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Tag: Gaurav Gill
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Gill looking to conquer new territory in the North-East: INRC
Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh), 21 Dec 2017: The King of Indian Motorsports and current Asia Pacific Rally Champion Gaurav Gill has come back to the fmsci Indian National Rally Championship, perhaps the penultimate round of this year’s calendar with only K-1000 remaining at Bengaluru next month. The postponed rounds now appear to have a slim chance of being organised as the 5th round begins in the North-Eastern territory, a new entrant into the INRC. Title sponsor MRF are all set for the Rally of Arunachal, which began today with the key contest being on Sunday.
Despite not taking part in the INRC leg of the 4th round which was held along with APRC in the Coffee land of Chikmagalur, Gill, still leads the field with 50 points along with navigator Musa Sherif, after two victories for Team Mahindra Adventure. Karna Kadur who won the INRC category in the last round for the second successive year is five points behind. Kadur is also the defending champion.
Dean Mascarenhas is leading the INRC3 class. Overall, Dean, who came back with his old navigator Shruptha Padival at Chikmagalur, has 43 points. But the duo lead their class with 75 points.
ARKA motorsports’ Karna and Nikhil Pai are back in the fray, despite a non-finish in Round 3, the Rally of Jaipur.
Karna yielded his pre-eminent position in the INRC 2 class to Rahul Kanthraj and Vivek Y Bhatt, who has managed a 2, 1, 2 finish so far. He is fourth in the INRC standings with 37 points.
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APRC champ Gaurav Gill lights up the FIA gala prize-giving for all Indians
Gaurav Gill at the FIA gala prize-giving along with Dr Shilpa Gill, in Versailles Paris on Saturday, 9th Dec 2017. An FIA image by Jean Marie Hervio. Image updated on 11 Dec, 6.30pm IST The King of Indian Motorsports, Gaurav Gill, receiving the honours was the highlight of the annual gala show for all Indians as was the presentation of the FIA Formula One World Drivers’ Championship Trophy to Lewis Hamilton.
Gill is the only Indian Driver to have won the title and invited by the FIA for the Gala Awards night, revered as the Oscars of motorsport.
Gill, the 36-year-old speed maestro from New Delhi defended his Asia Pacific Rally Championship, winning the title for the third time. Gill is the only Indian among the various winners of different world championships. The MRF driver has brute speed and inherent talent and has been punching above his weight year after year despite having minimum seat-time and other key limitations. Unfortunately, his passion and commitment to motorsport seem to have hit a road-block as he finds in a funny situation with no sponsor coming forward to push him to a better platform, like the World Rally Championship or even a Euro event, to showcase his immense talent to the world.
Gill actually started racing bikes, to begin with, and entered the competitive world of Indian motorsports in the National motocross championship in 1999. He also won National championship titles multiple times. He won the National Road Racing Championship in 2004 and 2006 before moving to the India’s National Rally Championship which he won in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 (SUV), and 2014. And in 2015 he is nominated by the FMSCI for the Arjuna Award, an Indian national award for sporting excellence, by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) to the Government of India.
In 2016, he created a record of sorts winning all the rounds of the FIA APRC before rounding it off in our very own well-conducted Rally of 1000 corners in the Coffee Estates of Chikmagalur. By now the genial giant of Indian Motorsport should have been winning titles and rubbing shoulders with the best in the World Rally scene but is yet get a deal. Last year, Mahindra showed interest and drew up plans but nothing is heard after that.
After winning the championship in Chikmagalur last month, the muted celebrations hinted a tinge of disappointment despite giving his best and beyond to brighten the Indian Rally scene for many years now. However, according to a grapevine, Gill is likely to go to Dakar next year as part of a four-wheeler team, details of which are yet to be made public.
Hamilton, cynosure of all eyes
Hamilton, the Mercedes driver lifted the World Championship trophy for the fourth time in his career, a remarkable feat that puts him level with French Formula One legend Alain Prost and his great rival for this year’s title, German driver Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari.
The Briton took nine victories during 2017, scored points in every grand prix of the season and along the way established a new benchmark of 72 career pole positions, beating Michael Schumacher’s previous record of 68. However, despite the record-breaking season, he said that he could not see himself eclipsing the German great’s seven championship titles.
