grid. Bengaluru's Tijil Rao, 20, a Business Management student, made up for a retirement in Race1 and came up with a stunning drive. The Momentum Motorsports driver started from P14 on the opening day and passed all the cars onebyon to win Race2. Deepak from Ahura Racing came second 12 seconds behind and Viswas finished third. In Race 3, Ravikumar won quite comfortably after frontrunners, Viswas Vijayaraj, the 2022 champion in this category, and Race2 winner Tijil Rao knocked
each other out halfway through the eightlapper while battling for the lead. Indian Touring Cars Driving an underpowered stock car since his regular Honda City in ITCtrim was not ready for the race weekend, Arjun Balu quickly dropped to fourth overall after starting from pole position in the combined grid. Showing good pace, Ravikumar did not take long to get a jump on Balu early in the eightlap race. So did two others, Akkineni Anand Prasad and Srinivas Teja. Behind the foursome, there were close battles up and down the grid. Balu's teammates Gurunath Meiyappan and Diana Pundole were locked in a tight tussle before the former finished second ahead of the Pune lady driver in Race 1, thus giving a topthree finish for Race Concepts. On Day 2, last year's champion Arjun Balu from Coimbatore, who won Race1, completed a double with teammate Gurunath Meiyappan winning the other race.
MRF NATIONAL RACING, R1, CHENNAI
Tijil Rao winner of Formula LGB Race 2
Deepak Ravikumar who enjoyed a prized weekend
Arjun Balu, who scored a double in the Indian Touring Cars category SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023 autotrack.ind.in 27
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Diljith TS, who scored a triple in the Super Stock category
Gurunath Meiyappan won the second race over Balu with less than a second difference. Rithvik Thomas from Bengaluru finished third. Balu won the final race of the class as Rithvik finished second and Meiyappan settled for third. Super Stock Pole sitter Dilijth from Thrissur representing DTS Racing made a clean sweep winning all the three races. He won Race 1, ahead of local challenger Jarshan Anand from DB Motorsports, albeit by a narrow margin of less than half a second. Delhi's Justin Singh from Redline Racing was behind by another second to secure third position. He also won the second race with a comfortable margin of over 12 seconds on Yokeswaran from Coimbatore representing Momentum Motorsports. Chennai's Jarshan Anand from DB Motorsports
finished third. Diljith continued his dominance in the final race of the weekend as well with a huge gap of 21sec over Justin Singh from Delhi representing Redline Racing as Yokeswaran finished third. MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios) Achieving a triple for the weekend was experienced racer Angad Matharoo from Chennai. Being the fastest in qualifying, he authored a lightstoflag win as he never had to look back. He was the topper in both the races. Zahan Commissariat from Mumbai lost by less than 300 th of a second in Race 1 and Jaiprashant Venkat from Coimbatore finished third with over 8sec difference. In Race 2, Angad topped with a lead of over 37 seconds over Anirudha Arvind from Chennai. Venkat for the second time completed the podium in third.
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Raghul Rangasamy en route to winning the Formula LGB 1300
Aman Nagdev and Tijil Rao in action
MRF NATIONAL RACING, R1, CHENNAI
Angad Matharoo celebrating his win in the MRF Saloons (Toyota Etios)
Formula LGB Race 3 winners
Formula LGB Race 1 winners
Formula LGB Race 2 winners
Deepak Ravikumar, winner of the Touring Cars Race1 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023 autotrack.ind.in 29
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TV Actress Trina Saha flagging off
Saswati and Ipsita duo clinches JK Tyre Ladies Power Drive 2023 First ever all-ladies motorsport event successfully concludes in Kolkata
S
aswati Nag Chowdhury along with Ipsita Das were the winners of the firstever allladies motorsport event held in Kolkata recently. The City of Joy was buzzing on Sunday evening as over 80 ladies took to the wheels to participate in the first ever JK Tyre Ladies Power Drive.
JK Tyre hosted this TSD (Time, Speed, Distance) event as part of its nationwide push to promote women in Motorsport. It was a landmark moment for the women drivers of Kolkata as they got to experience being part of an entrylevel motorsport event for the first time in their home city. The 42km rally had about 8
Participant of JK Tyre Ladies power Drive
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Time Control. Saswati Nag Chowdhury was navigated by Ipsita Das were the winners with 16 penalties followed by Sumantika Chowdury along with Sanhita Ray and Suparna Dutta in second place with 17 penalties. Poulomi Pramanik and Poornam Das finished third with 23 penalties.
The pair of Sonali Basu and Swastika Basu with 33 penalties came fourth. Gopa Dhur and Rosily Dhur with 49 points finished fifth. Suvasree Dutt along with Debadrita Bose were sixth with 56 penalties. Sanghamitra Shah and Anuradha Samanta came seventh with 57 penalties. Tanushree Kamarkar and Ayesha Kamarkar with 60 points were eighth. Vanita Jaiswal and Ankita Roy with 61 points and Arpita Banerjee and Tinku Roy Choudhury with 63 points
finished ninth and tenth respectively.
The event was flaggedoff by Ms. Krishna Chakraborty, Mayor, Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, along with Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj, Hon'ble Judge, Kolkata High Court, Jag Mohan, IPS, Director General of Police, Civil Defence, and actress Trina Saha. The event was flagged off from Hotel Westin in Kolkata and took in the beautiful landscapes around the city, before culminating at the same point.
Actress Trina Saha said: “Hats off to JK Tyre for bringing in such an innovative concept to Kolkata and I look forward to participating in this event in the next edition. Women are multitaskers and kudos to all of them who have participated.”
JK TYRE LADIES POWER DRIVE 2023, KOLKATA
Winners of JK Tyre Ladies Power Drive
Second runnerup
The event had participation from women across all age groups from 21 to 75 years. Conducted in the FMSCIapproved Time, Speed, and Distance (TSD) format, JK Tyre Ladies Power Drive served as a platform for participants to champion various causes related to the empowerment of women.
Sanjay Sharma, HeadMotorsport, JK Tyre, said: "It's a moment of pride for all of us at JK Tyre as we hosted the very first edition of the Women's Rally in the city. The turnout we had was overwhelming and I'm confident that with events like these, we'll see a broadening of the female motorsport fan base in the city. We hope to see this excitement spread to more and more enthusiasts in the upcoming editions."
First runnerup
Mayor of Bidhannagar flagging off SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023 autotrack.ind.in 31
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Second straight victory for Abdul Wahid Tanveer Rajendra slips to second at MRF Rally of Coimbatore
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MRF RALLY OF COIMBATORE, PALLADAM
Nataraj R winner Class 2
Tanika Shanbhag winner Class 8
PHOTO BY: VIKRAM SUNDARAMOORTHY
I
t was a second straight win for Abdul Wahid Tanveer in the MRF Rally of Coimbatore, the third round of the MRF Mogrip FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship 2023 for 2W promoted by Godspeed which concluded at Coimbatore recently.
Abdul Wahid fought hard to win the top slot with a lead of 5sec even as his teammate, the defending champion and championship leader, Rajendra RE, who was leading the rally till the last minute, lost about 14sec in Special Stage 4 due to rear brake failure which slid him down to second position at the Rally of Coimbatore organised by Coimbatore Auto Sports Club (CASC) at Kethanur Windmill farms. The third Petronas TVS Racing rider Samuel Jacob came
third, another 20sec behind to complete the podium. Nataraj R, supported by VM Sports Foundation, missed the podium with a difference of 1min 20sec as he had a crash in the final stage and lost lot of time. Another TVS rider Imran Pasha came fifth another 2min 1sec behind, as he logged a 10sec liaison penalty.
The total distance of the route was 93.94 kms, with the four timed Special Stage distance forming 66.38 kms. Out of the total of 106 participants and 27 podium positions from 9 championship classes, VM Sports Foundation supported riders managed nine podiums, privateers took eight podium places, seven went to Petronas TVS Racing kitty, and Hero Motorsports bagged three.
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A Tharun winner class 10
Nitish Bhardwaj winner class 9
Scooter class winner Syed Asif
Naresh VS winner of class 6 34 autotrack.ind.in SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023
Akhand Pratap Singh winner class 5
Nataraj R, a privateer from Kanakapura, Bengaluru, was supported by VM Sports Foundation. Riding the latest KTM XCF 450cc, he was the Expert Group A class leader with a lead of 3min 16sec over the second finisher Suhail Ahmed, also from Bengaluru. Aman Prabhakar Pawade from Nagpur finished third another 7 seconds behind. Supersport 260 Group B: Imran Pasha and Sachin D gave a top two finish for Petronas TVS Racing team in the Supersport 260cc class. Arun T still recovering from wrist injury he suffered at Chikkamagaluru and Karan Kumar, both from Hero Motosports, finished third and fourth respectively. Fifth and sixth positions were bagged by two riders supported by VM Sports Foundation, Pavan BK from Bengaluru and V Trinesh from Hosakote. Supersport 165 Group B: Yogesh P from Bengaluru won the Supersport 165cc class beating Abrar Pasha from Shivamogga while Francis PV from Chikkamagaluru, who recovered from a major accident last year came third. He was supported by VM Sports Foundation. Roy Stephen and Varun Kumar, both supported by VM Sports Foundation, came fourth and fifth respectively.
