Indore (MP), Feb 1 (IANS) Karnataka’s Dean Mascarenhas and experienced co-driver Gagan Karumbaiah sealed their maiden Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) title with a round to spare, even as their TSI Racing teammates from Himachal Pradesh, Aditya Thakur and Virender Kashyap, clinched overall honours at the Rally of the Highlands, the fifth and penultimate round of the 2025 season, held at the National Automotive Testing Tracks (NATRAX), Pithampur, on Sunday.
Dean and Gagan finished fifth overall on the final day, earning a crucial championship point that gave them an unassailable provisional lead and confirmed their first National title. Dean, who made his rally debut at K1000 in 2010, had narrowly missed out on the championship in 2019 by just one point.
“Incredible. It is an amazing feeling to finally win the Overall National Championship,” said Mascarenhas. “I have waited over 15 years for this moment. A huge thanks to TSI Racing and PH Sport, without whom this would not have been possible. I am especially grateful to my co-driver, Gagan, who has been phenomenal. This is a truly memorable milestone in my career.”
The duo has partnered with each other since the Coimbatore Rally in 2019. Despite minor mechanical issues, Aditya Thakur and Virender Kashyap produced a composed drive to secure the rally win.
“We broke the gear mounting in the first stage today, but managed to finish the stage. There was no point pushing after that, so we focused on protecting our position and bringing the car home safely,” said Thakur. “It is a joy to drive this car, and we are delighted to get our first win for the team. Congratulations to Dean on winning the championship.”
Defending champion Karna Kadur, partnered by Musa Sherif, delivered a blistering performance on the final day to finish second overall. However, it was not enough to take the title battle into the final round, as Mascarenhas’ fifth-place finish proved decisive.
In INRC2, Jason Saldanha of Mangaluru, guided by veteran co-driver PV Srinivasa Murthy, claimed victory. Kerala’s Fabid Ahmer and Milen George produced a strong final-day charge to finish second, while Harkishan Wadia and Kunal Kashyap completed the podium.
Chettinad Sporting’s Vishakh Balachandran, with Chiranth Jain, won the INRC3 category ahead of teammates Sheshank Jamwal and Raghuram Saminathan. Anushriya Gulati, partnered by Karan Aukta, finished third, secured the Ladies Class title, and also placed an impressive ninth overall. Phoebe Dale of Meghalaya and Athira Murali completed the podium in that order.
In other categories, Bhopal’s Mohammed Kaif Khan, with Jibran Ahmed, won the Gypsy Challenge, while Bengaluru’s Asool Albert John and Kodagu’s Aiyappa Bopanna clinched the Classic Challenge Cup.
Provisional results final:
Overall: 1. Aditya Thakur/ Virender Kashyap (both Himachal) TSI Racing, (01 hour, 39 minutes, 49.2seconds); 2. Karna Kadur (Bengaluru)/ Musa Sherif (Kasargod), Arka Motorsports (01:40:40.0); 3. Dean Mascarenhas (Mangaluru)/ Gagan Karumbaiah (Kodagu) (TSI Racing) (01:41:02.9).
INRC2: 1. Jason Saldanha (Mangaluru)/ PV Srinivasa Murthy (Bengaluru) Arka Motorsports (01:41:21.0); 2. Fabid Ahmer (Palakkad)/ Milen George (Kottayam), Pvt. (01:41:28.8); 3. Harkrishan Wadia (Delhi)/ Kunal Kashyap (Shimla) Arka Motorsports (01: 42:39.0).
INRC3: 1. Vishakh Balachandran (Thiruvananthapuram)/ Chiranth Jain (Karkala) Chettinad Sporting (01:43:00.4); 2. Sheshank Jamwal (Hamirpur, HP)/ Raghuram Saminathan (Coimbatore) Chettinad Sporting (01:43:04.3); 3. Anushriya Gulati (Dehradun)/ Karan Aukta (Jubbal, HP) Arka Motorsports (01:45:15.2);
INRC 3T: 1. Baljinder Singh Dhillon (Delhi)/ Goutham CP (Chikkamagalur) R-Tech Motorsports (01:50:47.5); 2. Thejas Reddy/ Ravindra Kumar (Both Bengaluru) Snap Racing (01:54:17.3).
Junior INRC: 1. Abhimanyu Sajeevan (Kozhikode) Snap Racing (01:41:36.6); 2. Arjun Y Mavaji (Bengaluru) pvt (01:48:04.8); 3. R-Tech Motorsports (01:50:44.7);
Ladies Class: 1. Anushriya Gulati (Dehradun), Arka Motorsports; 2. Phoebe Dale Nongrum (Shillong) (01:11:58.3); 3. Athira Murali (Kottayam) Chettinad Sporting.
Fmsci Gypsy Challenge: 1. Mohammed Kaif Khan (Bhopal)/ Jibran Ahmed (Bengaluru) Pvt. (01: 54:00.2); 2. Aneesh Sangma (Tura)/ Dinky Varghese (Coimbatore) Pvt. (01: 54:15.2); 3. Vinod Singh/ Adithya Garg (Both Indore) (02:00:24.8).
Classic Challenge: 1. Asool Albert John (Bengaluru)/ Aiyappa Bopanna (Kodagu) pvt (02:09:07.3); 2. Siddartha Santosh (Bengaluru)/Sawan Sathyanarayan (Chennapatanam) Snap Racing (02:16:47.0).
--IANS
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