28th August 2009, 23:42
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| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bong-land
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29th August 2009, 00:18
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| Team-BHP Support   | |
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29th August 2009, 00:20
| #3 |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bong-land
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Thanked: 426 Times
| yes i also think it will be a good idea. but logistical problems will be more IMO. Who all from team BHP are going / participating?  |
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29th August 2009, 00:57
| #4 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: kolkata
Posts: 1,070
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29th August 2009, 01:14
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| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Durgapur/Calcutta/Pune
Posts: 2,169
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| Quote:
You can put up at my place if i go there.  | |
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21st September 2009, 01:02
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| Senior - BHPian  | INRC SSS, Kolkata, 20th September 2009 Quote:
Bhpian NOS Power arranged the passes, and off went I (actually, a small team of Kolkata bhpians) to witness the event. Details of the Event I shall spare you the details of every team and car, which anyway can be found here: Rally De Kolkata. Suffice to say, by the time the event came around to Kolkata, many of the entrants had been eliminated. Leading the event was star APRC rallyist Gaurav Gill, and trailing him was Kolkata's Amittrajit Ghosh, both in Cedias (2000cc+ class). Incidentally, their 2 cars were also the sole surviving Cedias in the class which originally comprised 6.   There were 36 more cars, with 4-5 Balenos competing in the 1600cc plus category, 3 Gypsys filling out the Gypsy class, and the remaining being Esteems competing in the 1400cc+ and Rally Star Cup categories. The SSS was being held in the Jadavpur stadium. A track had been set up there, with thick grass and a lot of muddy patches.  Thanks (err, no thanks? ) to NOS power, we ended up in the stadium at the very start of the event, at 11.30 AM. No one told him that this was the time when the cars were merely getting together for a photo shoot. They would subsequently leave the stadium for a parade around the city, only to come back at 2 PM. The actual SSS wouldn't start till about 3!Anyway, so what had to happen happened. Very soon we (and a group of similarly foxed spectators) were sitting inside an empty stadium, the harsh mid day sun bearing upon us, staring at nothing more than an empty grass track. If NOS was spared a beating, it was only thanks to the humor and camaraderie inside our small group which kept us going for those 4 hours. L to R in the first pic - Mr and Mrs Predatorwheelz, a very sheepish NOS Power and 1100D.  The guy in the extreme left (pic below) is Planet_Rocker.  Also present (but not pictured) were Bhpians Vrooom and Rajarshi. Coming back to the event, we just sat around and blabbered for some time until a surprising sight shook us awake. The rally cars were not back on the track as yet. But there was this black Nissan X-trail (with "official" stickers) being driven around the track in anger. And its not funny. The car was a stock X-Trail. There were 3-4 people sitting inside, and it looked to be driven by some experienced rallyist. The car was doing some Serious speed around the track! A 4 wheel drive, diesel SUV taking the track apart! We marvelled at how well the car took the driving in its stride, roaring down the straights, then power sliding around the corners. Of course, the engine note couldn't match up to the scream of a rally free flow, but that sort of increased my respect for the X-trail. Understated, go without the show. Why was it there? Maybe it was giving people who mattered a taste of the track? Maybe it was roughing up the track so the competitors would find more grip later on? Who cares? It put up a hell of a performance. I apologize for not having clicked better pictures. Was probably too busy staring open mouthed.   So the day dragged on. Finally the competitors came back and parked one by one by the side of the track. There was a freak incident here. Championship leader Gaurav Gill tried a crowdpleaser by doing a huge powerslide into his parking slot beside the fence. Unfortunately the area had a large patch of sticky mud. His front wheel got stuck, and all the wheelspin only ended in his grounding the car even more. Gaurav and his navigator tried their best to extricate the car, but in vain. We were all watching helplessly, knowing we couldn't help, as anyone (other than driver and navigator) touching a rally car is prone to get it disqualified. Was this stupid oversight going to ruin Gaurav's chances at the title?  Thankfully better sense prevailed. The steward did not take time in deciding that it was a freak incident, and allowed the crew to lift off the car. Gaurav was back in running. We could see he was not happy. Some idiots in the crowd had been laughing at his misery when the car was stuck. It was obvious he wanted to prove a point. The walking recce over, the zero car went off for a run of the track.    So finally, the SSS kicked off. | |
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21st September 2009, 03:23