Supersport 400 Group B: It was a clean sweep for VM Sports Foundation supported riders who dominated the podium in the Supersport 400cc class. Akhand Pratap Singh from Uttarakhand came out as a winner followed by Russel Jossy from Mumbai in second and Aakash Aithal from Puttur in third. Rohit Sinde from Baramati, and Sumesh Reddiar from Bengaluru finished in fourth and fifth positions respectively. Supersport 550 Group B: VM Sports Foundation supported rider from Bengaluru Naresh VS won the Supersport 550cc class beating Mohammed Zaheer from Bengaluru followed by three VM Sports Foundation supported riders Jeemon Antony from Ernakulam, Sharath Kumar from Bengaluru and Arun Joy from Ernakulam in that order. Scooter Class: Syed Asif and defending champion Shamim Khan, both from Petronas TVS Racing team, finished first and second respectively. Goutham N from JB Racing completed the podium and Prem Kumar Y from Coimbatore finished fourth. Pinkesh Thakkar from JB Racing finished fifth. Superstock upto 450 Group D: Niitish Bhardwaj from Kulu Manali supported by VM Sports Foundation won the Superstock
upto 450cc class followed by Shivam Thakur also from Kulu Manali. Eldhose P Benny from Thrissur came third. Pradeep C from Bengaluru, supported by VM Sports Foundation, was fourth while Gowtham Rao from Bengaluru came fifth. Two riders who finished on podium Sabarish from Coimbatore and Mohammed Arshad M from Thrissur were disqualified. Ladies Class: Championship leader from Satara, Tanika Shanbhag was streets ahead winning the Ladies Class beating her Hero Motosports teammate Tanaya Singh. Fazeela U from Kerala, supported by VM Sports Foundation, finished third. Elakiya from Chennai and Sneha CC from Thrissur finished fourth and fifth respectively. Rehana Bee from Chennai supported by VM Sports Foundation was running second but had to pull out in the third stage due to a crash. Star of Tamil Nadu: A Tharun
MRF RALLY OF COIMBATORE, PALLADAM
became the Star of Tamil Nadu winning the class followed by G Jagadeesh and Ricarius Venchaslaus in third. M Santhosh and Elango G finished fourth and fifth respectively. Petronas TVS Racing had fielded nine participants including Aishwarya Pissay, a lady participant, in three classes out of which they managed to win the top three positions out of seven on the podium. Hero Motorsports put five riders including two lady riders in fray and they managed to get one top place out of the three on podium.
Imran Pasha winner of class 4
VM Sports Foundation had began supporting new and upcoming riders from grassroot level and had supported 24 riders from across India. They managed four top finishes out of a total 9 podiums. Privateers were 68 in number and managed to occupy eight podium places.
Yogesh P winner class 3
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PHOTO BY: NAVEEN KADAM
Tanveer unstoppable, declared best rider
Satara's Shlok Ghorpade thrice on podium: Dirt Track Nationals
A
bdul Wahid Tanveer from Mysuru won both the Group A up to 500cc motos and with 20 points for each moto, he was the best rider of the day in the Round 3 of the MRF FMSCI National Dirt Track
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Championship 2023 held at Dharwad recently.
Shlok Ghorpade from Satara with 30 points from two thirdplace finishes was first runner
up. Pune's Rugved Barguje with one second place and one thirdplace finish with similar 30 points was the second runnerup. Bengaluru boy Prajwal Vishwanath with 28 points was fourth and Sarthak Chavan from
MRF DIRT NATIONALS, R3 DHARWAD
Pune and Manikandan K from Coimbatore finished in fifth and sixth positions respectively. It was a clear sweep for the youngster from Satara Shlok Ghorpade in the Private Expert up to 500cc class as he dominated both the motos, finishing on top. He won the class with a difference of 14 points over the second finisher Manikandan K from Coimbatore. Sanjay Somashekar from Bengaluru was tied with 26 points and had to settle for third. Abdul Latheef from Palakkad with 23 points was fourth while Suhail Ahmed from Bengaluru finished fifth and ZabiMulla from Goa came sixth. Indian Novice Group C up to 260cc: Mohammed Zaheer from Bengaluru won the single moto class. Faraz Pasha from Chamarajanagar finished second and Sachin D from Bengaluru completed the podium in third. Abhishek J from Coimbatore missed the podium and finished in fourth position. Localite Prashant Shirge came fifth and Akashol Gandhi from Tumkur finished sixth.
Overall winners
Indian Experts Group C 261 to 550cc class winners
Mysuru's Imran Pasha was the winner of the Indian Experts Group C up to 260cc class, with a total of 37 points from two motos with a first and a second place finish. Mohammed Zaheer from Bengaluru with 28 points settled for second position while Nithyan L from Coimbatore with similar 28 points finished third. Sachin D from Bengaluru with a difference of one point missed the podium by settling for fourth N Kartik winner of Scooter class
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MRF DIRT NATIONALS, R3DHARWAD
Shlok Ghorpade overall second followed by Sarthak Chavan
position. Faraz Pasha from Chamarajanagar and Abhishek J from Coimbatore finished in fifth and sixth positions respectively. Faraz Pasha from Chamarajanagar was the winner of the class followed by Mohammed Zaheer from Bengaluru in second and Prashant Shirge from Dharwad in third. Abhishek J from Coimbatore came fourth. Hitesh Sharma from Pune was fifth and Deepan Kumar S finished sixth. Raigad's Rajesh Swami was the winner of the Indian Experts Group C 261 to 550cc class, Naresh VS from Bengaluru finished second and Rohit Shinde from Baramati came third. Mohammed Zaheer from Bengaluru was fourth and Mohammed Arif settled for fifth. Group A upto 250cc Big wheels 12yrs to 16yrs: The Satara youngster Shlok Ghorpade was the winner and was on the podium for the third time in the round. Ikshan S Shanbhag also from Satara finished second.
Adharsh K from Coimbatore finished third. Faiz Sayyed from Pune missed the podium by two points. Yash Shinde came fifth and Aleena M Shaikh from Bengaluru did not finish the second moto. Group A upto 100cc Small wheels 8 to 12yrs: Darshit Chavan from Pune won the class with 40 points. Sujan J from Coimbatore with 34 points finished second and Bhairav Chowde Gowda with 30 points completed the podium. Chaitanya Joshi from Pune was fourth. Mohammed Armaan from Mysuru came fifth and Sahil Shelukar from Pune was sixth.
was the winner of the Ladies Group D upto 260cc class. Pune's Tanaya S Singh finished second and Sagarika Naidu from
Hubbali was third. Rita Fernandes from Goa settled for fourth and Ryhana Bee did not finish.
Darshit Chavan and Sujan J in JR SX2
N Karthik from Bengaluru was the winner of Scooter class Group C upto 260cc. Pinkesh Thakkar from Pune finished second and Niraj Wanjale also from Pune came third. Shivkumar P Patil and Heramb Kanade both from Pune finished in fourth and fifth positions respectively. Tanika S Shanbhag from Satara
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Winner Faraz Pasha and Mohammed Zaheer in Class 5
RALLY
COFFEEDAY
TSD RALLY
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1300
2500
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ATMA/ ITTAC Collaboration with Indian Oil
Mass awareness on tyre safety amongst motorists and CV drivers
I
n one of the most abiding partnerships aimed at creating awareness on the vital aspect of tyre safety, Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) and its technical arm Indian Tyre Technical Advisory Committee (ITTAC) has collaborated with Indian Oil (IOCL) for pan India reach out to motorists and CV drivers.
Besides creating awareness amongst motorists at IOCL retail outlets in the capital, over 1500 commercial drivers linked to IOCL supply chain in the states of Bihar, Gujarat,Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh participated in the indepth tyre safety training programme and benefitted from the interactive session with experts.
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ATMA TYRE SAFETY
“Transporting oil tankers or LPG cylinders involves responsibility and alertness. All safety measures need to be understood by commercial drivers. ATMA and ITTAC developed a special training module for these drivers so that they are able to grasp tyre related safety aspects”, said Mr V K Misra, Chairman, ITTAC. "Tyre related safety is very important and is directly related to the lives of the people driving vehicles and others on the roads. Several accidents are being reported in view of poor maintenance of tyres. We take the association of ATMA and Indian Oil as a springboard for a mass awareness exercise" said Mr Ritesh Kumar, General Manager, Indian Oil.
