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History-making Indian rally duo Naveen Puligilla and co-driver Musa Sherif made a stunning recovery to score another WRC3 podium with a fighting third-place finish in the Rally del Paraguay, the 11th round of the FIA World Rally Championship, marking their third consecutive podium finish in the class.
The Duran Racing duo completed a remarkable hat-trick of WRC3 podiums, finishing 2nd at the season-ending Rally Saudi Arabia in November 2025, where Naveen became the first Indian driver to secure a WRC class podium, and along with Musa, became the first all-Indian driver-co-driver combo to achieve the feat. In March, they came third at the Safari Rally Kenya. In their second WRC rally this season, Hyderabad's Naveen and seasoned co-driver, Musa from Kasaragod, driving a Ford Fiesta Rally3, clocked 5 hours, 10 minutes and 54.9 seconds including penalty times. Overall, of the 58 entries in all classes, only 44 cars finished the demanding 22 red-gravel Special Stages (SS) totalling to 357.64 km. "We are absolutely thrilled with this result. Despite the ups and downs, we stayed focused and fought till the very end. To stand on the podium holding the Indian flag is a very proud moment," said Naveen, who is supported by Ashya Group and Yula Globus. After going off the road in Special Stage 3 on Friday, which resulted in penalties for the six stages they missed, the duo mounted a brilliant recovery on Saturday. With calm composure, they steadily fought their way back up the WRC3 order, setting a series of competitive stage times from SS10 onwards. Despite a further 15-minute penalty for a turbo change, their recovery reached a fitting climax on Sunday. Naveen produced a blistering run in the short SS20 before closing with a strong second-place finish in class in the final Power Stage, SS22, behind WRC3 winners, Bolivian Nataniel Bruun, and co-driver Mario Javier. Musa Sherif, an eight-time Indian National Rally co-driver champion with 35 years of experience and more than 350 rallies to his credit, said: "Each rally has tested us differently - from the deserts of Saudi Arabia to the unforgiving terrain of Kenya and now the soft gravel of Paraguay. To achieve three podiums in a row at this level is something very special." Naveen made his international rally debut in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship in New Zealand in 2024 and stepped onto the WRC stage alongside Musa at Rally Kenya in 2025. Naveen and Musa, also backed by Sri Chaitanya Educational Institutions and Samveer Group, will now move to Rally Chile, the 12th round of the WRC, from September 10 to September 13. (ANI)
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