Gaurav Gill wins fifth round of the 2024 INRC at Coorg

Gaurav Gill clinched the win at the Robusta Rally in Coorg, winning the fifth round of the 2024 INRC. Driving his JK Tyre powered Ford Fiesta Rally 4, the 3 time Asia Pacific and 7 time national rally champion, along with co-driver Aniruddha Rangnekar, Gill dominated the rally from start to finish winning 6 of the 12 stages of the rally. This was the duo’s second win this season, following their win at the previous round of the championship in Hyderabad.

Gill’s final margin time was 1 minute and 20 seconds faster over his closest competitor, thanks to a mix of aggressive and sensible driving to take the win on the tricky estate roads in the Tata coffee estate plantations. This was also the first time either Gill or Rangnekar had done this rally in their career.

Championship leaders Karna Kadur (co-driver Musa Sheriff) finished second overall in the rally. Aditya Thakur (co-driver Virender Kashyap) finished third in the overall standings, while also winning the INRC2 class. Jason Saldana (co-driver Thimmu Uddapanda) finished second in the INRC2 class, ahead of Dean Mascarehnas (co-driver Gagan Karumbaiah).

Daraius Shroff (co-driver Arjun Dheerendra) won the INRC3 category, while Arnav Pratap Singh (co-driver Rohit) took the second spot in INRC3 – also winning the JINRC. The final podium spot in the INRC3 went to Jeet Jhabakh (co-driver V Sekhar).

Anushriya Gulati won the women’s category of the rally, while Nikeetaa Takkale and Phoebe Nongrum completed the podium places for the category. The final round of the championship is  the K-1000 rally, taking place between the 13th and 15th of December, and this is where the championship will be decided.