KOCHI:
Kerala’s iconic motorsport, the Popular Rally, is geared up to roll in December 2019, setting the tarmacs on fire, as ace Indian Rally Drivers vie for the coveted Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) title. 2019 marks the 25 th edition of this prestigious event.
This year Popular Rally is the 5 th and final Round of INRC, thereby deciding the National Champion and it is conducted under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India and promoted by Champions Yacht Club. Popular Rally, always enjoys the pride of a place in the hearts of adventure lovers. The grandeur in which the Rally was held in the last 2 years has elevated the stature of the Rally akin to an international event, in the minds of Rallyist’s and motor sports enthusiasts.
Announcing the Rally, John K. Paul, M.D., Popular Vehicles & Services Ltd, said : “Popular Rally is a matter of great pride for us, not only because we are the only vehicle dealer to have our own Rally, but more so due to the fact that for Keralites, Car Rally means predominantly the Popular Rally. So much is the passion they evince for the event that it drives us even more to carry on its rich legacy, every year in our sports calendar.”
Popular Rally includes only four-wheelers. The Rally, is being officially flagged off from The Windsor Castle Hotel, Kottayam, at 5 pm on 19 th December 2019 by the Transport Minister of Kerala, A. K. Saseendran. The scrutiny of cars and the Recce will take place on the 20 th . The Rally will unfold on the smooth tarmac in and around the towns of Kanjirappally, Poonjar and Thidanad in Kottayam district on Saturday, the 20 th December. Two more special stages will follow early morning on Sunday, after which the Rally Drivers will head to Kottayam, in the evening. The event will close with the Prize Distribution at The Windsor Castle, Kottayam, on the same day, at 5 pm.
Popular Rally 2019 looks forward to the participation of all top rally drivers in the country. Factory teams like Mahindra and Volkswagen are expected, along with Team Champions, the current Promoter of INRC. Three times Asia-Pacific Rally champion and Arjuna Award Winner, Gaurav Gill, also currently participating in the WRC2 (World Rally Championship-2 category) and Amittrajit Ghosh will drive for Team Mahindra.
All Champion drivers like Karna Kadur, Dean Mascarenhas, Vikram Rao and Chetan Shivram, the current Championship leader, are slated to take part. Charge from the Kerala drivers is expected to be led by Dr Bikku Babu, along with the rising stars of Kerala rallying and INRC regulars like Fabid Ahmer, Younis Ilyas, Jacob K J, Adit K C, Noufal Sayed, Prem Kumar, Pradeep Kumar and Suraj Thomas.
The organizers of Popular Rally have taken all precautions and safety measures so as to ensure the safety of not only the participants but the spectators too. All speed stages will be held in closed circuits only, regulating traffic as necessary. Every Driver contesting the Rally is adequately trained for it and has years of expertise in rallying.
To adhere to the prescribed safety standards, the rally cars are fitted with additional safety features, so that in the event of any eventuality, the driver and co-driver are well protected. Therefore, under no circumstances should anyone try to emulate the feat of the Rally Drivers under normal road conditions. Popular Rally wishes to send out a message on the importance of ensuring safety in any driving.
The marshals are well trained, with years of experience in various motor-sports disciplines, capable of dealing with any eventuality. There will be about 120 trained marshals to conduct the rally and an additional 100 marshals to control the crowd and to direct them to safe viewing zones.
Police support also will be additional to this. We will be having full medical support from our medical partner for the rally, The Medical Trust Hospital, with trauma ambulances and team of doctors. The nearest multi-speciality hospitals are also intimated to to be on the alert for their assistance, if required.
Boards are being put up in the nearby towns to intimate them regarding the rally. We have individually intimated and educated every household on the route regarding the rally running schedule and running and also the safety measures to be taken and have received full consent and co-operation from them.
Many local residents have been roped into the organizing team to control the safety aspects in the stages. We will also be seeking the assistance of the Fire Department, Police and Transport department for the smooth and safe running of the rally.
A Mobile App is ready, exclusively for the Popular Rally. The Popular Rally App will provide all Rally related news, events, programme schedules etc. at the finger tips. The Leader Board in the App will broadcast live results of each stage of the Rally. It will also enable easy access to spectator points in each Stage of the Rally. The App will host video footages and photographs of the Rally. The Popular Rally App can be downloaded free from the Google Play Store or from the link below.
http://bit.ly/2PIv9YT
Organized by Popular Vehicles and Services Ltd under Kuttukaran Group and run by Southern Adventures & Motorsports, Popular Rally 2019 is also backed by Hotel Windsor Castle as Hospitality Partner and Medical Trust Hospital as the Medical Partner.
Appzoc is the Digital Partner and Net Ventures the Web Partner, while BlueTimbre has set the theme music for the Rally. Gifts are sponsored by Marby Chocolates, Golden Valley, Dream World and Total Oil. Popular Vehicles & Services Ltd counts among the largest dealer networks for Maruti Suzuki in India apart from being the first in Kerala. Akin to car rally being synonymous with Popular Rally in Kerala, Popular is always the first thought among buyers of Maruti cars.
