The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) successfully concluded the 2013 AVT Premium South India Rally on March 24, 2013. The adrenaline pumping rally saw first timers Mahindra XUV500 and Volkswagen Polo recording one and two pole finishes, in their respective categories. The grand finale proved in the end to be a much exciting affair than predicted.
The National champion duo of Amittrajit Ghosh and his co-driver Ashwin Naik drove through the finish line in their ailing Mitsubishi Lancer Cedia to post a marvellous victory in Group N of the 2013 AVT Premium South India Rally. Bugged down by mechanical problems, Ghosh traversed the entire length and overcame 14 special stages in 1 hour 54 minutes, 09.3 seconds, to snatch the overall title.
Further, in the INRC 1600 cc group, Sirish Chandran and co-driver Nikhil Pai finished first in their Volkswagen Polo, while the Arjun Rao and his co-driver Satish Rajagopal finalised second, also in Polo. Expressing his delight on winning the 1600 cc group, Sirish Chandran said, “It was a good result for Volkswagen Polo considering that we came to the event with hardly any testing, but the car handled well even in the rougher sections which speaks a lot for its reliability. Our thanks to Volkswagen for providing all the support.”
The 2011 champion Gaurav Gill and his team mate Musa Sherif finished on top in the Sports Utility Vehicle category, by conquering the demanding rally route in their Mahindra XUV500. Gaurav Gill is widely acclaimed as the country's best rally race driver, on winning the event was quoted as saying, “The performance of the XUV 500 was beyond our expectations. A lot of people had underestimated the capability of the XUV, but we showed what it was capable of. It was a learning experience and I am sure we will improve through the season. The MRF tyres also played an important part in our success. They gave us specially prepared tyres for this event and they worked really well.”