“It’s taken me 10 years to achieve four,” said Hamilton. “I currently don’t have that desire to match [Schumacher’s] seven, but matching Fangio [who scored five titles] would be quite cool. Given that I‘m going to be here for at least another couple of years, that’s my goal. To try and at least get that. We [he and Mercedes] definitely have more championships to win together.”
In rallying, Sébastien Ogier’s fifth consecutive FIA World Rally Championship title puts the Frenchman into sole second place in the list of multiple title winners, ahead of legendary flying Finns Juha Kankkunen and Tommi Makinen.
Ogier’s 2017 championship victory is perhaps his sweetest to date, coming after the departure of the all-conquering Volkswagen factory team with which he had achieved his previous four titles, and being achieved with privateer outfit M-Sport.
Ogier said: “It’s amazing and we are very proud that we managed it again this year, because I think everyone is aware of the challenge we had to face with the retirement of our old team, and we had to find a new solution at the last minute. I think it’s been a very difficult season for us: very exciting, and very open, with a lot of different winners in WRC, but it’s nice to come out on top once again and to be here today to grab the trophy for a fifth time.”
In the FIA World Endurance Championship, Germany’s Timo Bernhard and New Zealand duo Earl Bamberand Brendon Hartley took the Drivers’ Championship title, helping Porsche to sign-off on a four-season stint in the Championship with a third successive manufacturers’ title.
A mid-season hot streak of four wins gave the trio a solid platform, and second-place finishes at the final two events were enough to seal a maiden title for Bamber and second championship crowns for Bernhard and Hartley, who also took the crown with Porsche in 2015.
“From the word go it was a tense battle this season,” said Hartley. “The first round at Silverstone was won or lost by about six seconds and when you’re second that’s quite a brutal result, so we knew it would be tough. But winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans helped our cause a lot, so yes, it was an intense battle but fortunately, we were up to the job.”
There were also new global trophies up for grabs in the FIA WEC, with the LMGTE Pro category being elevated to World Championship status in 2017. And it was Ferrari that emerged as the team champions, with the Italian squad’s pairing of James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi emerged victoriously.
In the FIA World Touring Car Championship, Sweden’s Thed Björk made history, not just in winning his first FIA world title but also in becoming WTCC’s final champion in its current form, with the series bowing out from today, to be replaced by a new series, the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup in 2018. Over the course of a rollercoaster campaign, Volvo Polestar driver Björk scored two wins and seven podium finishes to beat Honda’s Norbert Michelisz in a titanic battle that went down to the wire at the final event in Qatar.
Sweden’s 2017 haul of world drivers’ titles was doubled by Johan Kristofferson who took a maiden FIA World Rallycross Championship title ahead of compatriot Mattias Ekström.
Ekström opened his title defence with a trio of victories but after scoring his first win of the season in Belgium, Kristofferson rattled off a five-event run of victories to establish that allied to a final-round win in South Africa carried him to the title.
The FIA’s future-focused, all-electric 2016/17 Formula E Championship was won by Lucas Di Grassi who took the title at the end of a nail-biting, down-to-the-wire fight with defending champion Sébastien Buemi. The Swiss racer took six wins to Di Grassi’s two, but the Brazilian was a model of consistency, scoring five further podiums and three pole positions to edge the battle as Buemi suffered a series of second half mishaps and a brace of missed races due to other racing commitments.
A number of special FIA awards were handed out on the night. For a remarkable third year in a row, Max Verstappen won the FIA Personality of the Year while the FIA Action of the Year Awards went to WRC driverEsapekka Lappi for his spectacular 33m, 120kph flight over the Fafe jump at Rally de Portugal. Formula 2 Champion Charles Leclerc, recently announced 2018 Formula 1 driver with the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team, won the Rookie of the Year Award.
The FIA President’s Award was this year expanded not only to incorporate those that have displayed courage, determination and sportsmanship but to also include those that have contributed greatly to the broader FIA community. The first of two awards in the category was presented to Jean-Charles Decaux, Co-Chief Executive Officer of the JCDecaux Group.
In 2017, in partnership with the outdoor advertising giant, the FIA embarked upon an ambitious campaign named #3500LIVES that brings key road safety messages to a global audience using the JCDecaux’s advertising spaces around the world. To date, the campaign has generated an estimated 1.5 billion views in 900 cities in more than 75 countries.
