Urs, Gowda fancied to clinch title
December 11, 2015, Chikkamagaluru, DHNS
Motorsport CCD Rally : Karnataka duo holds 23-point advantage
With 40 entries in fray, the Coffee Day India Rally, 2015, which doubles up as the concluding round of the FIA Asia Cup and the FMSCI Indian Rally Championship, promises high-octane action as the cream of country’s rally talent converge here for the three-day extravaganza beginning Friday.
The event will kick-off with a the Super Special Stage at the Amber Valley School grounds on Friday, before the cars head out of town for the Special Stages on Saturday and Sunday.
The 180 km-long Asia Cup Rally, which is also a contender event for a round of 2016 Asia Pacific Rally Championship, has attracted eight entries led by the Karnataka duo of Lohitt Urs and Srikanth Gowda in a Mitsubishi Evo VIII, and Arjun Rao Aroor and Satish Rajagopal driving the Volkswagen Polo (R2B variant).
None of the registered Asia Cup crews from overseas is taking part as Japan’s Hitoshi Takayama has already clinched the title with a round to spare. However, the Asia Cup participants in the Coffee Day India Rally are eligible for IRC points.
With two wins from three starts this season, the vastly experienced Urs heads the IRC points table with a tally of 95, well clear of Team Mahindra Adventure’s team of Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik who is on 72, driving the Mahindra XUV 500.
Behind the top three are the reigning National champions Gaurav Gill and Musa Sherif who has had a dismal season as he drew blank in two of the three rounds after opening the season with a win in Nashik.
With 52 points in the kitty, Gill is effectively out of the title race. The maximum points available are 39 (25 for win and 14 Leg points).
Though the tight and twisty terrain interspersed with fast and flowing corners, is expected to favour the all-wheel-drive Mitsubishi Evo and the compact Polo cars, it will be interesting to see how Gill pilots his heavier and bulkier XUV 500 when the race gets underway from Friday.
The event will kick-off with a the Super Special Stage at the Amber Valley School grounds on Friday, before the cars head out of town for the Special Stages on Saturday and Sunday.
The 180 km-long Asia Cup Rally, which is also a contender event for a round of 2016 Asia Pacific Rally Championship, has attracted eight entries led by the Karnataka duo of Lohitt Urs and Srikanth Gowda in a Mitsubishi Evo VIII, and Arjun Rao Aroor and Satish Rajagopal driving the Volkswagen Polo (R2B variant).
None of the registered Asia Cup crews from overseas is taking part as Japan’s Hitoshi Takayama has already clinched the title with a round to spare. However, the Asia Cup participants in the Coffee Day India Rally are eligible for IRC points.
With two wins from three starts this season, the vastly experienced Urs heads the IRC points table with a tally of 95, well clear of Team Mahindra Adventure’s team of Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik who is on 72, driving the Mahindra XUV 500.
Behind the top three are the reigning National champions Gaurav Gill and Musa Sherif who has had a dismal season as he drew blank in two of the three rounds after opening the season with a win in Nashik.
With 52 points in the kitty, Gill is effectively out of the title race. The maximum points available are 39 (25 for win and 14 Leg points).
Though the tight and twisty terrain interspersed with fast and flowing corners, is expected to favour the all-wheel-drive Mitsubishi Evo and the compact Polo cars, it will be interesting to see how Gill pilots his heavier and bulkier XUV 500 when the race gets underway from Friday.
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