Gaurav Gill emerged victorious in the second round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship at New Caledonia. He delivered an impressive 19-minute win for his MRF Tyres Rally Team. With this victory, Gill is on top of the championship standings with 65.5 points.
While his MRF team-mate Esapekki Lappi, who won the first round in New Zealand last month, was unable to start on Sunday, Gill and co-driver Glenn MacNeall were masterful on the slippery roads soaked by overnight rain, which forced the cancellation of five stages as the roads were deemed to be impassable. This left just one stage to be used three times with just 51km to contest.
“It was a perfect weekend for me. The technical problems we had with the car in New Zealand resurfaced on shakedown but fortunately Lane Heenan, (Race Torque Engineering), and his mechanic’s solved it so I was able to drive with confidence,” said Gill.
For the first time in APRC history drivers from India made up the first two places. Sanjay Takale co-driven by Sean Gregory brought their Subaru Impreza WRX STI home in the second place. This was Sanjay’s second event in a four-wheel drive rally car.
The APRC now moves to the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, in Australia on July 13 and 14.
Results: 1. Gaurav Gill (co-driver Glenn Maneall, Team MRF, Skoda Fabia) 1hr57min12.3s; 2. Sanjay Takale (Sean Gregory, Subaru Impreza WRX STI) 2hr05min07.6s; 3. Simon Knowles (Margot Knowles, Mitsubishi EVO IX) 2hr19min23.0sec
Championship standings: 1. Gaurav Gill 65.5 pts; 2. Sanjay Takale 46; 3. Espakka Lappi 39