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Hygge Energy
Set to Disrupt EV Charging Business via Smart Solar Charging
E
lectric vehicles are here to stay. India's EV market is poised to grow at a CAGR of 49% and surpass one crore units in annual sales by 2030, creating 5 crore jobs in the process. In response to the expected surge in EV sales, Niti Aayog proposed the establishment of 3.9 million EV charging stations by 2030, a figure that significantly exceeds the numbers specified in existing policies. Accelerating the expansion of EV infrastructure is vital to not only support the projected rise in EV sales, but also encourage greater adoption of EVs, especially amidst the escalating climate crisis. Integral to reducing GHG emissions, EVs are being vigorously promoted by the Government of India for a cleaner environment, which holds true more than ever in light of India's COP26 targets. However, EVs are not genuinely clean if they are charged with electricity from the grid, which is heavily coalbased; they must be charged with clean energy, which, in turn, must be generated in sync with the time
of consumption or stored for future EV charging to ensure an actual zeroemission emobility experience. Despite optimistic EV projections in the world's third largest automobile market, the EV charging business in India is unprofitable for charge point operators (CPOs). Furthermore, India fell short of its solar rooftop targets by 81.5% last year. However, the government's policy on EV charging is robust and aims to expedite EV adoption and reduce the country's emission intensity. This commitment extends to green energy open access. The government has extended the scope of the latter to 100 kW, down significantly from the previous threshold of 1 MW. This change benefits not only commercial and residential complexes, but also CPOs. Awadesh Jha, Chairman of the National Committee on Future Mobility at CII, noted, “The draft green open access rules lower the threshold to 100 kW for consumers. It is an excellent
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opportunity to make [EV charging stations] completely green.” This is where Hygge's solution shines, aligning seamlessly with the government's policies on EV charging and green energy open access. Hygge's patented software solution makes the EV charging business profitable for CPOs by enabling realtime tracking, recording, measurement,
optimization, allocation, accounting and trading of renewable power. In rapid intervals, it trades local energy generation against instantaneous consumption, and creates auditable renewable energy trails from source to end use, which provide the unique ability to direct the use of renewable energy to specific applications like EV charging. Hygge's system is the only one to
aggregate and maximize carbon credits for monetisation from realtime data instead of stale records, further improving profitability of CPOs. Moreover, Hygge's system works just as well in remote areas with no grid connectivity. Hygge's complete turnkey solution is facilitated through Hygge EV, a comprehensive mobile app for both EV drivers and CPOs. The app makes the user's EV charging experience simple, seamless, and convenient. It allows EV owners to choose and reserve charging slots in advance as per preferred location, time and charging duration, manages billing and settlement, and keeps track of carbon credits earned. The app, combined with open access policies, is particularly advantageous for fleet owners, and Hygge is already collaborating with prominent EV fleet operators. The app facilitates fleet management, payment management, driver management, bulk booking of charging slots, and tracking and
troubleshooting of batteries. Hygge EV supports all types of electric vehicles, be they four wheeled like cars, threewheeled like erickshaws, twowheeled like escooters, or heavyduty like trucks and buses. The app facilitates battery swapping as well, where the, say, erickshaw driver can book a fully charged battery to replace their discharged one. The cutting edge technology on Hygge's platform integrates data from the disparate energy sources that may supply EV chargers, while its customized analytics allow users to leverage the benefits of loyalty rewards. India's EV market is poised for growth, and government policies favour both EV charging and renewable energy. Hygge Energy's innovative solution has the potential to tap into a $10 billion carbon credit market through EV charging powered by renewable energy, underscoring the immense possibilities for innovation and profitability in the currently unprofitable Indian EV charging business.
ENERGY-EV
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CENTENARY
CELEBRATIONS
TEXT: AKSHAYA PHOTO BY: MADHAVAN / ASHOK
MG Motor marks its 100-year anniversary in 2024
M
orris Garages, an iconic British automobile brand, founded in the UK in 1924, completes its 100 years this year. The company is popular for its sports cars, roadsters, and cabriolet series.
MG vehicles were much sought after by many celebrities, including the British Prime Ministers and even the British Royal Family, for their styling, elegance, and spirited performance. The MG Car Club,
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set up in 1930 at Abingdon in the UK, has thousands of loyal fans, making it one of the world's largest clubs for a car brand.
With a rich and storied legacy, MG Motor has left a memorable impact on the global automotive
landscape. MG became synonymous with British motoring excellence. Throughout its history, MG has produced iconic models that have captured the hearts of enthusiasts worldwide. Classics
the electric vehicle revolution. The introduction of modern and ecofriendly models like the MG ZS EV and MG Marvel R Electric demonstrates the brand's commitment to sustainability and innovation. As a part of its Mission 100, MG Global plans to expand to over 100 markets worldwide with the aim of generating sales of 1 million units by 2024. MG Motor, with 100 years of rich history stands as a testament to its resilience, innovation, and customercentricity. The company sold more than 100 thousand vehicles in Europe. MG branded vehicles are ranked in the top ten across 20 countries including Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Thailand, and Chile. MG4 Electric was available in approx. 30 European countries last year and received more than 10,000 new orders every month.
like the MG TSeries, MGB, and the Midget are celebrated for their timeless design and spirited driving experience. These vehicles have become symbols of automotive passion, cherished by collectors and car aficionados. In recent years, MG Motor has experienced a global resurgence, expanding its reach to new markets and embracing
MG Motor India promoted the occasion by creating a video featuring Cecil Kimber, a prime mover in MG, using AI to celebrate 100 years of their legacy. His role was initially as a sales manager, but his enthusiasm for cars soon led to the transformation of the bus i nes s . R ecogni zi ng the potential for sports cars, Kimber persuaded William Morris, the owner of Morris Garages, to allow him to develop and sell custom versions of Morris cars, thus laying the foundation for MG. Kimber, describes his mission for the company, “You know what keeps the brand MG going even after all these years? More than the technology, the innovations, the ADAS, the EV, it is your smile your joy, your pride of owning an MG that helped MG grow into a global brand.” Designed in Marylebone, London, and manufactured in stateoftheart factories in several countries, MG continues to demonstrate a forward thinking and progressive approach to the needs of today's discerning motorists.
ENTER INDIA
SPECIAL FEATURE100 YEARS OF MG
Since commencing its India journey in 2019, MG Motor India has been at the forefront of CASE mobility (Connected, A u t o n o m o u s , S h are d , an d Electric), starting with MG Hector, India's first Internet SUV followed by MG ZS EV – the first fullyelectric Internet SUV. India is one of the top 5 markets for MG worldwide. MG Motor India is commemorating a century of customer assurance and innovative experiences. Driven by Technology and Smiles, the brand takes pride in its India growth story, fostering
communities, promoting diversity, and bolstering the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem. The company's focus on electric mobility, the introduction of charging infrastructure, and its commitment to reducing carbon footprint and easing urban mobility directly contribute to a cleaner and healthier environment.
According to Rajeev Chaba, CEO Emeritus, MG Motor India, “As we celebrate MG's historic centenary milestone, we take pride in our journey in India, becoming an integral part of the automotive landscape. From the outset, we envisioned a connected, autonomous,
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registering significant growth over the last four years and sold around 1,75,000 units in India. The brand has also become the 2nd largest EVseller in India with ZS EV and MG Comet.
MG HECTOR shared, and electric future of mobility and we now proudly stand at the forefront of this transformative landscape. Our customers have been our guiding force, encouraging us to introduce groundbreaking innovations. As we embark on to the next century, our commitment to India remains
steadfast.”
The car manufacturer offers an industryfirst personal AI assistant and the firstin segment Autonomous Level 2 technology, both featured in the midsize SUV Astor. Continuing with its unwavering commitment to offering advanced and exciting products with a host of
smart features and luxury, India's first ADAS (level1) SUV Gloster was launched in 2021 for premium SUV buyers. This year, the company also launched a futuristic and practical urban commuter, MG Comet The Smart EV, to address the challenges of daily city commuting. MG has been
MG COMET EV
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Committed to providing bestin class connected car technology to its users, MG Motor India announced an industryfirst broad range of connected car features in partnership with Jio Platforms. Jio, India's largest integrated digital service provider, brings nextgeneration automotive solutions designed to deliver an array of experiences. The embedded Hello Jio Voice Assistant has been trained to understand the native Indian speaker who possesses different regional dialects and tonality across India. Hello Jio provides the best Incar voice assistant for Indian users, beyond invehicle command and control, with dialogs. Talking about the partnership, Mr. Gaurav Gupta, Deputy Managing Director, MG Motor India, said, “Technology and innovation are leading the connected car space in the automobile industry. The current
SPECIAL FEATURE100 YEARS OF MG
DELIGHT
FOR CUSTOMERS
The company on its centenary is dedicated to recognizing and rewarding its loyal customers. MG Motor India is rolling out a 100day customer campaign with offers including special pricing, exchange benefits, loyalty schemes, extended warranty, and service offers for new customers. Through daily giveaways led by MG dealers, and loyalty bonuses for new cars, MG Motor India expresses its gratitude to its existing customers. MG's customers can visit MG centres to avail the benefits.
MG ASTOR
With the automotive industry picking up in India and the demand for new technology driven cars, MG Motor India is here to play a long innings in India's growth story.
MG ZS EV
MG GLOSTER
trend focuses increasingly on softwaredriven devices and our current partnership with a tech innovator like Jio in the Smart Mobility space is a step towards establishing MG Motor as a tech leader in the automobile industry. The MGIJio partnership will ensure our newly launched MG Comet EV enriches the driving experience
for GenZ customers while ensuring safety and InCar experiences backed by great technology.”
With its wide dealer network spread across 350 plus touch points in 157 cities. MG has outlined four brand pillars namely: Diversity, Innovation, Community and Experience (DICE).
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Peregrine Racing dominates PHOTO BY: SHAHJAHAN
T
alented Ishaan Madesh bagged a double even as Peregrine Racing dominated the proceedings in the first round of the Meco fmsci Rotax Max National Karting Championship 2023 which concluded at Meco Kartopia in Bengaluru on August 13.
Adithiya Arvind and Varun Hari Praveen shared the honours in the Senior class while Darsh Nawalgaria and Rivaan Dev Preetham won a race each in the Micro Max classes. Peregrine Racing swept both the Senior Max and Junior Max classes and MSport won the Micro Max classes.
Winners joint photograph
Peregrine Racing's Adithiya Arvind, 15, the 11 t h grade student of SBOA Junior College in Chennai, came 5th in the Pre Final but won the Finals of the Senior Max, beating the second finisher Mumbai's Adithya Patnaik of Rayo Racing with a difference of over 3sec. With a similar difference Arjun Chheda from Crest Motorsport finished third.
