Gaurav Gill to lead MRF-Skoda two-car team in 2016 APRC series

Gill will be accompanied by his long-time co-driver Glenn Macneall from Australia in the 2016 APRC series that begins with the International Rally of Whangarei in New Zealand scheduled for April 30-May 1. The second MRF-Skoda entry in the rally is Germany’s Fabian Kreim with compatriot Frank Christian in the co-driver’s seat.

Both Gill, winner of the Rally of Whangarei in 2014, and Kreim will be driving the Race Torque-prepared Skoda Fabia R5 in the Championship.

In 2013, Gill, a 34-year old Delhiite, became the first Indian to win the APRC title in his debut run in the Skoda R5. His German counterpart, Kreim also has considerable experience in this sport as he is the current driver for the Skoda Auto Deutschland team in the German Rally Championship where the 23-year old finished second in 2015 with five wins.

In a press release issued announcing the line-up, Gill said: “It will be a fresh challenge for me. The car is new which I have never driven before, and a new team-mate who has had considerable experience in the R5 which is very different from the R4 that I was driving. The previous two seasons haven’t been good for me, but I want to put all that behind and focus on the 2016 championship.”

Kreim, who replaces 2015 APRC champion Swede Pontus Tidemand, said in the same statement statement: “I am absolutely delighted to be able to take on the challenge of the APRC with SKODA. All the rallies are obviously completely new to me and I will have a lot to learn. However, I hope I can establish myself among the front-runners and challenge for race wins as quickly as possible at these international events.”

The 2016 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship will kick off from April 30 to May 1 in the beautiful island country of New Zealand after which it will head off to Australia and other Asian countries, before finally culminating in India in mid-December.