Sanjay-Mohammed Musthafa duo win Mahindra Monsoon challenge

MANGALURU: Favourites Sanjay Takale and co-driver M K Mohammed Musthafa have won the open class in the 7th Valvoline Mahindra Monsoon challenge 2017. The duo with cumulative two leg penalty of 61 seconds outclassed their nearest rivals Ravindra Kumar and Sagar M duo by 27 seconds (88 seconds penalty in two-legs).
V Santhosh Kumar and T Nagarajan came in third with total cumulative penalty of 88 seconds, the same as second placed Ravindra/Sagar duo, but were placed higher with more zeroes in penalty.
The drivers started day two from Murudeshwar in Uttara Kannada district and headed for Panaji in conditions that pushed them and their machines to the limits.
Despite the tough conditions, Ravindra Kumar and Sagar clocked seven zeroes in time control zones as against the six zeroes clocked by Santhosh Kumar and Nagarajan to take the second place.
The duo had a six second handicap when they started the day and picked up 22 second penalty in the second leg compared to 28 by Santhosh Kumar/Nagarajan duo to tie on total penalties.
In the challenge class, Vinay B P and co-driver Ravi Kumar B M finished on top with two penalties of 75 seconds (51 seconds in first leg). Dr Raghavendra Pidamale and Dr Muralidhar Rai were second (231 seconds penalty, including 106 seconds in first leg) and N Maheshwaran/Murugan N duo third with total penalty of 240 seconds.
In the corporate class, Santhosh Kumar and co-driver Pradeep Nagaraj with total penalty of five minutes 56 seconds were placed first. Baiju Stephen and Kumar M were placed second (nine minutes 17 seconds) and Umashankar R and Shanmuga S N third (15 minutes 55 seconds).
The lone couple entrant - Harsha Fredrick and Heldise Precilla finished the event with two-leg penalty of 38 minutes 16 seconds.
In the media class, Rohan S Patil and Omkar A Kulkarni finished first with total penalty of 13 minutes two seconds. K Balamurgan and T Vijay were second (47 minutes seven seconds) and Abhishek Chaliha and Kirti Patil third. (two hours, four minutes and nine seconds).
Monsoon Challenge 2017 ended at Varanda Do Mar in Panjim where the final official results were announced and the winners were awarded with their trophies and prize money.
The course for the two-day event that got underway from this coastal city on Saturday was prepared by ace national rally driver Ashwin Naik and his co-driver Moosa Sharief.