Domestic National Rally Championship Rally

Gaurav Gill wins Popular Rally in Kochi to bag his sixth INRC title

David Bodapati December 16, 2018

1 1,084 3 minutes read

The 2018 MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship winners Gaurav Gill(L) with his trusted navigator Musa Sherif (R) in Kochi Sunday. An INDIAinF1 image

The 2018 MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship winners Gaurav Gill, left, with his trusted navigator Musa Sherif, in Kochi Sunday. An INDIAinF1 image

Kochi, 16 Dec 2018: Speed maestro Gaurav Gill was at his fast and furious best as he drove a matured race on the broken tarmac in the picturesque plantations of Kerala to conquer his sixth Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) title here on Sunday.

Gill who won his first INRC in 2007 and added more titles in 2009, 2011 when the rallies were professionally organised by late Bharat Raj of KMSC along with Annabelle on the IMG and PSP banner, before winning the 2014 and 2017 titles.

The three-time APRC champion was at his imperious best along with his long-time co-driver Musa Sherif, winning seven stages in the Popular Rally, the fifth and final round of the MRF FMSCI INRC 2018, to win the title.

One would look for a Gill, who goes for an aggressive start and wins all the stages with the impeccable record! The very fact that he let go a couple of stages and allowed his speeding mind to be controlled, is a sign of maturity which he has been displaying for quite some time now. In Chikkamagaluru, the previous round, too, he did not quite get the applause that was usually reserved for him for many years past, in the Super Special Stage. But now he is no more the showman! The Gaurav Gill you see as a pilot in the world Rally Championship is a matured magician! There may not be any pleasing visible drifts or dashing straights in the short Indian stages, but he cleverly knocks off several seconds from his rivals with clean lines and judicious driving. He was the best, but there was nothing much to fly around in the dust anymore! Sheer speeds, best times!

Earlier, many a time, he lost Championships and Titles, within a few metres off the finish. Take for example the two SSS casualties in 2010 which cost him the title. Those Nashik days are beyond him now.

Going into this iconic rally in the scenic backdrop of Kerala on equal terms with teammate Amittrajit Ghosh (official table credits Gill with a one-point lead at 62) Ghosh’s 61), who had never been any match, the Master sealed the issue with a comfortable drive.

Gill began slowly, finishing second in the first two stages before he came into his own. Guided by local boy Musa, he quickly got a feel of the terrain and unleashed his magic to win the next five stages with convincing authority. It was controlled aggression at display.

“It was a difficult year for us, especially towards the end due to mechanical issues which were beyond our control,” Gill was humble in his victory. “Kochi was the most difficult, with narrow roads which were fast and had broken tarmac too. We had to push extra hard to stay ahead of the others,” he added.

Amittrajit Ghosh, who had jumped into the championship lead after Gill had a mechanical failure in Arunachal Pradesh, never really had any chance due to the N-1 rule which allows the competitors to discard one round. Ghosh, along with Ashwin Naik, just couldn’t manage the win that would have mattered.

Here in Kochi, the Kolkata driver was beaten by a couple of other drivers from lower classes. It was, however, good enough to give him the second position in the overall championship.

“It was a great year for us compared to last season. The championship just gets more and more competitive, which is great for the sport,” Amittrajit said. “The beginning of the season was really good but we hit issues from Chikmagalur and were really hit by the lack of pre-event testing and wrong set up choices in Kochi,” he said.

INRC 2 competitor, Arka Motorsports’ Karna Kadur with co-driver Nikhil V Pai finished third to take the third place behind the Mahindra Adventure duo in the championship.

Kadur, however, had the consolation of winning the INRC 2 title which he had wrapped up in the previous round itself along with Nikhil Pai.

POPULAR RALLY RESULTS –

OVERALL – INRC

1 Gaurav Gill | Musa Sherif (Team Mahindra Adventure; 01:29:58.9)

2 Younus Ilyas | Harish KN (Race Concepts Motorsport; 01:30:33.1)

3 Karna Kadur | Nikhil V Pai (Arka Motorsports; 01:30:54.4)

INRC 1

1 Gaurav Gill | Musa Sherif (Team Mahindra Adventure; 01:29:58.9)

2 Sirish Chandran | A A Ragnekar (Privateers; 01:31:17.1)

3 Amittrajit Ghosh | Ashwin Naik (Team Mahindra Adventure; 01:31:51.6)

INRC 2

1 Younus Ilyas | Harish KN (Race Concepts Motorsport; 01:30:33.1)