The second FIA President’s Award was presented to Billy Monger, the young British driver who in April 2017, at the age of just 17, suffered a horrific accident while competing in Formula 4. The crash resulted in Billy losing both legs, but his response was truly inspirational. Displaying immense courage and positivity he vowed to return to motor racing and just 11 weeks after sustaining life-changing injuries he was back behind the wheel of a specially adapted endurance car.
The stars of the future were also honoured in Paris, with champions from across the FIA single-seater pyramid being presented with their trophies. In Formula 3, Briton Lando Norris , took an emphatic title win in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, taking nine wins from 30 races in 10 event weekends. In Formula 4, the winners from 12 championships (Australia, Britain, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latin America, North East Europe, the UAE, Spain, the US and South East Asia) were awarded their trophies.
CIK-FIA World Karting Champions Dexter Patterson, Paolo de Conto, and Danny Keirle were also awarded their trophies, marking an important milestone in what will likely become fascinating careers in motorsport.
eom/with inputs from FIA release
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Gaurav Gill brings home third APRC title, says Indians too can do it on the World stage
Gaurav Gill obliges many of his little fans after defending his APRC title in Chikmagalur on Sunday. Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan India’s Gaurav Gill (right) and co-driver Stephane Prevot from Belgium with the FIA APRC trophy on 26 Nov 2017. Image by Anand Philar Chikkamagaluru, 26 Nov 2017: India’s Gaurav Gill came up with another mature drive to retain the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship title, his third since 2013, as he led another 1-2 Team MRF sweep in the Coffee Day India Rally 2017 ahead of team-mate Ole Christian Veiby from Norway, here on Sunday, by 17 minutes, 38.4 seconds.
Going into the Coffee Day India Rally, organized by Motor Sports Club of Chikmagalur, and which doubled up as the fifth and concluding round of the 2017 APRC, 35-year old Gill and co-driver Stephane Prevot of Belgium led Veiby (Stig Rune Skjarmoen) by six points with both requiring a win to clinch the title. With the 21-year old Norwegian suffering mechanical problems yesterday and losing time, Gill cruised to another fine win.
The victory was worth 38 points which took Gill’s tally to 174 while Veiby finished on 160. While the Indian ace won three of the five rounds, Veiby triumphed in the other two as MRF Tyres bag team championship while Skoda yet again took the manufacturer’s trophy. It was also Gill’s 17th win in APRC since his debut in 2008.
Enjoying a commanding 15-minute lead overnight, Gill did not feel the need to push hard and yet he won one of the day’s four Special Stages while Veiby continued his charge to move from third to the second spot.
Meanwhile, Abhilash PG, having completed all the Stages in third place today, retired during the transport run due to mechanical problems to the finish fourth, thus promoting Sri Lankan Shafraz Junaid (Akhry Ameer) to third.
Reflecting on his victory and the third APRC title, Gill said: “Obviously, I am extremely pleased to win such a hard-fought championship. My satisfaction lies in the fact that I beat my team-mate OC (Veiby) who is a World Championship driver and even won the round in Poland. More importantly, this victory is for Indian motorsport and it showed that India is capable of competing with the best talent in the World.
“For me personally, it satisfying to win three APRC titles despite the fact that I get to drive just five or six rounds in a year and not as much seat time in the rally car as my team-mate. OC, for instance, is a factory test driver for Skoda and also participates in the World Championship besides other rallies. So, for me to beat him despite the odds I face, is especially satisfying.
“Looking ahead, I think I have done enough to show that I have the pace and ability to compete at the World-level as my first APRC title in 2013 was against my then team-mate Esapekka Lappi from Finland who today is a regular in the World championship with several wins. At the moment, I accept what is on offer without thinking too much about what is in store for me in my rallying career.”
For APRC debutant Veiby, it was disappointing outing here and felt that he could have done much better than finishing second in the championship, but said he benefitted by competing against Gill.
“Yeah, for sure, I could have had better results on my debut in APRC this year. I had mechanical issues with my car in three of the five rounds. However, it was fun competing with Gaurav and I think I learnt a lot. Overall, it was a great experience, driving in different conditions, terrain and countries,” said Veiby.
