Gill wins Rally of Arunachal; Mangalureans Dean Mascarenhas, Ashwin Naik finish second, third

Agencies
December 29, 2017

Team Mahindra Adventures Gaurav Gill took another measured step towards his fifth MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship, adding the Rally of Arunachal to his conquests here today.

The three-time APRC champion and his co-driver Musa Sherif were in a class of their own, scorching the two night stages on Friday and winning two out of the four stages on Saturday to the delight of awe-struck fans here in picturesque Ziro.

"They were the fastest and most technical stages that I have seen in the INRC in many, many years," Gill said, immediately after his victory.

"We had a great car, wonderful setup and tyres and we really enjoyed this win," he added.

Dean Mascarenhas consolidated his position in the INRC 3 class by finishing second in the overall category. In the bargain, he posted his fourth straight victory in as many rounds in his class to virtually seal the title.

Gills Mahindra Adventure teammate Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik took the third place by keeping pace with the winners in each and every stage. They were just 11.8 seconds behind Dean and 43.2 seconds behind Gills final tally of 58:50.4 minutes in the six stages.

The INRC 2 division was claimed by Younus Ilyas and Harish Kumar as they pipped table toppers Rahul Kanthraj and Vivek Y Bhatt, gaining a 19.3 second advantage in the opening stage.

Defending champion Karna Kadur and top contender Arjun Raos cars stalled just after the start and blocked the road, forcing the organisers to cancel the stage. Both withdrew from the rally, giving a free run to the rest of the field.

The four drivers ahead of them finished the stage while all others were given the same scratch time of 14 seconds. Rahul Kanthraj, who was among the finishers, could muster only 14:19.3 minutes which eventually hurt him in the final count. He, however, took the second place (fifth overall) to stay ahead in the race for the INRC 2 title.

Gill was calm personified as he built a solid lead of over 50 seconds in the first three stages itself. He took his foot off the pedal in the fourth stage, allowing Dean and Amittrajit to fight it out for honours here.

He reasserted himself in the next stage to ensure that the Rally of Arunachal was safe in his pocket. He is ahead with 75 points from three starts, despite missing Round 4 in Chikmagalur, and simply needs to drive smart in the final round in Bengaluru.

Dean Mascarenhas, with 63 points, has to be reckoned with though as an upset victory can still set him up for the 2017 championship.

Comments

Zahoor
 - 
Friday, 29 Dec 2017

Proper support from KN govt may helps to achieve more

Danish
 - 
Friday, 29 Dec 2017

Wow.. Congrats.. I saw him. He used to drive like race in NH also

Kumar
 - 
Friday, 29 Dec 2017

Congrats.. Great achievement

Ganesh
 - 
Friday, 29 Dec 2017

Very young energetic guy

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News Network
February 7,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 7: A preliminary charge-sheet has been filed in three cases in the Karnataka Premier League (KPL) betting and match-fixing case.

In Cubbon Park case, chargesheet against six accused which includes two team owners-- Ali and Arvind Reddy, one KSCA management committee member Shinde, two players Gautum and Kazi and one bookie Maavi are charge-sheeted.

Apart from this, charge-sheet filed in Bharatinagar PS case against six accused while in JP Nagar case four accused-- Bafna, Sayyam, Jatin and Harish-- have been charge-sheeted.

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News Network
January 10,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 10: Chief minister BS Yediyurappa said on Thursday he might not attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, and would most likely visit Delhi this weekend for discussions on the pending cabinet expansion.

He was expected to join Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Mansukh Mandaviya, chief ministers Amarinder Singh (Punjab) and Kamal Nath (Madhya Pradesh) and over 100 Indian CEOs at WEF’s 50th annual gathering on January 21-24.

“Mostly, I may not go for Davos (meet),” he told reporters on Thursday. Last week, he had said he was not keen on travelling to the Swiss town but was considering it as some chief ministers’ attendance was required at the high-profile event.

Eleven Congress-JD(S) turncoats, who contested the bypolls on BJP tickets and won, reportedly pressured Yediyurappa to take a decision on cabinet expansion before the now-uncertain Davos trip; it was even suggested that he should simply cancel the trip. The newly elected BJP MLAs are widely expected to be inducted as ministers. But officials in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said his disinclination to travel had nothing to do with the cabinet exercise.

“It’s mainly because of his health. That place (Davos) has got temperature of minus 4-6 degrees and it will be quite tedious for Yediyurappa at the age of 76,” one official said. BJP functionaries, however, claimed that he was wary of taking a trip amid tensions in the party. “The new MLAs have been breathing down Yediyurappa’s neck. They have pushed him into a corner, demanding that he complete cabinet expansion before going anywhere,” a senior functionary said.

On Thursday, the chief minister said he had sought a meeting with party bosses in Delhi. “To discuss cabinet expansion and other important issues, I plan to travel to New Delhi on January 11 or 12. However, I am still waiting for an appointment with the BJP national president and prime minister,” he said.

While Yediyurappa, his additional chief secretary P Ravi Kumar and political adviser MB Maramkal may not visit Davos, a 10-member delegation from Karnataka, including Jagadish Shettar, is expected to travel. There are reports ministers’ family members might join the delegation.

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News Network
May 10,2020

Bengaluru, May 10: Karnataka on Sunday reported 59 new cases of coronavirus, taking the total number of cases in the state to 848, informed state health department.
Out of the total number of cases, 422 people have been discharged and 31 have died due to the infection in the state.
The health department further informed that six COVID-19 patients are currently in the Intensive Care Unit.

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