Round 1 of Indian National Rally Championship receives record entry

Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) [India], December 15 (ANI): The scenic city of Itanagar will reverberate with the sound of roaring cars as the much-awaited Rally of Arunachal, round 1 of Champions Yacht Club Indian championship">National Rally Championship gets underway here on Wednesday.
The Rally of Arunachal which is making a comeback after a year's gap will be seen in a bigger avatar with a record number of 43 cars lining up for glory including the country's top rally drivers.
While the tarmac surface on which the entire rally would run will make it a level playing field for all the drivers, the cynosure of all eyes will be the battle between defending champion Chetan Shivram and Gaurav Gill.
Chetan was the one who ended Gaurav's streak last year and will be eager to kick-start his title defence on a high note. The Kerala driver who has been snapped up by Yokohama for this year will be driving with a new co-driver Rupesh Kholay.
India's only Arjuna awardee in motorsports and multiple times INRC champion Gaurav (& co-driver Musa Sherif) had an uneventful last season and will look to begin the year with a bang. He will be aiming to conquer new frontiers and even though he had a below-par 2019, he signed off with a win in the ultimate round and shall aim to begin from where he left.
Privateer Karna Kadur (Nikhil V Pai) will be another driver to watch for and he too will have his sight set on the top podium especially after a poor run of form in the last season.
The Rally of Arunachal will see the teams fight it out over a total distance of 178.32 kms, with as many as 108 kms earmarked for four special stages over two days including two night stages which will provide the drivers as well as the spectators' ample opportunity for fun.
"It is a great way to start the season after the COVID-19 situation. The number of entries for Arunachal is indeed an evidence of our hard work over the past year. In the past when the rally struggled to line-up 15 drivers on the grid, we have 43 this year which I think is quite fabulous. And also the kind of sponsors we have been able to attract this season including MRF Tyres, JK Tyre, Yokohama Tyres is a very encouraging sign and is an indication that good things are in store for future of Indian rallying," Vamsi Merla, promoter of INRC said in a statement.
"Also I would like to express my gratitude to the Government of Arunachal, Kiren Rijiju, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports for their continued support for INRC and motorsports as a whole," he further added. (ANI)