Dean Macarenhas and co-driver Gagan Karumbaiah staged a measured comeback over two days to claim victory at the Blueband Sports Rally of Coimbatore, Round 2 of the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) 2026, on 20 September 2026. Starting the final day nine seconds behind overnight leader Karna Kadur, Macarenhas overturned the deficit with two commanding Sunday stages to win by 23.482 seconds — a dominant margin that belied how close the contest had been just hours earlier.

How the Rally Unfolded

The event, held on 19 and 20 September across gravel roads around Coimbatore, drew 64 competitors who faced eight stage runs covering 110.80 km of competitive distance. Saturday's loop featured Black Thunder (13.50 km) and S.M. Agro (14.20 km) run twice each. On Sunday, the same stages returned in reverse — S.M. Agro (R) and Black Thunder (R) — demanding that crews reread familiar terrain from the opposite direction, a technical challenge that ultimately proved decisive.

Kadur's Saturday Lead and Sunday's Reversal

Karna Kadur and co-driver Musa Sherif of ARKA Motorsports, a former National champion, controlled Saturday's running, topping both opening stages to lead at the end of Day 1. Fabid Ahmer and Milen George sat second, 5.6 seconds back, while Macarenhas and Karumbaiah occupied third, just over nine seconds adrift.

Sunday changed the narrative completely. On S.M. Agro (R), Macarenhas clawed back nearly nine seconds from Kadur and moved ahead of Ahmer, slashing the gap to the lead to a razor-thin 0.148 seconds. On Black Thunder (R), he found an irreversible rhythm, gaining more than 14 seconds in a single run. Macarenhas was the faster driver on every stage from SS3 onwards, ultimately finishing in 1:36:19.777 versus Kadur's 1:36:43.259.

What the Winners Said

Dean Macarenhas reflected on the strategy: 'Karna and Musa set a really strong pace on Saturday, so we knew we had to stay patient and keep chipping away. Being nine seconds down overnight wasn't a bad place to be, because there was a lot of road left. On Sunday we found our rhythm, and once we got going on Black Thunder (R) we just kept pushing. It was a proper fight with a great competitor, and I'm delighted to take the win in Round 2.'

Co-driver Karumbaiah highlighted the importance of precision: 'Pace notes were everything this weekend, especially on Sunday when the gaps were so small. Dean trusted every call, and that made all the difference. Beating a crew as experienced as Karna and Musa is never easy, and we're looking forward to the rest of the championship.'

Full Results and Class Honours

Jason Saldanha and Srinivas Murthy P V of ARKA Motorsports completed the podium, finishing 1 minute 30.623 seconds off the winning time. Naveen Puligilla and Santhosh Thomas of Duran Racing came fourth. Aditya Thakur of Chettinad Sporting and Philiposs Matthai of Duran Racing were the top two finishers in INRC 2. Harkrishan Wadia placed seventh overall, while Anushriya Gulati of ARKA Motorsports took eighth and won the INRC 3T class.

Championship Outlook

With two rounds now complete, Macarenhas's Round 2 victory puts him firmly in the title conversation. Kadur, despite finishing second, demonstrated the consistency of a former champion and will remain a serious threat as the INRC 2026 season continues on its circuit of India's demanding rally stages.