Gaurav Gill Wins Hokkaido Rally

Indian rally driver Gaurav Gill of Team MRF bagged his fourth consecutive win in the 2016 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) as he cruised to victory in the Hokkaido Rally held in Obihiro, Japan on September 25, 2016. Gill, along with his new co-driver Stephane Prevot, in their Skoda Fabia R5, beat his opponents, storming towards victory.

Having won earlier rounds of the APRC held in New Zealand, Australia, and China, Gaurav Gill came up with another victory despite pairing up with new co-driver, Stephane Prevot, from Belgium. Maintaining his lead, Gill beat his team-mate, Fabian Kreim who finished second, ahead of Michael Young.

“It’s great to win. Four out of four is awesome,” said Gill. “Everything worked well. The tyres worked well since Saturday when it was wet on the tarmac and I have to thank the team for the good setup". Gill also added: “It was a very difficult rally because of weather conditions constantly changing. Mornings were all wet, afternoon became all dry, then become pretty rough, so pretty difficult but I’m happy.”

Gaurav Gill, the championship leader enjoyed an overnight lead of 1:24.9 and maintained scorching pace to extend his lead by over two minutes.  He also won the first four of the day's eight Special Stages before going home for his 13th win in the championship since he made his debut back in 2007.