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TSI Racings Dean Mascarenhas and co-driver Gagan Karumbaiah ended their South American World Rally Championship campaign on a positive note with a top-8 finish and a stage win in the WRC3 class, completing back-to-back rallies in Paraguay and Chile.
Driving a Ford Fiesta Rally3 prepared by PH Sport, the reigning Indian National Rally Champions finished a creditable eighth in the WRC3 class n Rally Chile Biobo, a technically demanding event featuring twisty gravel stages and winding forest tracks of the Biobo region, according to a press release. A fortnight earlier, the Mangaluru-Kodagu pair were in contention for a WRC3 podium in Rally del Paraguay before an unfortunate accident forced them into a DNF with just one stage remaining. They also won a Stage in the tough Paraguay Rally in their class. For TSI Racing, the Paraguay and Chile rounds were part of a carefully planned programme aimed at providing the Indian duo with international experience in some of the toughest conditions on the WRC calendar. Their WRC campaign began with Rally Islas Canarias in April, where they finished seventh in class, followed by an FIA European Rally Championship outing at Rally di Roma Capitale in July, where they finished 12th in Rally3. Mohan Nagarajan, MD of Sidvin Energy Engineering, which backs TSI Racing, said the international campaign had delivered valuable experience for both the crew and the team. The three WRC rounds have given Dean, Gagan and the entire team a wealth of experience. It has been a great learning curve, and we have seen them improve with every rally. Chile was particularly demanding, and they drove very well on some of the most technical and tricky stages we have encountered. We take home a lot of positives from the last two rounds and will build on this experience as we plan our next steps, said Nagarajan, a former rally racer. The experience we gained from this rally is huge. It is one of the toughest rallies I have ever driven, and completing it gives me immense pleasure. The team did a great job in putting together a competitive car, while Gagan was spot on with his notes throughout. These three WRC rallies have given us a lot of confidence and taught us a great deal. I thank my team TSI Racing and PH Sport for this rich experience, said Dean. Founded in 2007 and backed by Sidvin Energy Engineering, TSI Racing was the first Indian outfit to enter the WRC in 2008 and has since provided an international platform for Indian drivers, including Gaurav Gill and Naren Kumar. Nearly two decades later, the teams commitment to taking Indian rallying to the global stage continues with Mascarenhas and Karumbaiah. (ANI)
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