Karna Kadur wins 2022 INRC, K-1000 rally as Gaurav Gill retires

Karna Kadur clinched his first-ever Karnataka-1000 (K-1000) rally win after overcoming car damage on the final day. The rally was Round 3 of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) and Kadur’s victory sees him seal the 2022 title as well.

Kadur’s title rival Gaurav Gill ended up retiring from the rally twice, both times due to mechanical issues.

• Kadur wins with a time of 1 hour 13:56.5 mins
• Rao second overall, over a minute behind
• Matthai third overall, wins INRC-3 class

More mechanical issues for Gill

Both Kadur and Gill had picked up one win each so far in the championship. Kadur won the South India Rally as Gill was plagued by mechanical woes. But Gill did taste victory in Round 2, the Rally of Coimbatore.

Unfortunately, Karnataka rally fans weren’t treated to the title battle they were hoping for. Seven-time national champion Gill retired on the first stage itself due to a drive-shaft issue on his rally-spec Mahindra XUV300. He returned the next day to try and collect some individual leg points, and started off strong by setting the fastest time in Sunday’s first stage. But he was forced to retire once again, this time due to a broken front right knuckle on the XUV300.

Kadur overcomes car damage to win K-1000 Rally

With Gill out, Kadur took a fairly trouble-free lead at the end of the first day, which was shortened to just four stages after technical glitches. But it looked like his chances of victory would slip away on Sunday when he picked up some heavy damage to his car’s sump guard after clipping a rock.

Lucky for him, Arka Motorsports mechanics were able to repair the damage within 20 minutes during the service break. Looking back on the incident, Kadur said, “The damage was pretty bad in the front because the sump guard got cut. I managed to come back to service and the boys did a tremendous job in carrying out the necessary repairs, including some cutting, chopping and welding, besides fabricating and fitting a new sump guard, all in 20 minutes flat. We checked into parc ferme with just 30 seconds to spare. All kudos to our team who did a tremendous job.”

Thanks to the handywork of his team, Kadur (with co-driver Nikhil Pai) was able to carry on and win the K-1000 rally for the first time. “A pretty emotional moment. My dad (late Prakash Kadur) never won a K-1000 Rally and so, I am first in the family,” he said.

Mandovi Racing’s Aroor Arjun Rao and co-driver Satish Rajagopal finished second, over a second adrift. Philippos Matthai and co-driver KN Harish, also racing for Arka Motorsports, finished third overall and took top honours in the INRC-3 class.

Privateers Suhem Kabeer and co-driver Jeeva Rathinam topped the INRC-2 class, while Ammyfied Racing’s Aeman Ahmed and co-driver Sagar Mallappa won in the INRC-4 class. SNAP Racing’s Arnav Singh Pratap, with co-driver Arjun SSB, were the top Junior INRC finishers.

Pragathi Gowda and co-driver Trisha Alonkar won in the women’s category, and finally, the Gypsy Challenge round was won by Yokohama Tyres' Samrat Yadav and co-driver Chandrashekar M.

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