New Caledonia, 16 June 2013: Celebrated Indian speedmaster Gaurav Gill was totally dominating at Rally New Caledonia delivering an impressive 19-minute win for his MRF Tyres Rally Team. The victory in the second round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) helped Gill take the overall lead in the championship as he pushed his teammate to second place in the standings. Another Indian driver Sanjay Takale from Pune, co-driven by Sean Gregory of Malaysia came second to make an Indian one-two for the first time in the history of APRC.
With his MRF team mate Esapekki Lappi unable to start today, the rally was his to lose. Gill and co-driver Glenn Macneall were masterful on Sunday on the very slippery roads soaked by overnight rain, an MRF press release said.
Gill, who was also the winner on the South Pacific island last season, reached the finish in the capital Noumea on Sunday afternoon with a comfortable margin over countryman Sanjay Takale. Australia’s Simon Knowles finished third following a close battle between the pair.
The rain forced the cancellation of 5 of Sunday’s high speed tests when the roads were deemed to be unsafe for driving. This left just one road/stage to be used 3 times with just 51km to contest. This presented a challenge for Gill not to take it too easy and lose concentration but for now the results speak for themselves.
Meanwhile, Esapekka Lappi, who led the APRC standings on the back of his first place on the season-opening International Rally of Whangarei last month, crashed out on the fourth stage and loses the title initiative to Gill, his Team MRF ŠKODA team-mate, as a result.
Lappi wasn’t the only APRC contender to suffer in the slippery conditions on day one: Matt van Tuinen retired after being injured in a heavy landing over a large jump on stage two. He will have surgery on his back this week and will be out of action for at least two months. Fellow Australian Bruce Fullerton also faltered over the jump with the damage to his Mitsubishi Lancer’s engine forcing him out close to the completion of the first leg.
Co-driven by Glenn Macneall, Gill registered his intent with the fastest time through stage one. He repeated the feat on the following test only for an off-road moment on stage three to cost him vital time as he attempted to select reverse gear in his Fabia Super 2000. That turned an advantage of 14s into a deficit to Lappi of 15s starting stage four.
But Lappi’s lead wasn’t too last. In a fifth-gear downhill section, the 22-year-old’s car pitched sideways into a large rock and the damage was too great for him to continue.
However, there were no such problems for the impressive Gill, who started the final day with a comfortable margin, which he preserved until the finish as heavy rain forced organisers to axe five of the day’s planned eight stages.
Behind Gill, APRC Production Cup winner Takale’s second place for India is understood to be the first time that two drivers from that country have climbed the podium on an FIA international event. For Knowles, an APRC Pacific Cup entrant, the result puts him second place in the category points, 27.5 adrift of Gill. Pacific Cup contender Claude Clavel’s challenge ended on stage two when he tore a wheel off his Lancer striking a tree stump.
“It was a perfect weekend for me” said Gill “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 found the problem so I was able to drive with confidence.”
Gill also commented “The Skoda and MRF rally tyres were spot on all weekend. The MRF Tyres Rally Team run a Factory backed Skoda Fabia S2000) and this makes a difference because you can concentrate on your driving. Apart from my one small spin yesterday I can say again everything was perfect,” he added.
Unfortunately for Team MRF the young Finnish driver, Esapekki Lappi, was unable to restart day 2 because of chassis damage sustained on day one. An off road excursion ripped the right rear suspension from the car. To be sure the very quick Finnish driver will be back full of determination at the next round.
For the first time ever in APRC history drivers from India made up the first 2 places. Sanjay Takale co-driven by Sean Gregory brought their Subaru Impreza WRX STI home in second place. This is Sanjay’s second event in a four wheel drive rally car and the improvement in speed was evident as the weekend progressed “I cannot believe this result! I know I was getting better and the tight twisty roads suit my style of driving, amazing!” said a very smiley Sanjay.
Once again the unforgiving roads of New Caledonia took their toll with 5 APRC championship drivers failing to finish. Gaurav Gill said at the beginning of the rally that it was an event where you had to drive at your own pace and “not push”. Certainly his experience and maturity as a driver delivered a good result for the MRF Tyres Rally Team.
Gaurav Gill (India), first position: “The final day was obviously a short day but it was still good miles although the heavy overnight rain meant it was slippery in the morning. It was hard to underdrive, which is what I was doing to get to the finish but it’s been a good weekend for us. We were quick from the shakedown having come here with good confidence from New Zealand. Now we have some good points for the championship.”
Sanjay Takale (India), second position: “I am very proud to stand next to Gaurav on the podium. I love these roads and I am well used to slippery conditions from rallying in Malaysia. I am very happy because it’s only my second event in four-wheel drive.”
RESULTS (after 17 special stages, 236.59 kilometres):
1 Gaurav Gill (IND)/Glenn Macneall (NZL) ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000 1h57m12.3s
2 Sanjay Takale (IND)/Sean Gregory (MYS) Subaru Impreza WRX STI +19m36.0s
3 Simon Knowles (AUS)/Margot Knowles (AUS) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX +22m10.7s
FIA APRC Production Cup: Sanjay Takale (IND)/Sean Gregory (MYS) Subaru Impreza WRX STI
FIA APRC Team Trophy: Team MRF ŠKODA
FIA Pacific Cup winner: Gaurav Gill (IND)/Glenn Macneall (NZL)
FIA APRC Junior Cup: This event not part of the FIA APRC Junior Cup
CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS (full standings at www.fiaaprc.com):
Overall drivers: 1 Gill 65.5pts; 2 Takale 46; 3 Esapekka Lappi 39; 4 Michael Young 24; 5 Hiroshi Asakura 5; Overall co-drivers: 1 Macneall 65.5; 2 Gregory 46; 3 Janne Ferm 39; 5 Daniel Wilson 24; 5 Takumi Takahashi 5. Manufacturers: 1 ŠKODA 74.5; 2 Subaru 52; 3 Mitsubishi 42.5; 4 Toyota 11. Subject to results being confirmed by the event stewards
Rally leaders:
SS1-2: Gaurav Gill (IND)/Glenn Macneall (NZL) ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000
SS3: Esapekka Lappi (FIN)/Janne Ferm (FIN) ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000
SS4-17: Gaurav Gill (IND)/Glenn Macneall (NZL) ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000
NEXT ROUND: International Rally of Queensland, July 12-14
MORE INFORMATION: Visit the official FIA APRC website at www.fiaaprc.com or www.aprc.tv
Gaurav Gill and co driver MacNeall of MRF (centre) came first followed by another Indian driver Sanjay Takale (in blue) to create a record of Indian 1-2 in APRC. MRF Tyres Rally team photo
