Night rallying has to be the most difficult as the drivers come at great speeds without much reference points. It’s all also about how hard to accelerate and go deep into a corner under pitch darkness.
Of course, they have the lights on the car to help them down the route.
But Kerala’s Younus Ilyas and his co-driver Harish Gowda from Bengaluru made it look pretty easy finishing on top in the opening stage of the Sprint de Bengaluru at the LG Champions Green County here on Saturday.
The ‘Sprint’ rally event, which is said to be the curtain raiser for the FMSCI-Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) for four wheelers, attracted some of the best talents in the country.
They know for sure their performance may count much for the season ahead. And, Ilyas proved that too a good measure by attacking the sharp turns and corners with confidence at night. He stopped the clock at 06:47.30s for the early lead which may matter much in the stages to follow.
Suhem Kabeer (J. Jeevarathinam) eased into the second position in the INRC 1 category, finishing just 10 seconds behind the leaders.
Missing out
They were quick in their Polo but missed out on a couple of turns that hurt them. The second stage will take place later in the night, followed by four stages on Sunday. Earlier, the event began with a ceremonial start.
Inspector General of Police K. Revanna, Chairman of Champions Group Subhakar Rao and its Director N. Hemamalini flagged off the cars.
It was followed by the customary shakedown, with the drivers giving the guests a taste of their skills and the route in their cars.
The results (after stage 1, provisional): 1. Younus Ilyas & K.N. Harish 00:06:47.300s; 2. Suhem Kabeer & J. Jeevarathinam 00:06:57.600; 3. Lokesh Gowda & D. Uday Kumar 00:07:03.100 .
