Dr Perk Customs: Team Ashva’s Vinod Singh and Shailendra Singh seized the overall lead on the penultimate day of the Motorsport Inc fmsci 14th Dakshin Dare cross-country rally with a clean and calculated drive on Saturday.
The Indore duo, piloting a 1300cc Maruti Gypsy prepared by Dr Perk Customs, capitalised on a misstep by overnight leaders Adith K.C. and co-driver Harish K.N. The Thrissur-Bengaluru pair from Team VM Motorsports lost significant time after a brief off-route excursion, dropping them to third overall.
Holding steady in second place are Chikkamagaluru’s Aieman Ahmed and Bengaluru co-driver Sagar M. (Team VM Motorsports), who delivered another day of controlled aggression. “We still have to do 77.27km twice tomorrow, and we are ready for the challenge,” stated co-driver Sagar.
The stage win for the day was claimed by Kolkata’s Raunak Jana and Uday Ganguli of Bro’s Racing, who set a blistering time of 46 minutes, 27 seconds on the 33.44km selective section. “We were pushing only in certain sections, and our target is to finish with a steady pace,” said Raunak.
Team VM Motorsports demonstrated strong depth, with four of its five cars occupying positions in the overall top five. This includes team principal Vamcy Merla, who fought back from Friday’s mechanical issues to be in the top five, and Shillong’s Phoebe Nongrum with seasoned co-driver Venu Ramesh Kumar, who finished the day an admirable fourth overall and first in the Ladies class.
Organisers were forced to cancel the final stage of the day due to safety concerns. "Despite having bouncers, police personnel, and local marshals, hundreds of spectators crowded the area, so the stewards took this decision,” said Jaidas Menon, a former multiple National champion and promoter of the Dakshin Dare.
The rally concludes on Sunday with competitors facing two runs of a long 77.27km selective section, promising a dramatic finish, and later moves back to Bengaluru for the Prize distribution event.
Provisional unaudited results:
Cumulative Overall for all three days (after leg3):
1. Vinod Singh/ Shailendra Singh (Team Ashva) (05 hours, 26 minutes, 19 seconds);
2. Aieman Ahmed/ Sagar M; (Team VM Motorsports) (05:29:07);
3. Adith KC/ Harish KN (Team VM Motorsports) (05 30:43);
Stage winners of SS4 (Day3):
1. Raunak Jana/ Uday Ganguli (Kolkata, Bro’s Racing) (46 minutes, 27 seconds);
2. Vinod Singh/ Shailendra Singh (Team Ashva) (00:47:52);
3. Archit Jindal/ Aashish Bhaskar (Team Ashva) (00:48:07);
Class Leaders:
Class 2: Group T1: 1. Aieman Ahmed/ Sagar M;
Class 10: Group T2: 1. Vinod Singh/ Shailendra Singh;
Ladies Class: 1. Phoebe Nongrum/ Venu Ramesh Kumar (Team VM Motorsports) (05:32:14);
Class 11: Group T2: Archit Jindal/ Aashish Bhaskar (Team Ashva) (04:13:55);