Talented Karna Kadur with experienced Musa Sherif as co-driver from Arka Motorsports begin as favourites in the Blueband Rally of Coimbatore, the second round of the Blueband fmsci Indian National Rally Championship 2025 which was flagged off here at the Jenny’s Club on Friday.

The National rally has attracted a huge number of 66 entries in six classes including 9 lady drivers and promises high-octane competition and dramatic stage battles. Organised by the Coimbatore Auto Sports Club under the aegis of Blueband Sports and fmsci the rally returns to one of India’s most well-run motorsport events.

The Rally of Coimbatore will witness the entry of Aishwarya Pissay, the only World champion in motorsports from India, to the four wheel INRC scene. A 7-time national champion in different formats like 2w racing and rallying, she will be looking to add a new discipline to her exploits.

Arjuna Awardee and multiple national champion Gaurav Gill, who is busy with his international calendar, is not in the fray but former National champions Aditya Thakur and codriver Virender Kashyap from Himachal Pradesh, Aroor Arjun Rao and codriver Satish Rajagopal of Mandovi Racing, Harkrishan Wadia (Kunal Kashyap) are all capable of upsetting the Kadur-Sherif combo. Double national champion Amittrajit Ghosh, along with experienced Ashwin Naik, reigning Junior INRC champion Arnav Pratap Singh along, Philippos Matthai and Chetan Shivram are the other drivers to look out for.

There are three physical stages, SM Agro, Black Thunder and Thunder World, which will be run multiple times. On Saturday six Special Stages will be run and two on Sunday for a total distance of 265.3 km, out of which 116.02 km will be competitive Special Stage distance.
Mumbai’s Daraius N. Shroff, the reigning INRC3 national champion along with co-driver Arjun Dheerendra in their proven Volkswagen Polo MK5 has good competition this year too.

Blueband Sports, the promoter of the INRC, continues to elevate the championship with a renewed focus on fan engagement, environmental sustainability, and technological upgrades across events.

Speaking ahead of the Coimbatore round, Blueband Sports promoter Premnath K said: “Coimbatore has always been a special rallying destination. We have added Indore to the calendar and we’re proud to bring the rally back with enhanced stages, stronger participation, and a commitment to delivering world-class motorsport experiences to fans across India.”