:The Champions Yacht Club K- 1000 Rally, the fourth round of the FMSCI National Rally Championship, will commence here on Saturday.
INRC Championship leader Fabid Ahmer and INRC 4 topper Vaibhav Marate are comfortably placed in their categories and look poised to end the year on a high note, a press release said.
Fabid Ahmer of Team Champions with Sanath G as his co-driver, is also leading his INRC 3 class.
He will, however, be wary of the bunch of JK Tyre drivers snapping at his heels.
Dean Mascarenhas, co-driven by Shruptha Padival, is just 7 points behind Fabid at 42 and has the speed and wherewithal to go all the way in the last two rounds.
Mascarenhas is leading in the INRC 2 class with 65 points and is followed by another of his stablemate, Younus Ilyas (42 points), with the possibility of a one-two finish for the team.
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We have a very strong field of 56 teams in this round too, creating a record in itself, Vamsi Merla, the promoter of INRC, said.
Ahmer and Mascarenhas will, however, keep an eye on Mahindra Adventures Gaurav Gill.
The JK Tyre ace, with Musa Sherif as co-driver, is trailing in fifth position, 27 points behind the leader.
But after a forced break for nearly two months, the beleaguered driver will be keen to get back to winning ways.
Two good weekends and a little bit of luck can help him turn the tables on Ahmer and catapult him or his teammate Mascarenhas to the top of the table.
I have always enjoyed driving here in the K-1000. I am really looking forward to go out there and enjoying myself. Hopefully, things will turn in my favour this weekend, Gill said.
PROVISIONAL POINTS TABLE: INRC:1. Fabid Ahmed & Sanath G 49 points; 2. Dean Mascarenhas & Shruptha Padival 42; 3. Chetan Shivram & Dilip Sharan 40.
INRC 2:1. Dean Mascarenhas & Shruptha Padival 65 points; 2. Younus Ilyas & Harish Gowda 42; 3. Vinoth G Kumar & Krishna Charan Dasari 35.
INRC 3:1. Fabid Ahmed & Sanath G 69 points; 2. Chetan Shivram & Dilip Sharan; 3. Arjun Rao & Rajit Kadian 30.
INRC 4:1. Vaibhav Marate & Arjun SSB 74 points; 2. Rakshith Iyer & Chadrashekar 58; 3. Suraj Thomas & Shob George 41.
SUV Challenge:1. Gagan Karumbaiah & Thimmu Uddapanda 78 points; 2. Sanjay Agarwal & Smitha N 60; 3. Nikhil J & Arjun Dheerendra 49.
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