The dominant Akshat Mishra from Peregrine Racing in the final race had to slow down with two laps to spare as his silencer was unplugged. He had also clocked the fastest lap time of 55.359. As there was a slow down due to this, Adithiya who was running third took his team mate's command to finish on top. Raaj Bakhru from Rayo Racing finished in forth and missed the podium by less than a half a second. Veer Rajwade from Crest Motorsport finished fifth. Yuvaraj Khatau Anand from Peregrine Racing and Nihal Singh from MSport finished in sixth and seventh positions
Senior Max class action
Micro Max class action
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KARTING NATIONALS R1, BENGALURU
Junior Max class action
respectively. This class had about six DNF's. In the PreFinals, it was Varun Hari Praveen, also of Peregrine, who took the victory beating teammate Akshat Mishra. Abhay M of Birel Art came third. Ishaan sparkles in Junior Max
Ishaan Madesh from Peregrine Racing, a multiple National champion, who missed last year's title by a whisker, began 2023 on a winning note bagging both the Finals and PreFinals. He clocked 11min, 08.545 to win the PreFinals beating teammate Nikhilesh Raju and went on to
clinch the Finals, pushing aside the challenge of Hunner Singh of Birel Art, who got a double podium.
Hunner finished second with less than two seconds deficit. Young Aarav Dewan of Leapfrog Racing, only 13 years, also from Gurugram, came third with less than a second difference. Aditya Suresh Kamat from Birel Art India was one minute further behind to be on the podium. He finished fourth. Nikhilesh Raju with the best lap time of 55.170 came fifth as Shivali Sinha and Arafath Sheikh finished in sixth and
seventh positions respectively.
Darsh, Rivaan share honours in Micro Max class
Bengaluru karter, Darsh Nawalgaria 13, from MSport won the Micro Max final after he lost the Prefinals to Rivaan Dev Preetham following a fierce fight. The 11year Rivaan, earlier won both the heats and qualified on pole. Darsh managed to win the class with a lead of over one second over the second finisher Yatharth Gaur of Faridabad from Leapfrog Racing. Rivaan Dev Preetham from MSport with a further difference of less than
half a second came third. He also clocked the Best lap time of 1:00.281. His teammate Eshanth Vengatesan finished in fourth position, while Zephaan Ardeshir from Peregrine Racing and Yub Rana from KartKrew Motorsports came fifth and sixth respectively.
"It was nice to begin the season opener with a win, once I took command of the race with just two laps to go, it was no looking back for me. But it puts a lot of responsibility on my shoulders for the rounds to come," said Adithiya Arvind winner Senior Max.
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Max Verstappen’s win seals sixth Constructors' title for Red Bull Racing
The Dutch driver moves one step closer to his third F1 title in a row PHOTO BY: GETTY IMAGES/RED BULL CONTENT POOL
M
ax Verstappen powered to a dominant Japanese Grand Prix win at Suzuka to seal a sixth Formula 1 Constructors' Championship title win for Red Bull Racing and to move one step closer to his third Drivers' title in a row. McLaren's Lando Norris finished second ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri, while Sergio Pérez in the other Red Bull was forced to retire from the race after two early collisions. “Unbelievable guys, you deserve that,” Verstappen told his team over the radio after crossing the line. “You can all be very proud,
here at the track and back at the factory. You have built a rocket ship of car, well done!”
Verstappen's win puts him on 400 points and just a handful of points away from a third title. The Dutchman is now 177 ahead of the nonscoring Pérez with a maximum 180 points still on the table from the remaining six rounds. The Dutchman is now almost certain to take the crown at the next race in Qatar.
Starting from pole in Suzuka, Verstappen seized the lead of the line. And though his progress was briefly slowed by an early Safety Car, once he had
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calmly navigated the restart, the championship leader simply drove away from the rest of the field to eventually beat Norris to the flag by 19.3 seconds.
When the lights went out for the start, Verstappen got away well and despite pressure from Piastri to his right, the Dutchman placed his car well to block the McLaren. That left Piastri vulnerable, and spotting the opportunity, Norris powered through to steal P2 from his teammate. Behind the top three, Pérez got a poor start from fifth place on the grid and on the approach to Turn
1 he was squeezed by the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Forced left, Pérez made contact with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and dropped back to seventh as Sainz slipped through to P5 and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso roared up the inside from 10th to sixth.
Further back again, there was another incident, with Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu moving into the path of Williams' Alex Albon. The Williams driver ran over the rear left of the Alfa Romeo and while both managed to keep going, substantial amounts of debris were left on
track and the Safety Car was deployed.
Behind the Safety Car Pérez pitted at the end of lap 2 for a new nose cone. But the Mexican driver's race unravelled further there as he rejoined incorrectly behind the Safety Car and was handed a fivesecond time penalty. It would only get worse for the Red Bull driver. When the Safety Car left the track Verstappen controlled the re start well to hold his lead ahead of Norris and Piastri, with Leclerc in fourth ahead of Sainz and Alonso.
Pérez was soon on the march and over the following half dozen laps he carved his way from 18th place to 12th, behind the Haas of Kevin Magnussen. However, on lap 13, the Red Bull driver was sent plummeting down the order again when an attempt to pass the Dane at the
hairpin went wrong. “I've got front wing damage again,” he lamented after locking up and sliding into the side of the Haas.
Pérez returned to the pit lane again, serving his penalty and taking on a new nose cone. But almost as soon as he was back on track he reported that his car “did not feel right” and he returned to the pit lane and the garage. He was also handed a second penalty for causing the collision with Magnussen.
At the front, the leaders began to pit. Piastri sparked the stops, boxing under the VSC deployed for the Pérez and attempting to undercut the drivers ahead. Verstappen then made his first stop, taking on another set of Medium tyres and Leclerc, Norris and Sainz all followed soon after. Verstappen soon returned to the lead, ahead of Mercedes' George Russell, who had yet to stop, and
Piastri, who had managed to undercut Norris thanks to his stop under the VSC.
At the front Verstappen was striding away from the chasing pack and at half distance the Red Bull driver was 12 seconds ahead of Piastri. McLaren were on the radio to the Australian, however, telling him that Norris was running faster and on lap 27 Piastri backed off the let his teammate through to P2.
Leclerc made his second stop, from fifth, at the end of lap 35, quickly followed by sixthplaced Hamilton, and both driver took on Hard tyres. Thirdplaced Piastri followed suit at the end of the next lap with Norris coming in a lap later and then at the end of lap 37 Max made is final stop of the racing, fitting a set of Hard tyres for the last 16 laps of the race. Pérez, seeking to shake off his
JAPANESE GRAND PRIX, SUZUKA penalty in case it carried over to Qatar went back out on lap 40 before steering back to the garage a lap later.
Ahead, Verstappen led Norris by more than 15 seconds, with Piastri in third and Leclerc fourth. And over the final 15 dozen laps the gap only grew and when he eventually crossed the line to take his 13 t h win of the season and to secure the 2023 Constructors' World Championship title for the Team he was over 19 seconds clear of Norris, with Piastri a further 17 seconds back in third.
Fourth place went to Leclerc with Hamilton in fifth ahead of Sainz. Russell, who made a single pit stop during the race, came home in seventh place, with Alonso in eighth ahead of the Alpine of Esteban Ocon, and the final point on offer went to Pierre Gasly in the second Alpine.
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Denn Thimmaiah emerges as fastest driver Chetan Shivram and Aeman Ahmed bag a triple; Double for Denn and Abhin
F
ormer Indian National Rally champion Chetan Shivram from Bengaluru bagged a triple along with Aeman Ahmed from Chikkamagaluru while Abhin Rai and Denn Thimmaiah from Coorg, who returned to the track after a long layout, bagged double in the DirtPrix5 Autocross for 4wheelers in Chikkamagaluru powered by VM Sports Foundation. Team Ammyfied Rally drivers dominated the event.
Vamcy Merla took a stunning victory in the SUV Open class and it was his third straight win from three events starting from Coorg earlier this year.
INAC2: Open class: Vamcy Merla driving a Toyota Prado had a very clean drive and was the fastest in the class with a timing of 2:07.986. He was the winner of the class as Denn Thimmaya driving a Porsche Cayenne was behind by
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less than three seconds and settled for second position behind Vamcy,
Aakash Aithal, also driving a Porsche Cayenne, with less than a second deficit finished third. Ashwin Nayak was further behind in fourth by less than .400th of a second and had to miss the podium. Aeman Ahmed was consistently running fifth. He missed by 2sec and Adil Pasha finished sixth with a further five
second difference. It was a sort of hattrick of wins for Vamcy Merla in SUV class, as he topped the class in three different events held recently.