Provisional results: APRC: 1. Gaurav Gill / Stephane Prevot (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (03hrs, 20mins, 19.8secs); 2. Ole Christian Veiby / Stig Rune Skjarmoen (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (03:37:58.2); 3. Shafraz Junaid / Akhry (Volkswagen Polo) (04:10:17.4).
eom/press release
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Gill touches unbelievable speeds, thrills fans; Karna/Nikhil win INRC2; Dean/Shruptha INRC3
Gaurav Gill took a substantial lead on Saturday in the APRC. Photo by Anand Philar Ole Christian Veiby takes a corner at blistering speed after the gearbox was changed in the afternoon reverse run. Image by Srinivasa Krishnan Chikkamagaluru, 25 Nov 2017: The `King of Indian Motorsports’ was at it again. The Speed Maestro touched speeds of over 170 kmph as he enjoyed a lone `straight’ at the picturesque Coffee Estates owned by sponsors Coffee Day in Chikmagalur on Saturday, the first day of the final round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship .
“I was on 6th for a long stretch and I enjoyed the stage touching high speeds,” said a visibly-pleased Gaurav Gill, who loves his speed. The reigning APRC champion was talking to the reporters at the service park, about his run in Special Stage 1 where he did an average of 63.63 kmph for the stretch of 11.58kms. One veteran driver said, “if you get that kind of an average speed means that Gill was going over 90-kmph consistently for many stretches of these tight and twisty corners.”
Gill and co-driver Stéphane Prévot scored wins in New Zealand and Japan while Ole Christian Veiby and co-driver Stig Rune Skjærmoen succeeded in Australia and Malaysia.
Though Gill is leading by 6 points, whoever wins the Coffee Day India Rallly wins the APRC title this year. “Gaurav and Veiby are allowed to drive without team order for the victory in India and winning the championship, ” said Skoda Motorsport boss, Michal Hrabanek before the rally began. But there was no need for any team orders on Saturday as Veiby, the 21-year-young exciting talent from Norway got into technical issues in the very first stage of the day and lost time on Gill, who by that time was galloping away on his Skoda Fabia R5 like a war horse, with navigator Stephane Prevot, giving the calls accurately on the tricky terrain which is nicknamed as a `Rally of 1000 corners’ by Gill himself, until Veiby renamed it as a `Rally of One million corners’. His first time here at the winding and twisty turns of Chikmagalur estates. In the pre-event press conference, Gill turned to OC and joked, “you are lucky”. And then told the press that the stages were made broader this year. “They opened up the stages and they are much faster and safer,” the current championship leader added.
Only a co-driver can understand the story behind all those umpteen corners one had to drive through. The co-driver prepares pace notes during the recce and say, if each page has about 10 calls, this rally demands a pace notes of over 400 pages which keeps the co-driver busy, and any wrong call will result in an immediate casualty what with the narrow stretches. Different navigators, as they were called in the days of yore, have different styles of preparing notes and different ways of making the calls.
By the end of the day Veiby (OC), Gill’s closest rival and team-mate, despite a late aggression after the gear box change, lost the chance of preventing the Indian from pulling away. Gill created a safe lead of 15min 21.0 seconds, and still not easing off, as is his wont, and is sitting pretty for a grand victorious run on Sunday.
Meanwhile, in the fourth round of the MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship that was run concurrently, Karna Kadur and co-driver Nikhil V Pai in a Volkswagen Polo emerged overall winners, ahead of Arjun Rao (Satish Rajagopal). Karna Kadur, whose ancestral home is at the nearby Kadur, enjoyed the home coming for another great win with Pai calling the pace notes, for a well-deserved victory in INRC2, even if it is by a very close margin of one second, where a charging Arjun Rao, ended at that. Dean, who also has his home in Mangalore, a neighbourhood city, won the INRC3 category with his old-time navigator Shruptha Padival. They slipped to overall third as the results were updated after midnight due to some scratch times, which were awarded for a cancelled stage. The youngster is considered as an up-and-coming talent, who shot into limelight doing great speeds as a teenager, a few years back.
Gill, winner of APRC crowns in 2013 and 2016, enjoyed a six-point lead in the championship over Veiby going into the final round. In order to win the title Veiby has to score seven points more than Gill, which now looks extremely bleak. With four more Special Stages to be run on Sunday covering 64.12 kms, Gill, who leads second-placed PG Abhilash of R3A PGA Motorsports team by 15 minutes, 21.0 seconds, has one hand on the trophy. Veiby is lying third, trailing Abhilash by 02:25.1.
