Round 2 of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship 2026 and Round 1 of the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship 2026
- Gaurav Gill, Karna Kadur start favourites
- 35 entries for South India Rally
Chennai, April 16: It is a season of hope for country’s top two drivers, Gaurav Gill and Karna Kadur, as the duo go head-to-head in the 49th South India Rally which commences here on Friday with a ceremonial start followed by two loops of the Super Special Stage at the Madras International Circuit here.
The three-day event, organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club and which has attracted 35 entries including six female competitors, doubles up as the second round of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship powered by Vamcy Merla and the opening round of the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship.
The entry lists contain two husband-wife teams from abroad, providing a foreign flavour to the event. Spain’s Edgar Vigo Lopez and Fatima Ameneiro Teijeiro have entered for the APRC while the Singapore tandem of Raghuvaran Veerappan and Amanda Chew, is competing in both APRC and INRC.
In all, the APRC has 10 entries all of whom, barring the Spanish duo, will be taking part in the INRC section also.
Both Delhi-based Gill, the three times APRC champion and Arjuna Award winner who skipped the entire 2025 INRC season, and Bengaluru’s Kadur are former National champions are looking for redemption of sorts by way of reclaiming the title this year.
Gill, a five times National champion, will have the experienced Srikanth Gowda from Chikmagalur as his co-driver while Kadur teams up with Coimbatore veteran Kumar Ramaswamy representing the Arka Motorsports. Both will be piloting the Volkswagen Polo, and have also entered for the APRC.
Incidentally, Gill has confirmed for three APRC rounds, two (Indonesia and China) of which will be in a WRC 2-spec Skoda Fabia, while Kadur has not entered the championship, but is doing a one-off round here.
The other leading contenders for the APRC segment of the South India Rally include Hyderabad’s Jeet Jhabakh (co-driver Musa Sherif) who finished second in APRC 4 class and Overall fourth in the last weekend’s Round-1 in Otago, New Zealand, and Naveen Puligilla (Santosh R Thomas), who has podium finishes in a couple of WRC 3 rounds. Incidentally, the South India Rally will be Kasargod-based Sherif’s 350th career rally. Jhabakh drove a Ford Escort in Otago but has switched to the Hyundai R5-spec Hyundai i20 for this weekend’s run.
On his return to the National rally scene five-times National champion Gill said: “It’s great to be back in the INRC, but it will be a challenge because of a year’s break, and not to mention the heat! While regaining the INRC title is the big goal, I am also confirmed for three rounds of APRC, including the South India Rally. For the other two APRC rounds, I will have Florian Barral, as my co-driver. So, yes, I am looking forward to the 2026 season.”
The six female competitors include Anushriya Gulati (Dehradun) who has also entered the APRC, 2025 champion in Ladies class Tarushi Vikram (Chikkamgaluru), Dr Shivani Pruthvi from Davangere, who also is staging a comeback after a year’s break to pursue her medical studies, Athira Murali (Kottayam), multiple two-wheeler National racing champion Aishwarya Pissay (Bengaluru), and Sonakshi Paranthaman (Bengaluru).
The spotlight will also be on Mangaluru’s Jason Saldanha, who displayed good pace and consistency while winning the National title in the INRC2 class, and talented Harkrishan Wadia (Delhi), both of whom have made a mark in the championship.
Organising committee chairman Vicky Chandhok said: “A very warm welcome to the competitors as we now shift our focus on three days of high-octane action. We at the Madras Motor Sports Club have toiled for many weeks to put together this event which has always been the most popular among the competitors. The competitive sections are fast and flowing, yet challenging and technical in some sections. We have striven hard to provide a safe, yet exciting event, and we wish all the participants an enjoyable rally.”
The three-day itinerary starts with a ceremonial flag-off at the Madras International Circuit on Friday afternoon followed by two loops of the 1.45 Kms long Super Special Stage. The action shifts to the Special Stages over the following two days while the Rally concludes on Sunday afternoon at the Madras International Circuit. In all, the competitors will negotiate 129.32 Kms of competitive Special Stages.
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