Lankans emerge 4th at Coffee Day India Rally 2016

Sri Lankan rally duo Shafraz Junaid and Akhry Ameer emerged fourth overall in the Indian Rally Championships category of the Coffee Day India Rally 2016 concluded in Chikmagalur, South India on Monday. 

They missed the podium by a mere five seconds having led comfortably at the conclusion of the first leg of the prestigious Indian motor sports rally event as part of the Indian National Rally Championships and the final round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championships 2016 (APRC). 

At the conclusion of the first leg of the strenuous five-stage first leg on the second day of the rally, the duo were in third position, but car trouble on the penultimate stage on the third day saw them losing the lead and resulting in a five second loss from the podium.

“We had a bit of an engine miss on the seventh stage and so we couldn’t push to widen the lead. The nature of the stages also made it difficult to take the turns faster due to the loss of power. However, we are very happy with the overall result since our primary goal was to complete all the stages in our first international rally,” said driver Shafraz Junaid of their performance.

The Chikmagalur Indian Rally is held in the coffee estates of Coffee Day and is an iconic event of the Indian motorsports calendar as it is also the final round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championships  which was won by Indian Gaurav Gill.

“The stages are very tight and challenging which keeps me busy as a co-driver calling out the pace notes. It is quite different to the local speed rallies and I am happy with experience although there is more to fine-tune for that performance edge,” added Akhry Ameer who has been co-driving with Junaid for over a decade. 

The duo drove a Volkswagen Polo prepared by Slideways Industries and Chettinad Sporting team, which too was a challenge as they had to get used to the car in a very short period of time. “Shifting from a high-powered 4WD category to a lower 2WD category was a totally new experience,” explained Shafraz. They will be partly sponsored by Triniti Sports Clutch and Terratrip, manufacturers of international racing products. 

A total of 53 competitors took part in the rally held over three days in various categories. The event was organised by the Motor Sports Club of Chikmagalur, Karnataka and sanctioned by The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India.