Tumakuru (Karnataka), Dec 14 : Arjuna Awardee Gaurav Gill and co-driver Aniruddha Rangnekar began on a cautious note but finished the first day with an overall lead of 25 seconds over Aroor Arjun Rao and Satish Rajagopoal in the Karnataka 1000 Rally, the sixth and final round of the fmsci Indian National Rally Championship 2024 here, on Saturday.

However, the championship fight goes to the wire with table toppers Karna Kadur (co-driver Musa Sherif) of Arka Motorsports and Himachal Pradesh driver Aditya Thakur and navigator Virender Kakshyap, who are second in the leaderboard, still in contention. The Himachal pair finished fourth overall at the end of Day 1 of the event organised by Karnataka Motor Sports Club.

In third at the end of four stages on Saturday are Jason Saldanha and Timmu Uddapanda.

The Delhi driver Gill faced power issues after the water crossing and lost time in the first two stages of the day. Jason Saldanha and co-driver Thimmu Uddapanda were the fastest in SS1 while Aroor Arjun Rao and co-driver Satish Rajagopal clocked the best time in SS2 and SS4.

But the seven-time National champion played a cool-headed game and made up time in the third stage after finishing sixth and seventh respectively, in the first two stages.

Meanwhile, Championship leader Karna Kadur and co-driver Musa Sherif of Arka Motorsports were stuck in a bush in the second stage which cost them dearly. They will be running again on Sunday but have lost valuable points affecting their title hopes.

Hassan's Jason Saldanha and local co-driver Timmu Uddapanda are leading the INRC2 class followed by Aditya Thakur (Virender Kashyap) and Fabid Ahmer (co-driver Milen George).

On Sunday, the rally will run another two Special Stages.

Provisional Results after Day 1 (Leg 1 - Saturday):

INRC Overall: 1. Gaurav Gill (privateers, Delhi)/ Anirudha Rangnekar (Pune);

2. Aroor Arjun Rao (Mandovi Racing, Mangaluru)/ Satish Rajagopal (Bengaluru);

3. Jason Saldhanha (Arka Motorsports, Hassan)/ Thimmu Uddapanda (Kodagu);

INRC2: 1. Jason Saldhanha (Arka Motorsports, Hassan)/ Thimmu Uddapanda (Kodagu);

2. Aditya Thakur (Chettinad Sporting Solan) / Virender Kashyap (Shimla);

3. Fabid Ahmer (Chettinad Sporting, Palakkad)/ Milen George Cherian (Kottayam) );

INRC3: 1. Daraius Shroff (Chettinad Sporting, Mumbai)/ Arjun Dheerendra (Bengaluru);

2. Arjun Rajiv (Chettinadu Sporting)/ Vinay Padmashali (Both Bengaluru);

3. Vishak Balachandran (Chettinad Sporting)/ Anil Abbas (both Ernakulam);

/IANS