Gill, who turns 36 in six days, was virtually in cruise control mode in his RaceTorque prepared Skoda Fabia R5 after Veiby encountered gearbox and driveshaft problems midway through the day’s first Special Stage. It cost the 21-year old Norwegian massive amount of time with his car losing front-wheel drive and stuck in third gear.
Veiby’s misfortune was to PG Abhilash’s benefit as the Keralite in a Subaru Impreza WRX Sti eased into second place, but remained very much in the sight of a hard-charging Veiby, who after mid-day service saw his team of mechanics change the gearbox in 20 minutes flat. Veiby cut the eight-minute deficit to Abhilash at half-way mark, to a little over two minutes at the end of the day by being the fastest over the last five Stages.
“Somewhere in the day’s first Stage today, I heard some noise and then lost the front-wheel drive. It was very difficult thereafter and worse still, my car was stuck in third gear. My co-driver Stig (Rune Skjarmoen) had to use the handbrake for me. We spun a few times too.
“This is rallying, but I feel the game is not over yet. Anything can happen as there is still a lot of driving left in this rally. Of course, I will push as hard as possible from now on,” said Veiby during the service break.
Despite the healthy advantage, Gill felt he still needed to bring home his car safely on Sunday. “It is a very difficult and long rally. Though I have a big lead, my aim is to bring home the car in one piece. Overall, I am pretty pleased with the car and especially the tyres which are of a new pattern that MRF developed. The tyres offered good grip and I could attack the corners with far more confidence,” said Gill.
Gill, the genial giant, had the advantage of knowing the stages here `nearly by heart’. But he didn’t compete with the Fabia R5 since Rally Japan in mid-September while Veiby in the meantime got a lot of mileage on gravel roads with the same car on World Championship rallies in Spain and the United Kingdom. But he debuts at these estate dirt roads where Gill had his baptism into rallying many years ago.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Mike Young, driving the Volkswagen Polo, was forced to retire following a fuel leak and other mechanical issues. “I thought I had good pace today, but the fuel tank developed a leak on SS-6, though I am not sure how because I didn’t hit anything, and I decided to pull out rather than risk a mishap,” he said.
Provisional results:
APRC: 1. Gaurav Gill / Stephane Prevot (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (02Hrs, 24mins, 22.2secs); 2. PG Abhilash / Srikant Gowda (Team R3A, PGA Motorsports, Subaru Impreza WRX) (02:39:43.2); 3. Ole Christian Veiby / Stig Rune Skjarmoen (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (02:42:08.3).
MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship – Overall placing): 1. Karna Kadur / Nikhil V Pai (ARKA Motorsports, VW Polo) (01:32:18.3); 2. . Arjun Rao / Satish Rajagopal (VW Polo R2) (01:32:19.3); 3.Dean Mascarenhas / Shruptha Padival (VW Polo) (01:32:54.4).
eom/with inputs from the press release; updated at 10am, 26nov2017
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Gill unleashes fireworks and the crowd erupts into a thunderous applause: Coffee Day India Rally
Gaurav Gill weaves his magic to thrill the crowd at the Amber Valley School on Friday. Image by Anand Philar Chikkamagaluru, 24 November 2017: With a deep penchant for raw speed, Gaurav Gill has proved beyond doubt that he is the Master of the Game. Considered as the best rally driver India has ever produced, Gaurav Gill, the defending champion and the current leader of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship, set the tone for the sixth and final round at the Amber Valley School here on Friday.
He shook the earth and raised the dust, literally, and the 10,000-odd joyous crowd (approximate estimates) loved every second and every inch of it, and erupted into a thunderous applause. The man-made dirt track sprang to life and the crowd stood up in awe. Be it the speed or the drifting moves, the corners and the hand-brake manoeuvres, the daring and passionate champion provided seat-edged thrills in the Super Special Stage which is fashioned to provide the die-hard fan a real close-up treat. And Mr Gaurav Gill did not disappoint them today!
It lasted just, 2 minutes and 17.7 seconds, but with the start order being in reverse direction, the 38 INRC cars had to go through their laps before the faster APRC cars, six of them, arrived. But the crowd which gathered much before the scheduled 1.30pm had their fill. And the hours of wait, for over three hours, was worth the while, as Gill’s teammate Ole Christian Veiby clocked a blistering 2:17.9 and the crowd cheered him all the way. And it was, as if he is laying a red-carpet for his teammate, to take over the job of entertaining the fans. And then came the king of Indian motorsports, who unleashed his magic and the fireworks in ample measure. Then the ground was covered in thick, brown dust, and when it settled down, it was all over.
