K1000: A telling sign of things to come in the INRC
Gaurav Gill & Musa Sherif, Karna Kadur & Nikhil Pai and Rahul Kantraj & Vivek Bhatt were among the many high-profile driver and co-driver pairs that were forced to retire from the K1000 rally, at or before the start of Day 2. While their retirements perhaps came as a disappointment to many of the spectators, it pulled the curtains on the rest of the pack, revealing a blend of youth and experience tempered with copious amounts of talent.
The old guard still runs strong
Some of the old favourites occupied all the steps on the podium.
By the end of the K1000, it was clear, that the more sensible you were, the better your chances of winning. The stages were rough to begin with, and given how just 2 stages were repeatedly used through both days, the surfaces only got rougher and rougher as the rally wore on. So, it was evident that cooler heads would prevail.
Chetan Shivram & DIlip Sharan won the overall rally, just as they did at the Rally of Coimbatore, in their bare-bones, INRC 3 VW Polo. To us, this underscores just how consistent and composed the pair were throughout the whole event. Dr. Bikku Babu and Milen were 2nd overall, and Amittrajit Ghosh & Ashwin Naik were 3rd, with equally consistent drives.
We’ve been seeing these names in Indian rallying for over a decade now. And it is just as great to see these names up there today, as it was back then. Rallying has always been about endurance and there isn’t a doubt in anyone’s minds, these names have endured.
The pack is full of spring chickens
Over the course of the rally, we had many different stage winners. Younus Ilyas & Harish Gowda, Dr. Bikku Babu & Milen, Dean & Shruptha, Karna Kadur & Nikhil Pai and of course, Chetan Shivram & Dilip Sharan had all won a stage by the end of the rally. Yes, Gaurav Gill & Musa Sherif were the only ones with a sub-14 minute stage timing in the first stage, but that didn’t stop Dr. Bikku and Karna from outdoing the Mahindra Adventure duo in Stage 2, when Gill and Musa were still in contention. This was a sign of things to come. Gaurav and Musa pulled out of the rally, and we saw four different stage winners in the 4 stages that took place on Day 2. Although the haste of some drivers and the toughness of the course led to a number of retirements, it is plain to see, that the INRC pack is filled with driver-navigator pairs that are well and capable of putting on an incredible performance.
The organizers came through
Stones were painted white, careless spectators were shooed away and the entire rally was held in the closed quarters of the Khoday factory on the outskirts of Bangalore. By all accounts, the K1000 was organized extremely safely, and although a few stages ran later than scheduled — stage 2 was canceled on Day 1 — the event was more or less perfectly run. Even the podium ceremony was a bit different than your usual INRC podium ceremony, with rappers and break dancers taking the stage. It certainly felt like the organizers went all-out in convincing the public that the sport of Rallying is both inclusive and safe.
To sum up, yes, the sport of rallying still isn’t what it used to be. It still hasn’t reached the heights of the golden era when the likes of Naren Kumar, Hari Singh, Leelakrishnan, Vikram Mathias and Arjun Balu were leading the pack. Back then, it was a time when there were a number of driver-navigator teams in contention to win. And today, while it still does appear to be the case, we do have some ways to go. However, the blend of fresh blood, as well as experienced heads on display at the K1000, revealed just how much we have to look forward to in the years to come.
Originally published at https://medium.com on December 4, 2019.
