CHIKKAMAGALURU: It was an expected result. With Gaurav Gill and co-driver Glenn MacNeall setting the tone for a win after the penultimate day on Sunday, it was just a formality on Monday. The Delhi driver cruised to victory in the Coffee Day India Rally 2016, the sixth and final round of the 2016 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship.
Having already wrapped up the championship before this round, Gill, representing Team MRF, set a record by winning all six rounds of the APRC this year.
New Zealand’s Mike Young-Malcolm Read finished second, 11 minutes, 32.4 seconds behind the Indian driver. Sanjay Takale-Noriko Takeshita (India-Japan) finished third, 12 minutes, 40.7 seconds behind Young and Read.
On Monday, Gill’s teammate Fabian Kreim (Frank Christian) won three out of the four Special Stages but only finished fifth.
“Though I won the championship this year, this rally was more important than the series and that’s the kind of weight I carried on my shoulders,” said Gill.
“There wasn’t any pressure but I was focusing on doing well from the start. I knew I had to do well for myself and for the team. I hope six out of six wins this season will wake up sponsors car manufacturers,” he added.
Gill, who plans to compete in the European Rally Championship next season, has been driving the new Skoda Fabia R5 that was introduced this year. “It’s amazing that I actually never thought of it. It’s incredibly tough as the cars are so fast and the slightest mistake can result in a crash,” he added.
Provisional results (leg 2)
APRC: 1. Gaurav Gill/Glenn MacNeall (Team MRF) (3hrs, 39mins, 37.9secs); 2. Mike Young/Malcolm Read (Cusco Racing) (03:51:10.3); 3. Sanjay Takale/Noriko Takeshita (Cusco Racing) (04:03:51.0).
INRC Overall & INRC 2000: 1. Karna Kadur/Nikhil Pai (Team Yokohama 2K) (01:52:15.9); 2. Dr Bikku Babu/Milen George (01:53:31.4); 3. Rahul Kantharaj/Vivek Bhatt (Team Yokohama 2K) (01:55:27.6).
FMSCI Cup: 1. Jacob KJ/Manoj Mohanan (02:01:14.8); 2. Michu Ganapathy/Venu Ramesh Kumar (02:01:25.8); 3. Fabid Ahmer/Arjun Dheerendra (02:06:06.7).
IRC: 1. Sanjay Takale/Noriko Takeshita (Cusco Racing) (01:48:59.2); 2. Ritesh Guttedar/Sheeraz Ahmed (02:01:12.3); 3. Byram Godrej/Ninad Mirajgaonkar (02:02:47.5).
Gypsy Star (non-championship): 1. Sanjay Agarwal/Smitha N (02:09:53.3); 2. Avin Nanjappa/Suraj Shetti (02:17:36.1); 3. Dheeraj KV/Ravi (02:39:03.7).
vivekphadnis@newindianexpress.com