The much-awaited Coffee Day India Rally 2017 in Chikmagalur, from November 24 to 26 is being organised by The Motor Sports Club of Chikmagalur (MSCC) and sponsored by Coffee Day Group.
India will witness high octane action amidst the coffee estates of Chikmagalur in the fifth and final round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship.
The three-day extravaganza will witness concurrent running of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (4-wheel drive and 2-wheel drive) and the FMSCI MRF Indian National Rally Championship.
Veteran Indian rally driver Gaurav Gill, the only Indian to have won the FIA APRC title, who is also the current defending champion, took to the podium, alongside other the other competitors at a press conference to announce the rally in Bengaluru on Tuesday, November 21.
Team MRF's Gill will face the steepest competition in the APRC from Norway's Ole Christian Veiby, who also represents Team MRF.
Gill along with his partner Stephane Prevot from Belgium is leading the APRC points table with 136, just six ahead of Veiby and his fellow-Norwegian co-driver Stig Rune Skjarmoen. Both Gill and Veiby will be driving the Race Torque-prepared Skoda Fabia R5 car.
"Although I've raced at Chikmagalaru before, the rally is evolving a lot over the years," said Gill in the presser.
"The stages are narrow. I'm not only competing against the competitor but also the sport," he added.
Norway's OC knows the stiff challenge he would be facing from Gill in the final round of APRC.
"I'm expecting a difficult rally," said OC. "I've got to do nothing but focus on the job and my driving. This is one of the most difficult rallies to beat Gill, but I have to stay focussed."
The APRC participants will cover 502 kms of which 207.54 Kms comprise Special Stages, beginning with the Super Special Stage at the Amber Valley school grounds on Friday, November 24 while the INRC cars will do 225.39 kms with 81.63 Kms of Special Stages.
The entire rally route is located in the Coffee Day Global's estates bordering Chikmagalur.
