Sakhir (Bahrain), December 7: Belgium’s Max Defourny continued his podium run as he scored a win and two second-place finishes in the three races of the MRF Challenge held here today at the Bahrain International Circuit.

The 20-year old Defourny was second to Germany’s Andreas Estner in the day’s first race and later finished behind winner Jamie Chadwick (UK) in the next before ending the day with a win in the third.

Having finished on the podium in all the eight races of the championship, organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club, including five in the first round at Dubai last month, Defourny consolidated his position on the leaderboard with 173 points, ahead of Chadwick (129). Two more races are scheduled for Saturday.

Defourny said: “It could or rather, should have been better this week. After qualifying for pole position last night, I made a mistake in the first race today and finished second. In the next race, I got hit from behind at Turn-1 when one of the competitors (Danial Frost of Singapore) spun. There was some damage to the car and I managed to finish second. In the third race today, after we repaired the visual damage to the car, there was a lot of vibration in the left rear, but I managed to pull away to win.”

Read more: Max Defourny extends lead in MRF Challenge ; Wins for Jamie Chadwick, Andreas Estner

Sakhir (Bahrain), December 4: The young racers in the MRF Challenge 2018-19 championship are in for a rare treat of getting to drive on a full-fledged Formula One Grand Prix track when the state-of-the-art Bahrain International Circuit here plays host to the second round from December 6 to 8.

For the first-timers on the 12-car grid that is brimming with talented young and fearless drivers, it will be an unforgettable experience to race on a GP track which has three straights and 15 corners, not to mention the subtle gradient changes. The idyllic setting is expected to provide more of thrilling and closely contested races that were witnessed in the first round at Dubai last month.

The MRF Challenge is now in its seventh season and comprises od three rounds of five races each in Dubai, Bahrain and Chennai. It proved to be a nursery of racing talent. Several drivers, notably Mick Schumacher who is all set for Formula 2 next year after two seasons in MRF Challenge, have graduated to higher levels or used Asia’s premier winter championship offering cars with F3 Dallara chassis and powered by 2-litre engines, to further hone their skills. All cars are fitted with specifically designed MRF Z.L.O. racing tyres.

Mr Arun Mammen, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, MRF Ltd, said: “The first round of MRF Challenge in Dubai last month, dished out some exciting fare as the drivers fought it out up and down the grid, while happy at the opportunity the championship has provided them to move to the next level of racing. In fact, it reflects MRF Challenge’s primary objective of offering young racing talent an ecosystem that help nurture their ambitions. Over the years, the MRF Challenge has proved to be a big stepping stone for racing aspirants who have gone on to fare well at the highest levels of racing. We now look forward to the second round in Bahrain and I am sure, the competitors will be eager to race on a full-fledged Formula One circuit.”

Read more: MRF Challenge Round 2 in Bahrain from Thursday ; Sakhir Grand Prix circuit set for five races

Chikkamgaluru, December 2: Karna Kadur and his co-driver Nikhil Vittal Pai of Arka Motorsports scored their third consecutive Overall win in the Coffee Day India Rally, the fourth round of the MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship, here today, as the duo, in a Volkswagen Polo, nursed their healthy overnight lead with a sensible drive.

While Kadur, who had won this rally in the previous two years, kept it clean through the three Special Stages today, Amittrajit Ghosh (co-driver Ashwin Naik) of Mahindra Adventure brushed off a five-second overnight deficit to finish second Overall ahead of Bopaiah KM (Gagan Karumbaiah) of Team Champions to pick up valuable championship points.

Behind the trio, hot favourite Gaurav Gill (Musa Sherif), also of Mahindra Adventure, and celebrating his 37^th birthday today, set a scorching pace to top the timesheets in all the three Stages today and finished fifth Overall behind private entrants Younus Illyas (Harish KN) and second in the INRC-1 category. More importantly, he earned 10 championship points.

The results meant that Ghosh continues to lead Overall in the Indian National Rally Championship, promoted by the Ramakrishna Race Performance Management, with 79 points as against Kadur’s 67 and Gill’s 60. Thus, the title will be decided in the fifth and concluding round of the Championship to be held in Kerala next month.

Read more: Karna Kadur, Nikhil Pai clinch Coffee Day Rally title

Chikkamagaluru, December 01: Karna Kadur (co-driver Nikhil Pai) of Arka Motorsports kept his wits about him to emerge overall leader with a 59.7 seconds advantage at the end of Leg-1 in the Coffee Day India Rally, the fourth round of the MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship, here today which saw favourite Gaurav Gill (Musa Sherif) of Mahindra Adventure retiring with a mechanical problem.

