Latest news with #FIAAsiaPacificRallyChampionship
New Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Automotive
- New Indian Express
Talented Nikeetaa living her dream, one race at a time
MEDAN (INDONESIA): As India signed off from the Sumatera Utara Rally — third round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship — with stunning podium finishes, it was a day to remember for Nikeetaa Takkale, who finished first in the APRC RC4 and went on to top the Ladies category. The 24-year-old driver from Pune, who is also the only Indian woman in the competition, came into the event with a mission of completing a hundred podium finishes and qualifying for the final in Japan and she did just that. Four years ago, all this was not even in the realm of things for Nikeetaa. Niece of Sanjay Takkale, a veteran rally driver from the country, Nikeetaa got a taste of driving very early on in her life. However, it was not until 2021 that she took racing seriously. "I never went to my uncle's rallies and all. One day in 2021, my dad (Nitin Takkale) called me in the morning, saying that I had to be there for the event. I said, 'I have my college exams.' He said, 'No, you just be here for five minutes'. I went there; it was an autocross event, but then I ran off. The second day, they called me, they filled my form, and they really wanted me to drive," Nikeetaa, who is supported by Vamcy Merla Motorsports and represents team JK Racing, recalls. "I'm a driver who used to drive very fast on the streets. So they wanted to stop my driving on the street and asked me to come to the track. I got the best amateur, the fastest driver amongst the guys," she adds. Not only that, but she also won the Ladies category title. Being in the middle of it all and the fastest amateur driver on both days gave her real energy. "It made me feel, 'I have to be in this sport'. That encouraged me a lot," she says. From then on, life has changed drastically for Nikeetaa. Motorsports became her life. Every minute she spent on or off the track was about motorsports. Much like life, her motorsport career has its share of ups and downs, but Nikeeta has maintained a steady rise. Whether it is becoming the fastest driver in the INAC autocross west zone, stealing the show at The Rally Star Cup or winning the Ladies Cup in Chennai, the 24-year-old has left a notable impression on everything she has touched so far. In all this, the support from her family, especially her father and husband, has been immense. "For me, to start my motorsports career, the only man behind me was my dad, till the day. And, it will always be him. The second man in my life was my husband. He will support me till I achieve my dreams," says the talented racer who switches to a completely different personality when she is off the track. 'Off the track, I'm too much into traditional touch. No one will guess that, 'oh, she's a rally driver'. But when they see me on track, yeah, they will be like, 'oh, cool',' says Nikeeta. For someone who did not want to talk too much about the final in Japan ahead of the event in Indonesia, Nikeeta's goal is to compete at the World Rally Championship and Dakar Rally. "This is the dream come true rally for me, the APRC, which I had dreamed of in 2022. So, yeah, slowly, step-by-step, I really want to do many more internationals. I want to gain more experience. I want to train with big trainers and then obviously my dream is to drive in the WRC," she said. She has ticked off one more step in Indonesia towards her dream. Her next stop, Japan in November.
New Indian Express
4 days ago
- Automotive
- New Indian Express
Calm before storm: Gill braced for tricky challenge
MEDAN (INDONESIA): Just as the teams and drivers assembled at the dais of the Sopo Tamaro hall on Friday for the ceremonial start of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship, the mention of the one person's name led to a huge cheer — Gaurav Gill. The 43-year-old Indian is a three-time APRC winner and is now on a quest to establish his authority in the Sumatera Utara International Rally and win his fourth title. A well-established figure and a favourite going into the event, Gill is as excited as he was when he tried to drive his uncle Upkar Gill's car — when Upkar and Hari Singh, former rally drivers, had stepped out of the house — as a teenager. From that moment on, motorsport has been Gill's first and long-lasting love. "This has been my life, and the excitement level has never dropped, and it will never drop," says Gill, sitting in front of the Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, which is getting ready for the event on Friday. "When you love a sport or whatever sport you want to do, you choose to do it with utmost passion and 100% commitment. I still feel like I'm doing my first race. I'm still committed to win as much as I wanted to win when I was a young kid," he adds. Gill had skipped the first two rounds of the FIA-APRC because of some logistical issues, but is not too worried about the miss as he still has a chance of qualifying for the final round in Japan. However, it is not going to be easy. The weather in Parapat is unpredictable, and the terrain — which goes through tea plantations — can be tricky as well. Gill, coming in with a reputation based on his past performances, only adds to the pressure. The Arjuna awardee, however, is tranquil. "I tell myself to go hard or go home. That's my mantra in life. Because of my past races here and around this region, I've been looked upon to be on the podium, which is a good confidence-booster for me. This is how I take it. I don't take it as any pressure. I take it more like I've got a job to do and I must do it as best as possible," he says, before adding, "I think the bigger challenge is the terrain here rather than me adapting to the car. That is even bigger because it's so unpredictable that we can go out into the race with sun out, blaring heat, and in one hour, it could turn into a complete thunderstorm or a downpour and change the track conditions, completely flip it. Having said that, luckily, I have some good experience. Even today, when we went out for testing, you can see the car is full of mud. So, luckily we had a lot of mud in the morning, so we got a feel of how it's going to be, and then it dried out, so we had a feel of a little bit dry also." As Gill, with Florian Barral as his co-driver, looks to end the seven-year wait and win back the APRC title, he is one of the five teams representing JK Tyre and Vamcy Merla Motorsports. Gill is delighted to see the support he and the other Indian drivers are getting from Vamcy Merla. "It's amazing to see him supporting so many people. Not only me, but he is supporting other drivers as well. I just wish that he sticks around with us as long as he wishes to, and we will do our job when it comes to winning for him," he signed off. (The writer is in Indonesia at the invitation of Vamcy Merla Motorsports).
