Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
One more for the road
|
Power duo Naren Kumar and Ram Kumar proved critics wrong with their gusty show at Indian national rally championship, writes rayan rozario
|
STANDING TALL Naren Kumar and Ram Kumar
Team JK Tyre's V.R Naren Kumar and Ram Kumar, the Indian national rally champions, are the drivers of the year 2005. No debate on that.
When the duo shifted gears and changed colours from Red (Team MRF) to Yellow (Team JK Tyre) critics wrote long and loud how they had made the wrong move.
Some swore that they would fizzle out in the battle of the champions, but not the Coimbatore combo.
They knew they had an uphill task.
But the five-time champions believed they had the ability to outshine others and they did it in style in the national event, where three of the nine rounds were cancelled on various grounds.
Intense battle
The opening round at Tura saw the Reds at their raging best, but then they were left to fight among themselves, as the Yellows were yet to unfurl their banner.
When they did that in the second round at Mysore, the battle turned out to be intense.
Naren, who has an astounding three international feats in the Asia Zone Rally Championship in Indonesia, Thailand and India, as usual, was moving at a blistering pace.
The going looked pretty good for the unrivalled star of Indian rallying for most part of the race.
However, past halfway, with cattle on his way, Naren lost precious seconds.
At his best
But thanks to the Vikram Mathias' heroics, the Yellows managed to hold fort before a technical infringement denied them a deserving victory. In the ensuing rounds at the Karnataka 1000 Rally in Bangalore and the Chandigarh Rally, Naren was at his best.
A second place finish at the Rally of North saw him take on the championship lead over Coimbatore driver Arjun Balu of Team MRF. One expected an edge-of-the-seat thriller between the Reds and the Yellows in the final clash at Hyderabad, but Naren and Ram showed superior driving skills to seal the championship on the second day itself. The Head of JK Tyre Motor sports, Sanjay Sharma lauded the efforts of the Coimbatoreans.
Powerful performance
"No doubt, they stole the show. In tune with JK Tyre's commitment to promote Indian motor sport and motor sport talents to international platforms, we are seriously considering sending the Coimbatore duo to international events, as we have done with our racing and karting stars."
It was the unmatched driving skills of Naren and Ram and the foolproof car preparations of the seven-time national champion N. Leelakrishnan of Coimbatore that saw JK Tyre come back with a bang after a long layoff.
The shine is back
The return of JK Tyre also brought some shine of the nineties to Indian rallying. Coimbatore did get to witness some of these battle royals between the two major teams a few years ago during the Mill and Monsoon Rally (M&M), considered among the best of the rally rounds.
There is every possibility that the M&M Rally may come to town this year. So let's get ready to witness more action.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
|
