Sancey (France), Oct 7 (IANS) Indian rallyist Pragathi Gowda continued her meteoric rise in the international rallying scene with a first-place finish in her class at the Rallye Montbeliard.
She progressed to a Rally 4 car in this rally after the team witnessed strong performances from her in the lesser-powered Rally 5 car. Pragathi clocked 24:36.5 to claim the top spot in Rally 4 class and finished 21st amongst 115 participants.
The Rallye Montbeliard comprised two stages – Stage 1 being 10 km long, Stage 2 being 3.3km long and Pragtahi had to navigate both stages three times each. The 26-year-old opened the first stage with a stunning time of 6 min 5 seconds and an average speed of 99.17 kmph; surprising everyone on the grid.
“To prepare for the rally we worked extensively on the pace notes and referred to the onboard videos to make corrections and make sure the notes were bulletproof to ensure a good finish. I was confident after the first day of testing with my coach Alexandre Bengue, a former WRC driver with loads of experience,” Pragathi shed light on her preparations.
The Rallye Montbeliard, a chilly asphalt rally with temperatures ranging between 7-14 degrees, had technical stages in the mountain roads, something Pragathi had to face for the first time in her first tarmac rally, on the new Peugeot 208 – Rally 4 car.
“It was my first time driving a full-blown Rally 4 Peugeot factory-prepared car. The terrain was challenging for me as it was a bit damp. We welcomed the day with the sun but it got very cloudy later on, making the track in the mountains a bit moist. The grip kept changing as the cars passed by, creating black rubber residue on the heavy breaking sections, but the pace notes came in handy,” she shared.
This rally was part of the practice rallies for Pragathi to prepare for the World Motorsport Games to be held between the 23rd and 28th of October where she will be representing India in the Rally Category. Pragathi will participate in two more long rallies before the games; one more in France and the second would be a round of the Spanish gravel championship.
“The Rallye Montbeliard turned out to be an exceptional experience but the World Motorsport Games are almost upon us. I will aim to do even better in the remaining two rallies and get as many miles in as possible to be fully prepared for the World Motorsport Games,” she added.
Team Principal and MD of Sidvin, Mohan Nagarajan also weighed in saying, “Pragathi has been progressing well in her last few rallies. Her superb adaptability is one of the biggest factors that allows her to take on new challenges and still perform to her best. Hence, we thought the Rallye Montbéliard would be the perfect juncture to promote her to Rally 4 class and she proved that it was the right decision. We now expect her to progress even further ahead of the World Motorsport Games.”
–IANS
hs/
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
