Indian National Rally Championship

Up till 1988, the TSD format was modeled on endurance format with Popular Rally starting in Cochin would have a re-group in Coimbatore or Ooty, covering a few days and close to 1000 km. Same for South India Rally (Chennai), Karnataka 1000 (Bangalore), Scissors Action Rally (Coimbatore) all had routes cris-crossing into each other cities and covered two or more states. Overnight re-grouping was done at different locations and a fresh starting order was issued in a re-group start. Routes were mostly dirt and off-road conditions as well as ghat sections.

Since 1988, FMSCI introduced the Stage rally format for the INRC which was then known as the FMSCI Indian Rally Drivers Championship (FIRDC), which usually covered between 300 and 400 km (190 and 250 mi) and Rallies were conducted in low traffic areas in country side. Some events were Day Rallies; others ran in Night only while some had a mix of Day and Night.

Over a period, the Stage Distance became shorter and overall Rally was conducted in a few closed stages, closed to traffic. Since 2000 under MAI, the Rally ran as per FIA regulations in a format of a one Day Recce, Two Day Rally and the results were announced by the end of the day. Also stage Marshall Training was conducted by hiring FIA nominated personals by both FMSCI and MAI. Spectator and competitor safety became prime factor in event management. Also during the MAI years night rallies were stopped as well as Two Wheeler rallying.

Computers were used since 1988 rallies for tabulating penalty points, while HAM radio was the principal form of communication by Rally Headquarters between Time Controls and Marshalls while the teams operated between the drivers and their crews in a different frequency as allotted by the INRC and Ham Clubs.[1][2] By 2001, standardized electronic Timing equipments were used by all clubs. Also INRC awarded trophies to the clubs for safety and administration, based on a point system audit by FIA and MAI observers. At times a bad event management attracted termination of hosting the INRC round the following year.

N. Leelakrishnan and Farooq Ahmed in a Group A(II) IND Maruti Gypsy during the 1993 Castrol South India Rally

Post INRC, most top drivers switched to the Maruti Gypsy for its off-road and Four-wheel drive capabilities. The highly modified Group A (II) IND category allowed tuners the flexibility to choose between a wide range of cam shafts, tuned exhausts and heavily modified cylinder heads. Till 1992, MRF was the principal choice of tyres for most Maruti Gypsys and twin Weber carburetors were the preferred choice for the fully modified class. For the 1994 season S. Karivardhan opted for computer programmable Electronic Fuel Injection for Hari Singh's Team JK Gypsy and they were dominant during that period, prompting N. Leelakrishnan to follow suit in EFI systems for his Rally cars. Alarmed at the high budgets and top speeds of the top runners, FMSCI for 1996 season finally outlawed the Group A (II) IND category and reverted to Group A (I) IND category which restricted engine modifications and the regular stock Group N category. The loud intake and screaming exhaust note with crackling backfire were missed by many rally fans.

Hari Singh in a Team JK Tyres Maruti Gypsy in the 1993 Castrol South India Rally in Kodaikanal stages.))

In 1996 Maruti Esteem, became the preferred choice for all top teams and was confined to Group A (I) IND category. The Maruti Esteem also had a high power weight ratio compared to other cars in India. The Rally terrain was split in two formats, Dirt or Tarmac for the entire event. Events like K-1000, South India Rally and Coimbatore rallies mostly ran in Dirt format, while Popular Rally and Rally D’ Endurance opted for tarmac rallies. Hence the choice of tyres and suspension setup for the saloon cars were done well before the rally. Also with restricted engine power and more Tarmac rallies for saloon cars meant suspension tuning for handling by tuners became the deciding factor for a cars performance.

Naren Kumar and Ramkumar in a Group N Maruti Baleno Rally Car in Mysore Safari Rally in 2005.

By 2000, with the launch of Honda City VTEC and Maruti Balenos Team JK and MRF opted for these two cars of which the less powerful Maruti Baleno’s were given for the mid-field contenders. Still Maruti Esteem remained the favorite among the privateers and novices in the group N category. Also Honda City cars were more reliable and suspension tuning became the deciding factor for vehicle performance. A few mid-runners opted for the new 16 Valve MPFI Maruti Esteem's for its low running costs.

MAI launched a new "Rally Star Cup" for novices as a "Pay and Drive" package deal with service as per MAI's arrangement with a few teams. The cars were the older carburrated Maruti Esteems. This new programme was to encourage new and young drivers into rallying without the burden of spending huge money for cars and service crew.

With the introduction of the much powerful Group N & N+ Mitsubishi Cedia with a power over 230 BHP in Group N+ trim, most top runners switched to it.

The Maruti Gypsy again made appearances in INRC events as a new Gypsy class was created by FMSCI in 2008.

Currently Mitsubishi Cedia is the most powerful car dominating the Indian Rally Scene. In 2013, the Volkswagen Polo made its debut and is making its presence felt in the INRC as a strong contender for being the most dominant car.

The FMSCI has in the recent past since 2012 made quite a few changes to the INRC. It stopped the highly modified Group N+ category and followed the FIA Group N regulations for all its classes. The Junior Indian National Rally Championship (JINRC) to promote young talent was also introduced thereby stopping the Rally Star Cup.

The other class that it created is the Indian Rally Championship which is open to foreign nationals as well as Indians in imported cars conforming to the FIA Group N category. With this, Indian rally fans have been able to see cars like the Mitsubishi Evo X and Subaru Impreza on Indian rally stages.

In 2012, the Gypsy class was stopped and in 2013, the FMSCI created a SUV class running as per the FIA T1 & T2 regulations. The Mahindra XUV 500 has come out to be the vehicle to beat in this class. It has won the National Championship title first in 2014 with Gaurav Gill and co-driver Musa Sherif winning the Nationals and the duo went on to win in a Mahindra Vehicle in 2017, 2018 and 2020.[4]

• Gaurav Gill – New Delhi – 7 times Champion.
• V. R. Naren Kumar – Coimbatore – 7 times Champion.
• N. Leelakrishnan – Coimbatore – 6 times Champion.
• Hari Singh – Chandigarh – 4 times Champion.
• Farad Bathena – Mumbai – 2 times Champion.
• Vikram Mathias – Bengaluru/Masinagudi – 2 times Champion.
• Amittrajit Ghosh – Kolkata – 2 times Champion.
• Karna Kadur – Bengaluru – 1 time Champion.
• Lohith V Urs – Mysore – 1 time Champion.
• Chetan Shivram – Bengaluru – 1 time Champion.