Date:19/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/19/stories/2008101960022300.htm

Sport - Racing : Motor

Vikram Mathias takes over three-minute lead

Sports Reporter

Coimbatore: Red Rooster Racing’s Vikram Mathias (co-driver P.V.S. Murthy) took a lead of over three minutes in the overall standings on the opening day of the IMG Mill & Monsoon Rally, the fifth leg of the Indian National Rally Championship, at the Kethanur Windmill Farms, near here, on Saturday.

“I did drive cautiously at the start as I had the championship on my mind,” admitted Mathias. But, the 34-year-old gathered pace and ensured that everything was in place over the next few stages.

Fortunately for the drivers and the organisers, the weather was good. “It was hot but still pleasant driving through the stages,” said Mathias, the championship leader.

Even as Mathias was enjoying his drive on his N+ (modified) Mitsubishi Lancer Cedia, his team-mate Amittrajith Ghosh (co-driver Ashwin Naik), also on a Cedia, was forced to retire due to gearbox problems after the third special stage.

“There’s no point pushing hard tomorrow. I will continue to be cautious even if it is at the cost of a place,” said Mathias.

Sanket suffers setback

It wasn’t all sunny, however, for Team Winspeed’s Sanket Shanbhag and his father (co-driver Ramesh Shanbhag), in the 1600cc class.

The championship leader slammed his Baleno into a tree and with his engine stalled in special stage 2. He lost about two precious minutes before he restarted and completed the stage.

To add to his woes, he lost more time in the fourth stage with a puncture and finished the day over three minutes behind the Joshy-Pai duo.

The results: Leg 1: Provisional (unaudited): Overall: 1. Vikram Mathias / PVS Murthy (Red Rooster Racing, N+ Cedia) 49:35s, 2. Girijashankar Joshy / Prajwal Pai (Team Winspeed, Baleno) 53:12s, 3. Shailendra Hegde / Sheraz Ahmed (RSC Esteem) 55:15s. 1600cc: 1. Joshy / Pai 53:12s, 2. Sanket Shanbhag / Ramesh Shanbhag (Team Winspeed) 56:15s, 3. Biju Anthony / S. George 56:29s. 1400cc: S. Sujay / S.M. Bharath 56:17s, 2. J.M. Manju / Jeevarathinam 56:32s, 3. Sourabh Choudhuri / Uday Kumar 56:34s.

Rally Star Cup (Esteem): 1. Hegde / Ahmed 55:15s; 2. Vikram Devadasan / Raymond D’Souza 56:02s, 3. Byram Godrej / George Varhese 56:08s. Gypsy: 1. Sandeep Sharma / Rashid Raza 56:25s; 2. J Arvind / Pramond Raman (56:58)s; 3. Sanjay Agarwal / Elias Paarel 57:13s.