9th November 2008: Pramod Joshua of Bangalore, astride TVS Apache RTR won the overall category of the IMG Rally of Coimbatore that concluded in Coimbatore yesterday. Pradeep H.K. (TVS Apache RTR) and Ravindra MS (TVS Apache RTR) both from TVS Racing finished overall 2nd and 3rd respectively.
The IMG Rally of Coimbatore, round 3 of the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship for 2 wheelers was organized by the Coimbatore Auto Sports Club. The Special stage rally consisted of 88 kms of special stages.
The rally started at 1050 hrs. There was an half-an-hour delay in the 2nd stage which was adjusted by reducing the re-group timing from 1 hour to 30 minutes. A cream of 22 India’s best rally riders started the rally and 19 finished the same. After the event, the post event scrutiny was held wherein the bikes were checked for their technical conformity for the group / class concerned. The Prize Distribution function was held at the Coimbatore Cosmopolitan Club, wherein Mr.G.R. Karthikeyan, Managing Director, Karthikeya Spinning & Weaving Mills Ltd., Coimbatore was the Chief Guest. Mr.G.R. Karthikeyan is a former National Rally Champion, has been the President of the FMSCI and father of Narain Karthikeyan.
Pramod Joshua from Bangalore astride TVS Apache RTR won the rally with a penalty of 01:29:19. Pradeep HK & Ravindra MS, both from TVS Racing won the 2nd and 3rd position with a penalty of 01:30:52 and 01:32:44 respectively. Both rode the TVS Apache RTR. “The rally was simply agreat” said Pramod Joshua after the event.
In the Group D (unmodified) class upto 130 cc, it was local lad Venu Ramesh Kumar astride Yamaha YBX who won the class with a penalty of 01:35:38. Varun SS from Bangalore also riding Yamaha YBX finished 2nd with a total penalty of 01:35:54, followed by Shantappa Pundarik from Bangalore astride TVS Victor Edge finished a distant third. Venu said : “Everything went well….we drove all the six stages. The stages had a lot of pebbles, hence the bikes had a lot of punctures. The organizers have done a good job. For the first time, we had post-event scrutiny, wherein a few components were checked. And as usual the hospitality….we had good food…on the whole it was a good event”.
In the Group D Above 130 to 165 cc class, it was Sunil Kumar P from Bangalore who rode a TVS Fiero finished 1st with a penalty of 01:34:03, followed by Srinivas C on his Hero Honda CBZ Xtreme also from Bangalore and G Raja from Bangalore on his TVS Fiero.
