Nashik, 28th August ‘16: Gaurav Gill and Musa Sherif of Team Mahindra Adventure stormed to victory at Round 2 of the MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) – the MRF Rally of Maharashtra while Abhilash PG and Srikanth Gowda bagged top honors in the MRF FMSCI Indian Rally Championship (IRC). At the glittering podium ceremony followed by champagne shower held here in Nashik, the winners were awarded the trophies by honorable Madhav Nene, Senior General Manager, Marketing, Mahindra and Mahindra and Mr Bijoy Kumar, Chief of Mahindra Adventure, along with a prize money of Rs 50,000/-, in the presence of Mr. Arindam Ghosh, Director, Ramakrishna Race Performance Management (RRPM) – the promoters of the 2016 MRF FMSCI INRC and IRC.
MRF Rally of Maharashtra being the only tarmac event in INRC and IRC 2016 was indeed a super fast event, which was made all the more challenging by the rain god. The slippery roads made Dean Mascarenhas and Ahmer topple their cars while Sameer Thapar slid off the road and got his car stuck in a mud bank. The slippery tracks did not even let Bopaiah K.M finish the rally as the lower arm of his car broke. On the other hand in spite of losing a lot of time due to 3 punctures in stage 1, 3 and 4, Amittrajit Ghosh of Team Mahindra Adventure managed to bag the 3rd position in INRC.
The team of Gaurav Gill and Musa Sherif won the rally with an overall time of 52 minutes 08 seconds followed by Arjun Rao and Satish Rajagopal as the first runners-up (53:12) and Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik, also from Team Mahindra Adventure as the second runners-up (53:59) at the exhilarating MRF Rally of Maharashtra which was organized by the Western India Sports Association. Bikku Babu and George Milen won the INRC 2000cc category with a time of 54:33, while K J Jacob and Manoj Mohanan won the FMSCI Cup.
Abhilash PG and Srikanth Gowda, entered in the MRF FMSCI Indian Rally Championship (IRC) won their category with a time of 55:20 which ran concurrently with the INRC. Indian drivers in Indian cars were eligible for the INRC while Indian or Foreign drivers in Indian or Foreign cars were eligible for the IRC.
It must be noted that the INRC and IRC are two separate championships and their results are not clubbed together or compared as they run distinctively different vehicles, most importantly, the INRC is for two wheel drive Indian vehicles only while the four wheel drive foreign vehicles are allowed in the IRC.
The prizes for the different categories are as follows:
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| INRC Overall | Gaurav Gill and Musa SherifTeam Mahindra AdventureRs 50,000/- + Trophies | Arjun Rao and Satish RajagopalRs 30,000/- + Trophies | Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin NaikRs 20,000/- + Trophies |
| IRC | Abhilash PG and Srikanth GowdaRs 50,000/- + Trophies | Suraj Kute and Shamim KhanRs 30,000/- + Trophies | Amol Satoskar and S DineshRs 20,000/- + Trophies |
| INRC 2000 cc | Bikku Babu and Milen GeorgeRs 50,000/- + Trophies | Karna Kadur and Nikhil Pai Rs 30,000/- + Trophies | Younus Ilyas and Suraj PrasadRs 20,000/- + Trophies |
| FMSCI Cup | K J Jacob and Manoj Mohanan Rs 40,000/- + Trophies | Yashas Nayaka M and Uday Kumar DRs 30,000/- + Trophies | Ganapathi Michu and Ramesh Kumar VenuRs 20,000/- + Trophies |
The MRF Rally of Maharashtra, which is the 2nd round of the MRF FMSCI INRC and IRC 2016 season, zipped through the 6 stages covering about 75 kms. of tarmac roads around Bhandardara on the outskirts of Nashik. 32 teams from all over the country competed in this super exciting rally.
Mr. Arindam Ghosh, Director, RRPM said, “I want to thank MRF Tyres, Mahindra Adventure, Polaris and Pincon for sponsoring the 2016 INRC and IRC championships. I also congratulate all winners and the entire team of Western India Sports Association.”
The winning driver of the MRF Rally of Maharashtra (INRC), Gaurav Gill said “It was a very challenging weekend with weather paying spoilt sport and Nashik terrain being even more demanding but we got a great set up thanks to Mahindra Adventure and MRF.”
The second placed driver Arjun Rao said, “On the whole the rally was very good, finishing 2nd overall is a good start to the championship considering that I did not finish in Coimbatore. Stages were very fast, technical and needed 100% accuracy in terms of both driving and navigation. Thanks to my sponsors Mandavi Motors, MRF, Castrol and VW.”
Finishing third was Amittrajit Ghosh who said “Finishing 3rd even after three punctures in 6 stages feels as good as a win. Plus we leave round 2 still leading the championship. Not our day but that’s rallying. Thanks to the team as always for their hard work in getting us to the finish.”
The winner of the IRC, Abhilash PG said “Happy to take home maximum points from IRC in spite of two punctures as the tyre choice went wrong in the first loop. Two wins in IRC this year and a good start for the season.”
The INRC 2000cc winner, Bikku Babu said “We have been having a bit of bad luck in the last few rallies so the idea was to have a trouble free rally. Even though the stages especially the 1st stage was very tricky, and we had a bit of issues with our car ultimately we are happy to end as no 1 in 2000cc.”
About RRPM:
Ramakrishna Race Performance Management Pvt. Ltd. (RRPM) is a company formed with the sole intention of promoting “Professional Motorsports” in India and provides all kinds of technical assistance and information required to be at par with the National Level.
RRPM was started in 2003 by Mr. Arindam Ghosh, an icon in his own rights with rallying and organizational experience of over 40 years. RRPM is proud to be a part of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India, which is the apex body of India.
The schedule of the MRF FMSCI INRC (Indian National Rally Championship) & the MRF FMSCI IRC (Indian Rally Championship) 2016 is as follows –
| DATE | LOCATION |
| 23rd & 24th July 2016 | Coimbatore |
| 27th & 28th August 2016 | Nashik |
| 17th & 18th September 2016 | Gurgaon |
| 26th & 27th November 2016 | Bengaluru |
| 3rd to 5th December 2016 | Chikmagalur |
Please do visit – www.INRCINDIA.com and www.RRPM.co