Gill dominates Day 2, in line for a historic feat

David Bodapati December 4, 2016

812 2 minutes read

Gaurav Gill who was fastest in all the 12 special stages run on Sunday. Image by Sanjay Sridhar

Chikkamagaluru, 4 Dec 2016: Gaurav Gill of Team MRF is poised for an unprecedented clean sweep of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship as he surged to a commanding and unassailable lead at the end of Leg-1 in the Coffee Day India Rally here today.

Gill (co-driver Glenn Macneall), who took rally driving to a level not seen before in India, ended the day with a handsome lead of seven minutes, 33.6 seconds over second-placed Michael Young (Malcolm Read) of Cusco Racing after team-mate Fabian Kreim (Frank Christian) crashed out early in the day.

Should 35-year old Delhi-based Gill, who has already sealed the 2016 APRC driver’s title his second since 2013, win on Monday when the Coffee Day Rally, organised by the Motorsports Club of Chikkamagaluru, concludes, he will be the only competitor to achieve the rare feat of winning all the rounds of a FIA Rally championship en route to annexing the crown.

In sharp contrast to Gill’s absolute dominance, only seven seconds separated Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik) of Mahindra Adventure and Team Yokohama 2K’s Karna Kadur (Nikhil Pai) in the battle for the INRC Overall honours in the FMSCI Indian Rally Championship that was run over six Special Stages today. Kadur also led the INRC 2000 class where he was ahead of Dr Bikku Babu (Milen George) by over three minutes.

The day clearly belonged to Gill who drove the MRF Skoda Fabia R5 with aplomb, negotiating the tight and twisty estate roads with rare mastery, especially in the unforgiving corners that flowed one into another.

“We had no problems with our car as such. The speeds were quite slow due to the nature of the route, but still it was quite challenging. Though we have a good lead, the R5 is built for speed and I have to be in my rhythm. So, there is nothing like easing off. May be, I can drive 97 per cent instead of 100,” said Gill

While Young was struggling with loss of power in his Subaru Impreza WRX STi, Kreim met with a misfortune early in the day when he crashed his R5 into a stone on a left-hander.

“We came over a crest and into a left-hander. I think I was carrying too much speed into the corner and crashed into the stone. Unfortunate, but that is the nature of motorsport. I will be driving tomorrow and hope to score some leg points,” said Kreim who won the German championship recently.

Placed third in the APRC was Pune-based Sanjay Takale (Nokiro Takeshita) of Cusco Racing while team-mate Yuya Sumiyama (Takahiro Yasui) retired with a mechanical problem.

The results (provisional, after Leg-1): APRC: 1. Gaurav Gill / Glenn Macneall (Team MRF) (02hrs, 42mins, 32.8secs); 2. Mike Young / Malcolm Read (Cusco Racing) (02:50:06.4); 3. Sanjay Takale / Noriko Takeshita (Cusco Racing) (03:00:06.5).

INRC Overall: 1. Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik (Mahindra Adventure) (01:19:34.6); 2. Karna Kadur / Nikhil Pai (Team Yokohama 2K) (01:19:42.2); 3. Dr Bikku Babu / Milen George (01:21:17.1).

INRC 2000: 1. Karna Kadur / Nikhil Pai (Team Yokohama 2K) (01:19:42.2); 2. Dr Bikku Babu / Milen George (01:21:17.1); 3. Philippos Mathaii / Harish KN (01:30:37.0).

FMSCI Cup: 1. Minchu Ganapathy / Venu Ramesh Kumar (01:26:34.4); 2. Jacob KJ / Manoj Mohanan (01:26:57.9); 3. Veeresh Prasad / Shahid Salman (01:28:44.2).

IRC: 1. Sanjay Takale / Noriko Takeshita (Cusco Racing) (01:12:08.1); 2. Amol Satoskar / Dr Dinesh (01:28:01.4); 3. Shafraz Junaid / Akhry Ameer (01:28:28.6).

Gypsy Star (non-championship): 1. Sanjay Agarwal /Smitha N (01:32:46.0); 2. Avin Nanjappa / Suraj Shetti (01:36:26.8); 3. Dheeraj KV / Ravi (01:46:39.5).

eom/AP Media Comm press release