Gaurav Gill wins New Caledonia round of APRC

Gill's win came in light of his MRF teammate Chris Atkinson taking the top trophy at the inaugural round of this year’s APRC season at the Rally of Whangarei in New Zealand. In the same rally, Gill had managed to bring in his Race Torque-prepared Skoda Fabia Super 2000 for a well deserved third place. And as a follow up of the events of the first rally, Atkinson snatched second place at New Caledonia from Brian Green, making it a good day indeed for Team MRF.

The weather conditions made the event a difficult one for crews - hot, sunny conditions then turned to tropical downpours which created several deep water crossings, playing havoc with the electrics of the cars, and punctures caused dramas and time losses. The conditions managed to catch out even experienced rally drivers like Proton’s Per Gunnar Anderson while he was leading the pack. This shot Atkinson into the overall rally lead overnight, but after this, things only got worse for all the drivers. The young Australian had a 41.4 second lead over Gill, but both the Skoda Fabias encountered some serious difficulties. Atko’s car had developed some electrical problems sustained while going through a water crossing which ended up costing him seven minutes, while Gill had problems with his rear suspension. Still, the Delhi-lad managed to nurse his car back to the service area after that.

After a bit of repairs, Gill got back into the rally and his persistence and speed ensured he won the event by close to five minutes over his teammate. “It makes me proud as an Indian that I can match and beat guys like this. This win has helped prove the point that we guys can defeat the rest, with 25 per cent of their infrastructure and experience,” Gill said after the win. “The track was slippery and there were rocks but the tyres performed brilliantly. I’d really like to thank the team for this one. It was due to them we could keep going. Everyone had issues and I’m sorry for what happened to Chris but the main thing is that it’s still a one-two finish for MRF and the whole team can celebrate”, he added.

Atkinson still heads the leaderboard as the APRC  heads to the Rally Queensland in Australia, but Gill has moved up to second place in the championship, eight points behind. Team MRF though heads the Teams Championship with 109 points, more than twice that of Proton Motorsports.