Chikkamagaluru: Coffee Day India Rally gets off to a thrilling start

[email protected] (CD Network)
December 4, 2016

Chikkamagaluru, Dec 3: German champion Fabian Kreim (co-driver Frank Christian) of Team MRF set early pace by topping the time charts in the Super Special Stage ahead of team-mate Gaurav Gill (Glenn Macneall) as the Coffee Day India Rally got off to a thrilling start here on Saturday.

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The Coffee Day Rally, which is also the concluding round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship, and organized by the Motorsports Club of Chikkamagalur, promises more exciting fare over the next two days when the 16 Special Stages will be run in the nearby estates of the Coffee Day Global as Kreim, running second in the championship will be seeking to hold off Gill who has already sealed the title with five wins in a row.

Ranged behind the two MRF Skoda Fabia R5 cars was Cusco Racing's Yuya Sumiyama (Takahiro Yasui), in the Subaru Impreza WRX STi while team-mates Michael Young (Malcolm Read) and Sanjay Takale (Noriko Takeshita) completed the APRC standings.

Kreim clocked two minutes, 17.8 seconds for the 2.12 Kms sprint that was watched by close to 10,000 spectators at the Amber Valley school grounds who braved persistent drizzle, while Gill had 02:18.5, well clear of Sumiyama (02:23.4)

In the MRF FMSCI Indian Rally Championship that is being run concurrently, Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik) took a slender lead over leader Arjun Rao Aroor (Satish Rajagopal) in the Overall category while young Dean Mascarenhas (Shanmuga SN) topped the INRC 2000 class and Vikram Gowda (Uday Kumar KV) led the FMSCI Cup category. Sanjay Takale, who is also taking part in the IRC class, was the fastest in this category.

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The timings in the Super Special Stage are at best indicators of the pace of the cars, but the real battle begins on the morrow with rains providing a serious twist to the proceedings as Gill, who was the fastest in this morning's Shakedown run, pointed out.

“The Rally Stages are quite tight and twisty with about a 1000 corners requiring a 1000 gear shifts. The co-driver has to be spot on with his calls since one corner flows into the next. So, I will be driving totally on his calls.

“I expect it to be slow going, basically first and second gear run which will put a lot of strain on the engine and the brakes will get quite heated too. So, it could boil down to reliability of the car. The rains could also give it another twist with conditions turning slippery,” said Gill.

Looking ahead to the Rally, Kreim said: “It's another new experience for me. The conditions are going to be very challenging with the narrow roads and as Gaurav said, with a 1000 corners. But I hope to do well as the car is set up nicely for the terrain,” said Kreim who made his APRC debut this season.

Gill warmed up this morning by setting the fastest time during the Shakedown that was run in mild drizzle by clocking one minute, 28.3 seconds over the 1.6 Kms long circuit.

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The results (provisional, Leg-1, Section-1):

APRC: 1. Fabian Kreim / Frank Christian (Team MRF) (02 mins, 17.8secs); 2.Gaurav Gill / Glenn Mcneall (Team MRF) (02:18.5); 3.Yuya Sumiyama / Takahiro Yasui (Cusco Racing) (02:23.4).

INRC Overall: 1.Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik (Mahindra Adventure) 02:37.9; 2. Arjun Rao / Satish Rajagopal (02:38.9); 3.Sunny Sidhu / Musa Sheriff (Mahindra Adventure) (02:40.0).

INRC 2000: 1.Dean Mascarenhas / Shanmuga SN (02:40.8); 2.Karna Kadur / Nikhil Pai (Yokohama 2K) (02:42.6); 3.Rahul Kanthraj / Vivek Bhatt (Yokohama 2K) (02:42.7).

FMSCI Cup: 1.Vikram Gowda / Uday Kumar KV (02:49.5); 2.Michu Ganapathy SC / Venu Ramesh Kumar (02:52.8); 3.Fabid Ahmer / Arjun Dheerendra (02:55.6).

IRC: 1. Sanjay Takale / Noriko Takeshita (02:28.0); 2. Younus Illyas / Nitin Jacob (02:42.8); 3. Ritesh Guttedar / Sheeraz Ahmed (02:45.4).

Gypsy Star (non-championship): 1.Sanjay Agarwal / Smitha N (02:59.6); 2.Avin Nanjappa / Suraj Setti (03:09.5); 3.Dheeraj KV / Ravi (03:15.7).

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News Network
March 14,2024

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Mangaluru, Mar 14: “Hindutva is my commitment and development is my priority,” said Indian army veteran and entrepreneur Captain Brijesh Chowta after the BJP high command announced a ticket to him from Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency.

Known as a BJP stronghold, Nalin Kumar Kateel has served as the MP of this constituency for the past 15 years.

Soon after the announcement was made, 42-year-old Chowta, who is also the BJP state secretary from Dakshina Kannada constituency, sought the blessings of his parents and went to Shree Sharavu Mahaganapathi Temple and visited the war memorial to offer tributes.

A BSc graduate from St Aloysius College, he completed his executive business Management program from the Indian Institute of Management, Indore.

