Overdrive Rally of Pune

This was perhaps one of the most exciting projects I have worked on... imagine working on an entire rally that is the first round of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) and all the top rally drivers were a part of it... including Narain, Karambir and a whole lot of them... The evnt was held from May 5 to 7, 2006.

This was incidentally the first rally for the MAI run INRC to start from Pune and then have 6 more legs in various parts of India... It was also the first for Gaurav Gill who later on went to represent MRF in APRC and become the first India to become the APRC champion in 2008.

The crack team essentially comprised of the Western India Sports Association managed by Ashwin Pandit, The Overdrive Edit team and ofcourse me and my marketing team....

That year the event was also adjuged the best managed INRC event for 2006, by MAI...

There were 35-strong entry list with tough competition the 1600cc, 1400cc, Rally Star Cup and Gypsy cup categories.

The OVERDRIVE Rally of Pune kicked off with the ceremonial start at 8:00pm at the Club CPR premises on May 4th followed by a parade of the rally cars through Pune city. The following day spectators caught a glimpse of the rally action up close and personal as rally cars take to the super special stage laid out at the Balewadi sports complex. Complete with jumps and ultra fast corners this is an ideal opportunity for spectators to meet the rally drivers and also get a first hand look at the thrilling sport of rallying. On May 6 and 7 the rally action moves to the special stages at Shirur village, 75km from Pune city on the Aurangabad highway. Breathtakingly fast tarmac stages greet the rally drivers and spectators will be able to catch rally cars hitting top speeds of nearly 190kmph on these smooth stages. A number of spectator points have also been identified where one can follow the rally action for over four kilometres. The rally ended with the champagne showers at the Club CPR premises on Sunday afternoon.