Team MRF's Lohit Urs (co-driver P.V. Srinivasa Murthy) notched up his first win of the year with triumph at the Coffee Day Rally, the fifth round of the Speed Indian National Rally Championship, at Chikmagalur on Sunday.
The Mysore driver finished over a minute ahead of Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik), with overnight leader Gaurav Gill (Musa Sherif) nursing his car home in third with gearbox trouble, as Team MRF reigned over the podium.
The result pushed Lohit up to 91 points in the championship standings, but he continues to remain in second, well behind Gill's tally of 136. In the 2000cc N category, Team Kadur's Karna Kadur (Somonnita Ghosh) came from behind to pip overnight leader Rahul Kantharaj (Vivek Bhatt), finishing in a time of 1:32:12.2s. Team Overdrive's Sirish Chandran (Nikhil Vittal Pai) finished third after being hit by a 10-second penalty (but for which he would have emerged runner-up). The day also witnessed the retirement of veteran Arjun Balu from the INRC, after a 17-year-stint with MRF.
Provisional final classification:Overall: 1. Lohit Urs & P.V. Srinivasa Murthy (Team MRF) 1:27:11.8 seconds; 2. Amittrajit Ghosh & Ashwin Naik (MRF) 1:28:19.5; 3. Gaurav Gill & Musa Sherif (MRF) 1:28:33.8. 2000cc (N): 1. Karna Kadur & Somonnita Ghosh 1:32:12.2; 2. Rahul Kantharaj & Vivek Bhatt 1:32:28.7; 3. Sirish Chandran & Nikhil Pai (Team Overdrive) 1:32:33.9. 1600 cc : 1. C.G. Balaram & C.G. Raghuram 1:42:02.6; 2. Mohammed Ismail & B. Dannanjay 1:44:12.4; 3. Aniruddha Rangnekar & Anoop Kumar 1:46:47.0. 1400cc: 1. B. Raghunandan & Adhiraju 1:39:32.9; 2. Hrishikesh Thackeresey & Ninad Mirajgaonkar 1:41:24.4; 3. Pramod Raman & K.N. Harish 1:41:36.2. Gypsy Class: 1. Shafeeq Ur Rehman & K.P. Ajith 1:40: 44.8; 2. Amartej Buwal & Nakul Mendiratta 1:41:46.5; 3. Philip Thomas & John Philip 1:45:49.5.
