The usual rough and tumble story of a rough road rally. The first day of the Bosch K 1000 rally here (near Bangalore) saw two pullouts, ‘ditched’, so to say, in the dirt. Meanwhile, rally favourite Gaurav Gill took the lead after five stages, clocking only 28:18 penalty points. Gill (co-driver Moosa Sherief) is driving a modified Mitsubishi Cedia 2000 cc, and is a part of Team MRF. He maintains the lead in the Indian National Rally Championship (this rally is the fourth on the MAI’s circuit) with 32 points.Second, after Gill, here so far is Arjun Balu (co-driver Kumar Ramaswamy), also in a Cedia 2000, clocking 28:58 penalties, followed by former national champion Vikram Mathias (Niklhil Pai, team Red Rooster) in a Cedia, with 29:18.Five of the six scheduled stages (of the total 13 for this ally) were run today. One stage was cancelled because the trauma station equipped ambulance was not available. The special stages today were Mulberry (9.6km), Silk (6.06 km) and Clay Mine (12.98 km) — run in reverse again to make it six stages. These were the stages that saw two Maruti Baleno 1600cc cars retire.The dirt is expected and handle-able. However, the gravel and stones loosen grip and balance, and Girija Shankar and Arjun Rao’s cars dipped into the roadside ditch. By the time their service teams could catch up (after the entire roster of competitors passed), it was too late.Kolkata’s Amittrajit Ghosh (co-driver Saurabh Chaudhary) is leading the 1400cc category in an Esteem. He has 33.20 points. “I have been able to keep up very good speeds over the specials,” he told The Indian Express. “The Cedias are a powerful category, but I guess I can keep up the good work in my category.”The run’s 400km comprises 106km of special stages and 280km of transport stages. This apart, the last day (Sunday) will see a ‘super special spectator stage’ in Yelahanka.Gill, a veteran of racing, has graduated from the karting scenario (national championship) and then was the national champion too (stock cars). The K 1000 also sees a type of bonhomie between the Motorsport Association of India and the Federation of Motorsport Clubs of India. Though the former is the FIA recognised body, the latter has muscle through government recognition. However, with the presence of Gill and Mathias, and Team MRF and JK Tyre, there is truce, for now.
