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2018 is a milestone year for the Indian National Rally Championship(INRC), the 30th anniversary of the championship that has been running since 1988.
The 2018 season consists of six rallies scheduled to run across different states of the country. The classes for this season are the INRC1, INRC2, and INRC3.The crews competing in all the 3 classes are eligible for the overall INRC title.
The cars competing in the INRC1 class will the Mahindra super XUV’s and VW polo R2s. The INRC2 and INRC3 will have a pack of the VW polos and the Mitsubishi cedias. The only difference between the two classes being INRC3 cars will adhere to the Group-N regulations while in the INRC2 modifications in accordance with the regulations is allowed.
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The INRC 4-wheel drive cup and 2-wheel drive will be run as the support classes and these crews will not be eligible for the Overall INRC title.
#5 Rahul Kanthraj / Vivek Bhatt
Bangalore based Rahul and his co-driver Vivek won the INRC-2 Championship in 2017 ahead of his team-mate Karna Kadur from ARKA Motorsport.
In the sport of rallying mechanical breakdowns and punctures are very common due to the rough and bumpy gravel roads, unlike racing the slightest mistake can end your rally on most occasions.
Rahul with his exceptional driving skills and his vastly experienced co-driver Vivek together have completed every single rally from the year 2014, that’s twenty straight rallies, twelve wins, six runners-up, a third place. Making it four championships in a row in their Mitsubishi Cedia.
The crew will be driving their new VW polo in the INRC2 class for the 2018 season. In the South India Rally, they will be driving a Group-N polo in the INRC2 class and expected to get their upgrades as the season progresses
With such consistency and experience in rallying and switching over to a quicker car for this year, we can certainly expect Rahul to be a top contender for the overall INRC title.
#4 Dean Mascarenhas / Shruptha Padival
Mangalore based Dean and Shruptha were the runners-up of the INRC 2017 finishing behind the champion driver Gaurav Gill in the overall standings. They also won the INRC3 Championship last year.
Dean started Rallying at the age of 18 and won his class ahead of all the seasoned drivers by a big margin in his very first rally. Since then there has been no looking back form this young lad.
Dean has been one of the most competitive drivers for the top spot in the INRC in the recent years, he also was very successful in road racing and often considered as the next star rally driver from the country by many.
He has won so many rallies and podium finishes over the years but failed to win a championship till last year.
The crew will be driving a VW polo in the INRC3 class from Kumci sports this year.
Dean was so close to winning the INRC title last year. He showed so much maturity and consistency in his approach compared to his previous years of rallying.
He will the eyeing the top spot this year as well and certainly has the potential to win the INRC title.
#3 Amittrajit Ghosh/ Ashwin Naik
Double National Champion Amittrajit and Ashwin driving for the Mahindra Adventure team in their super XUV 500.
The crew came so close to winning the 2016 INRC championship in their XUV but handed it over to Karna Kadur due to a mechanical failure in the last rally of that season.
Amittrajit has won several rallies and has been a regular at the podium. He is yet to win a championship with the Mahindra team and will be partnering Gaurav Gill as his team-mate in the other XUV for the current season.
Both the XUVs will be running a similar specification to last year in the opening round at the South India rally in Chennai and expected to get new suspension upgrades from the second round onwards.
Amittrajjit with his previous experience in both National and International rallies, the XUV being the most winning rally car in the INRC since its entry, he will be looking for his third INRC title this year and certainly can challenge for the title with such a package.
#2 Karna Kadur and Nikhil Pai
Karna and Nikhil won the 2016 INRC Championship for the Yokohama rally team.
He is the only driver in an Indian car to beat the Mahindra’s since their entry in the INRC, which gave Volkswagen their first and only INRC title until today.
Karna started rallying in 2009 and won his debut rally with a lead over a minute despite a topple during the course of the event. He is been a regular to the INRC since then.
The crew will be driving in the INRC2 class for the current season, for the first round they will be driving a Group-N polo. They are expecting engine and transmission upgrades on their car as the season progresses.
Karna has previously matched and also beaten the much quicker 4 wheel drive foreign cars in some of the stages of the Coffee Day rally (APRC rally in India), making the most out of his current car. He has also beat XUV to win the same rally last year.
The math and his stats say that he is capable of producing another championship this year.
#1 Gaurav Gill / Musa Sherif
Undoubtedly the best driver INRC has produced since its origin.
Gaurav Gill has won the INRC title 5 times, the APRC title 3 times and is all set to drive the World Rally Championship in the WRC-2 class later this year.
Musa Sherif is one of the top co-drivers in the country with plenty of experience in both National and International rallies.
The pair has taken the INRC by storm in the recent years. The crew will be driving for the Mahindra Adventure team in an XUV 500 for the current season.
Gill won the INRC and the APRC last year. He will be looking to add more titles to his name this year as well.
Our top bet for the title would be none other than Gaurav Gill who will be looking to make it 6 this year, which will equal the number of titles of his current tuner N.Leela Krishnan.
