Nashik, Feb 27 Defending National Rally Champion and last year’s winner Karna Kadur of Bengaluru, partnered by experienced co-driver Musa Sherif of Kasargod, set the early pace by clinching top honours in the 2.1-km Super Special Stage of the Rally of Maharashtra, the sixth and final round of the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) 2025, at the Grape County tarmac strip in Nashik on Friday.
The multiple-time national champion was in his element, delivering a sharp and controlled run to send out a clear statement of intent with a sprint victory in the curtain-raiser of the sixth and final round organised by Western India Sports Association.
However, the real challenge begins on Saturday, when crews tackle two demanding loops of three Special Stages each, covering 71.64 km of highly technical tarmac that is expected to be extremely fast in several sections.
INRC2 championship leader Jason Saldanha of Mangaluru, guided by Bengaluru’s PV Srinivasa Murthy, emerged second fastest overall, underlining his consistency, while the Himachal Pradesh duo of Aditya Thakur and Virender Kashyap of Team TSI Racing, winners of the previous round in Indore, slotted into third place in Triple-S.
Reigning 2025 champions Dean Mascarenhas and Gagan Karumbaiah, the Mangaluru-Kodagu pairing running on MRF tyres, adopted a cautious and measured approach, avoiding unnecessary risks to finish sixth overall and third in the premier INRC1 class.
Saldanha and Murthy also topped the INRC2 category, strengthening their position in the class standings. In INRC3, championship leaders Vishakh Balachandran and Chiranth Jain maintained their momentum by heading their class after the Super Special Stage. Jeet Jhabhak of Hyderabad, with Erode’s Sekhar V on the notes, took the early lead in the INRC 3T class.
Arjun Y. Mavaji put in a tidy run to go ahead in the Junior INRC category, while Anushriya Gulati signalled her intent by setting the fastest time in the Ladies class, finishing ahead of current table-topper Phoebe Dale Nongrum.
Provisional Results (Super Special Stage):
Overall: 1. Karna Kadur (Bengaluru)/ Musa Sherif (Kasargod), Arka Motorsports (01 minute, 42.9 seconds); 2. Jason Saldanha (Mangaluru)/ PV Srinivasa Murthy (Bengaluru) Arka Motorsports (01:44.3); 3. Aditya Thakur/ Virender Kashyap (both Himachal) TSI Racing, (01:45.1);
INRC1: 1. Karna Kadur (Bengaluru)/ Musa Sherif (Kasargod), Arka Motorsports (01:42.9); 2. Aditya Thakur/ Virender Kashyap (both Himachal) TSI Racing, (01:45.1); 2. Dean Mascarenhas (Mangaluru)/ Gagan Karumbaiah (Kodagu) (TSI Racing) (01:48:2).
INRC2: 1. Jason Saldanha (Mangaluru)/ PV Srinivasa Murthy (Bengaluru) Arka Motorsports (01:44.3); 2. Harkrishan Wadia (Delhi)/ Kunal Kashyap (Shimla) Arka Motorsports (01: 46.2); 3. Fabid Ahmer (Palakkad)/ Milen George (Kottayam), Pvt. (01:48.1).
INRC3: 1. Vishakh Balachandran (Thiruvananthapuram)/ Chiranth Jain (Karkala) Chettinad Sporting (01:51.8); 2. Abhimanyu Sajeevan (Kozhikode) Snap Racing (01:52.6); 3. Aniruddha Rangnekar (Mumbai)/ AG Somayya (Kodagu) (Chettinad) (01:53.0).
INRC 3T: 1. Jeet Jhabhak (Hyderabad)/ Sekhar V (Erode) (Chettinad) (01:49.2); 2. Naveen Puligilla (Hyderabad)/ Santosh Thomas (both Hyderabad) (01:50.5); 3. Baljinder Sngh Dhillon (Delhi)/ Goutham CP (Chikkamagalur) R-Tech Motorsports (01:55.4).
Junior INRC: 1. Arjun Y Mavaji (Bengaluru) pvt (01:51.0); 2. Abhimanyu Sajeevan (Kozhikode) Snap Racing (01:52.6); 3. Tarushi Vikram (Chikkamagaluru) (Chettinad Sporting) (01:56.3).
Ladies Class: 1. Anushriya Gulati (Dehradun) Aka Motorsports (01:53.2); 2. Phoebe Dale Nongrum (Shillong) (01:53.6); 3. Tarushi Vikram (01:56.3).
Fmsci Gypsy Challenge: 1. Aneesh Sangma (Tura)/ Dinky Varghese (Coimbatore) Pvt. (01: 59.4); 2. Sanjay Agarwal/ Dheeraj Manae (Both Bengaluru) Pvt. (02:02.5);
Classic Challenge: 1. Satish P (Bengaluru)/ Rishikesh KR (Thrissur) pvt. (02:07.2);2. Elavia Hoshmand (Mumbai)/ Arvind Dheerendra (Bengaluru) Pvt. (02:19.3).
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