Team MRF's Gaurav Gill (co-driver Musa Sherif) clinched the Speed Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) 2011 with a round to spare, thanks to an impressive win in the Rally of Odisha on Sunday.
The MRF duo established an unassailable 72-point lead over its nearest rival, Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik.
This was the 30-year-old Gill's third National crown after the INRC titles in 2007 and 2009.
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Gill mixed caution and aggression as he clocked the fastest time in all the three special stages held on Sunday.
Gill took his tally to 172 points with his victory in the sixth round of the championship.
In the 1600cc class, Aniruddha Rangnekar, too, won the driver's title with a round to spare.
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Provisional results:
Overall: 2000cc N+: 1. Gaurav Gill & Musa Sherif (Team MRF) 1h 13m 02.5s; 2. Dr. Yogeshwar Gill & Jeevarathinam 01:19:20.8; 3. Amittrajit Ghosh & Ashwin Naik (Team MRF) 01:19:33.8. 2000cc N+: 1. Gaurav & Musa 1h 13m 02.5s; 2. Amittrajit & Ashwin 1:19:33.8s.
2000cc (Group N): 1. Dr. Yogeshwar & Jeevarathinam 01:19:20.8; 2. Karna Kadur & Somonnita Ghosh 01:20:25.9; 3. Dr. Dhirendra Kumar & Honey Narulla 01:29:26.4.
1600cc: 1. Hanoosh Surapaneni & Ravindra Kumar 01:24:47.4; 2. Aniruddha Rangnekar & Anoop Kumar 01:28:26.1; 3. Ajgar Ali & Debashis Ghosh 01:30:28.8.
Star Cup (1400cc): 1. Dean Mascerenhas & Shruptha Padival 01:22.08.2; 2. Vikram Rao Aroor & AG Somayya 01:22:58.6; 3. Karan & Shanmugha 01:24:15.6.
Gypsy Cup: 1. Shafeeq-ur-Rehman & Ajith 01:28:10.7; 2. Sachin Singh & Sri Latha 01:37:44.1; 3. Sanjay Agarwal & Ramesh Kumar 01:41:54.7.