FMSCI Announces Schedule for 2016 Indian National Rally Championship

Kolkata based, RRPM is the promoter for INRC and IRC and has joined the championship this year. The company headed by Arindam Ghosh has managed to bring brands like MRF Tyres, Mahindra Adventure, Polaris and Pincon as key sponsors for the Indian rally season. The sponsors are expected to bring much needed support and motivation to rallying in India, which has struggled for sustenance for a while now.

Talking to carandbike.com, Zayn Khan, President, FMSCI said, "IRC and INRC have suffered over the last three years for the lack of promotion, which means there are less events coming into the sport, and less money coming into the sport; but now with a promoter, you not only get a little bit of money coming in, you also get a lot more publicity, which in turn churns up more sponsors into the sport."

Zayn Khan, Arindam Ghosh and Ashwin Pandit at the press conference

Adding further, he said that a decently funded event will see quality, which is evident in motorsport. The past years saw FMSCI run INRC on highly rationed budgets, but the federation is now optimistic that the calendar this year will be exciting with good quality events.

Furthermore, INRC will be making its way to Delhi this year, which is expected to attract several spectators towards the sport. Given the fact that rally stages take place mostly in rural areas, conducting the event in a mainstream city will certainly help the sport gain more popularity. The final round of this season will be conducted in Chikmagalur, Karnataka, which will also be the final round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC).

The INRC and IRC are speed rallies wherin teams need to finish the stages in the least time as possible. Separately, the INSTRDC is a time speed distance rally and is conducted on public roads with the objective to maintain precise times and average speeds while attracting lowest penalties. Overall, the INRC comprises of up to 2000cc category and up to 1400cc category and it is the latter that witnesses most entries. Each team consists of a driver and navigator. Each team consists of a driver and navigator...

The 2016 INRC has also seen the introduction of shakedown, a pre-event procedure to provide pre-rally practice and testing to all competitors. The championships this year will include both gravel and tarmac rounds with top rally drivers like Gaurav Gill, Amittrajit Ghosh, Sunny Sidhu, Arjun Rao Aroor, Rahul Kanthraj, Karna Kadur among others showing their skills behind the driver's seat.

As for RRPM, the promoter is looking to extend its association with INRC for the next two to three years. Arindam Ghosh, Director, RRPM said, "We need to two more years at least to get things in place, and are looking to at a positive 2017-18 seasons." The firm is currently in the process of chalking out the details for the following years and will announce the dates for the next season by October this year.

2016 INRC/IRC Venue and Dates:

1. Coimbatore: July 23-24
2. Nashik: August 27-28
3. Gurgaon: September 17-18
4. Bangalore: November 26-27
5. Chikmagalur: December 3-5

2016 Indian National TSD Rally Championship Venue and Dates:

North
1. Jaipur: August 12-13
2. Jaipur: August 13-14

East
1. Haldia: August 20-21
2. Duragapur: September 3-4

South
1. Bangalore: September - 10-11
2. Hubli: September 24-25

West
1. Nashik: November 12-13
2. Goa: November 19-20