MEDAN (INDONESIA): Set in the backdrop of two active volcanic mountains — Sinabung and Sibayak — and scenic tea plantations near Lake Toba, about 66 drivers will light up the Sumatera Utara International Rally from August 8-10 in Indonesia. As many as 15 drivers will fight it out in the third round of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship’s (APRC) Asia Cup section which is a 12-stage, 200.6-km battle across jungle tracks and volcanic gravel.
Three-time ARPC champion Gaurav Gill starts as a favourite while the combo of Team JK Tyre and Vamcy Merla Motorsports unleashes a formidable five-car challenge at the event. The Arjuna Awardee has teamed up with his French co-driver Florian Barral (co-driver) as they will look to harness the power of a Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo in the premier category.
“Nothing makes me happier than seeing so many cars from India and a strong grid of 15 cars, which augurs well for APRC,” Vicky Chandhok, president of the APRC Working Group, said.
Apart from the seven-time Indian National Rally champion Gill and Barral, Vaibhav Marathe is teaming up with experienced co-driver Ashwin Naik. Meanwhile, M Bopaiah and PV Srinivasa Murthy, the Kodagu-Bengaluru pair, and Abin Rai of Kodagu and veteran Srikanth Gowda of Chikkamagaluru and Nikeetaa Takkale, who has Sudheendra BG as navigator, will also be representing VM Motorsports.
As far as the Ladies Cup is concerned, Nikeetaa Takkale, a 26-year-old Pune driver, will be battling it out against Thailand’s Nattapon Panphut and Japan’s Miku Irie. Sudheendra will be Takkale’s co-driver. Takkale also participates in the 2-wheel drive car category of the Junior and RC4 classes in APRC.
Vamsi Merla, the Promoter of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship, said that the five-car effort shows VM Motorsports’ commitment to developing ALL rally talent. “From Gill’s title hunt to Nikeetaa’s Ladies Cup campaign, each driver gets world-class support,” he added. The campaign marks India’s largest-ever factory-backed entry in APRC history with support from Merla and Lokesh Gowda, the promoter of the Indian National Autocross Championship.
After the ceremonial start on Friday, the APRC rally, which is run concurrently with the Indonesian Rally Championship round, will have six competitive Special Stages on Saturday and six on Sunday. The next round of the APRC will be in China, but those who qualify in the APRC Asia Cup here could qualify directly for the Asia Pacific Cup finals to be held from November 6 to 7 in Japan.
(The writer is in Indonesia at the invitation of Vamcy Merla Motorsports).