News

The Hindu : Putting pedal to metalTeam Winspeed Motorsport is all set for the Indian National Rally ChampionshipWith the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) set to kick off at Mysore from June 12 to 15, Team Winspeed Motorsport looks upbeat about its prospects for the seven-leg annual event conducted by the Motorsport Association of India (MAI). Formed about four months ago, Winspeed Motorsport’s President Sravan Kumar K and Vice President Sai Giridhar presented the ace driving duo G.B. Girijashankar Joshy and Mazdayar Vatcha. Both will compete in the N series; Joshy in his Maruti Suzuki Baleno in the 1600 cc category and Vatcha in a Maruti Suzuki Esteem in the 1400 cc. Both the drivers have an impressive track record. Joshy made his debut in 2005 in the RSC Championship, where he won three first places and two second places out of six rallies at Tura, Mysore, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Delhi and Hyderabad.The Chickmangalur native won two successive championships in 2005 and 2006, the first in the Rally Star Cup category and the second in the 1400 cc group N section in the following year. Joshy was placed first in the 1400 cc and second in the Indian Open category in an autocross organised by Sakleshpur Sports Club.In the ‘King of the Hills,’ a hill climb event organised by Prosports in Chamundi Hills, Mysore, he emerged first. The year 2006 proved quite productive for him, as he was crowned the Indian National Champion in the 1400 cc, placed first in the Overdrive Rally, Pune, the Bosch K1000 and the Monsoon Rally of Kerala. In 2007, he sped away with the Heera Rally title at Kochi.Vatcha ventured into every kind of motor racing, evidence of which is a trophy from each category. He has individual achievements ranging from motocross to GoKarting, from bike rallying to autocross events. Vatcha’s also into motorsport journalism.After all, he has 18 years of successful motorsport…More