NEWSFLASH: Gaurav Gill ended day 1 of Rally Hokkaido as the leader of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship Classification. This is big news for the Indian motorsport fraternity as Gill has outpaced a field studded with WRC stars such as Chris Atkinson and Alistair McRae, and even his illustrious and experienced Team MRF teammate, Katsu Taguchi. If Gill continues his form from the first day, he could well be on his way to repeat his win of APRC Indonesia which was also the first APRC victory by an Indian.
Let’s cheer for Gaurav, may he bring us glory in Japan!
Original News Article Published on Yahoo! News
Just days before he left for the Malaysian leg of the 2010 Asia Pacific Rally Championship, national rally champion Gaurav Gill had insisted that the role of MRF team-mate Katsu Taguchi was vital in his performance this season. On Sunday, as Gill finished second on the podium in the Malaysian rally in the APRC, the Indian driver had also the company of Taguchi, who claimed the top spot, at the podium. Gill had to face mechanical problems on Saturday but emerged as one of the podium finishers after an impressive run on Sunday.
“I am glad that we had such a strong finish. Taguchi is also performing well and the tough competition helps. Performances like these lift the team’s morale and both of us had a good start at the start of the tournament. Malaysia is one of the toughest in the APRC and this is our first win here. So we are taking a lot of positives from this performance. We had break overheating problems on Saturday and sometimes we have to compromise with the situations. We adjusted well with the conditions and it made all the difference,” said Gill, speaking from Malaysia.
It was the first podium finish for the Delhi driver in any international rally this season and the driver is hopeful of repeating the same in the next leg of the APRC which will be in Japan from May 21 to May 22.The event is coinciding with the National Rally Championship and Gill is certain that some thing will be done in that regard to make him available for the Japan event.
“Asia Cup is something which always inspires me and it feels great to be in the lead in the Asia Cup. It is an important season for me and I am preparing hard for the Japanese leg of APRC. Right now, the dates are clashing with the Indian Rally Championship but I am hopeful that some thing will be done regarding this. Japan has some very tough sections and I am in no mood to relax before the Japan leg,” said Gill who is leading in the Asia Cup with 15 points and three rounds to go.
The 28-year-old driver is also hoping that things fall in place for him for the World Rally Championship. Last year, Gill had to miss the championship as some of the sponsors backed out at the last moment. This year, Gill is having his fingers crossed as he is certain of a fine performance in the APRC but lack of sponsors may again prove to be a road block in his WRC bid.
“Unfortunately, last year we had to shelve our plans due to lack of sponsors. This year also, we are not sure of participating. One needs about a million dollars for managing it all in WRC and I am waiting for sponsors. This time, even drivers from WRC are participating in APRC and I have defeated them. So definitely, the confidence is high. Taguchi is also performing well and the tough competition boosts our performance.”
Taguchi wins the Malaysian Rally 2010 with a comfortable lead of over 15 min over team mate Gaurav Gill. Taguchi took the lead at Stage 11 on leg2 when the race leader from yesterday McRae falling off with a mechanical problem. Gill kept pushing until stage 14 when he lost about 14 min to Taguchi. He took 11 valuable points on the APRC championship.
Gill also leads in the Asia cup with 15 points and 3 more rounds to go.
More details will be uploaded soon. Keep reading.
by the end of day1, Gill finishes 3rd, 1 min 9 sec behind team mate Taguchi who is behind the leader Alister by 17.2 sec.
Keep reading for more action on the last leg tomr.
Johor Bahru, April 24, The Malaysia leg of the 2010 Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) flags off on Saturday amidst a backdrop of uncertainty in the weather. Gaurav Gill started with his New Zealand partner Glen Macneal in a Mitsubishi EVo X.
Until the 4th Stage of leg 1, Gill has maintained a lead of 19.8 seconds over Alister McRae who is driving Proton Satria Neo S200. Team mate Katsu Taguchi running at 3rd with 28.6 sec behind Alister.
Keep reading for more updates.
Gaurav Gill has taken Maninder Singh ‘Prince’, a young and upcoming rider from Delhi under his wing. Gaurav sponsored Prince at the recently concluded SJOBA Sub-Himalayan Rally. Prince is primarily a dirt track(supercross/motocross) rider who has shown great potential over the last two years. Gaurav started out as a bike rider himself and is extremely keen to have a young rider like Maninder succeed in the extremely competitive professional arena.
Article Courtesy: Hindustan Times
I got behind a Formula 16 racecar after many years. Some of you might recall that the last time I had driven a formula racer was way back in 2006, when I had won the Indian National Racing Championships.
Here are a few pictures from that fantastic weekend of side-by-side racing, a welcome departure from the sideways stuff that I’ve been doing recently!
We have added lots of new pictures and content over at the Gallery section. Check it out!
I enjoyed sharing my experiences in the PWRC and APRC events from 2009 in my last post. I wanted to dedicate a separate article to the eventful Indian National Rally Championship 2009 as I was making a return to the Indian championship after a gap of 1 year in which I concentrated on my international rallying career. And I must say that it was an extremely eventful comeback for me, both on and off the tracks!
The INRC is a very important championship for my team and sponsors and I was extremely keen to contribute to Team MRF’s cause. I was excited about the entry of the more powerful 200 BHP+ Group N cars into the championship; this was an exciting opportunity to attack the stages with some serious power on hand. I was looking forward to the challenge, I also was aware of the strong driver lineup that our principal competitors, Red Roosted Racing had agglomerated, and I was very keen to take them on at events across India.
In my team, I could sense desire to get back on the top-step, MRF was committed to winning the INRC this season and I wanted to do it for the boys. By the time the season got going, I was totally focused on the challenge. I knew that it would not be a cakewalk given the good opposition we had this time but I was sure that if we got a reliable set-up, we were definitely fast-enough, or faster. My team boss, Mr. Antony Rodricks was especially keen to have us only on the top spot and it was my job to make sure we did not disappoint him and our supporters.
[click to continue…]
Gaurav Gill Rally School 2010 - 25th March 2010
My First Rally School of 2010 will be held at the Thapar University Grounds as a part North India’s biggest cultural fest, Saturnalia. [click to continue…]
