ITANAGAR, Nov 4 - On a day of upsets, Team Mahindra Adventures� Amittrajit Ghosh showed great tactical acumen to win the Rally of Arunachal, Round 3 of the MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship here today. Ghosh, who exhibited amazing fightback on day one to rise from ninth to third, enjoyed a much-needed slice of luck as overnight leader Gaurav Gill pulled out of the competition as his car broke down in the sixth stage.
He tackled the day�s three stages cautiously, finishing second in (Special Stages) SS5, third in SS6 and again second in SS7 for a cumulative top timing of 00:57:33.6.
It was 5.9 seconds faster than INRC 2�s Phalguna Urs and Srikanth, giving them the victory. The Snap Racing pair, who were hot on Gill�s tail all of Saturday, didn�t have a fruitful second day, managing only two fourth-place and one fifth-place finish in the stages.
Phalguna�s drive was still good enough to earn his team the INRC 2 win. Former champion Karna Kadur (with PVS Murthy) made a valiant charge, taking the second place in SS6 and even winning SS7 but that could only fetch him the runner-up trophy.
Kadur�s Arka Motorsports team-mate Rahul Kanthraj (Vivek Y Bhatt) dropped one position to settle for the third place. The INRC 3 too saw a change in the pecking order, with leaders Suhem Kabeer (Jeevarathinam) of Team Champions slipping out of reckoning in the day�s first stage itself after a crash. It allowed his team-mate and defending champion Dean Mascarenhas (Shruptha Padival) to claim the title.
Aroor Vikram Rao (Somayya AG) and local outfit Phurpa Tsering (Chow Tiktha) took the other two places on the podium. Organised by the Motorsports Club of Arunachal, an affiliate of the Federation of Motor Sports Club of India (FMSCI), with support from the Arunachal Pradesh Police, the Rally of Arunachal, Round 3 of the MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship 2018 was flagged off by Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Friday.
It may be mentioned that in the recent years car rallies organised in Arunachal Pradesh is attracting the best in the motor racing sport to take part in the rally as it endures the test of the drivers in the difficult terrain.
