Kochi, Sep 01: V R Naren Ramkumar of Team MRF, having established an overnight lead of 33 seconds, went on to complete the remaining four special stages with the aplomb to win the Kerala Rally 2003, the third round of the MAI's Indian National Rally Championship here, on sunday.
There was heartbreak for Arjun Balu and K Ramaswamy, also of Team MRF, who had to withdraw from the rally due to gearbox problems in the second stage of the day. Arjun was firmly ensconced in second place and the leg points would have definitely helped him as the season progressed.
Karandip Singh and co-driver Jaidas Menon finished second, followed by N Leelkrishnan and Farooque Ahmed (both Team MRF).
Gulf Chettinad's Jiby Maliakkal clipped a tree in the last stage of the day and lost his rear bumper, but managed to hang on and take fourth place overall.
Also putting in a creditable performance were Arjuna Rao Aroor and C K Chinnappa, competing in the rally star cup, who finished fifth overall, ahead of the 1400cc MPFI cars.



Aroor and Chinnappa finished in 1:33.59, a minute and five seconds ahead of the sixth-placed R Karthikeyan and G Satish. It was Karthikeyan's first victory in the 1400cc category and though it came in the absence of the top two drivers Rahul Kanthraj and Lohit Urs, it was satisfying nonetheless.



For Naren Kumar, who recorded his seventh INRC win in a row, it was all in a day's work. He widened his lead to 39 seconds in the first special stage of the day, pushing hard through the smooth tarmac, the wet surface not hampering his progress.


Bureau Report