The 1100cc class was bagged by Suraj Mandanna. He clocked 2:02.676. Keerthan Kuttappa with less than two seconds difference settled for second position. Vivek Mudigere behind by 200th of a second completed the podium. Prakash R Mudigere
missed the podium with by 170th of a second and Aeman with over a second deficit was fifth. Azveer finished sixth. 1650cc: Denn Thimmaya, despite a long layoff, won the class beating Dhruva Chandrasekhar by 2 sec with clever driving. Aditya Kousgi was behind by 200th of a second in third position. Aeman with less than a second difference missed the podium. Keerthan Kuttappa with over 100th of a second difference was fifth and Mohammed Sahil came sixth. 800cc: With a total time of 2:05.073 Lokesh Kumar Jain won the class. Vivek Mudigere with less than a second difference finished second. Prakash R Mudigere with over a second deficit came third. Azveer with less than a second difference was fourth and Aeman once again finished fifth, for the third time in a row. Suman finished in sixth position. 1400cc: Abhin Rai came out victorious in the 1400cc class as he managed to clock 1min 58.131sec. Mohan finished second with over two seconds difference. Jenu Johnson was third another 150th of a second behind. Ravikiran Gowda was fourth and Mohammed Sahil finished fifth. Roman Bazeley Kharbiryambai came sixth. Esteem Open: Abhin Rai was the
AUTOCROSS, CHIKKAMAGALURU
topper once again in the Esteem Open class by clocking it in 1min59.843sec. He clocked a second more than his previous run timing. But with a difference of over 2sec he managed to keep Aeman behind in second. Mohammed Sahil managed to hold on to the podium with a difference of over a second. Babit Lyngdoh Ryntathiang finished fourth another second behind and Vinay SM came fifth, with Niteesh Gowda finishing sixth. 2550cc: Chetan Shivram won the 2500cc class clocking 1min 55.182sec. Denn Thimmaya was behind by over two seconds and settled for second position. Dhruva finished third another two seconds behind. Keerthan Kuttappa with less than a second away in fourth and missed the podium. Ravikiran Gowda and Aeman finished fifth and sixth respectively.
Vamcy Merla winner SUV class
Diesel Open: Aeman Ahmed finally managed to finish on top of the Diesel Open class by clocking 2min 8.682sec. Lokesh Kumar Jain was second six seconds behind. Adil Pasha was finishing 200th of a second later in third. Aseel Rahman was fourth another seven seconds behind. Manjunath and Pallavi Yadav finished in that order in fifth and sixth positions. Ladies Class: Pallavi Yadav won the Ladies class beating Tarushi
Den Thimmaiah in action
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AUTOCROSS, CHIKKAMAGALURU
Den Thimmaiah Best Driver
Akash Aithal in SUV class
Vikram by a little over 2sec. Renuka G finished third another less than five seconds difference.
finished fifth with a difference of 200th of a second and Aditya Kousgi finished sixth.
AMSC Open: Chetan Shivram tasted his third win of the event in the AMSC Open class with a lead of less than a second over Dhruva. Aeman with over three seconds difference finished third. Mohan, Ritesh Guttedar and Jenu Johnson in that order in fourth, fifth and sixth.
INRC3: Aeman was the topper with a time of 2min 10.871sec. Adil Pasha with 3sec difference finished second and Aseel Rahman finished third behind by over four second. Safi finished fourth with less than four second
INRC1: Denn Thimmayya from Coorg was the winner of the Open class with a total time of 1:53.440 and was the fastest man of the day. Bengalurian Chetan Shivram was about 400th of a second behind in second position. Ritesh Guttedar was a further 3sec behind in third. Dhruva could only finish fourth, another second slower. Aditya Kousgi finished fifth and Jahaan Singh Gill settled for sixth. 2550cc: Chetan Shivram dominated the class by clocking 1:55.501 and defeated Dhruva by over a second difference. Ritesh Guttedar with less than a second difference finished third. Denn Thimmaya missed the podium with over a second deficit. Aeman from Chikkamagaluru 54 autotrack.ind.in SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023
deficit. Manjunath came fourth and Lohith JM was sixth. Aeman held on to the top slot in open class with a difference of over two seconds on Adil Pasha and Tarushi Vikram finished third with a further difference of five seconds. With less than a second difference Zeeshan finished fourth.
Ladies class winners
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ULTIMATE DESERT CHALLENGE, RAJASTHAN
Raj Singh Rathore, Shivam Thakur win
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aj Singh Rathore came out victorious in the UTV class while Shivam Thakur topped Group A to become the dominants winners of the Ultimate Desert Challenge 2023. The event had to be cut short and limited to only one day due to the demise of Mubin Shah, a twowheeler competitor after a crash and dehydration.
Md Saheed winner of X class
In UTV above 950cc class the pair from Rajasthan Raj Singh Rathore and Chirag Thakur with a total time of 30min 34sec managed to win the class. They had consolidated a lead of over 40sec in the first stage and in the second stage they lost lot of time but the initial lead kept them sailing to a win with a difference of over 19sec. Kabir Waraich and
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Chikkamagaluru came fifth and Rohan Sharma was sixth. Yogesh P from TR2 Racing Village was the lone finisher out of the three in Group B upto 165cc class with a total time of 2min 19min 59sec. In the Group B 166 to 250cc class was won by Santosh Bishnoi with a total time of 1hr 51min 34sec followed by Sathyaraj Arumugam in second with a difference of 1min 22sec. Karan Kumar and Tanika Shanbhag were among the prominent nonfinishers.
Shivam Thakur winner upto 250cc
Asif Gour from TR2 Racing Village was the winner of Group C upto 220cc class with a total time of 2hr 03min 07sec. Abhijit Kumar was behind by 49min 33sec to finish second. Vinayak Singh was further behind by 4min 40sec to be amongst the finishers and on podium in third position. The remaining six were DNF.
Amber Udasi from Chandigarh finished in second position and with a lead of 2min 21sec they managed to keep the pair of Deepam Prajapati and Amritpal Singh behind them in third position. Prithvi Prasad and Abhishek Prabhakar missed the podium with a deficit of 7min 49sec. Gaurav Chiripal and Karan Arya came fifth. Group A upto 250cc class was won by Shivam Thakur with a total time of 1:51.40. Shajeer Ishmail with a 10min 44sec difference finished in second position. Tanaya Singh was further behind by 42min 47sec and settled for third position. The remaining six riders did not finish.
Women's class had about four in fray. Out of which only Olesya V Dias and Tanaya Singh managed to finish. Olesya managed to keep Tanaya behind with a difference of 15min 45sec.
Santosh Bishnoi winner Group B 165 to 250cc
Group A above 250cc class: Suhail Ahmed from Bengaluru was the topper by finishing the Day 1 with a total time of 1:45.36. Keralite Sarath Mohan was behind by 1min 40sec to finish second. Ashish Raorane from Mumbai took third with a difference of another 1min 28sec. Gaurav Khatri was further away by 4min 16sec and settled for fourth. Asad Khan from 56 autotrack.ind.in SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023
ULTIMATE DESERT CHALLENGE, RAJASTHAN
Ashish Raorane second runnerup Group A above 250cc
Sarath Mohan first runnerup Group A above 250cc
Asif Gour winner of upto 220cc Group C Babar Khan first runnerup Group D upto 250cc
All the three participants in Group C 220 to 300cc class, Bengalurian Pavan BK , Vijay Katoch and Sreekanth Komana from Chikkamagaluru did not finish. Group C above 300cc class's lone finisher Hemant More was the winner with a total time of 2hr 38min 52sec. With a total time of 2hr 27sec Nitish Bhardwaj was the winner of Group D upto 260cc class. Babar Khan was about 5min57sec behind in second. Prathish came third another 4min 30sec later.
In Group B, C, D, X out of the 20 participants, only six managed to finish from the four classes. In X2 class MD Saeed was the winner with a total time of 2hr 36min10sec. In X1 Bhallaram Suthar with a total time of 2hr 9min 22sec was the winner. Devilal Punjaram Lunja with a difference of 22min57sec came second. Sreeraj Harshan was the winner of X3 class by clocking it in 2hr 11min 11sec and with a lead of 29min 10sec he managed to keep Laban David in second position. Aryaman Jakhar with 1hr 36min 35sec settled for third position.
Sreeraj Harshan in action
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ADVENTURE LOVER AND SOCIAL MESSENGER
Deepak Shirke, an allrounder from Nashik is always ready for adventurous activities, especially trekking, cycling, and travel
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he 67yearold Deepak Shirke from Nashik is a man for all seasons. He is a hardcore cyclist, a trekker, and a true social messenger for protecting the environment across the country. He carries the message wherever he goes on his trips on the importance of a green world. Shirke's major love for cycle rides has taken him to every nook and corner of India. He has also tested his riding skills outside India. His long list of rides across India shows his passion for cycling and other social activities. As an encouragement for youngsters to maintain good health and indulge in a number of physical activities, Shirke has been interviewed by Akashwani where he shared his experience and shared many healthy tips. Shirke was also covered extensively by media, local newspapers, and auto media on his adventure rides. Shirke, even at his advanced age, is giving many youngsters a run for their money. He is an inspiration to today's youth on how one should have an active lifestyle all the time. Even at this age, he keeps himself physically fit with activities like trekking in and around the Sahyadri Hills of Nashik and other parts of the country. His cycle is his close companion helping him create a record number of rides. Cycling is also an enjoyable way to stay healthy and ride around the world. It keeps you healthy and offers various benefits viz. lose weight, lower your cholesterol, and stay physically fit. While on the rides, he spends the nights in temples, gurudwaras, or any other shelter available and gets ready for the next day's ride.
MANY HEALTH BENEFITS The pandemic taught many of us across the world how important it is one to keep good health by way of physical activities. One simple way is riding cycles. Cycling is one of the best cardio exercises for all age groups. It not only helps burn calories but also keeps weight under control. Many research reports reveal the importance of regular cycling. The beauty part of cycling is that anyone can learn it and practice it on a daily basis.
