Maruthi wins for Maruti

With co-driver Anand, Karthick secures maximum points again for the 2016 NTSDRC championship

TTHE SECOND ROUND of the Maruti Suzuki National Superleague TSD Rally Championship was flagged off in Pune on May 13, 2016 and ended in Goa on May 16, 2016. Karthick Maruthi and S Sankar Anand in their Vitara Brezza came out on top with a total of 15 minutes and 6 seconds of penalties, winning back-toback rallies and extending their lead in the championship.

National Superleague TSD rally championship follows the Time Speed Distance format, but what makes it different are the ‘Tests’. Tests are special stages that do not follow the TSD format and could be anything from driving a stage or putting the navigator through some tricky calculations. The first test involved driving through a dirt track course with different obstacles and decided the start order for the 14th.

On May 14, drivers began from Pune and journeyed west towards Guhagar. With 321km of driving, contestants travelled through the Sahyadri mountains to the Konkan coast. The day ended with the second test which mimicked a short rally stage. At the end of the day, Maruthi and Anand led the standings with 10 minutes and 48 seconds of penalties. Sandeep Dodhiwala and Dhingra were in second, trailing the leaders by a minute and Subir Roy and co-driver Nirav Mehta stood third a further 10 seconds behind.

On May 15, the rally travelled south along the western coast from Guhagar in the Ratnagiri district to Goa. The distance travelled on the second day was 413km, including a third test that took place en route. While Maruthi remained on top, both Dodhiwala and Roy dropped lower down in the order allowing Sachin Singh and Prakash M to take second, and Ajgar Ali and M. Musthafa to place third. The championship heads to Kerala next for the Backwater Rally from June 16-19. ⌧