Aditya Thakur and his co-driver Virender Kashyap kept it simple on the two stages to seal the overall title in the Rally of Coimbatore, the third round of the Blueband — FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) for four wheelers, at the Kethanur windmill farms, near Palladam, on Sunday.
The INRC2 driver, representing Team Chettinad Sporting, was quite gentle on the car. Gaurav Gill (co-driver Aniruddh Rangnekar) and INRC2 driver Harkrishan Wadia (Kunal Kashyap) clocked the fastest for the day. However, it did not matter much for Aditya, as he had enough lead in his bag.
He was focused from the word go and never allowed a rush of blood to his head. It did a world of good as he brought the car home safe and secure, much to the joy of his team.
On playing it safe on the road, Aditya said he could have gone rough on the road to prove his toughness. “Over the years, I learnt that rallying is an art. You need to understand how to save the car and the tyres, its pressure and compound to be used on these kind of stages. It’s not about going flat out but being calculative.”
He thanked MRF for the tyres, SIDVIN, his team and co-driver for the support. “Kashyap was spot on for the second day on trot,” he said.
But Aditya did not wish to celebrate the victory following the death of his teammate, INRC3 driver K.V. Premlal, the other day. “It’s a sad moment for all of us and not a time to celebrate. My prayers for his family.”
Karna Kadur (Musa Sherif) and Harkrishnan staged a strong fightback to finish second and third in the overall class.
The results: INRC overall: 1. Aditya Thakur & Virender Kashyap, 2. Karna Kadur & Musa Sherif, 3. Harkrishan Wadia & Kunal Kashyap.
INRC2: 1. Thakur & Virender, 2. Wadia & Kunal, 3. Phillipos Matthai & Murthy PVS.
INRC3: 1. Jeet Jhabakh & V. Sekar, 2. Sheshank Jamwal & Aseem Sharma, 3. Chandan Gowda & Venu Rameshkumar.