RIDING AND ADVENTURE TRIPS Some of the notable travel adventures done by Shirke include Seven States of North East (Also called Seven Sisters) with a team of seven members covering all northeastern states in 2013. In 2014, Shirke also participated in one of the recordbreaking “Divine 58 autotrack.ind.in SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023
FEATURE- POWERED BY PEDAL
Drive of 12 Jyotirlinga in 12 days” by covering more than 15000 km. The team managed to reach 12th Jyotirlinga ie. Kedarnath on the 11th day evening. He trekked to and fro covering 40 kms to the Kedarnath shrine. So far, Deepak Shirke has completed a number of cycle rides across India. He has completed the Ashtavinayak tour covering more than 900 km in ten days. Another ride was of Shakti Peeth (Devi Shrines in Maharashtra) covering 2300 km in 28 days. He recently completed Narmada Parikrama by covering 3200 km in 40 days. He also travelled from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in two phases covering 8000 km. “This was one of my unique and record rides. I am thankful to God Almighty for giving me strength and support from family members and friends to achieve these feats”, says Shirke. He also rode to Amarnath. Besides road and mountain rides, Shirke also did
a coastal ride covering Goa, Karnataka, and Pondicherry. He also took part in Goa Cycling organised by the Youth Hostel Association of India (YHAI). In Nashik, a group of hardcore cyclists with Shirke covered almost all the places in and around Nashik visiting more than 180 famous forts. His passion for cycling and trekking is still strong and he is all set to go for a long ride again. He also has plans of registering with the Limca Book of Records and Guinness Record. Shirke's inspirational message to people who want to indulge in cycling
and adventure activities to stay fit: "Leave your comfort zone. Believe in yourself and never lose confidence and anything possible in the world".
NEXT BIG PLAN After all these record rides, Shirke is set to go and chart out big plans for his upcoming ride. “India is a great country in the world and exploring many places is a wonderful experience and so much to explore and experience in our own country”, says a beaming Shirke.
Shirke is planning to start soon from Nashik and has chalked
out a route plan to Saputara, Vadodara, Somnath, Dwarka, Nageshwar, Dakor, Mandu, Omkareshwar, Ujjain, Gwalior, Agra, Mathura, Vrindavan, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Chardham, Prayag, Ayodhya, Varanasi to Kathmandu and return to Gorakhpur and heading to south Kanchipuram, Rameshwar, Madurai and back in Nashik. This is a long list Shirke is planning to cover and complete the task. Looking at his record rides in the past, we have no doubt that Mr Deepak Shirke can accomplish his mission. We wish him good health and good luck.
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The New Kia Seltos Facelift 2023 brings stunning upgrades
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he new Seltos arrives with many upgrades from exterior and interior design to technology and digitalisation. The models to choose from GT line are Athletic, confident, sports premium, XLine Bold, Aggressive Exceptional Presence, Tech LineBold and Masculine premium. Kia has also made changes under the hood of the Seltos. It continues to come with the 1.5 petrol and diesel engines as before but now there is a new turbopetrol engine option. Replacing the older 1.4 TGDi motor is a new larger, more powerful 1.5litre. The Seltos facelift gets stiffened front damping to improve handling and softer rear damping for better ride comfort. The new Seltos with a face lift has been launched. Front Exterior: The Tiger Nose Radiator Grille with glossy black and Matte grey is eye catchy and has a Crown Jewel type LED Headlamps, adjacent to appealing Sequential Indicator. And in the bottom there are ice cube LED fog lamps. Depending on variant, it has TuskInspired Masculine Skid Plates, Sporty Aero Dynamic Skid Plates, Barbell Inspired Athletic bumper design and Masculine bumper design. The exterior packaging comes with an increase in the overall dimensions keeping it more than its previous models. But the width, height and wheel base are retained. The Front and rear overhang is also increased by 25mm. Side exterior: Tech line comes with Chrome 6O autotrack.ind.in SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023
Beltline and Door Handles with Silver Roof Rails, while the bottom side of the door is with the body colour door garnish with silver insert and the rim radius is R17 crystal cut alloy wheels. In the GT Line, the roof rails are Glossy Black with a Chrome beltline and door handles, while metal grey insert is blended along with the body colour door garnish and this model had R18 crystal cut glossy black alloy wheel. Stylish and bold alloy wheel options: R18 crystal cut glossy black alloy wheels, R17 comes with two options crystal cut alloy wheels and Matte Grey alloy wheels, in R16 it is Hyper Metallic alloy wheels. All the wheels come with disc brakes as standard, in all variants. Rear Exterior: Both the models look wide, athletic and sports premium, the rear tail lamps are like Star Map connected LED, with sequential turn indicators. In Tech line, the reversing lamps and reflectors are repositioned within the rear bumper which is relatively small, while the skid plates are Masculine. In GT Line, the reversing lamps are repositioned with reflectors but these outstand when seen from back as they occupy a bold position in the Barbell Inspired Athletic bumper, you have a functional dual exhaust looks more sporty which find a cut space with the Sporty Aero Diffuser skid plate.
Interior Design: They are Futuristic, wide with bold digitalization. HUD which is 8inches is more evolved, provides key driving information and ADAS warning in the line of sight of the driver to avoid any distraction. It has 8way power driver seat, as the front seats are ventilated, Smart Key with push button start and a wireless charger with cooling function. Dual Pane Panoramic Sunroof: This wide dual panoramic sunroof gives stunning view for both front and rear passengers and uplifts the grandeur. With KIA Connect, you can give Hinglish voice commands. Smart pure air purifier provides a clean, hygienic and fragrant odour inside the cabin. Dual Zone automatic airconditioner maintains the user set different temperature for driver and passenger side. Dual Screen Panoramic Display: A digital cockpit with futuristic appeal and modern minimalistic design was created with dual screen option. It has the 10.25 inches full digital cluster plus 10.25 inches HD touch screen navigation with modern minimalistic design. The main Menu screen customisation can be done with split screen. The eight premium Bose speakers provide you the sound adopted to both Android and Apple car play. The Dynamic speed compensation automatically adjusts the speaker sound as per the ambient noise depending upon the
engine and wind noise. Interior space management is well balanced with 433lts of boot space. The leg space and head space is kept optimum as the previous models, the Boot space is unchanged. In Tech line, it was with a Belge Roof lining and the steering is Dcut accommodating the Seltos logo, the seat pattern is Geometric on Leatherette seats. In GT line, it comes with black roof lining with a Dcut Steering with GT Line Logo, the mid of front row comes with a sliding cover and cup holder accommodated next to the Electric parking brakes with Auto hold. You have a Black Leatherette Tubular Pattern seats with white inserts and GT Line Embroidery. The rear seat centre comes with cup holders in the armrest. Ambient Lighting: You can create your own personal concert with customisable, mood reflective ambient light with 6 sound mood lamp themes, the sound mood function changes colour, based on the selected mode like Party time, Hey ho, Romance, Travelling, Cafe and Midnight city. ADAS level 2: In view to keep you and your car safe and secure in support of this one ADAS camera is installed in the front along with four numbers of 360 degree cameras fixed on all four sides of the exterior, it is also supported by three radars. Which provides active assistance to help manoeuvre in a driving situation and parking spots. This setup helps the 17 autonomous features which provide active safety and a comfortable drive. The collusion avoiding is more accurate and quite reliable with Blind spot and Rear cross collision. The front collision advance assist comes with the rider which applies only for Car, Pedestrian, cyclist and junction turning. Automatic brakes come into action once anything is detected and the brakes are
released after three seconds within which the manual brakes have to be applied. Blind spot collision warning and Avoidance assist, it warns the driver once you decided to exit from your lane towards right or left depending upon the direction the display on the cluster provides you the camera view of the exiting side and a warning red light on the side view mirror. The rear cross traffic collision avoidance assist comes into effect when you are taking a 'reverse' and moving into a active lane with blind spots on either side, once it is detected the vehicle approach from rear the system will warn and auto brakes if collision is imminent. The safe exit warning is given when someone is getting out of the car or the door is opened to prevent collusion from the vehicle approaching from rear. The 'Prevent accident' comes with 'Lane Keep Assist' which ensures the car is within the white line automatically and lane departure warning is in case you are crossing the line while driving with this option. Depending upon your driving the driverattention warning pops up on the cluster, suggesting you for a correction or coffee break. The High Beam Assist will automatically adjust the illumination depending upon the light required in the front and from the oncoming vehicle, it will automatically turn the high beam on or off.
KIA SELTOS-DRIVE
Driving Convenience and Safety, the Smart Cruise control with stop and go will ensure the vehicle will handle the traffic jam by itself to stop and move depending upon the front vehicle movement without the drivers input, which includes automatic halting and restarting within 3sec of halting else drivers intervention is needed. In case the car is in standstill for over 3sec the SCC goes on standby then the drivers accelerators input is required to reactivate. In case you fail to accelerate despite the front vehicle moving away, you receive the alert. In Lane Departure warning and Lane keep Assist: It warns the driver of going out of the lane on either side without turn indicator input and if the driver doesn't pay attention, then there will be counter torque in the steering preventing the vehicle from departing the lane. The Lane following assist will keep the car
in the centre of the lane by giving automatic steering input on the cluster. In KIA Connect: Out of 62 you have 12new features, you can give Hinglish voice commands to open and close sunroof, automatic temperature control requesting for increasing or decreasing the temperature in the dual. The KIA connect buttons are available on the Electrochromic rear view mirror Ride and handling
There are some notable changes with regard to ride and handling. Firstly, the GT Line variants now ride on larger 18inch alloys with over 200kms of drive mostly on the highway followed with few narrow road within the thick vegetation. We tried with the sports mode on highway it was very steady and on the inner roads though we had a very nice traction and comfort, but a bit roll could be felt in the rear. With disc brakes on all the wheels on larger 18inch alloys, braking looks more refined. Specially it is supported by the change in front, stiffened damper in front, and softer rear damper adding up driving comfort. Limiting manual human action, few voice commands essential during driving definitely will never distract the drivers.In terms of output, this new turbopetrol mill, at 160hp and 253Nm, puts out 20hp and 11Nm more than the 1.4 it replaces.
