Adith KC and Harish KN Take Lead in Dakshin Dare After Day 2

Anantapur (Andhra Pradesh)– The Palakkad–Bengaluru duo of Adith K.C. and Harish K.N. overcame punishing dirt tracks and emerged leaders on Day 2 of the Motorsport Inc fmsci 14th Dakshin Dare rally, held about 30 km from here on Friday.

Adith, a double INRC champion, credited the day’s performance to a cautious but calculated approach. “We had a smooth run today. Our target was to bring the car home safely while gaining time in a few of our favorite sections,” he said. Despite a late puncture, the pair held their ground. Harish, fast making a name as a co-driver, added: “We are happy to be in the lead. We protected our advantage and hope to continue the same pace over the next four stages.”

Driving a Honda City, the pair secured a 15-second lead over their nearest rivals. Vinod Singh and Shailendra Singh of Team Ashva finished second, while Aieman Ahmed and Sagar M of Team VM Motorsports claimed third after overnight leaders Archit Jindal and Aashish Bhaskar from Delhi lost significant time due to a puncture.

Nikeetaa Takkala, who had briefly run second, went off track at a right-hander and later incurred a technical penalty, ending her day. She is expected to restart on Saturday in the Plantation Selective section to stay in contention.

In the Ladies category, the North East’s only representative, Phoebe Nongrum, stole the show. Driving a Polo with co-driver Venu Ramesh Kumar, she delivered a near-flawless performance to finish fifth overall and first in her class.

Meanwhile, the experienced pairing of Vamcy Merla and Ashwin Naik faced major setbacks as their Gypsy lost power early in the day. Forced to run largely in second gear, they nevertheless completed both 77 km stages and remain the lone leaders in Class 5.

Provisional Results (after Leg 2):
Overall: 1. Adith KC/Harish KN (Team Vamcy Merla Motorsports) – 03:55:18; 2. Vinod Singh/Shailendra Singh (Team Ashva) – 03:55:33; 3. Aieman Ahmed/Sagar M (Team VM Motorsports) – 03:57:16.

Class 2 (Group T1): 1. Adith KC/Harish KN; 2. Aieman Ahmed/Sagar M; 3. Sidharth Santosh/Vybhav Mukund Rao – 03:57:36.

Class 10 (Group T2): 1. Vinod Singh/Shailendra Singh – 03:55:33; 2. Deepak Sachyadeva/Rajit Singh – 04:03:47.

Ladies Class: 1. Phoebe Nongrum/Venu Ramesh Kumar – 03:59:35.

Class 5 (Group T1): 1. Vamcy Merla/Ashwin Naik – 04:04:18.

Class 8 (Group T2): 1. Akhil Jain/Akhil Dhaundiyal – 04:11:14.

Class 11 (Group T2): 1. Archit Jindal/Aashish Bhaskar – 04:13:55.

With inputs from IANS