SANGUEM (GOA), Jul 23:Heavy downpour and a surprise element in the form of a night stage on Day 1 of ISUZU RFC India 2018, the country's toughest international off-road motorsport event, ensured a roaring start to the competition. At the end of Special Stages (SS) 1-5 of the competition, as per the Provisional Results, Arunachal Pradesh's Chow Ujjal Namshum (co-driver Ingpeng Mein), who is making his RFC India debut, was at the third spot at the score board with 300 points out of 500.

 Namshum (co-driver Ingpeng Mein) of Team MOCA from Arunachal Pradesh took everyone by surprise with his electric performance on the first day. He said, “Last year, I attended the event as a spectator and the rain this time is considerably more, thereby making the track full of slush and water. My first SS for the day was SS4, where I was the seventh competitor to attempt the Stage and I ended up being one of the fastest. That is quite heartening as we have practiced hard for the competition for two months straight. Let’s see how things unfold going forward.”

Sanbir Singh Dhaliwal (co-driver Gurpartap Singh Sandhu) from Chandigarh topped the charts with 387 points and Jagat Nanjappa (co-driver Chetan Changappa) from Karnataka was at the second position with 332 points.

The first day of the mega off-road motorsport event was held at an off-road location in Taluka Sanguem of Goa, with 38 teams attempting SS 1 to 5. Incessant rainfall made the tracks slippery and full of slush, making it extremely difficult for the contestants to tackle the stages. As per David Metcalfe, Chief Scrutineer, ISUZU RFC India 2018, “The stages were designed to be tough on the participants and their vehicles. While most of the SS were already quite demanding, the rains today have made them considerably tougher.”

While the day was great for some and disappointing for others, there is still a long way to go before the ISUZU RFC India 2018 Overall Champion is announced. The competition will be held at Suquerbag in Quepem over the next two days and then at the Green Hills Agri Farm in Maina, Quepem on 26^th and 27^th of July, before eventually culminating at the Rajiv Gandhi IT Habitat in Dona Paula on 28^th of July.

 

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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