JCT Rally’s Samir Thapar, 50, and co-driver Gurinder Mann, 49, rolled back the years by winning the third round of the AVT Premium-South India car rally championship, here on Sunday.
In the process, Thapar, driving a Mitsubishi Evo X, halted the winning spree of championship leader Gaurav Gill (co-driver Musa Sherif) of Team Mahindra Adventure, who finished overall second ahead of P.G. Abhilash (Kumar Ramaswamy) in a Evo 6.
Thapar, who enjoyed a sizeable overnight lead over Gill, winner of the previous two IRC rounds in Nashik and Coimbatore, again showcased the pace and power of the Evo by winning all four stages, including the Spectator Special Stage, with ease.
Thapar had last won a National championship in 1997 before quitting the sport, while for Mann, a multiple Indian champion in his heydays, it was his first success since winning the Asia Zone in 2000.
Thapar later said, “it is a great moment for us oldies, and winning an event after such a long time is just fantastic. The stages, the organisation and just about everything here was perfect.”
Provisional classifications (after leg two):IRC overall: 1. Samir Thapar & Gurinder Mann (JCT Rally, Evo X) 1:37:45.6; 2. Gaurav Gill & Musa Sherif (Mahindra Adventure, XUV 500) 01:40:02.5; 3. P.G. Abhilash & Kumar Ramaswamy (REA PGA Motorsport, Evo 6) 01:41:16.8.
IRC 2000cc: 1. Rahul Kanthraj & Vivek Bhatt (Team Yokohama, Cedia) 01:44:38.4; 2. Prithvi Dominic & M.S. Ravindra (Cedia) 01:46:06.7; 3. Sumit Panjabi & Venu Ramesh Kumar (Cedia) 01:46:39.6.
IRC 1600cc: 1. Arjun Rao & Satish Rajagopal (VW Polo) 01:42:56.2; 2. Phalguna Urs & Anoop Kumar (VW Polo) 01:42:58.0; 3. Vikram Devadasen & Srikant Gowda (Team Yokohama, VW Polo) 01:43:20.0.
FMSCI 1600cc Cup: 1. K.C. Adith & K.N. Harish (Honda City V-Tec) 01:47:33.9; 2. Aeman Khadri & M. Sagar (Maruti Baleno) 01:49.14.2; 3. K.M. Bopaiah & K. Karumbaiah (Maruti Esteem) 01:50:14.3. — Special Correspondent