Nashik, February 27 – Defending National Rally Champion and last year’s winner, Karna Kadur of Bengaluru, along with his experienced co-driver, Musa Sherif of Kasargod, set the pace in the 2.1-km Super Special Stage of the Maharashtra Rally, the sixth and final round of the 2025 FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), at the Grape County tarmac strip in Nashik on Friday.
The multiple-time national champion delivered a sharp and controlled performance, establishing a clear lead in the curtain-raiser organized by the Western India Sports Association.
However, the real challenge begins on Saturday, when the crews will tackle two demanding loops of three Special Stages each, covering 71.64 km of highly technical tarmac.
INRC2 championship leader, Jason Saldanha of Mangaluru, guided by Bengaluru’s PV Srinivasa Murthy, secured second place, demonstrating his consistency. The Himachal Pradesh duo of Aditya Thakur and Virender Kashyap, who won the previous round in Indore, finished third in the Triple-S category.
Dean Mascarenhas and Gagan Karumbaiah, the Mangaluru-Kodagu pairing driving for MRF, adopted a cautious and measured approach to avoid unnecessary risks, finishing sixth overall and third in the premier INRC1 class.
Saldanha and Murthy also topped the INRC2 category, further strengthening their position in the standings. In INRC3, championship leaders Vishakh Balachandran and Chiranth Jain maintained their momentum after the Super Special Stage, taking the lead in their class. Jeet Jhabhak of Hyderabad, with Sekhar V of Erode, took an early lead in the INRC 3T class.
Arjun Y. Mavaji put in a strong performance to take the lead in the Junior INRC category, while Anushriya Gulati signaled her intent by setting the fastest time in the Ladies class, finishing ahead of current leader Phoebe Dale Nongrum.
Provisional Results (Super Special Stage):
* Overall: 1. Karna Kadur (Bengaluru)/ Musa Sherif (Kasargod), Arka Motorsports (01 minute, 42.9 seconds); 2. Jason Saldanha (Mangaluru)/ PV Srinivasa Murthy (Bengaluru) Arka Motorsports (01:44.3); 3. Aditya Thakur/ Virender Kashyap (both Himachal) TSI Racing, (01:45.1);
* INRC1: 1. Karna Kadur (Bengaluru)/ Musa Sherif (Kasargod), Arka Motorsports (01:42.9); 2. Aditya Thakur/ Virender Kashyap (both Himachal) TSI Racing, (01:45.1); 2. Dean Mascarenhas (Mangaluru)/ Gagan Karumbaiah (Kodagu) (TSI Racing) (01:48.2).
* INRC2: 1. Jason Saldanha (Mangaluru)/ PV Srinivasa Murthy (Bengaluru) Arka Motorsports (01:44.3); 2. Harkrishan Wadia (Delhi)/ Kunal Kashyap (Shimla) Arka Motorsports (01: 46.2); 3. Fabid Ahmer (Palakkad)/ Milen George (Kottayam), Pvt. (01:48.1).
* INRC3: 1. Vishakh Balachandran (Thiruvananthapuram)/ Chiranth Jain (Karkala) Chettinad Sporting (01:51.8); 2. Abhimanyu Sajeevan (Kozhikode) Snap Racing (01:52.6); 3. Aniruddha Rangnekar (Mumbai)/ AG Somayya (Kodagu) (Chettinad) (01:53.0).
* INRC 3T: 1. Jeet Jhabhak (Hyderabad)/ Sekhar V (Erode) (Chettinad) (01:49.2); 2. Naveen Puligilla (Hyderabad)/ Santosh Thomas (both Hyderabad) (01:50.5); 3. Baljinder Sngh Dhillon (Delhi)/ Goutham CP (Chikkamagalur) R-Tech Motorsports (01:55.4).
* Junior INRC: 1. Arjun Y Mavaji (Bengaluru) pvt (01:51.0); 2. Abhimanyu Sajeevan (Kozhikode) Snap Racing (01:52.6); 3. Tarushi Vikram (Chikkamagaluru) (Chettinad Sporting) (01:56.3).
* Ladies Class: 1. Anushriya Gulati (Dehradun) Aka Motorsports (01:53.2); 2. Phoebe Dale Nongrum (Shillong) (01:53.6); 3. Tarushi Vikram (01:56.3).
* Fmsci Gypsy Challenge: 1. Aneesh Sangma (Tura)/ Dinky Varghese (Coimbatore) Pvt. (01: 59.4); 2. Sanjay Agarwal/ Dheeraj Manae (Both Bengaluru) Pvt. (02:02.5);
* Classic Challenge: 1. Satish P (Bengaluru)/ Rishikesh KR (Thrissur) pvt. (02:07.2);2. Elavia Hoshmand (Mumbai)/ Arvind Dheerendra (Bengaluru) Pvt. (02:19.3).