Proving his mettle at the Rally of Rajasthan held last month at Jaipur, Younus Ilyas from Kollam made the crowds confirm that he has tremendous potential. He won the hearts of car race aficionados because at 23, he was one of the youngest competitors at the race.
The Rally of Rajasthan is the annual third round of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) organised by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India.
Younus competed in the INRC category-2 race and won the second position. There are three categories in the race depending upon the INRC vehicle classification.
While the first round was held at Coimbatore, the second round scheduled at Chennai was cancelled owing to floods. At the Coimbatore rally Younus bagged the third position in his category. With three more rounds remaining be held later this year, he is now placed 10th in the overall position. There are 32 entries for all the three categories of the rally.
Despite losing precious 20 minutes at the Rajasthan Rally replacing a punctured wheel in the second leg of the seven stage race, Younus, alongside navigator Harish Kumar, made up that loss to finish the first runner-up at the end of the seven stages.
The budding racer said that he remains thrilled after the Rajasthan Rally and that gives him much hope for the remaining rallies.
Earlier in May this year, prevailing over ace racers, Younus was the overall champion at the Popular Rally held through the Malayatoor-Kalady plantations with Marine Drive in Kochi as the finishing point.