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V R Naren Kumar

“Now, with me driving for TSI, I am one step closer to realizing my ultimate dream: to be the first Indian to enter and win the World Rally Championship Title.”

Naren hails from Coimbatore, the heart of Indian Motorsports. His career started in 1994, when he took part in the National Rally Championship. The motorsport fraternity took notice of his abilities as he went on to win his first overall Rally with a Group N car in 1995. From 1999 to date Naren as dominated the Indian Rallying scene. Often referred to as ‘King of Indian Rallying’ and fondly called ‘THE PROFESSOR’ he has won 6 Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) titles – 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006. In 2001, 2004 and 2007 he participated in the international arena. His biggest achievement so far was in 2001, when on his first and only attempt, he won the Asia Zone Rally Championship against the likes of P-WRC Champion (2002) Karamjit Singh. Naren holds the Indian record for the highest number of rally wins (33) with 3 international wins.

In 2007, sponsored by SIDVIN Core-Tech, Naren had a full season in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC). His performance was immediately noticed by the Subaru World Rally team and Naren was the first Indian driver to be invited for testing the Subaru.

In 2008, Naren debuted PWRC with Acropolis Rally finishing 10th overall.

“‘He toys with us’ is what one rival had to say about Naren, one of India’s best Rally driver ever.” – Autocar Magazine

Naren won the Motorsport Person of the year in 2002.

Nicky Beech

Nicky's first taste of rallying came when his father took him to watch the start of the 1981 Lombard RAC Rally, then based 12 miles from the family home, in North Wales. At the age of 12 the bug had already bitten and much of the next 5 years were spent competing in ‘Navigation Runs’ and local Welsh road rallies.

Nicky's first break came in 1992 when he teamed up with Ulsterman Brendan Crealey to contest the Peugeot Rally Challenge of that year. The pair ended the year as champions. Brendan and Nicky continued the partnership into the following year where they graduated to the British rally championship in a ‘Group N’ specification Honda Civic. Results such as 10th O/A on the Rally of Wales meant that the pair would again finish the year with a title, this time it was the British Junior Championship.

Then, in 1994 Nicky took up a new challenge in the form of an offer from the Shell Oil Company to co-drive for their new rally scholarship driver, Ashley Blenkhorn. A series of disappointing results ensued however, the highlight was a creditable 5th O/A on the Manx National Rally in their debut drive of an Audi Sport UK ‘Group A’ Audi Quattro. Connections with preparation company SBG Sport and Shell Oils also provided Nicky with an additional opportunity in that year, when a one-off drive with 5 times British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae produced 5th O/A on the Pirelli International in an MSD prepared Vauxhall Calibra Turbo.

In 1995, Nicky teamed up with young Scottish driver, Dominic Buckley Jnr., for his first official ‘Works’ drive in the Volkswagen UK Golf Gti. The pair formed part of a two-car British Championship team with Finland’s Tapio Laukkanen.

Final year at university meant that 1996 had to remain a mostly rally-free year. However, continued connections with the Volkswagen UK / SBG Sport operation ended the year with one-off drives on Rally GB, partnering VW Team Sweden driver Jorgan Jonnasson, and on the Manx Rally with Manxman Martin Rowe. Winning ‘Formula 2’ and 3rd O/A on the Manx was enough for Rowe to decide to continue the partnership and also enough to convince a watching ‘Renault’ Team Manager to offer a contract for the following year.

After a frustrating start to 1997, enduring an accident, mechanical failure, and team orders, the year ended with victory on the Manx Rally (the first of Nicky’s career) and a creditable 2nd O/A in the British Rally Championship standings.

In 1998, Nicky began what ultimately would become a long and successful partnership with British driver Jonny Milner. After a number of years competing with a Production specification Toyota Celica the pair developed into the dominant force in British rallying, winning back-to-back British Rally Championships in a Corolla WRC during 2002 and 2003 whilst finishing no lower than 2nd on all but one of the championship rounds.

In 2001, Nicky made his first visit to the USA, partnering another talented Englishman, Richard Tuthill in a drive with the Hyundai Rally Team USA. Connections developed during this trip to the US then led to the further outings during 2002 with Prodrive Subaru Team America. Nicky co-drove for both 2001 SCCA Rally Champion Mark Lovell, and his American teammate Ramana Lagermann during the 2002 season.

In addition to his British Rally Championship commitments with Milner, 2003 saw Nicky also join forces with Omani driver Hamed Al-Wahaibi to embark upon a PWRC programme. However, despite an encouraging start to the season with 4th PWRC in New Zealand, the programme was curtailed due to finance reasons after the 2nd round in Argentina.

2004 saw Nicky continue to partner Jonny Milner in a quest for a record breaking 3rd consecutive BRC crown. Equipped with a latest specification Subaru WRC, the pair endured a mixed season with three outright wins, but also three retirements, eventually handling the title to Englishman David Higgins on the last round.

During 2005 and 2006, whilst continuing to partner Milner in the British Rally Championship, Nicky also joined forced with 2004 Middle East Rally Champion, Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi, competing in the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) and selected rounds of the PWRC. Equipped with a latest specification Subaru N11 and N12 the pair finished 2nd in the MERC in 2005, but then endured a difficult 2006 with numerous mechanical failures resulting in only 3rd in the MERC standings. A 3rd place PWRC finish at Rally of Cyprus was the highlight of the year.

In 2007, with a new major sponsor on board, Nicky and Sheikh Khalid embarked on an ambitious programme in the Middle East Rally Championship and selected rounds of the WRC with the Ford World Rally Team in a Focus WRC06. Despite winning three round of the MERC, the year ended with the pair losing out on a tie-break on the final round in Dubai.

Nicky has competed in the UK, Eire, Belgium, France, Finland, Indonesia, Corsica, Spain, New Zealand, Argentina, Oman, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Germany, UAE, Qatar, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and USA.