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Gill poised towards second straight FIA Junior WRC victory
| Taylor Gill is poised to make it two-from-two in this year’s FIA Junior WRC, heading into the final day of Vodafone Rally de Portugal with a commanding advantage at the top of the M-Sport Poland Ford Fiesta Rally3 leaderboard. |
| Porto district (Portugal), 18 May 2025: The Australian talent, already a winner at Rally Sweden, picked up right where he left off — blitzing Saturday morning’s opening stages to stretch his lead to 1min 26sec. But Gill wasn’t just fast — he was smart, too. Knowing when to push and when to protect the car, he eased off during the rockier second pass, managing his margin with composure well beyond his years. Championship leader Mille Johansson, who rolled on Friday, mounted a determined fightback to keep the pressure on. The Swede won five consecutive stages in the afternoon to trim Gill’s advantage to 45.5sec, but with just six stages and 72 kilometres of action left, the odds remain in Gill’s favour. Gill first stormed to fame in the Rally Star cup at Chennai winning the Asia Pacific championship and earned a free drive in the selections for the WRC Junior shot. And he did it. Gill has no connections to India and is not related to Gaurav Gill, a multiple INRC and Asia Pacific Rally Champion. Kerem Kazaz maintained third overall, over a minute behind Johansson but with a solid cushion of 1min 5.9sec over Max Smart in fourth. Smart climbed the order from sixth, gaining ground as Thomas Martens slipped to fifth and Ali Türkkan retired with a broken propshaft. Joosep Nõgene and Eamonn Kelly ended the day sixth and seventh respectively, with Diego Domínguez eighth following a frustrating Friday. Tristan Charpentier restarted and immediately showed pace, clocking several top-three stage times, while Claire Schönborn also returned and logged valuable mileage on her maiden gravel rally at world level. Adding further weight to his performance, Gill also leads the WRC3 category outright heading into Sunday. Classification after SS18 (Saturday) Taylor Gill (AUS) – 3:22:12.8 Mille Johansson (SWE) – +45.5 Kerem Kazaz (TUR) – +3:09.1 Max Smart (ZAF) – +4:15.0 Thomas Martens (BEL) – +4:35.3 Joosep Nõgene (EST) – +5:22.9 Eamonn Kelly (IRL) – +6:51.6 Diego Domínguez (PRY) – +18:54.2 Ali Türkkan (TUR) – +33:19.1 Tristan Charpentier (FRA) – +1:24:32.5 Claire Schönborn (DEU) – +1:46:51.0 Stage Winners: SS1 SSS Figueira da Foz – Mille JOHANSSON SS2 Mortágua 1 – Taylor GILL SS3 Lousã 1 – Mille JOHANSSON SS4 Góis 1 – Taylor GILL SS5 Arganil 1 – Taylor GILL SS6 Lousã 2 – Diego DOMÍNGUEZ SS7 Góis 2 – Mille JOHANSSON SS8 Arganil 2 – Taylor GILL SS9 Mortágua 2 – Mille JOHANSSON SS10 Águeda / Sever – Mille JOHANSSON SS11 Sever / Albergaria – Mille JOHANSSON SS12 Vieira do Minho 1 – TAYLOR GILL SS13 Cabeceiras de Basto 1 – TAYLOR GILL SS14 Amarante 1 – Mille JOHANSSON SS15 Vieira do Minho 2 – Mille JOHANSSON SS16 Cabeceiras de Basto 2 – Mille JOHANSSON SS17 Amarante 2 – Mille JOHANSSON SS18 SSS Lousada – Mille JOHANSSON |
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