Asia Pacific Rally Championship gets record entries for Asia Zone round in Chennai

A record number of 21 entries have been confirmed for the Asia Zone round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), scheduled from April 25th to 27th at the Madras International Circuit.

The APRC Asia Cup will be held alongside the FMSCI Indu Chandhok Memorial Indian Rally Championship (INRC) and will be organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC).

The first round was held in New Zealand early this month, and after the second round in Chennai, three more rounds will take place, with the final and title-deciding round taking place alongside the World Rally Championship event from November 6 to 8 in Japan.

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The recce of all 21 cars was completed today at the Special Stages.

“I am absolutely thrilled to see a record number of entries in the FIA APRC segment. I am coming in as contributor to support this round and I am also extending my support for a couple of other rounds,” Vamcy Merla, promoter of the APRC India round and the title sponsor of the INRC, said.

Defending champions of the APRC India leg, Harkrishan Wadia and Kunal Kashyap of Arka Motorsports, and the reigning National champions, Karna Kadur and Musa Sherif, will spearhead the competition.

They will be given a tough challenge by former INRC champion and ERC round winner Amittrajit Ghosh, 2019 INRC champion Chetan Shivram and co-driver E Shivaprakash and Hyderabad’s Naveen Puligilla, who has entered with co-driver Santhosh Thomas.

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Naveen recently won the RC3 class of the Kenyan Rally Championship, part of the World Rally Championship circuit. Arnav Pratap Singh, with co-driver Rohit N, and Janson Saldanha, with PVS Murthy, will be the other drivers to watch out for.

Anushriya Gulati of Shimla will be the only lady entry while Hyderabad’s Jeet Jhabhak will debut the Hyundai i20 in the INRC.

“He (Merla) has always spontaneously agreed to support the event in the interest of the sport without expecting anything in return. This is the kind of spirit and support that the MMSC enjoys with Vamcy Merla as the promoter of the FIA APRC event in India and the Indu Chandhok Memorial South India Rally 2025,” Vicky Chandhok, President of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship working group, said.