But those two minutes showcased THE MAN, THE SPEED, THE SKILL… It was just two minutes of an experience but those are the moments that we carry in our memories, for many years, maybe for life time. Thank you, Gill!
A difference of just 0.2 seconds, many thought was a minimal difference. But Gill beat OC (as the Norwegian is fondly called) by a substantial margin, as explained by a veteran motorsports journalist. For a SSS distance of 2.12 km, a difference of 0.2 seconds means, the gap would have been 2 seconds for 10 km and the first day’s stage distance is 143.42. So for a day, that margin of 0.2 seconds may not be 28-second gap in real terms but it gives a fair idea and puts in right perspective the difference between the Young Turk, who is well on his way to greater speeds, and the veteran warrior who loves to exhibit his passion and brute speed, and the inborn talent, on a larger stage, a la WRC2 or even an Euro Championship, where his teammate is currently on. And that’s the only logical conclusion onc can provide, for all his hard work, dedication and commitment for over a decade.
Is MRF listening? Only time will tell!
Super Special Stage report:
Gill (co-driver Stephane Prevot), the defending champion, clocked a blistering 02 minutes, 17.7 seconds over the 2.1 Kms circuit while APRC debutant Veiby (Stig Rune Skjarmoen) returned 02:17.9, both giving a thrilling exhibition of controlled aggression in their respective Race Torque-prepared Skoda Fabia R5 cars much to the delight of thousands of spectators.
Finishing a distant third behind the leading duo was PG Abhilash (Srikant Gowda) of Team R3A PGA Motorsports in a Subaru Impreza WRX Sti who timed 02:30.5, but ahead of New Zealand’s Mike Young (Malcolm Read), Sumit Panjabi (Nitin Jacob) and Sri Lanka’s Shafraz Junaid (Akhry Ameer).
Gill, who leads Veiby by six points in the winner-takes-all APRC title stakes, was last on the track and rode on the wave of popular support with a drive that would be long remembered after the 21-year old Norwegian, a regular in the WRC-2, posted a seemingly quickest time.
With so little separating them, Gill and Veiby are thus set for a battle royale over the next two days as the APRC caravan heads out to the estates of title sponsors Coffee Day Global for the Special Stages.
Earlier in the day, Veiby was the quickest in the shakedown clocking 01:23.3 as against Gill’s 01:25.0 as the pair had the first feel of the Skoda R5 this week, but the true test
“The stages are lot more open and wider than last year. So, the average speeds will be much higher. However, given the twisty route, I feel there will be a lot of stress on the car,” said Gill soon after the shakedown and during the pre-event FIA press conference when asked about his thoughts on the Stages following Thursday’s reconnaissance run.
Veiby said: “This event is nicknamed as “Rally of 1000 corners”, but it looks more like a million corners. The Stages are quite fast and I have never driven on such terrain. So, it is all about having a good feel of the car.”
In the MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship that is being run concurrently and also organized by the Motor Sports Club of Chikmagalur, Younis Ilyas (Harish Kumar) was the quickest overall (02:35.7) followed by Arjun Rao (Satish Rajagopal) and Amittrajit Ghosh (Ashwin Naik) of Team Mahindra Adventure.
Provisional results (Super Special Stage – 2.1 Kms):
FIA APRC: 1. Gaurav Gill / Stephane Prevot (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (02mins, 17.7secs); 2. Ole Christian Veiby / Stig Rune Skjarmoen (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (02mins, 17.9secs); 3. PG Abhilash / Srikant Gowda (Team R3A PGA Motorsports, Subaru Impreza WRX Sti) (02:30.5).
MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (Overall): 1. Younis Ilyas / Harish Kumar (02:35.7); 2. 2. Arjun Rao / Satish Rajagopal (Volkswagen Polo R2) (02:36.2); 3. Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik (Mahindra Adventure, XUV 500) (02:36.6).
eom/inputs from press release
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Gaurav Gill beats teammate to take Hokkaido win: APRC
Hokkaido, 17 Sept 2017: India’s Gaurav Gill has won the 2017 Rally of Hokkaido in his MRF Team Skoda and moved into the lead of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship points, ahead of the final round in India, late November.
