Naveen and Musa complete WRC3 podium hat-trick

Metro India News | HYDERABAD | ENCARNACION

Indian rally duo Naveen Puligilla and co-driver Musa Sherif staged a  comeback to secure a fighting third-place finish in WRC3 at Rally del Paraguay, the 11th round of the FIA World Rally Championship, which concluded on Sunday. The result marked a remarkable hat-trick of WRC3 podium finishes for the Duran Racing duo. They finished second at the season-ending Rally Saudi Arabia in November 2025, where Naveen became the first Indian driver to secure a WRC class podium and, alongside Musa, the first all-Indian driver-co-driver combination to achieve the feat.

Hyderabad’s Naveen and experienced co-driver Musa Sherif of Kasaragod drove a Ford Fiesta Rally3 through 22 demanding red-gravel special stages covering 357.64 km. They completed the rally in 5 hours, 10 minutes and 54.9 seconds, including penalty times. Naveen delivered a blistering performance in the short SS20 on Sunday before closing the rally strongly with a second-place finish in WRC3 on the final Power Stage, SS22. They finished behind WRC3 winners Nataniel Bruun of Bolivia and co-driver Mario Javier.