Hokkaido, 30 Sept 2013: Indian driver Gaurav Gill is one step closer to clinching the 2013 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship title after taking a dominant victory on this weekend’s Rally Hokkaido at the wheel of his Team MRF ŠKODA Fabia S2000.
Title rival and team-mate Esapekka Lappi was forced to retire for the third time this season when suspension failure on his Fabia thwarted his charge, an FIA release said.
Forming the penultimate round of this year’s coveted Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), Rally Hokkaido is synonymous with fast and often narrow gravel roads. The stages caught out a number of drivers over the course of a three-day event based in and around the rally base of Obihiro.
Lappi was the first APRC driver to fall foul of the tough Japanese tests when he incurred suspension damage on Saturday’s ninth test. With the Finn unable to restart on day two, Gill began Sunday’s stages with a comfortable lead. The Team MRF driver adopted a cautious driving approach in order to secure crucial championship points and now leads the overall standings by 13.5 points.
Last year’s FIA Asia Cup champion, Yuya Sumiyaya, finished second overall and also took a win for Subaru in the Asia Cup. Fellow countryman Shuhei Muta finished three minutes adrift of Sumiyaya, securing the runner-up spot and holding onto the Asia Cup lead with one round remaining.
Further down the field, MRU Motorsports driver Sanjay Takale was keen to make amends for a mistake on the previous round in Malaysia and leave Japan with as many APRC points as possible. The strategy paid off as the Indian drove a mature rally in his Subaru Impreza to finish second placed of the APRC competitors. Takale was also been crowned the winner of the APRC Production Cup after securing enough points to take the title with one round still remaining.
Coming home third out of the APRC crews was Malaysian Rally winner Michael Young (Cusco Racing). The New Zealander won both the two-wheel-drive and Junior Cup sections in his Toyota Vitz. Fourth place went to Young’s team-mate Hiroshi Asakura who entertained the home crowds in his PROTON Satria Neo.
FIA APRC Team Trophy: Team MRF ŠKODA
FIA Asia Cup winner: Yuya Sumiyama (JPN)/Naoki Kase (JPN)
FIA APRC Junior Cup: Michael Young (NZL)
FIA APRC Rally Cup 2WD: Michael Young (NZL)/Malcolm Read (NZL)
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File photo of Gaurav Gill driving in the Indian National Rally Championship. Photo by IMG sports
