The first round of the FMSCI INRC 2018 got off to a flyer with an
action packed weekend. The rallying was non-stop with 31 competitors starting it out for the
top honours. With only 15 competitors completing all 10 stages of the rally, it was clear that
the conditions weren’t the easiest for the drivers as well as their machines in Chennai.
Vicky Chandhok who made a comeback to competitive rallying after 18 years finished on the
podium in 3rd place in the INRC 1 category and 8th overall. Vicky Chandhok was piloting the
Volkswagen Polo R2 built by Volkswagen Motorsport team along with co-driver
Chandramouli from Bengaluru.There were, in all, 10 stages covering a total distance of 102.2km.
Stages 1 and 6, the Super Special Stages (SSS), was run on the 3.1km tarmac surface of MMRT. Competitors also moved to the AAVISA golf course section measuring 13.85km, where stages 2 and 4 ran in
the forward direction, while stages 7 and 9 ran in the reverse direction. The third part of the
rally, for stages 3, 5, 8 and 10 were at the MMRT track on a mix of gravel and tarmac
measuring 10.15km, with the latter two being run in reverse direction.
INRC 2 category was won by Karna Kadur while second place was taken by Rahul
Kantharaj, both driving Volkswagen Polo rally cars. INRC 3 was won by Vikram Aroor
followed by Dean Mascarenhas, the champion of the INRC 3 category in 2017. Both Vikram
and Dean were also driving Volkswagen Polo rally cars.
Source : Volkswagen Motorsport