United News of India
26-04-2025
- Automotive
- United News of India
Karna Kadur maintains pace to extend lead in APRC
Chennai, Apr 26 (UNI) Bengaluru ace Karna Kadur came up with a mature drive to open a sizable lead in the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship promoted by Vamcy Merla which is part of the Indu Chandhok Memorial 48th South India Rally, here on Saturday. With only four Special Stages to be run on the morrow, Kadur and his co-driver Musa Sherif have victory in their sights. Kadur leads his Arka Motorsports team-mate and the Delhi-Himachal Pradesh combination of Harkrishan Wadia and Kunal Kashyap by over a minute. In third place is their team-mate and former National champion Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik) who nursed his patched-up Volkswagen Polo, a late replacement for his Mahindra XUV 300 which blew its engine during a test run a few days before the event. In the INRC category of the Blueband Fmsci Indian National Rally Championship Round-1 powered by Vamcy Merla, Kadur leads Ghosh with Suhem Kabeer (Vinay Padmashali) in third spot. About his performance today, Kadur said: 'I was a bit conservative in the first loop, especially the first Special Stage (AAVISA) which had some small rocks on the road. In the second run, I did not hold back since I knew the terrain would have been swept clean by the cars. So, I was able to make over a minute on my own time. Tomorrow is another day, but I will try to hold position and push only if I must. The main goal is to bring the car home in one piece.' Two of the front-runners in the APRC, Jason Saldanha and Chetan Shivram had issues with their respective cars and lost time that saw them drop down the order. The other big disappointment was the retirement of Hyundai i20 which is making its debut in the Indian motorsports scene with Hyderabad's Jeet Jhabakh packing up with a driveshaft problem but he is likely to rejoin the rally on Sunday, if the car is fully repaired. Meanwhile, the competition in the National championship was as razor sharp as ever with positions changing by the minute while Bengaluru-based Tarushi Vikram displayed impressive pace to lead the Women INRC class. Provisional, unaudited classifications (After Leg-1): FIA-APRC/Overall: 1. Karna Kadur / Musa Sherif (Arka Motorsports) (01 hr, 05 min, 25.4 secs); 2. Harkrishan Wadia / Kunal Kashyap (Arka Motorsports) (01:06:34.2); 3. Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik (Arka Motorsports) (01:06:39.8). INRC: 1. Kadur / Sherif; 2. Ghosh / Naik; 3. Suhem Kabir / Vinay Padmashali (Pvt.) (01:09:03.9). INRC2: 1. Wadia / Kashyap; 2. Philippos Matthai / Harish KN (Arka Motorsports) (01:06:51.3); 3. Fabid Ahmer / Milen George (Chettinad Sporting) (01:06:56.1). INRC3: 1. Arnav Pratap Singh / Rohit N (SNAP Racing) (01:07:37.8); 2. Vishak B / Chiranth Jain (Chettinad Sporting) (01:07:52.8); 3. Abin Rai / Moideen Jasheer KM (Pvt.) (01:08:34.1). INRC 3T (Turbo): 1. C Ramcharan / Vignesh Mahalingam (01:14:40.1). Women INRC: 1. Tarushi Vikram / Vybhav Mukund Rao (01:11:51.0). UNI GV 2025
The Hindu
25-04-2025
- Automotive
- The Hindu
APRC
Reigning National champion Karna Kadur of Bengaluru set the early pace and took a slender lead in the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), promoted by Vamcy Merla, after two loops of the short Super Special Stage which kick-started the Indu Chandhok Memorial 48th South India Rally at the Madras International Circuit, here on Friday. Kadur, representing Arka Motorsports with veteran Musa Sherif (Kasargod) in the co-driver's seat, not only topped the chart in the APRC (Asia Cup) segment, but also led the field in the Blueband FMSCI National Rally Championship Round-1, sparing half-a-second to teammate Mangaluru's Jason Saldanha (co-driver P.V. Srinivasa Murthy of Bengaluru). Former National champion Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik) finished the day in third spot behind Kadur and Saldanha in both APRC and the National championship to complete a 1-2-3 for Arka Motorsports at the end of first day. Provisional results (winners only, leg-1, section-1): FIA APRC/ Overall: Karna Kadur & Musa Sherif (Arka Motorsports) 2m, 50.9s); INRC 1: Kadur & Sherif; INRC 2: Jason Saldanha & P. V. Srinivasa Murthy (Arka Motorsports) 02:51.4; INRC 3: Seshank Jamwal & Raghu (Pvt.) 02:56.2; INRC 3T (turbo): Jeet Jhabhak & V. Sekar (Pvt.) 03:00.0. Women: INRC: Anushriya Gulati & Karan Aukta (Arka Motorsports) 03:02.6. FMSCI Gypsy Challenge: Akash Sundar & Arjun Dheerendra (03:19.7). FMSCI Classic Challenge: Siddhartha Santhosh & Sawan Satyanarayan (Pvt.) 03:14.8.