There was high drama on the first morning when four of Gill’s main rivals retired on Stage 3, including his MRF team-mate Ole Christian Veiby from Norway.
Gill though completed both days with no problems and prior to celebrating on the finish podium said ” Its been a perfect weekend, getting maximum points. Most importantly I’m back in the championship and the last round is in India, my home country. Japan as always is difficult with such high speeds and rough roads, however we had the perfect tyre choice and the perfect car from our team MRF Skoda. Would have been good to have OC in the fight but unfortunately he went off yesterday – we had a great weekend, overall very satisfying.
Arriving in Hokkaido Veiby led the championship points but his off road excursion on Day 1 means the title will now be decided in India, “Saturday was a big disappointment we had some problems with a damper, after that we went a little bit off and we got stuck. Today was really good and I think we got some good points. The championship is still on and its going to be a very exciting rally in India”, said Veiby at final service.
Behind, it was Mpart’s Robert Blomberg (co-driver Lars Andersson) in the Mitsubishi Mirage taking his first podium of the seasom, finishing 11m41.4s aloof Gill.
The Swedish driver inherited second after Cusco Racing’s Yuyi Sumiyama (co-driver co-driver Takahiro Yasui) in the Skoda R5 was forced to retire in SS12 due to mechanical issues.
Third in the APRC class went to Fuyuhiko Takahashi (co-driver Mitsuo Nakamura) in the Subaru Impreza. He was fourth overall in Rally Hokkaido, which was run alongside the Japanese Rally Championship.
Returning after Leg 1 retirements were MRF Skoda’s Ole Christian Veiby (co-driver Stig Skjarmoen) in his Skoda R5 and Mpart Sport’s Sanjay Takale (co-driver Noriko Takeshita) in his Mitsubishi Mirage in Leg 2.
The duo had a huge gap to bridge down with the leaders. In the end, Takale finished fourth, while Veiby was fifth in the APRC class – the latter also managing to eke out two stage wins (SS13 & SS15). They were 15th and 16th overall respectively.
The title fight goes into the final rally of the 2017 season, with the Rally of India to be held during the November 24-26 weekend
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OC Veiby beats Gill again for MRF 1-2: APRC
Johor Bahru , 13 Aug 2017: Team MRF delivered another 1-2 result with Norwegian Ole Christian Veiby comfortably winning the International Rally of Johor, the third round of FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship, here on Sunday, ahead of India’s Gaurav Gill who made up a deficit of over two minutes to finish second.
Veiby defeated Gill once again despite the 35-year old Delhi-based defending champion winning all the six Special Stages on Sunday in the Race Torque-prepared Skoda Fabia R5. Gill managed to go past overnight second-placed Finnish ace Jari Ketomaa while Veiby held on to a huge Leg-1 lead to win by over four minutes, also in a Skoda Fabia R5.
The 21-year old Veiby, Skoda’s factory-backed driver who recently topped the WRC-2 category in Poland, thus scored back-to-back win following his win in the second round in Australia after Gill had taken the season-opener in New Zealand a month earlier. The win also put helped Veiby to consolidate his championship lead over Gill.
The day that was spared of rains which had marred Saturday’s proceedings, belonged to Gill who had lost a lot of time on Saturday after a run-in with a tree stump and alternator problem as he made up the two-minute, 16-second deficit to Ketomaa over a distance of just 76 Kms and went on to beat the World Rally Championship driver by 18.8 seconds, but finished 04:41.7 adrift of Veiby.
Gill’s pace was phenomenal as he made 26 seconds on Ketomaa in the day’s first Stage (11.98Kms), 31 in each of the next two (12.21Kms and 13.93Kms) on the first loop. After service, Gill made a further 69 seconds in the second loop of the same Stages to emerge second.
“For sure, it was one of my best drives, very fast and precise. I didn’t make any mistakes. I was driving at 110 per cent which was what I always wanted do and what all the top drivers do. We had amazing speed, good pace notes and made correct tyre choice. I drove my heart out and pushed the car beyond its limit. But the small mistake I made yesterday cost me the Rally or else, we could have won.