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INTERNATIONAL, NEWS
was doing well but had a crash in Race 2 and had to pull out. He scored 11 points in the round. Ramesh Rohan from Coimbatore gained 20 points from two races with a 6th position finish in both the races. Abhinav Gunasekeran from Coimbatore with a double 7th place finish accumulated 18 points from two races. In Asia Talent Cup, Sarthak Chavan from India started 17th in both the races and managed to finish in 14th position in Race 1 and in Race 2 while fighting for 11th position, he had a crash.
Rakshith gets
MSBK double victory in his maiden outing abroad
Geoffrey Emmanuel gets a double podium in Category A
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t was a double podium for two Indian riders, Rakshith Dave in his first International race was the winner of both the races in Category B, while Geoffrey Emmanuel Jebaraj was on the podium finishing third twice in Category A in the Round 1 of the MSBK 2023 (Malaysian Super Bike Championship) held at Sepang International Circuit.
races. In Race1, he started in P2 and managed to lead from the second lap and finished on top position and in Race 2, he had to fight out till the end. After leading initially, he lost his position and had to struggle till the last lap to regain the top slot which he did in the back straight in the final lap.
It was a double victory for India's rider Rakshith Dave who entered as a CRA rider along with the remaining three riders Ashish Patel, Ramesh Rohan, Abhinav Gunasekaran who finished in top ten in their class in the combined grid.
Nevertheless it was a double third finish for the Chennai rider Geoffrey Emmanuel Jebaraj in the Category A. With no test time, he participated in the last minute prepared bike. In Race 1, he finished in third position and in Race 2, he was facing clutch issues but still managed to finish on podium.
Racing for the first time on a International circuit, Rakshith Dave from Chennai, participated in Category B and managed to be on the podium in both the
The remaining three CRA Motorsports riders participated in Category A. Ashish Patel in his second year of International racing finished 5th in Race 1 and
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Rakshith Dave with his team
Geoffrey Emmanuel with his team Sarthak Chavan in action
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grievous head injury.
NEWS
The race was redflagged immediately and he was rushed to a nearby hospital in a trauma care ambulance stationed at the track. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. His father, Copparam Hareesh was at his bedside. MMSC president Ajit Thomas said: “It is tragic to have lost a rider so young and talented. Shreyas, who was making waves with his prodigious racing talent, was provided medical assistance on the spot immediately after the incident and taken to the hospital.”
“Under the circumstances, we have decided to cancel rest of this weekend's programme. The MMSC offers heartfelt condolences and our thoughts are with his family,” he added.
Promising Shreyas Hareesh dies in a crash Second death at the Madras International Circuit this year
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opparam Shreyas Hareesh, a 13yearold prodigy from Bengaluru, succumbed to injuries he suffered following a crash in the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2023 at the Madras International Circuit, on Saturday, August 4, 2023. Promoter of the event, Madras Motor Sports Club, cancelled the remaining races scheduled for the third round. Born on July 26, 2010, Shreyas, a student of Kensri School in Bengaluru, was being hailed as a rising star, as he had won several races at the National level, including four in a row competing in the Rookie category of the Petronas TVS OneMake Championship this season.
which he had qualified for pole position on that fateful morning.
Exiting Turn1, Shreyas fell, following a crash and suffered
In May this year, Shreyas, having won the MiniGP India title, had participated in the MiniGP races in Spain, finishing both races in fifth and fourth positions. He was scheduled to compete in the MSBK Championship 2023 at Sepang Circuit, Malaysia, in August, representing team CRA Motorsports in the 250cc category (Group B).
The incident occurred soon after the start of the Rookie race for
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V
enkatesh Shetty from Mumbai was the winner of the TVS NTorq Sports Craft Monsoon Scooter Rally of Nashik 2023 which was held in the outskirts of Nashik within the greenish landscape of the valley recently.
Shetty clocked a total time of 21min 30sec to beat Kishor Jadhav from Pune 45 seconds. Muzaffar Ali from Bhopal came third another 9 seconds behind. Neeraj Wanjale from Pune was adrift by 47sec to finish fourth and Lokesh Bhosale also from Pune stood fifth with a further difference of 22sec.
Mohammed Anees from Bhopal riding a LML Vespa was the winner of the S1 class. He managed to win with a total time of 26min 59sec. Hemant More from Pune riding a Bajaj Super was 1min 37sec behind in third position. Sajid Ali from
Kishor Jadhav first runnerup S2 class
Winner Venkatesh Shetty
Venkatesh Shetty wins
Anees, Darshan, Pooha, Lokesh win other scooter classes
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MONSOON SCOOTER RALLY, NASHIK
Mohd Anees winner S1 class
Darshan Chaure winner S3 class
Bhopal finished fourth and was further behind by 2min 33sec.
Venkatesh Shetty from Mumbai riding a Aprilia Sr150 was the winner of S2 class. Kishor Jadhav also from Pune riding a TVS NTORQ finished second. Bhopal riders Muzaffar Ali also on a TVS NTORQ finished third while Neeraj Wanjale, also from Pune, finished fourth.
Darshan Chaure from Nashik riding a Suzuki Access won the S 3 class clocking 23min 56sec. Zeeshan Syed from Mumbai riding a Aprilia SR150 was the
first runnerup with 4s ec difference. Tejas Kadam also from Mumbai riding a TVS NTORQ was third nine seconds behind. Another Mumbaikar Avtar Singh riding a Yamaha Alpha with a further 5sec difference missed the podium and settled for fourth. Umesh Doiphode from Pune with 2min 11sec difference came fifth.
In the S4 class, Pooha Karhe from Nashik riding a TVS Vego was the winner of the class with a total time of 32min 19sec, Geeta Patil also from Nashik riding a
Yamaha Rayz finished second with 2min 2sec difference. Kirti Hement Tandale from Nashik riding a Kinetic ZX finished third with further 20sec difference.
Lokesh Bhosale from Pune riding an Ather 450X was the winner with a total time of 23min 33sec. Amrendra Sathe from Pune finished second 47sec behind. Hitesh Ghatge, also from Pune, riding a Kyte Energy came third another 1min 27sec adrift. Vishnu Shinde from Nashik took another 2min 39sec to finish fourth and Rustom Patel from
Mumbai riding a KICK EV came fifth.
Rohan Thakur from Mumbai riding a Kineti ZX won in 24min 29sec followed by Nilesh Thakare from Nashik also riding a Kinetic ZX with a difference of 32sec. Anwar from Bhopal riding a Kineti Zoom was third with a further difference of 3min 35sec. Babuddin Ansari also from Nashik astride a Kinetic ZX was fourth another 1min 17sec behind. Shawar Khan from Bhopal riding a Kinetic Zoom came fifth.
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HONDA ELEVATE ENTER THE NEW PLAYER
The Elevate is powered by 1.5L i VTEC DOHC petrol engine generating 89 kW (121 PS) power and 145 Nm torque, paired with a 6speed Manual Transmission and a 7speed Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) for a smooth and enjoyable driving experience and offering fuel efficiency of 15.31 kmpl and 16.92 kmpl respectively. Speaking about the India launch of the muchawaited SUV, Mr. Takuya Tsumura, President & CEO of Honda Cars India Ltd., said, “Today marks an exciting chapter as we launch the strongly anticipated midsize SUV, the Honda Elevate, in the Indian market. Since its global debut, the Elevate has garnered exceptional admiration and acceptance from customers. We are delighted to unveil its pricing for the eagerly waiting Indian audience. The Elevate's development is a testament to extensive research and invaluable customer feedback. This positions the Elevate as a boldly stylish SUV that prioritizes a comfortable in cabin experience along with exceptional driving dynamics and safety.”
TEXT: AKSHAYA M. PICTURES: GUNJANKUMAR SOLANKI
Taking advantage of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) demand in Indian markets, Honda joined the SUV league with its new mid-size SUV, the Elevate
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onda Cars India Limited (HCIL)'s global SUV, Honda Elevate was built under the concept of 'Urban Freestyler' to appeal to younger customers with an active lifestyle
seeking status with comfort. The Elevate demonstrates all the essential attributes of dynamism, bold styling, comfort and safety and made its global debut earlier in June this year.
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The Elevate will be offered in impressive array of colour options in Singletone and Dualtone to cater to the diverse preferences and tastes of customers.
The All New Elevate's unique front design reflects a bold profile combined with slim and sharp headlights showing a masculine and confident stance. Together with the full LED projector headlamps with LED DRLs and LED Turn Indicator, LED tail lamps and Twotone finish diamond cut R17 Alloy Wheels the Elevate provides a distinct, modern and sporty characteristic to the model. The SUV boasts one the highest ground clearance of 220mm. It comes with abundant cargo space at 458L, a spacious interior cabin, a 17.78cm (7inch) high definition full colour TFT meter cluster, a new floating type 26.03cm (10.25inch) InPlane Switching (IPS) HighDefinition (HD) resolution LCD touch
REVIEW
screen display audio and Wireless Smartphone Charger. The luxurious brown leatherette upholstery with soft touch pads on Dashboard and Door Trims adds a premium touch to the cabin space.
