During another outing full of throttling pursuits and fuelled encounters, the 2013 Asia Pacific Rally champion Gaurav Gill emerged as the overall leader after six special stages of FMSC Indian Rally Championship’s first round of races – Mahindra Adventure Rally here at Bhandardara Ghats on Saturday. After giving him a tough run for his money, Amit Rajit Ghosh finished second while Byram Godrej upset several stalwarts to complete the top trio.
As the second day of the automobile extravaganza progressed, the star of Friday’s proceedings Samir Thapar failed to reassert his authority; eventually not even making it into the top three. On the other hand, Team Mahindra Adventure’s Gill who kicked off his campaign on a disappointing note, made quick amends to rightfully claim his place at the top of the pile by clocking 58 minutes and 20 seconds in the overall timings. However it was a close call between himself and Ghosh who finally ended second best on the day, with a timing of 59 minutes and eight seconds.
Meanwhile the third place went to a relatively under-noticed face on the circuit, Byram Godrej who was co-driven by Somayya AG. Although the gulf between him and his immediate nemesis was a whooping 156 seconds, yet it was a memorable result for the underdog who will be expecting to cling on to this position during the last outing of the competition on Sunday.
Elsewhere during the penultimate summit of the rally, Byram Godrej also surfaced as the 
leader in the 2000 cc category followed by Rohit Kanthraj and Sumit Punjabi. Among the 1600 cc racers, Hrishikesh Thakarsi reigned supreme while Aniruddha Ranganekar clinched top honours in the 1600 cc Cup.
Sunday’s itinerary will include three special stage events, before the podium results and the valedictory function which is scheduled to be held from 2 pm at Hotel Gateway.
Overall: 1. Gaurav Gill (00:58:20), 2. Amit Rajit Ghosh (00:59:08), 3. Byram Godrej (01:01:44); 2000 cc: 1. Byram Godrej, 2. Rahul Kanthraj, 3. Sumit Panjabi; 1600 cc: 1. Hrishikesh Thakarsi, 2. Sirish Chandran, 3. Druva C; 1600 cc Cup: 1. Aniruddha Ranganekar , 2. Parag Dhiwar, 3. Adith KC. Amit Ghosh finishes second; Byram was a Godrej surprise package of the day.
