Hubli, 2 August 2019: Team Mahindra Adventure’s ace driver Gaurav Gill returned to reclaim the Dakshin Dare title along with co-driver Musa Sherif, winning the gruelling rally for the third time here late on Thursday.
Gill, conquered the special stages in the 4-day long route from Bangalore to Hubli in 04:51:49.001 hours. Overall, he covered a distance of close to 2,000 kms.
The JK Tyre-sponsored rallyist holds the unique distinction of winning the country’s most prestigious cross-country rallying every time that he has entered into it.
Gaurav, six-time INRC champion, proved his mettle once again as he came out on top in seven stages out of the nine special stages.
Accompanied by his trusted co-driver Musa Sherif, he won all the three stages on the opening day, clocking a time of 45:45.053 minutes. He fell back on the second day, losing both the stages to his teammate Philippos Mathai (with co-driver PVS Murthy).
Going into the third day, he was trailing by 00:47.261 seconds but that didn’t deter him. He roared back into the front by claiming the two stages of Day 3 to take a handy lead of 6:42.383 minutes.
With such a huge lead, it was near to impossible for anyone to catch Gaurav on the final day. The three-time APRC champion lived up to his reputation on the final day too, clocking around a minute less than his closest competitor to sign off in style.
“I am really excited to win the Dare once again. This is my third Dakshin Dare title and I am really very happy with this achievement. The stages were very challenging but I believe we had a very good car at our disposal and our tyres indeed helped us in maneuvering these treacherous stages. I would like to thank my tuners and mechanics for preparing such a fine car,” Gill said after his triumph.