All New Elevate also comes equipped with Honda Connect; a connected car experience that allows the users to control the car remotely and get up to date with important notifications for enhanced convenience. With the launch of Honda Elevate, Honda Connect gets new and exciting features like Personalized Dynamic Dashboard with shortcut widget on screen, Digitalized Service Pickup & Drop Facility, Additional reward points on Fuel Pay through HPCL network, Buy and sell preowned Car, Integration of Accessories – TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System) & DVR (Drive View Recorder).
The vehicle will be available at an introductory starting price of INR 10,99,900 (exshowroom, Delhi) to INR 15,99,900 (ex showroom, Delhi) for the top variant. Deliveries of the Elevate
will begin from 4th September onwards across dealerships in the country.
Honda Elevate competes with giants like Kia Seltos, Maruti Grand Vitara and Hyundai Creta.
With competitive pricing such as these, the SUV is sure to offer stiff contest in the market.
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DaSilva and co-driver Mackwin win Becomes first team from Goa to win RFC India Champions Trophy
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fter an intense weeklong battle among some of India's best offroaders, Goan driver Cedrick Jordan DaSilva (42) and codriver Mackwin Dias (38) were declared the Rainforest Challenge India 2023 Champions as the tough event concluded in Panaji on July 29. It is the first time in the history of RFC India that a team from Goa won the RFC India Champions Trophy. Anand V Manjooran along with codriver Chethan Chengappa and Dr Mohammed Fahed VP and codriver Rajeev Lal, both from Kerala, claimed the second and third positions respectively. DaSilva and Mackwin won the ninth edition of India's biggest and toughest offroad motorsport competition with an overall score of 2101 points out of 2600. This is the team's combined score based on their performance in the 26 Special Stages (SS). As the winner Off roader, Cedrick also wins a free entry to the RFC Global Series 2023 Finale to be held in Malaysia at the end of the year. RFC India has emerged as the most prestigious offroad motorsport competition in India. 68 autotrack.ind.in SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023
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Even though Goa has hosted all the nine editions of the mega motorsport event, this is the first time that a Goan team has emerged as the RFC India Champion. Expressing his happiness on finally winning the coveted trophy in his ninth attempt at RFC India, Cedrick Jordan DaSilva said: “A long awaited dream has come true. I have only one passion, which is offroading. And I had won all major offroading events in India except RFC India till now. So, this trophy was always on my wish list and winning RFC India 2023 is the ultimate dream. It means a lot.” “Every year, the competition is getting tougher. This year also, it was a neckandneck fight till the penultimate day. The scoring at RFC India works in a very different way from other motorsport events. The team behind us could have overtaken us if we had even one DNF. Finally, it's over and our hard work has paid off,” Cedrick added. Anand V Manjooran from Kerala along with threetime champion spotter Chethan Chengappa from Coorg were the first runnerup with 2019 points and the Kerala pair of Dr Mohammed Fahed VP and Rajeev Lal, emerged as the second runner up with 1982 points. Maharashtra pair Aniruddha Nandakishor Shete and Akash Malbari, and Bijender Singh along with Gajender Singh from Delhi, made it to the top5 of the competition with 1902 and 1853 points respectively. Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing and Sales, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, which is the CoSponsor and 4X4 Partner of RFC India 2023, said: “RFC India has undoubtedly achieved an iconic status, solidifying its position as the most prestigious offroad
motorsport competition in India. Congratulations to the deserving champions, Cedrick Jordan DaSilva and Mackwin Dias, for their commendable skills and welldeserved victory. The 9th edition was particularly impressive, showcasing the unwavering enthusiasm and fearless determination of the country's most skilled off roaders as they tackled the toughest challenges over rugged terrain. We are pleased that the meticulously curated tracks within the Jimny Experience Zone at RFC India 2023 made for an unforgettable experience for thrill seekers who witnessed the iconic Jimny in action.” Recalling his journey at RFC India over the last 9 years, Cedrick said: “We don't have mechanics in Goa who can work on RFC spec vehicles. So, I always had to send my vehicle to Punjab and by the time I got the vehicle back, I never had enough time left to practice prior to the competition. Every year, something or the other went wrong with my vehicle within the first two days.
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In the last 8 years, I always started my journey around the 18th position on the scoreboard and then worked hard to make it to the Top 5. This year, I got my vehicle on time and I practised
hard for a month before the competition. It allowed me to know and understand my vehicle; I also took part in a local competition and then came for RFC India.”
Shedding light on his performance, he added: “I was on the top on Day 1 but the very next day, my winching rope snapped in one of the Stages and my vehicle got stuck in a difficult position. So, I couldn't go any further in that Stage and we were immediately 100 points down. In a competition where you are fighting neck and neck for a lead of 1020 points, losing so many points was a very big setback. It was a nowornever kind of a situation for us over the next three days. So, we put our foot down, planned our stages wisely and tried various techniques to better our timings in the Stages. It was a very big struggle over the next three days but we gradually come back to the top.” Interestingly, this is Mackwin Dias' debut at RFC India. Thanking his spotter for helping him realise his dream of becoming the RFC India 2023 Champion, Cedrick said: “Co driver has the key role in RFC India. If you have the right co driver, no one can stop you. Mac was supposed to be my codriver last year but for some reason, he could not participate then. This year, he was determined to help me win the trophy. In fact, he left his job in Ireland when he did not get enough leaves to come to India for the competition. Mac has never participated as a codriver in such a tough competition that requires the codriver to constantly run out of the vehicle and do such strenuous work. So, a lot of people around me were sceptical of him being my codriver for such an important competition, especially when we did not get a chance to practice together at all before the event. But I had full trust in him as he had the drive in him and enough love for me to want to win this trophy for me. His performance was outstanding and he surprised me at every Stage because we had hardly any penalties throughout the competition, which is largely due to the excellent navigation done by Mac.”
Apart from being the Overall Champions, Cedrick and Mackwin were also the winners of the 'Up to 1610 cc' category. Bijender Singh (Gajender Singh) were the winner of the '1611 to 3010 cc – Petrol' category while Dr Mohammed Fahed VP (Rajeev Lal) won the '1611 to 3010 cc – Diesel' category. Ibrahim Firaz Shaik (Dushyant Khosla) were declared winner of the 'Above 3010 cc' category.
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Background RFC India was launched by Cougar Motorsport in 2014 as the India Chapter of the Rainforest Challenge of Malaysia, which is ranked No. 3 in the Five Toughest OffRoad Races in the World by Skoda Motorsport (2018), by which time it had regional chapters in over 30 countries worldwide. Over the years, RFC India has emerged as the most prestigious offroad motorsport competition in India and it returned to Panaji for the 9th edition 2023.
“Every year, the competition is getting tougher. This year also, it was a neckand-neck fight till the penultimate day. The scoring at RFC India works in a very different way from other motorsport events. The team behind us could have overtaken us if we had even one DNF. Finally, it's over and our hard work has paid off,” said Cedrick .
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Day Two On Day 2, Dr Mohammed Fahed VP and codriver Rajeev Lal from Kerala climbed up two spots on the ranking board and claimed the top position with 646 points out of 800. These points are based on the team's performance in 8 out of the total 26 Special Stages (SS). DaSilva and codriver Dias, who were leading on Day 1, slipped to second spot with 635 points. The Goan duo had the perfect 100 score in SS 6 and SS 7 and looked all set to retain their top position on the second day. However, they did not attempt SS 5, which led to the change in their rank at the end of Day 2. Anand V Manjooran (Chethan Chengappa), who got a DNF (Did Not Finish) 20 points for SS 5, also went down one spot on the ranking tables and ended in third position with 608 points.
raised their game to shoot to the top of the ranking table with 1248 points out of 1600. Dr Fahed VP (codriver Lal), who were on the top in the previous two days, went down by a spot and settled for second position with 1199 points. Manjooran (Chengappa) maintained his third position and were giving a tough fight to Anand with 1195 points. Dr Chaitanya Challa (Hamdaan Khan) climbed up one position to take the fourth spot with 1157
Eric Benny (Siraj) has climbed up two positions to claim the fourth position with 530 points while Dr Chaitanya Challa (Hamdaan Khan) from Hyderabad went down one spot to the fifth position with 512 points. Day Three On Day 3, the topfive performers of Day 2 made sure that they retained their positions. Dr Fahed VP and co driver Lal remained the top performers with 960 points out of 1200 based on 12 of the 26 Special Stages (SS) they competed so far. Cedric Jordan DaSilva (codriver Mackwin Dias), Anand V Manjooran (Chethan Chengappa), Eric Benny (Siraj) as well as Dr Chaitanya Challa (Hamdaan Khan) from Hyderabad also retained their positions in that order. At the end of Day 3, these four teams had 932, 869, 852 and 833 points respectively. Day Four Cedric Jordan DaSilva and co driver Mackwin Dias once again 72 autotrack.ind.in SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023
points while Eric Benny (Siraj) slid down one position and ended Day 4 at fifth position with 1121 points. Day Five At the end of the Twilight Zone of the ninth edition, Goan driver Cedric Jordan DaSilva and codriver Mackwin Dias retained their top position with 1538 points out of 1900. They achieved this feat due to an impeccable performance and excellent team spirit, because of which they scored a perfect 100
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in 2 of the 3 Special Stages in the Twilight Zone. Dr Mohammed Fahed VP (co driver Rajeev Lal) finished second with 1468 points. Anand V Manjooran (Chethan Chengappa) maintained his third position with 1390 points. Eric Benny (Siraj) jumped up one position to take the fourth spot with 1361 points and Dr Chaitanya Challa (Hamdaan Khan) claimed the fifth position on the score board with 1357 points.