Beyond the Timing Sheets: Inside the Crew

Coimbatore will be another opportunity to learn, but I am not going there just to learn. I am going there to compete. It is only my second rally in the Polo 1.6, but that does not change the target. I want to push from the first stage and fight for the overall win.

I know the car is still new to me as a driver. That is exactly why I am looking forward to Coimbatore. The more time I spend behind the wheel, the more I understand how the car reacts, where I can carry more speed and where I need to be precise. I am not interested in using the second rally as an excuse to be conservative.

Chennai gave Duran Racing a very good start. We won INRC 3 and finished third overall on our first competitive outing. That result gave the whole team confidence, but it also raised the expectation. Now we have to prove that it was not a one-off. I want to take the next step and put the Polo into the overall fight.

I have been navigating for over ten years, so I understand what a proper pace note sounds like and how much trust there has to be inside the car. Driving is different. Now I have to make the decisions myself at speed, commit to the line and still keep the car clean enough to finish. I enjoy that pressure. It is the reason I wanted to drive.

I am still looking for a navigator, by the way. If you can read pace notes, stay calm when I am pushing and you think you can keep up with me, hit me up. There is still a seat available. The jokes aside, the navigator has to be completely switched on because Coimbatore will not give us much time to think once the stage starts.

The stages can be fast and flowing, but they can also be bumpy, loose and rough. There are places where you can carry a lot of speed and then a section where the ruts or gravel can move the car around. I want to attack, but attacking does not mean driving without a plan. It means knowing where to take the risk and where to protect the car.

My job is to place the car properly, listen to the calls, manage the tyres and bring it back to service. Confidence is important, but it has to be backed up by control. I want maximum commitment, not unnecessary mistakes. If we do that, I believe we can fight for the overall win.

This is the next chapter for me with Duran Racing. I am still learning the Polo, but I am not arriving in Coimbatore with a learner’s mindset. I am arriving to compete, to push hard and to see what we can do when everything comes together.

Coimbatore has always been one of the most legendary rallies on the INRC calendar. Over the years it has been known by different names, like Mills and Monsoon and Scissors Action, but whatever the name, it never fails to deliver action.

It is a favourite rally for the competing crews. I would compare it to Catalunya in Formula 1 because the teams know the roads and the surface so well. They test here, the drivers understand the character of the stages and everyone comes wanting to give 110 percent.

That familiarity makes the rally more competitive, not easier. Everyone knows where the speed is, everyone knows the surface can change and everyone knows the other crews are going to be pushing. A small mistake in the notes or a moment of hesitation can cost a lot of time.

The stages are fast and flowing, but you also get bumps, loose gravel and ruts that can make the car move around. The driver has to commit, but the navigator has to keep the rhythm clear. My job is to give the right information at the right moment and make sure the driver can trust every call.

There is a strong Coimbatore connection in Indian rallying. The engineers, teams, cars and people behind the sport all have links with the city. You cannot take Coimbatore out of the rallying world because so much of the sport has grown around it.

This year we are going later than usual, but the enthusiasm is higher than ever. Everyone has been waiting for the rally, and that makes the arrival feel even bigger. The history is already there, but every edition creates a new story.

I am looking forward to navigating Phoebe Dale Nongrum. Inside the car, everything comes down to trust, preparation and communication. We have to work as one crew from the first note, especially when the road becomes fast and the grip starts changing.

I have been navigating for over ten years, and rallies like this remind me why I still enjoy it. You can know the event, know the kind of roads and understand the pressure, but the moment the car leaves the start line, you still have to do the job properly. The rally does not give you anything for free.

Our target is to be quick, clean and consistent. We want to perform, we want to fight for the result and we want to enjoy the rally for what it is. Coimbatore has speed, history, pressure and emotion. That is exactly why every crew wants to do well here.

Missing the opening round of the 2026 INRC was disappointing, so I am really looking forward to getting back in the car with Daraius for Coimbatore. We have used the time properly and the focus has been on making the car better in both performance and reliability.

Coimbatore is very fast, but it is not just a case of driving flat out everywhere. Some sections are smooth and flowing, while others are bumpy, loose and full of ruts. You need to understand where the car can be pushed and where you have to keep it clean so you do not lose the rally through one mistake.

The weather can also change the whole character of the stages. A little rain or a different surface can change the grip, the braking and the way Daraius needs to approach a corner. My calls have to reflect what is actually happening on the road, not just what we saw during the recce.

For me, the most important part is the relationship inside the car. Daraius has a lot of experience behind the wheel, and I have been navigating for over ten years, but every rally still requires us to build the rhythm again. The notes have to be clear, the timing has to be right and we both have to trust the decision immediately.

We are representing Slideways Industries in association with Chettinad Sporting, and we want to make this return count. We do not want to arrive, complete the rally and call that enough. We want to fight for every second, fight for the overall result and start the championship properly.

We know the crews who competed in Chennai already have points, but that only makes our job more urgent. We cannot change the fact that we missed Round 1. What we can do is put together a strong result in Coimbatore and make sure every stage contributes to the championship chase.

The car has been worked on during the break, and now the job is to prove that work on the stages. We need speed, but we also need to finish without issues. A rally win is not made from one fast corner. It comes from making good decisions for the whole weekend.

I am excited because this is where the season starts for us. The rally will be difficult, and the competition will be strong, but that is exactly what we want. We want to push hard, stay consistent and never give up. If we do that, we can make every kilometre count.

I have been waiting to get back into the seat, and Coimbatore cannot come soon enough. Arnav did not drive Round 1 in Chennai, so for us the championship properly starts there. The other crews already have points, but that makes the challenge more interesting. We have to respond on the stages.

Arnav has worked hard on his driving during the break. He went to a drift school in Thailand, and I am hoping that makes him even faster in the rally car. It should help with car control and understanding the movement of the car, although I have told him that not every corner in Coimbatore has to become a drift competition.

We have both spent extra time preparing. We practise on the simulator, review videos, work through the pace notes and spend more time on the recce than people probably realise. We want to understand how each stage develops, where the speed builds and where the road becomes technical.

Some parts of the stages are extremely fast, with high-speed corners where the call has to come at exactly the right time. Other parts are tight and technical, with jumps, bumps and changing grip. There are three different stages in the rally, and each one has its own character. We have to be ready for all of them.

The stages have been used in different combinations over the years, but we cannot depend on memory. The surface changes, the weather changes and the car feels different every time you arrive at a corner at competition speed. The recce and the video work help us build the picture we need before the helmet goes on.

Our target is not only to win INRC 3. We want to fight for the overall result and the national championship. We know we are starting behind the crews who competed in Chennai, but we also know a strong result here can change the conversation very quickly.

We want to go flat out, finish without any issues and start the championship chase with a bang. That does not mean taking stupid risks. It means being fast where we can be fast, being precise where the stage demands it and keeping the car together all the way to the finish.

Arnav and I are hungry to get started. We have put in the work, spent the extra hours together and prepared the notes properly. Blue Blood Racing and Snap Racing have given us the support to do this, so now we have to deliver it on the road.