Taylor Gill is poised to make it two-from-two in this year’s FIA Junior WRC, heading into the final day of Vodafone Rally de Portugal with a commanding advantage at the top of the M-Sport Poland Ford Fiesta Rally3 leaderboard.

Porto district (Portugal), 18 May 2025: The Australian talent, already a winner at Rally Sweden, picked up right where he left off — blitzing Saturday morning’s opening stages to stretch his lead to 1min 26sec. But Gill wasn’t just fast — he was smart, too. Knowing when to push and when to protect the car, he eased off during the rockier second pass, managing his margin with composure well beyond his years.Championship leader Mille Johansson, who rolled on Friday, mounted a determined fightback to keep the pressure on. The Swede won five consecutive stages in the afternoon to trim Gill’s advantage to 45.5sec, but with just six stages and 72 kilometres of action left, the odds remain in Gill’s favour.Gill first stormed to fame in the Rally Star cup at Chennai winning the Asia Pacific championship and earned a free drive in the selections for the WRC Junior shot. And he did it. Gill has no connections to India and is not related to Gaurav Gill, a multiple INRC and Asia Pacific Rally Champion.Kerem Kazaz maintained third overall, over a minute behind Johansson but with a solid cushion of 1min 5.9sec over Max Smart in fourth. Smart climbed the order from sixth, gaining ground as Thomas Martens slipped to fifth and Ali Türkkan retired with a broken propshaft.Joosep Nõgene and Eamonn Kelly ended the day sixth and seventh respectively, with Diego Domínguez eighth following a frustrating Friday. Tristan Charpentier restarted and immediately showed pace, clocking several top-three stage times, while Claire Schönborn also returned and logged valuable mileage on her maiden gravel rally at world level.Adding further weight to his performance, Gill also leads the WRC3 category outright heading into Sunday. Classification after SS18 (Saturday)Taylor Gill (AUS) – 3:22:12.8Mille Johansson (SWE) – +45.5Kerem Kazaz (TUR) – +3:09.1Max Smart (ZAF) – +4:15.0Thomas Martens (BEL) – +4:35.3Joosep Nõgene (EST) – +5:22.9Eamonn Kelly (IRL) – +6:51.6Diego Domínguez (PRY) – +18:54.2Ali Türkkan (TUR) – +33:19.1Tristan Charpentier (FRA) – +1:24:32.5Claire Schönborn (DEU) – +1:46:51.0Stage Winners:SS1 SSS Figueira da Foz - Mille JOHANSSONSS2 Mortágua 1 - Taylor GILLSS3 Lousã 1 - Mille JOHANSSONSS4 Góis 1 – Taylor GILLSS5 Arganil 1 – Taylor GILLSS6 Lousã 2 – Diego DOMÍNGUEZSS7 Góis 2 - Mille JOHANSSONSS8 Arganil 2 – Taylor GILLSS9 Mortágua 2 - Mille JOHANSSONSS10 Águeda / Sever - Mille JOHANSSONSS11 Sever / Albergaria - Mille JOHANSSONSS12 Vieira do Minho 1 – TAYLOR GILLSS13 Cabeceiras de Basto 1 – TAYLOR GILLSS14 Amarante 1 - Mille JOHANSSONSS15 Vieira do Minho 2 - Mille JOHANSSONSS16 Cabeceiras de Basto 2 - Mille JOHANSSONSS17 Amarante 2 - Mille JOHANSSONSS18 SSS Lousada - Mille JOHANSSON