Six Rounds, Seven Dates: The Official 2026 to 27 INRC Calendar

The Blueband Sports INRC Season 2026 to 27 calendar is a six-round national tour with one reserve weekend. It opened in Chennai and now points to Coimbatore before moving through Kodagu, Bengaluru, Indore and Bastar.

The supplied season poster gives the championship as: 49th South India Rally in Chennai from 17 to 19 April 2026, Rally of Coimbatore from 18 to 20 September, Robusta Rally, Kodagu from 20 to 22 November, the 50th K1000 Rally in Bangalore from 18 to 20 December, Rally of the Highlands in Indore from 29 to 31 January 2027, and Jagdalpur, Bastar in Chhattisgarh from 26 to 28 February. The reserve date is 26 to 28 March 2027. Dates and venues can still be amended by the federation or organiser, so the official notice board remains the final authority.

A calendar that gives every round its own character

The strongest feature of the schedule is its variety. Chennai begins the story with a major South India Rally tradition, Coimbatore brings the championship into one of the country’s natural rallying homes, and Kodagu adds a forested Karnataka test before the series reaches Bengaluru, Indore and Bastar.

Every destination asks teams to prepare for a different combination of surface, weather, pace notes, tyre choice and service planning. Six rounds give the championship a longer arc, while the reserve weekend keeps room for the practical realities of Indian rallying.

Round 1 set the tone in Chennai

The 49th South India Rally already gave the season a memorable opening. Karna Kadur and Kumar Ramaswamy won the INRC overall classification for Arka Motorsports in a Volkswagen Polo, keeping their composure when a turbo problem reduced the car’s power on the final day. The crew’s ability to protect the lead and keep the car moving gave the championship its first major lesson: a long rally rewards a complete performance across every stage and every service window.

Ritesh Guttedar and Suraj M brought AART Motorsports to second overall and won INRC 2. Arvind Dheerendra and Shahid Salman completed the INRC podium for Duran Racing, while their class victory in INRC 3 gave the team a remarkable result on its first competitive outing. The opening round also delivered strong class stories from Chettinad Sporting, with Arjun Y. Mavaji and Jeevarathinam J. placing on the INRC 2 podium and Tarushi Vikram and Athreya Kousgi winning both the Ladies and Junior INRC categories.

The teams that give the championship its depth

Arka Motorsports remains one of the reference points of Indian rally preparation. The team’s work with Kadur and Ramaswamy shows how much a modern national rally programme depends on engineering knowledge, disciplined service work and a crew that understands how to turn a fast car into a dependable championship car. The Polo’s performance in Chennai, especially after the turbo issue, made that relationship visible to everyone watching the timing screens.

AART Motorsports added another important thread through Guttedar and Suraj M. Their runner-up finish and INRC 2 victory gave the opening results a broad competitive spread. Duran Racing brought a fresh presence through Dheerendra and Salman, with Vishakh Balachandran and Chiranth Jain also winning the INRC 3T class for the team. Chettinad Sporting continued to show the strength of its development ladder through Mavaji, Jeevarathinam, Tarushi, Athreya, Sonakshi Paranthaman and Dheeraj Salimath.

The wider Indian rally scene adds further colour to the championship. TSI Racing and Team Sidvin India have built a strong bridge between national rallying and international ambition through Dean Mascarenhas and Gagan Karumbaiah, who won the 2025 INRC title in a Peugeot 208 Rally4 before taking their Road to WRC programme forward. Their rally preparation work gives the 2026 calendar an extra layer because the same Indian stages are also part of a longer international journey.

Snap Racing is another name to watch in the active rallying community, with recent event coverage showing its crews competing across the South Indian scene. The team’s presence reflects the depth of independent preparation that keeps the national paddock lively between the headline results. Citroën Racing carries a separate global competition identity and a strong rally heritage, while Indian championship programmes continue to develop through the teams and cars that are actually entered at each round. Entry lists can evolve as the season progresses, so ViPeople will keep the confirmed crews and cars tied to each event and avoid presenting a speculative permanent list.

Drivers, co-drivers and the craft inside the car

The 2026 season brings together established champions, experienced navigators and a growing group of young competitors. Kadur’s opening win placed him at the centre of the early championship conversation, with Ramaswamy matching the drive through every pace-note call. Guttedar and Suraj M showed the strength of the INRC 2 route. Dheerendra and Salman made their debut count. Tarushi and Athreya demonstrated how the Ladies and Junior categories can create a genuine performance pathway, while the 3T and Masters Cup results broadened the story beyond the overall podium.

Gaurav Gill’s return at the South India Rally added another major name to the opening entry. Gill set the early pace before a mechanical issue ended his rally, and his presence gives the coming rounds another compelling thread. The championship now has a fascinating combination of proven pace, emerging crews and teams capable of changing the order from one surface to the next.

What to watch from September onwards

Rally of Coimbatore is the next major date, running from 18 to 20 September 2026. It is the next opportunity for the field to build on the Chennai opener before the championship travels to Kodagu, Bengaluru, Indore and Bastar across the 2026 to 27 season.

For fans, the best way to follow the season is to watch more than the overall winner. The INRC rewards attention to class battles, junior crews, women competitors, two-wheel-drive cars, technical recoveries and the service teams who make every restart possible. A rally weekend is a whole paddock moving together, and this six-round calendar gives that paddock six very different places to tell its story.

A calendar is a promise to the paddock

A national calendar does more than place dates on a page. It allows teams to plan transport, budgets, testing and time away from work. It lets drivers speak to partners with a proper programme in front of them. It gives spectators a reason to make travel plans. Six rounds across different parts of India create a rhythm that can carry a championship beyond individual weekends.

The variety of locations matters as much as the number of events. Chennai asks different questions from Coimbatore. Kodagu brings its own surfaces and weather, while Bengaluru, Indore and Bastar add their own character to the season. Crews have to adapt without losing the habits that keep them fast and reliable.

That is the opportunity in the 2026 to 27 programme. A driver can build experience across several kinds of rally, and a team can turn one weekend’s lessons into the next car preparation. A clear calendar gives Indian rallying continuity. Continuity is where talent becomes a career.