Whangarei honours for Gill, team MRF

It was 34-year old, Delhi-based Gill’s ninth victory in the APRC series and second in New Zealand following his triumph here in 2014. Driving the Race Torque-prepared Skoda Fabia R5 with controlled aggression, Gill, with Australian Glenn Macneall as his co-driver, shrugged off the overnight 4.6-second deficit to Kreim and eventually won by 30.4 seconds despite problems with the turbo following a leak in the actuator during the first of the two loops of the three Special Stages.

After replacing the part during the service break, Gill pushed just enough to maintain his lead over Kreim (co-driver Frank Christian) for a deserving victory. Gill began the day that saw spells of rain and intermittent drizzle, by making 23.3 seconds over Kreim in the very first Special Stage won by Kiwi hope Mike Young who eventually finished a distant third behind the two MRF-SKODA duo. 

Hereabouts, Gill’s Fabia R5 suffered from loss of power that saw him finish third in SS-12 and 13 before returning for service. At this point, the Indian’s lead was cut to 9.3 seconds, but after repairs to the turbo during service, Gill returned for the second loop of the three Stages and stepped up the pace, making 20 seconds on Kreim in SS-14 FOR A 29.3-second lead before easing off in the final two Stages to complete a fluent win.

APRC CLASSIFICATION (PROVISIONAL): 1. Gaurav Gill / Glenn Macneall (Team MRFSKODA, Skoda Fabia R5) (02hrs, 55mins, 50.3secs); 2. Fabian Kreim / Frank Christian (Team MRF-SKODA, Skoda Fabia R5) (02:56:20.7); 3. Mike Young / Malcolm Read (EZY Racing, Subaru Impreza WRX STi) (03:10:00.3).