Karna Kadur of Bengaluru, along with co-driver Kumar Ramaswamy from Coimbatore of Arka Motorsports, overcame a turbo failure to win the 49th South India Rally at the Madras International Circuit on Sunday. The event was organized by the Madras Motor Sports Club. His main competitor, Gaurav Gill, retired due to a mechanical issue.

Kadur, 37, dominated the weekend with blistering speed, matching the intense heat as he surged through the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship powered by Vamcy Merla and the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship. His performance once again highlighted his undeniable talent. Hyderabad’s Jeet Jhabkah and co-driver Musa Sherif from Kasargod finished second in the APRC, while the Spanish team of Edgar Vigo Lopez and Fatima Ameneiro Teijeiro rounded out the top three.

MMSC awarded Musa Sherif a memento in recognition of his achievement of competing in his 350th career rally, both nationally and internationally

In the INRC Overall segment, the top three finishers, besides Kadur, were from Bengaluru, with Ritesh Guttedar and Suraj M (AART Motorsports) finishing second ahead of Arvind Dheerendra and Shahid Salman (Duran Racing). Ritesh also claimed victory in the INRC 2 class.

Meanwhile, two female competitors, Tarushi Vikram (Chikkamgaluru) of Chettinad Sporting and Anushriya Gultati (Dehradun), were among the top 10 finishers in the INRC. Tarushi, with co-driver Athreya Kousgi, achieved a double by winning the Ladies and Junior INRC classes. Anushriya, with co-driver Karan Aukta of Arka Motorsports, finished second in the INRC 3T category, just behind Vishakh Balachandran.

Arvind Dheerendra from Bengaluru and his co-driver Shahid Salman debuted with Duran Racing by winning the INRC 3 class.

Kadur's only setback during an otherwise flawless run was losing turbo power suddenly in Sunday’s second Special Stage, costing him over a minute while he was leading Gill by roughly 30 seconds. Interestingly, Gill, a three-time APRC champion, also faced a mechanical problem in the same Stage, which shifted the advantage decisively to Kadur. His service crew did an excellent job fixing the turbo issue during the 30-minute service break.

“It was a bit of a struggle for me after I lost the turbo barely 700 metres into the Stage (19.38 Kms), but somehow survived. Though I lost over a minute, I had sufficient lead to retain my top position. Also, I was lucky that there was a break for service after the Stage and I was able to get back on pace over the remaining two Stages. I was positive through the weekend and it helped me a lot to have the mechanics who have worked with me for over a decade and they knew exactly how and what to do. Of course, I am thrilled to win here and get a good start to the season,” said Kadur.

Jeet Jhabakh's debut APRC season was as successful as he had hoped for. “When Gill dropped out, I could breathe easy and with no chance of catching up with Karna (Kadur), I opted to secure my APRC points even if it meant easing off a bit. There was a moment when I saw Gill parked on the Stage and I spun, but recovered. It was close!” said a relieved Jhabakh, who had finished fourth in the APRC Round-1 in Otago, New Zealand, earlier this month.

For Edgar Vigo Lopez, it was a trial by fire. “We are happy to finish on the podium, but it was very challenging. The heat! We are not used to it, but seriously, we are thankful to Arka Motorsports for giving us a great car. Overall, our first trip to India was enjoyable and we now look forward to doing well in the remaining two APRC rounds in China and Indonesia,” said Lopez.

Provisional classification:

Asia-Pacific Rally Championship:

1. Karna Kadur/ Kumar Ramaswamy (Arka Motorsports) (01hr, 59mins, 55.5secs)

2. Jeet Jabhakh/ Musa Sherif (pvt.) (02:04:58.0)

3. Edgar Vigo Lopez/ Fatima Ameneiro Teijeiro (Spain) (02:05:47.8).

Indian National Rally Championship:

INRC Overall:

1. Karna Kadur / Kumar Ramaswamy (Arka Motorsports) (01:59:55.5)

2. Ritesh Guttedar / Suraj M (AART Motorsports) (02:04:27.4)

3. Arvind Dheerendra/ Shahid Salman (Duran Racing) (02:04:29.2).

INRC 2:

1. Ritesh Guttedar / Suraj M (AART Motorsports) (02:04:27.4)

2. Jeet Jabhakh / Musa Sherif (pvt.) (02:04:58.0)

3. Arjun Y Mavaji / Jeevarathinam J (Chettinad Sporting) (02:07:49.8).

INRC 3:

1. Arvind Dheerendra / Shahid Salman (Duran Racing) (02:04:29.2)

2. Chandan Manchegowda / Suraj Keshav Prasad (Arka Motorsports) (02:06:02.4)

3. Tarushi Vikram / Athreya Kousgi (Chettinad Sporting) (02:06:46.1).

INRC 3T:

1. Vishakh Balachandran / Chiranth Jain (Duran Racing) (02:05:43.6)

2. Anushriya Gulati / Karan Aukta (Arka Motorsports) (02:06:38.8)

3. Adith KC / Avinash CA (Arka Motorsports) (02:11:01.9).

Ladies:

1. Tarushi Vikram / Athreya Kousgi (Chettinad Sporting) (02:06:46.1)

2. Athira Murali / Arun Chakkalakkal (Duran Racing) (02:15:30.0)

3. Sonakshi Paranthaman / Dheeraj Salimath (Chettinad Sporting) (02:20:56.8).

Junior INRC:

1. Tarushi Vikram / Athreya Kousgi (Chettinad Sporting) (02:06:46.1)

2. Sonakshi Paranthaman/ Dheeraj Salimath (Chettinad Sporting) (02:20:56.8)

3. Hoshmand Elavia / Venu Ramesh Kumar (Pvt.) (02:50:41.3).

Masters Cup:

1. Pradeep Ravi / Thimmu Uddapanda (Arka Motorsports) (02:07:15.1)

2. Balakrishna Jayasimha / Arjun Dheerendra (Pvt.) (02:18:13.6).

Classic Cup:

1. Sreejesh MP/ Naushad KM (Pvt.) (02:38:28.7).