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| Senior - BHPian | continued.... The format was that each car would have to complete 2 laps of the course. The combined time of both laps would be considered. First up on the track was a local contestant, Mr. Saurav Hazra. A well known name in the Kolkata Rally circuit and a personal friend. Halfway through his first lap, he cooked up. Notice the car's tail starting to swing out in the first pic. Also the photographer with the hat.  What follows thereafter is the car's tail clips out a portion of the tape barricade. Notice the second pic where the car has exited the corner, the photographer is running for life, scared that the tail almost got him . Saurav recovered thereafter, but still had a patchy run through the rest of the laps.    (I don't have pics of all the participants after this, only the ones I felt were worth mention) Prashant Paul's RSC Esteem. The car was carrying damage from the previous day.    The Gypsys generally did very well. Leading overall in the Gypsy category was this car from DDL Sports, a South-based racing outfit. The driver, Bobby Jose C, was impressive from the word go.      Another Gypsy, driven by Anil Wadia of Team Thunderbolt. The car put on some spectacular drifts to entertain the audience.    The Kari Sports Baleno, driven by young wonder Sujay Naidu. Couldn't make much of a mark, though reportedly the car was running with a damaged transmission from the previous day.    |
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21st September 2009, 05:10
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| Senior - BHPian  | |
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21st September 2009, 05:46
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| Team-BHP Support  | |
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21st September 2009, 12:08
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| Senior - BHPian | Quote:
 ! Hehe, just kidding buddy.Quote:
Secondly, in any case I've not posted pics of each of the 38 participants, only those I thought were worth mention. Report Continued The 2 other Kari Sports cars put up decent, clean performances. Much has been heard of young talent Sourabh Choudhury, though on this day he could only register an average time.  And Balram CG, who was competing in the RSC category.  The Stars of the Day And now for my top 3 stars of the day. In reverse order: 3. Amittrajit Ghosh - The local lad received much support. His car was way, way more powerful than everyone else (except Gaurav Gill) and he put it to good use in setting the 2nd fastest time of the day - 1 min 27 secs. I am putting up a video of his first lap, as well as a few pics.   2. Vijay Jose - I never heard of this man till yesterday. He's apparently a privateer in his first season of INRC. But on Sunday, Vijay set a spectacular time of 1 min 27 secs, matching that of Amittrajit's Cedia, in a far less powerful Gypsy. Another impressive aspect was the lines he took. Not much show for the crowd, good clean lapping. I'll put up a video of his 2 laps as soon as I finish uploading it on youtube. 3. Gaurav Gill - Sorry to sound strongly opinionated, but to me Gaurav stood head and shoulders above the rest. The arrogance of a seasoned rally pro and an APRC contender was there for all to see. He came into Sunday already leading by a massive margin. I've already mentioned some idiots in the crowd jeering at him when he had beached his car while parking. Later, when he was walking back to his car to start the SSS, some of these idiots again passed a comment. Gaurav did this  Immediately followed it up with a comment at the crowd, that made his intentions loud and clear - "If any of you are laughing at me, I suggest you take a ride with me. Will clear the problem once and for all". The cocky Bong crowd was silent at the sudden show of attitude .And then Gaurav walked the talk. Unbelievable 2 laps of the track, powersliding the car, catching the nose at the apex, then pirouetting out of the corner. Fairytale stuff. Clocked a time of 1 min 25 secs, fastest of the day. Here's a video of his first lap Wrap up Overall, a good and well organized event. Kolkata needs many more such events to boost the level of interest in youngsters for Motorsport. My only grudge was that I wanted to see Gaurav's performance in a longer format. Some other pics. Mr Ravi Kumar (Red T shirt), Chairman of Calcutta Motor Sports Club  One car we saw in the parking. Did not take part in the competition though. Maybe an earlier retirement.  And how can any tbhp report be complete without showing off our own cars ? Presenting 1100D's Ford Ikon And of course, my own Predator. Not a rally car, but a star in its own right!  | ||
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21st September 2009, 12:23
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| Senior - BHPian  |       Whose Gypsy was this?   Note the front of the car, its crisp and in-focus, the rear isn't, indicating that the car is still drifting, good drive, but the Gypsy was equally quick on account of its 4wd  Gaurav Gill on his fantastic run  The one that I liked most  If only we could see this do the dance  This more than made up for it.  The fan following was amazing  Two video's from my end of both the Cedia's final lap Amitrajit Ghosh's run Gaurav Gills fabulous smooth run Last edited by 1100D : 21st September 2009 at 12:36. |
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21st September 2009, 12:54
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| Senior - BHPian | |
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21st September 2009, 13:01
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23rd September 2009, 13:12
| #14 |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bong-land
Posts: 2,323
Thanked: 426 Times
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23rd September 2009, 15:01
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| BHPian  | |
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