Category: General

Former Sports Editor and respected senior journalist, Anand Philar, who specialises in motorsports, has tracked Arjuna Award winner Gaurav Singh Gill from his nascent days, and chronicled and photographed his exploits throughout his career, both at home and abroad.

In a special article to IndiaInF1, he shares his thoughts on Gaurav Gill.                 

Gaurav Gill receiving the Arjuna Award from the President of India on August 29, the National Sports Day. Photo courtesy @GauravGill FB page

By Anand Philar

Bengaluru, 30 August 2019: Back in 2005, a new sensation called Gaurav Gill burst on to the National Rally scene as a “replacement driver” for Vikram Mathias who was injured in a major crash the previous round in Delhi. Vikram’s navigator, Sujith Kumar, was asked to partner the tearaway Gill at a time when few were willing to sit in the co-driver’s seat. Gill finished Overall second to JK Tyre’s lead driver, VR Naren Kumar, after dominating most of the event by clocking seriously fast Stage times. Gaurav Singh Gill has arrived.

The following year, in Pune, it was the turn of veteran Farooq Ahmed, to partner Gill who again finished behind Naren Kumar, who went on to win the championship. Both Sujith and Farooq sang praises of not just Gill’s extreme pace, but his “phenomenal memory”.

Sujith recalled: “I have never sat with any driver with such memory. I realised then that he was a special talent and a superstar in the making.” Farooq said much the same. “Just phenomenal talent Anand. He will go places. I have never co-driven for a guy with such raw pace and memory. I mean, he remembered every corner and dip. I wondered whether he needed a navigator at all!”

For sure, Gill had cast a magical and mesmeric spell on the Indian motorsport fraternity which continues to this day. MRF Tyres, taking note of his immense talent, was quick to sign up Gill and thus began the Delhi lad’s long journey to international stardom. APRC titles in 2013, 2016 and 2017, cemented Gill’s status as a World-class driver. At home, his dominance was even more absolute as National titles came his way.

From the raw pace of the youth to mature driving of the experienced, Gill has come a long way. “Over the years and with experience, I learned to pace myself in a rally. It meant, knowing when to push and when to nurse your position without taking undue risks. It has made me a better driver and in rallying, much like a good wine that tastes better with age,” he had told me in a rare moment of introspection as we drove to Chikmagaluru for the Coffee Day India Rally a couple of years ago.

Through his decade-long campaign in the APRC with MRF team, Gill was pitted against more experienced team-mates, not necessarily in terms of age, but seat time and the number of competitions.

“These guys do about 20 to 25 rallies in a year as against five or six in my case, and another few in INRC. A couple of my team-mates have been factory drivers, constantly testing the cars that were being prepared for APRC. They literally lived in them! So, straight away, I am at a disadvantage going into an APRC round. Yet, I am able to match and beat them on the Stages. This is what people back home should know, understand and appreciate,” has been Gill’s constant refrain each time we met at an APRC event abroad.

For me, there is more to Gill than the titles (including one track racing championship). Statistics do no justice to his talent that is so apparent even to a novice watcher. For Indian motorsport, he is once-in-a-lifetime beacon leading the way and setting benchmarks.

The Arjuna Award came his way exactly 20 years after he made his rally debut on a bike before switching to cars. Through those two decades of living on the edge, as it were, Gill has maintained his focus and motivation, while blossoming into a man who is officially certified fit enough to pilot a monstrous Formula 1 speedboat!

For Gill, speed is the elixir of life, beautifully complemented by his unshakable belief and confidence in his ability to drive quick but safe, take calculated risks that would deter a lesser mortal, the special bonding with the car that becomes an extension of self, quickly learning its limits to push it to the very edge and, sometimes, beyond – all traits of a man who belongs to the elite class of motorsport drivers.

Gill is a natural. “Give him a bullock cart, and he will still be the quickest!” This is not said in jest, but with awe and admiration. I have had the privilege of sitting with him in the Skoda ahead of Rally of Hokkaido. I barely noticed the stunning acceleration, the cornering, and braking. The silken touch and precision driving had me mesmerised, just like it has always been when I focussed my camera on his car power-sliding through the corner or attacking a crest!

Hailing from a family of rally drivers, his uncle Dicky Gill (Team MRF) being the best known among them, Gaurav took to driving like a duck to water. “I learned to drive very early in life, taking our family car out without informing anyone. Then came the Play Station games and the bikes, which are still my first love, before I moved to cars. So, I grew up in such an environment and here I am, driving Rally cars!”.

Hopefully, the Arjuna Award would not only motivate Gaurav further, but also spawn a generation of young guns who will not just emulate him, but go a step further. He has waited long for this overdue National recognition, dealing with frustrations and triumphs with supreme equanimity, never once taking his eyes off the goals he had set. Now, looking to his 38^th birthday on December 2, Gill has his sights set on the big stage, the WRC. “My ultimate wish is to compete with the best in the World and prove to myself first that I belong to.” His words, spoken over a year ago. It’s time we all got behind this maverick of a driver.

Pursue your dreams champ and conquer new horizons.