Jeet Jhabakh and Musa Sherif win India's first APRC title

A first for Indian rallying

Jeet Jhabakh from Hyderabad has won the 2026 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, and his co driver Musa Sherif has won the co drivers' title alongside him. The FIA's official APRC classifications page confirms Jhabakh finished the season on 73 points, 35 points clear of second placed Edgar Vigo of Spain. Sherif matches him on 73 points in the co drivers' table.

This is the first time an all Indian driver and co driver pairing has won the continental title. Jhabakh is only the second Indian to take the APRC drivers' crown after Gaurav Gill, who won it three times between 2013 and 2016. Jhabakh did it in his first season racing outside India, and he did it in a two wheel drive car, something no APRC champion had managed in the championship's 38 year history.

Three rounds, no retirements

The 2026 APRC ran to three rounds this year, in New Zealand, India and Indonesia. Jhabakh and Sherif finished second in category at the Otago Rally in New Zealand, second overall at the South India Rally in Chennai, and first overall at the Rally of Indonesia on the roads around Danau Toba. They did not retire from a single stage all season.

The car changed with the country. Overseas, the crew drove a Ford Fiesta Rally4. On home ground at the South India Rally, they used a Hyundai i20 N Line built to national rally specification. Both are two wheel drive cars, which is why Jhabakh's title also counts as the 2026 FIA APRC4 championship, the category reserved for two wheel drive entries.

Speaking after the title was confirmed, Jhabakh said the season came down to consistency rather than outright speed. "We were quick at every rally and never threw one away, and that's what wins a championship. We had our share of problems across the season, but my co driver Musa Sherif called every corner right and the engineers kept the car going. I'm proud of what we have achieved. This championship is a start, not a finish."

Two Indians in the top three

The FIA's standings show a second Indian name close to the top. Karna Kadur sits third in the drivers' championship on 30 points, level with New Zealand's Jack Stokes. Kadur also won the 2026 South India Rally outright, the round where Jhabakh finished second.

Two Indian names inside the top three of a continental rally championship, in the same season, is new territory for a sport that gets far less attention in India than Formula 1 or MotoGP. The APRC runs rounds across Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Indonesia and India, and road going cars like the Fiesta and the i20 racing on gravel and tarmac stages make the category a realistic step up for Indian rally crews who start out in domestic events such as the South India Rally or the K1000.

Jhabakh's result also closes out the APRC season before the championship turns its attention to 2027. For Indian rallying, the bigger story is that a driver who started out winning one make touring car titles in a Volkswagen Vento has now beaten the region's best on gravel, without a single retirement to his name.

Sources

• Jeet Jhabakh, Musa Sherif win 2026 Asia Pacific Rally Championship
• Hyderabad's Jeet Jhabakh wins 2026 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship
• Jeet Jhabakh scripts history, wins maiden FIA Asia-Pacific Rally championship title
• 2026 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship classifications