Tumakuru (Karnataka), December 13, 2025: The storied Karnataka 1000 Rally roared back to life with high drama on Day 1 as TSI Racing’s Dean Mascarenhas and co-driver Gagan Karumbaiah seized the early advantage, leading a strong one-two for the team alongside Aditya Thakur and Virender Kashyap at the K1000 Rally, the fourth round of the Blueband FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) near Gubbi.
Defending champions Karna Kadur and seasoned co-driver Musa Sherif had mechanical issue in Special Stage 3 while another former double champions Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik, had to pack up in SS1.
Fresh from back-to-back victories in Kodagu that vaulted them to the top of the overall championship standings, the Mangaluru–Kodagu pairing of Dean and Gagan combined controlled aggression with precision to top the timesheets. Driving an imported Peugeot 208 RS prepared by PH Sport, Dean kept a measured approach on the tight, technical stages. “We still have three more stages to go and two of them are long. The focus is to take it step by step and finish strong with a steady run,” he said.
The day, however, delivered a setback for defending champions Karna Kadur and Musa Sherif. The Arka Motorsports duo was running third until a mechanical issue struck late, forcing them down the order. Capitalising on the opportunity, teammates Philippos Matthai and KN Harish, supported by MRF, moved into third overall and took command of the INRC 2 category after three special stages.
Arka’s Harkrishan Wadia and Kunal Kashyap followed closely in INRC 2, with the Kerala pairing of Fabid Ahmer and Milen George Cherian completing the top three. In INRC 3, Shashank Jamwal and Raghuram Saminathan of Chettinad Sporting enjoyed a trouble-free run to lead the class, ahead of teammates Vishak B–Chiranth Jain and Jenu Johnson–Lenin Joseph.
The INRC 3T category saw a confident performance from Naveen Puligilla and Santhosh R. Thomas, who topped the class on Day 1. Naveen arrives at K1000 riding a wave of confidence after a recent World Rally Championship (WRC3) podium finish in Saudi Arabia, underlining his growing stature on the international stage. Thejas S–Ravindra Kumar and Ramcharan C–Vignesh Mahalingam rounded out the top three in 3T.
With the 27-km long Thirtharama stage to be run twice along with one run of the shorter 105km Haliyalu SS, still to come and the terrain demanding absolute precision, the battle lines are firmly drawn heading into the decisive runs on Sunday.
Provisional results:
Overall: 1. Dean Mascarenhas (Mangalore)/ Gagan Karumbaiah (Coorg) 45min, 48.8seconds; 2. Adithya Thakur / Virendar Kashyap (Both Himachal) 46:27.9; 3. Philippos Matthai (Delhi) / KN Harish (Bangalore) 48:01.4;
INRC2: 1. Philippos Matthai (Delhi) / KN Harish (Bangalore) 48:01.4; 2. Harkrishan Wadia (Delhi)/ Kunal Kashyap (Shimla) 48:18.5; 3. Fabid Ahmer/ Milen George (both Kerala) 49:16.6;
INRC3: 1. Shashank Jamwal (Himachal)/ Raghuram S (Coimbatore) 48:17.8; 2. Vishak B (Kerala)/ Chiranth Jain (Karkala) 49:02.8; 3. Jenu Johnson (Mysore)/ Lenin Joseph (Erode) 50:13.9;
INRC 3T: 1. Naveen Puligilla/ Santhosh R Thomas (both Hyderabad) 49:52.0; 2. Thejas S/ Ravindra Kumar (Bsoth Bengaluru) 53:17.5; 3. Ramcharan C/ Vignesh Mahalingam (Both Coimbatore) 56:58.6;
Ends
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