He was commissioned into the 7th battalion of the 8 Gorkha Rifles and served in counter-insurgency operations in Assam and Manipur and was part of Elite Ghatak team. He also served as the adjutant to the battalion. He has been associated with the BJP since 2013. He is the president of Mangaluru Kambala and organiser of Mangaluru Lit Fest.

“Humbled and grateful to our party seniors led by our commander-in-chief PM Narendra Modi for giving me this opportunity to be our party’s candidate and representative of his work and vision in Dakshina Kannada. I pledge to continue to work with even greater rigour for the welfare of our region and people driven by the mantra of ‘Nation First’. I humbly bow down to all our karyakartas & everyone who stood by me & toiled with me to make this happen. Our task has just begun, as we work towards making Dakshina Kannada the number one in the state,” Captain Chowta said on X.

Kateel welcomes change 

Meanwhile, sitting Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel has welcomed the party’s decision to field Capt Brijesh Chowta as the BJP candidate for Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency.

He said the change aligns with the party’s strategy of fostering new talent to broaden its base and activities. He hoped that he will win by a margin of more than 3 lakh votes.

Soon after the list was announced on Wednesday, the three-time MP told reporters that he has brought projects worth about Rs 1 lakh crore during the last 10 years, under the Modi government.

He thanked the party for giving him a big responsibility of leading the party in the state. “I have worked honestly,” he said.

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News Network
March 17,2024

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Bengaluru: The Vokkaliga heartland of the old Mysuru region consisting of several southern districts will be the testing ground for the recently forged BJP-JD(S) alliance in Karnataka in the Lok Sabha polls.

The ruling Congress will now look to consolidate its gains that it made in the assembly elections in May last year when it made inroads into the strongholds of the regional party headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda in these districts.

In the 2019 Pariamentary elections, the Congress and JD(S) fought together but secured only one seat each in the state. The BJP bagged 25 out of the total 28 Lok Sabha seats.

The Congress and JD(S) win, in fact, came in the old Mysuru region -- Bangalore Rural and Hassan, respectively, while Mandya seat went to an independent backed by the BJP.

This time, the JD(S) has an alliance with BJP. According to sources, the JD(S) is likely to be alloted Hassan, Mandya and Kolar seats in the region, from where Deve Gowda's party draws its strength from in Karnataka.

The JD(S) is now looking to bounce back after the drubbing it received in the May assembly polls.

The Congress and JD(S) are considered to be traditional rivals in the region, where the BJP has also been improving its vote-share.

The BJP-JD(S) alliance hopes to counter the Congress' surge in the region, determined to consolidate Vokkaliga votes in their favour and banking on the Modi charisma. Both parties also hope to gain from each other with this alliance.

The Congress is hoping to further its prospects and continue its dominance in the region, with the help of its strong local leadership and riding on its five guarantee schemes.

Both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Congress state President D K Shivakumar, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister come from this region, and so does JD(S) patriarch Deve Gowda and his son H D Kumaraswamy, a former CM and that party's state President.

According to a political analyst, 'coordination among local leaders and transfer of votes between the parties are going to be key for the BJP-JD(S) alliance to click.' Lack of trust between sizeable workers and leaders of both parties on the ground had proved to be counterproductive for Congress and JD(S) combine in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, resulting in their rout and helping the BJP.

Both Congress and BJP have announced candidates for some seats in the region for the 2024 polls.

The Congress has re-nominated D K Suresh, brother of Shivakumar, from Bangalore Rural.

Interestingly, the BJP has fielded the scion of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar from Mysore and noted cardiac surgeon and Deve Gowda's son-in-law, Dr C N Manjunath, from Bangalore Rural.

In Karnataka, the Lok Sabha elections will be held in two phases on April 26 and May 7.

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News Network
March 27,2024

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Gokarna (Uttara Kannada): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday said the Congress will decide about making him the Chief Minister in future, bringing to the fore again the issue of leadership change.

There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the Chief Minister's post after the Assembly election results in May last year, and the Congress had managed to convince the latter and made him the Deputy Chief Minister.

There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational Chief Minister formula," according to which Shivakumar will become CM after two-and-half years but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.

During a temple visit here, a priest prayed that God's blessings may be showered on Shivakumar, and he became the Chief Minister.

Speaking to reporters here in Uttara Kannada district, Shivakumar, who has in the past made no secret of his ambition to become Chief Minister, amid speculations of change in guard mid-way of the Assembly term, responded to talk in some political circles about the leadership issue.

"What's wrong if a priest expresses his desire before God while praying? The priest has expressed his desire. Now Siddaramaiah is the Chief Minister, I'm working as Deputy Chief Minister under him, also as party's state President. People speak about it and desiring it (Shivakumar should become CM) is a different matter, it will be decided by our party," Shivakumar said.

"Now we are all working under the leadership of Siddaramaiah, and our desire is that the state should progress further under his leadership," he said.

"There will be people including supporters and priests, who pray for us, they will express their opinion. Can we stop them from doing it? At the temple it is between God and his disciple, they have expressed their feelings to God," Shivakumar added. 

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