Samuel Jacob and Ruthuparna Vivek crowned 'King of Hills' in Indian National Hill Climb Championship

Hampi (Karnataka), Jan 5 Ruthuparna Vivek and Samuel Jacob won the cars and bikes category respectively in Round 3 of the MSCK fmsci Indian National Hill Climb Championship at Hampi Hills in Karnataka on Monday.

The National qualifier organised by Motorsports Academy of Vijayanagar attracted a record 113 entries and was supported by the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports and Karnataka Tourism.

Chikmagalur’s 26-year-old Ruthuparna, a regular on the Indian National Rally Championship circuit, was in sublime form across categories, topping the 1151–1450cc Pro-Stock Petrol class with a best time of 2:20.818 and later stamping his authority again in the Unrestricted category with a blistering 2:07.623 in her Mercedes AMG for a double win.

Bijapur off-roader Kavita Desai, who won many trophies in the last few years, capped a fine weekend by taking the Ladies class wins in both two-wheelers and four-wheelers.

In the two-wheelers, Udupi’s Samuel Jacob, a multiple national champion, was equally commanding, winning the premier Unrestricted class with an impressive 2:03.529, showcasing precision and aggression on the technical Hampi ascent of 2.5km with five hairpin bends.

In the two-wheelers, Darpan Darshan enjoyed a productive outing with victories in the Group B 4S up to 165cc and the 166cc to 260cc classes, while Madhu Sudhan claimed honours in the Group B 4S 261cc and above category.

Suhail Ahmed added to his tally by winning the Group B Indian Open 4S class, and Vikas M topped the Indian Open 2S segment. In the cars, Ashwin Pugalagiri emerged on top in the 1451–1650cc Pro-Stock Petrol class, while Chetan delivered a strong double by winning both the 1651–2050cc Pro-Stock Petrol and the Indian Open categories.

Race Directors Santosh H M and Rohit Gowda from Motorsports Academy of Vijayanagara said: “record entries reflect the growing popularity of hill climb motorsport in India and as the first event set a strong tone for the 2026 racing season.” The winners were felicitated by Deputy Director of Tourism Prabhulinga.

Provisional Final Results:

Class 1: Group B 4S up to 165cc: 1. Darpan Darshan, 02:28.839; 2. Darshan D 02:40.345;

Class 2: Group B 4S 166cc to 260cc: 1. Darpan Darshan 02:18.547; 2. Trinesh V 02:22.941; 3. Aditya Venkata Dutt 02:24.926;

Class 3: Group B 4S 261cc & Above: 1. Madhu Sudhan 02:09.396; 2. Suhail Ahmed 02:09.774; 3. Chetan B Hosatti 02:17.143;

Class 5: Group B Indian Open 4S: 1. Suhail Ahmed 02:11.533; 2. Darpan Darshan 02:18.259; 3. Chetan B Hosatti 02:19.235;

Class 6 Group B Indian Open 2S: 1. Vikas M – 02:26.757; 2. Harsha 02:31.720;

Class 7 Unrestricted: 1. Samuel Jacob 02:03.529; 2. Suhail Ahmed 02:08.132; 3. Vishwas SD 02:15.228;

Class 8 Ladies: Kavita Desai 03:40.150;

Class 9: Foreign Open: 1. Samuel Jacob 02:04.563; 2. Viswas 02:10.260; 3. Suhail Ahmed 02:12.535;

Class 10: Royal Enfield Open: 1. Suhail Ahmed 02:10.065; 2. Vishwas SD 02:12.610;

4Wheeler classes:

Class 1: Up to 1150cc Pro-Stock Petrol: 1. Sawan Satyanarayan 02:36.519; 2. Lohit JM 02:48.940;

Class 2: 1151 to 1450cc Pro-Stock Petrol: 1. Ruthuparna Vivek 02:20.818; 2. Paramesh H 02:21.624; 3. Vijesh Kumar Nair 02:44.369;

Class 3: 1451 to 1650cc Pro-Stock Petrol: 1. Ashwin Pugalagiri 02:11.909; 2. Vijesh Kumar Nair 02:46.031; 3. Lalita Gowda 03:21.380;

Class 4: 1651 to 2050cc Pro-Stock Petrol: 1. Chetan 02:23.935; 2. Arvind Dheerendra 02:28.526;

Class 5: 4W Indian Open: 1. Chetan 02:05.586; 2. Ashwin Pugalagiri 02:07.460; 3. Ruthu Parna Vivel 02:07.629;

Class 17 – 4W Unrestricted: 1. Ruthu Parna Vivek 02:07.623; 2. Tushar Jiwanmall 02:08.595; 3. Ashwin Pugalagiri 02:11.628;

Class 8 – 4W Ladies: 1. Kavita Desai 02:52.616; 2. Akkshatha Kadlur 02:57.535; 3. Divya 02:58.136;

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