Team MRF to do four rounds of WRC 2 this year with Gill; Macneall returns as co-driver
Bengaluru, 11May 2018: Team MRF and three times Asia Pacific Rally champion Gaurav Gill along with his long-time co-driver Glenn Macneall (Ausralia) will launch their World Rally Championship campaign in the WRC 2 category at Rally Italia Sardegna scheduled to be held from June 7-10.
Gill and Macneall, who have rallied together for seven years as Team MRF in the APRC, will be in a Ford Fiesta R5 run by M-Sport team which also has in its stable Sebastien Ogier, the 2017 WRC champion. With MRF as the tyre choice, Team MRF will compete compete in four of the five gravel rallies on the calendar.
According to an official press release, MRF Tyres is participating in the following four rounds of WRC in Ford Fiesta R5 (RC2 category):
- Rally Italia Sardegna – June 7-10
- Rally of Finland – July 26-29
- Wales Rally GB – October 4-7
- Rally Australia – November 15-18
With the season well underway, Gill and Team MRF will not be eligible for championship points, but will utilise the four gravel rallies to collect valuable data on the tyres that will be used to further develop the rubber for a full-season entry next year. Gill will be taking part as a non-priority Driver for the four rounds.
Since 2018 is a development and familiarization year to study the various parameters like terrains, tyres, cars etc., and as a part of this exercise, a two-day private test session in Europe is scheduled at the end of this month.
Gill said: “It is a huge honour for me to represent Team MRF in the World Rally Championship. I have always wished to participate in WRC and compete against the best in the World. I have been associated with the team for over 10 years now and I am thankful for this opportunity to showcase my skills at this level. I am training extremely hard in preparation for a tough challenge ahead and I hope to be on pace with the best in the world from day one.”
Speaking on the occasion, Arun Mammen, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, MRF Limited, said: “This is a huge step for MRF. We have been actively involved in promoting racing in India over the last 30 years and it gives us immense satisfaction to have a champion Indian racer in Gaurav Gill to spearhead our campaign in the World Rally Championship.
“Motorsports is a platform where we can demonstrate our tyre technology and apart from that it will also help us in developing new cutting-edge technology through extensive R&D and analysis of data collected from the track. I look forward to our season ahead and to our partnership with M-Sport.”
Malcolm Wilson, Managing Director, M-Sport, said: “It is great to welcome Gaurav Gill and MRF tyres to not only the WRC, but also M-Sport. We as a company are well aware of their achievements in the APRC for the past 16 years and it is great to see them take their first step into the World Rally Championship with M-Sport and the Ford Fiesta R5.
“It will be a tough learning curve, competing on four very different rallies – but M-Sport will do all they can to help them with the transition this year. We hope this will be the start of a long and exciting partnership and wish them all the best of luck.”
