2009 was an extremely exciting and challenging year from a professional standpoint. I kept a busy calendar and dabbled in new and unique experiences that I cherish greatly. I reached many personal milestones and performed well in some very challenging conditions.
It was a year of new and varied engagements; I drove three different cars for three different team set-ups, with three different navigators and three different championships. It was also a year of numerous firsts and some pioneering ventures for me and my teams.
I drove in the Production World Rally Championships (PWRC), the Asia Pacific Rally Championship(APRC) and our very own Indian National Rally Championship(INRC). Suffice to say that 2009 was a very busy year for me.
The year started with a trial by fire in the PWRC. I was driving the feisty Subaru Impreza STi for Team Sidvin India. Besides being my proud privilege to have represented the country, it was also a huge learning experience for me as the WRC is a completely different animal- the cars are much faster, the route challenging and there are many more variables to consider. I particularly enjoyed interacting with Tommi Makkinen who was developing our cars and supporting our team.
I competed in the Cyprus and Portugal rounds of the 2009 championship and ran well. In Portugal, we were running 4th before suffering a mechanical setback that made us finish in 7th place. Owing to logistical challenges and team sponsor issues, we pulled out of the PWRC and I decided to concentrate on the APRC and devote my complete attention to Team MRF duties.
We drive factory supported Mitsubishi Ralliart cars in the APRC and this time I was given the Mitsubishi Evo X, which was being run and tested for the first time in any competitive championship. This was again a huge honor and responsibility for me as Ralliart was counting on the feedback from us to aid further development of their flagship motorsport platform.
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Hey guys!
I’m back from my holiday and I wanted to wish everybody a happy new year! Hopefully, I’ll bring you great news, results and victories this year.
Also working to inject some brand new content for you guys, so watch out for listing on GauravGill.com.
Godspeed!
Gaurav
After holding third in APRC for most of the event Gaurav Gill had problems in the last stage dropping to 4th. Teammate Taguchi finishes 2nd after Corcker who registered the first win of the season.
It seems the last stage jinx is still hovering over Gill and we hope he overcome this in his next rally.
Click here for detailed stage timings
Gaurav Gill with teammate Katsuhiko Taguchi from Japan will drive for Team MRF as 2 lead drivers. They will participate from the second round of APRC to be held at Queensland in Australia on 9th May. The start of the season at Caledonia saw no car finishing for points. This puts Gaurav is a good position to fight for the entire season with 6 races remaining.
Gaurav is the only one to drive an Evo X in this round of APRC.
Lets cheer for Gaurav and hope he starts the season with a win.
Watch this space for regular updates.
At the end of what seemed to be one of the most unpredictable and dramatic rally weekends for TSI Racing, Gaurav Gill emerged overall seventh in the PWRC Rally in Faro, Portugal.
Incidentally, this was the same position he secured in the last rally in Cyprus before his car unfortunately stalled in the last stage. However, Gill showed excellent driving skills emerging overall seventh and bringing home two points.
Speaking from Faro, Mr. Mohan Nagarajan, Team Principal said, “This is a dream come true. I am so happy that this is the first time in history an Indian team on an international platform has made a mark and brought home points. All the credit goes to the team and Gaurav for displaying such amazing driving skills. It can only get better now.”
via Hindu
Gaurav Gill retired in the last transport stage after finishing seventh in the Production World Rally Championship’s Cyprus rally after his car stalled, according to an official press release. Gill also lost out on the championship point that he would have earned for finishing seventh.
Gill almost made up lost ground on Sunday despite overnight rains in Limassol, that resulted in damp and muddy conditions.
The day featured three stages spread over 82.27km and Gaurav initially suffered a rock-hit.
Gaurav said: “We were going fast but hit a boulder on the left which bent the left front anti roll bar and damaged the steering arm. However we were committed to finish the stage at any cost.” After that, he drove flat out but could only move up five places from his earlier 12th position.
Rally pictures
Input from: Hindu
We are delighted to share with you that Gaurav Gill would be competing for the 2009 Asia Pacific Rally Championship and the 2009 Production Car World Championship.
Watch this space for more rally news, schedules, activities and multimedia content!
Check out Gaurav’s 2009 Rally Calendar
Gaurav Gill of Team Sidvin India crashed out of the Wales Rally GB after battling treacherous weather conditions in Wales on Friday.
Gill, who was optimistic of making an impact in his P-WRC debut, was 7th by the second stage — Sweet Lamb 1 — timing a neat 3:17.6secs as he covered 4.28km. But the next stage — Myherin 1 — proved decisive as he rolled the car, unaware of the ice formation and poor road conditions.
Of the six stages scheduled for the day, the first was cancelled due to ice formation while the second and third were cut by half. But that didn’t prevent chaos from reigning in the 18.28km third stage as at least ten cars went off the road. Local hope Mark Higgins bowed out while PWRC leader Juho Hanninen lost his front wheel drive.
Click here of more Rally Pictures
Gaurav Gill will replace Naren Kumar as Team Sidvin India’s driver for the Rally of Wales from December 4 to 7.
In a decision that reflected TSI’s definite shift towards youth and raw aggression, Gill, 26, will do one World Rally Championship (Production class) event this year before the team takes a call on who will be its representative in 2009.
After Narain Karthikeyan (A1GP) & Karun Chandhok (GP2) it was the turn of Gaurav Gill to rewrite history. In the fifth round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship, Gill driving for Team MRF earned the honours of becoming the first Indian to win an APRC round. He did that in style with a yawning gap of 1 minute 6.9 seconds between him and Taguchi, who finished second.
“I was determined to do well here and get on the podium,” said a jubilant Gill after the race. Praising his codriver, Gill added, “Jagdev (Singh) has been of great help to me because he has been co-driving Karamjeet, the ex-world champion in PWRC (Production World Rally Championship). Katsuhiko Taguchi completed a perfect weekend for team MRF beating Motor Image’s Cody Crocker to finish second giving the Indian team a 1-2 finish.
Gaurav Gill - APRC 2008 Interview