On a day of drama with 11 retirements, Gill, who was enjoying a comfortable lead, met with disaster as the lower arm of his XUV 500 broke, forcing him to stop in SS-6. He will re-join the competition tomorrow under the Super Rally format in a bid to score leg points. “A bad day in the office. We had a good morning, winning all the Stages, but on the fifth Stage, we had an issue with the lower arm with the ball joint completely shearing off. A case of metal fatigue perhaps. We are driving tomorrow and take whatever points we can and stay in the championship. So, maximum attack tomorrow,” said Gill.

While Gill packed up for the day, Bopaiah (Gagan Karumbaiah) eased into Overall second spot, just 16.5 seconds ahead of an ailing Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik) of Mahindra Adventure. Ghosh, battling an allergy and suffering from breathing problems, strove manfully to finish the day without any mishap.

The Special Stages took its toll as a total of 11 competitors retired due to reasons ranging from mechanical problems to crashes as the surface deteriorated as the day wore on. The day’s last Stage was cancelled after Aroor Vikram Rao crashed and his car blocked the track.

Reflecting on his performance today, Kadur said: “I think the day went pretty well and we got more than what we bargained for. We were concentrating only on our category (INRC-2). In the Super Special Stage, we were the quickest in our category and so we knew how we wanted this rally to be. We took one Stage at a time. We trailed Gaurav (Gill) by 20 seconds after the first Stage today and so, we pushed in the next, and improved. In the process, we got past (Amittrajit) Ghosh which was part of our strategy. Unfortunately, Gaurav packed up as he was our benchmark. Tomorrow, we will try to keep our position as we have a comfortable lead.”

For Ghosh, it was a huge task to even drive the XUV 500, given his indisposition following a “shell fish allergy” that he caught on the flight from London earlier this week. “It is the toughest drive of my rally career. I couldn’t push to my limits. I am just forcing myself to drive. I am not looking at the timings and if we can make a place tomorrow, then we will. Even as I am talking now, I am gasping. I have not had any solid food the whole of this week. Tomorrow, I will drive at the pace I am comfortable with and take whatever points I can from this Rally,” said Ghosh.

The results (Provisional):

Overall: 1. Karna Kadur / Nikhil Pai (Arka Motorsports) (01hr, 12mins, 50.0secs); 2. Bopaiah / Gagan Karumbaiah (Team Champions) (01:13:49.7); 3. Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik (Mahindra Adventure) (01:14.06.2).

INRC-1: 1. Ghosh / Naik; 2. Michu Ganapathy / Venu Rameshkumar (Team Champions) (01:16:30.8); 3. Harshita Gowda / Vidhya M (Pvt) (01:24:20.6).

INRC-2: 1. Kadur / Pai; 2. Bopaiah / Gagan Karumbaiah; 3. Younus Ilyas / Harish KN (Pvt) (01:14:52.4).

INRC-3: 1. Arjun Rao / Milen George (Chettinad Sporting)(01:15:17.2); 2. Fabid Ahmer / Shahid Salman (Chettinad Sporting) (01:16:33.0); 3. Darius Shroff / Nitin Jacob (Pvt) (01:18:22.8).

FMSCI 2WD Cup: 1.Mujeeb Rahman / Moideen Sharfali (Pvt) (01:19:19.8); 2.Vikram Gowda / Sudheendhra BG (Team Champions) (01:19:42.2); 3. Prakhyat H Shirole / Bharath SM (Pvt) (01:20:13.4).

FMSCI 4WD Cup: 1. Sanjay Agarwal /Smitha Prasad M (Team Champions) (01:19:52.4); 2. Sachin Murthy / Sathyapal (Pvt) (01:21:07.9) 3. Nikhil J / Arjun Dheerendra (Pvt) (01:26:07.1).

Chikkamagaluru, November 30: Reigning champion Gaurav Gill (co-driver Musa Sherif) drove with controlled aggression to top the timesheets in the Super Special Stage which launched the Coffee Day India Rally, the fourth round of the MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship, promoted by Ramakrishna Race Performance Management, at the Amber Valley school grounds, here on Friday.

Driving the XUV 500 for Mahindra Adventure team, Gill, a virtual cult figure in this coffee town, did not look as spectacular as some of the drivers before him, but the clean lines through the corner saw him clock two minutes, 34.7 seconds for the 2.12 Kms run as he led a 1-2 for his team, ahead of Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik) who did 02:35.1. Local lad Karna Kadur (Nikhil Pai) of Arka Motorsports, piloting a Volkswagen Polo, was overall third quickest in 02:36.1.

Read more: Coffee Day Rally : Gaurav Gill takes slender lead on Day 1