CHENNAI : Defending champion Gaurav Gill asserted his supremacy in the opening round as he took an early lead in the MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship on Saturday.Gill, along with co-driver Musa Sherif, survived an early scare with the brakes on his Super XUV 500 before slowly coming into his own and winning the last four stages. The Team Mahindra Adventure pair needed just 44 minutes and 35 seconds to complete the opening day’s five stages.
The event gets over on Sunday. The INRC 2 category competitors, Younus Ilyas & Harish Kumar were snapping on Gill’s heels all through the day, finishing second with a timing of 45 minutes and 39 seconds. Karna Kadur-Nikhil V Pai (INRC 2; Arka Motorsports) were third. Veteran rallyist Vicky Chandhok, who was making a comeback after 18 years at 61, cracked the course in 2 minutes flat, which was 3 seconds faster than even Gill. Gill reclaimed the advantage soon.
Day 1 standings: INRC: 1) Gaurav Gill/Musa Sherif (Team Mahindra Adventure) -44:35.0m; 2) Younus Ilyas/Harish Kumar (Team Younus Ilyas) -45:39.5m; 3) Karna Kadur/Nikhil V Pai (Arka Motorsports) -45:44.2m; INRC 2: 1) Younus Ilyas/Harish Kumar (Team Younus Ilyas) -45:39.5m; 2) Karna Kadur/Nikhil V Pai (Arka Motorsports) -45:44.2m; 3) Rahul Kanthraj/Vivek Y Bhatt (Arka Motorsports) -46:57.7m; INRC 3: 1) Dean Mascarenhas/Shruptha Padival (Falkon Motorsports) -45:51.1m; 2) Aroor Vikram Rao/Somayya AG (Falkon Motorsports) -46:10.2m; 3) Chetan Shivram/Rupesh Kholay (Team Akshara) -46:16.4m.