Itanagar: International rallyist Gaurav Gill, conquered the Rally of Arunachal, winning both the opening rounds of the Champions Yacht Club-Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), 2020, on Sunday.
The JK tyre driver with Musa Sheriff started off from where he had left and after recording a stellar victory in round 1 at the time place two days back posted a total time of 42:15:00 minutes to win the rally and finish the Arunachal leg with a grand double.
Driving in an XUV300, the three-time APRC champion had dominated the rally right from the word go.
However, it was drivers from the Northeast who had bagged the limelight with the Arunachal tourism department supporting them in a big way.
The participation of Arunachal drivers in the Indian nationals hit a peak with seven drivers taking part. Out of them, five, including Nabam Asha, were from Arunachal Pradesh.
Lanusanen Pongener of Dimapur became the first Northeast driver to win a round at the national championship, taking a victory in the first round in a dramatic fashion. He was excluded because of an engine which is older than 15 years and did not get a fitness certificate.
However, they relaxed the rules and allowed him to take part, and he beat most of the biggies and had bagged the INRC4 class.
Phurpa Tsering of Dirang won a golden double, taking both rounds in the Arunachal Pradesh Cup. Brothers Hage Chada and Hage Bittu of Itanagar were the driver and navigator pair. The Itanagar driver, Pem Sonam and Lenin Joseph of Tamil Nadu were paired together and the only woman driver from the state, Nabam Asha, had excelled in her performance with navigator Mahesh Nandi from Bengaluru.
Lhakpa Tsering, the chairman of Rally of Arunachal, had said that "The Motorsports Association of Arunachal provided sponsor networks and navigators to train the local drivers and it yielded rich results. Support came in a huge way from the tourism department of Arunachal, the police department and the chief minister to make the event a grand success."
This was the only high-speed technical and super fat tarmac rally, where a state government promoted, protected and provided security for the entire event.