Millau [France], October 13 : Indian rally driver Dean Mascarenhas of TSI Racing delivered a strong performance on his European debut, finishing second in the Rally4 class at the 41st Rallye Terre des Cardabelles (French Gravel Rally) here on Sunday night.
Partnering with seasoned Brazilian co-driver Gabriel Morales, the Mangaluru ace piloted a Peugeot 208 GT Line in the FRC4 group's Rally4 category. The duo clocked 1hour, 37 minutes 43.4 seconds to secure 36th overall among 122 starters, a strong result in one of France's toughest gravel events that saw 40 retirements, with only 82 cars reaching the finish, according to a press release.
Dean Mascarenhas said, as quoted by the press release, "It was a dream start to my European journey. The stages were extremely fast, technical, and quite different from what I'm used to in India. It was the toughest rally I have ever competed in. Gabriel and I found a good rhythm, and finishing on the podium in such a strong field gives us huge motivation for what lies ahead."
Mohan Nagarajan, CMD, Sidvin Energy Engineering, said: "Dean adapted impressively to the challenges he faced in the European rally conditions. It's a proud moment to see an Indian rally driver excel abroad on Indian-made tyres."
Mascarenhas, backed by Sidvin and MRF, began cautiously in SS1 (Hospitalet, 11 km), using the stage to understand the terrain and car behaviour, clocking 8 min 13.2 sec to place 77th overall and sixth in class. As he settled in, he found pace through Le Campl (SS2) and Sainte-Eulalie (SS3) to end the first run of three special stages in 59th overall and fifth in class.
With growing confidence in the left-hand-drive Peugeot, Mascarenhas later pushed harder in the next loop, climbing to 41st overall and third in Rally4 by Saturday. Sunday's Leg 2, over the Severac d'Aveyron and Altes stages (run twice), saw the Indo-Brazil pair record a combined 31 min 24.3 sec, improving to 29th for the Leg 2, and a second-place in final Rally4 class.
Mascarenhas touched top speed of 181km/h in the longer 22.71km SS2 and with an average of 85.1 km/h across the 10 gravel stages over two days. Supported by PH Sport, GT2i, and Logirace, the duo covered about 150 km of technically challenging terrain.
"We're proud of Dean Mascarenhas and Gabriel Morales for finishing second in Rally4 and 36th overall at one of the oldest and iconic French rallies. Competing against Europe's finest on gravel is no small feat. This result shows the growing potential of Indian talent when provided a platform to perform," said Sujith Kumar BS, Team Principal, TSI Racing.
"The level of the French rally is very high, with many unknowns compared to India. The stages are extremely technical, and rally days are long, with only one reconnaissance run in the same car. Dean's quick adaptation was pleasantly surprising, and I'm glad the training we put him through has paid off," Sidvin Mohan, a former rally rider and co-driver, concluded.