“Starting the day, we were down by two minutes and 16 seconds to Jari. I wanted to get as close to OC (Veiby) as possible. I made most use of my experience to go past Jari who is not a slow driver and has WRC experience. Yes, it was a satisfying drive today, but not overall. I am still upset with the silly mistake I made yesterday,” said Gill who drew some consolation by topping the FIA Asia Cup category.
Veiby was pleased as punch with the win and said: “Today was all about getting through without any trouble. We didn’t want to make any stupid mistakes when we were leading by over five minutes. We had some problems with oil leak, but we had it fixed during service and got through the day. I didn’t go flat out today and tried to enjoy a bit.
“After what happened to Gill on the first Stage yesterday, we were leading the whole Rally and it was kind of boring here. In Australia, it was more fun as Gill and I kept pushing each other, changing positions up and down. But a win is a win and my target is to win the championship.
“It is good to be back in winning mode after my flip in Finland (during WRC-2 round). I just had to forget what happened and trust in yourself and the car. I prepared my mind as I knew Malaysia was a tough round. I read all about the rally, watched some videos to see what happened last year.”
Provisional classification:
FIA APRC: 1. Ole Christian Veiby / Stig Rune Skjarmoen (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (3hrs, 02mins, 39.1secs); 2. Gaurav Gill / Stephane Prevot (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (03:07:20.8); 3. Jari Ketomaa / Ville Mannisenmali (Mpart Sport, Mitsubishi Mirage) (03:07:39.5).
FIA Asia Cup: 1. Gaurav Gill / Stephane Prevot (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (03:07:20.8); 2. Michael Young / Malcolm Read (Cusco Racing, Subaru Impreza) (03:18:42.9); 3. Yuva Sumiyama / Takahiro Yasui (Cusco Racing, Skoda Fabia R5) (04:10:42.8).
eom/AP Media Communications release
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MRF’s Veiby surges ahead; Gill third: APRC
Johor Bahru (Malaysia), 12 Aug 2017: Ole Christian Veiby of Team MRF survived treacherous conditions and rode his luck to take a seemingly winning lead in the International Rally of Johor, the third round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship, here on Saturday while defending champion and team-mate Gaurav Gill was a distant third following a string of mishaps.
Veiby, the 21-year old from Norway, driving the Race Torque-prepared Skoda Fabia R5, finished the day marked by incessant rains which rendered the
Ole Christian Veiby in action at the Malaysian Rally, a round of the APRC on Saturday. An MRF image terrain into a virtual skating rink and led to cancellation of a Stage, four minutes, 32.5 seconds ahead of Finland pair of Jari Ketomaa and co-driver in a Mitsubishi Mirage.
For Delhi-based Gill, 35, it was a wretched outing as he first clipped a tree stump due to “purely a driving error” as he put it in the day’s first Special Stage leading to a bent steering arm and later in the day, suffered alternator problem which fogged the windscreen.
These mishaps cost him precious time, yet, he came up with a superb drive to make about five places, overtaking two cars on different Stages in the process to finish the day third, some 12 minutes behind Ketomaa,
Veiby, who leads Gill by two points in the championship standings, has all but clinched the title here with just two loops of three short Special Stages to be run on Sunday.
“It’s been a good day overall. But for sure, it was not easy as it is my first time down here. I have never driven in such conditions. It was so slippery. I was a bit lucky in some places. On the first stage, I went straight into a tree and after that I used the grass to see how the grip level is. Now I know how fast I could do. In these conditions, it is so easy to do mistakes.
“We have a good gap, but can’t just roll down the Stages tomorrow. My aim is to try to make it to the finish, but I have to keep the pressure up. I am so lucky to be here at the finish today,” said Veiby.
Looking back on his day, Gill said: “Obviously it was not my best day. About 18 Kms into the first Stage, I hit a tree stump which I didn’t see. It was purely a driving error. It bent the steering arm. On finishing the stage, I had to go under the car and repair the steering control arm. It cost us a lot of time. Thereafter, we made time on others in spite of the bent steering.
“Overall, we were down to seventh or eighth, but had some good times. In the day’s third Stage, we had alternator problem and almost immediately, caught up with Sumiyama who held me up for about 30 seconds before I nudged him to pass. But with the windscreen fogging, I had almost nil visibility and had to slow down which again cost us time. So, one drama after another!
“Thereafter, we again made time on others, and I passed Young on one of the Stages and we are now placed third, but with one Stage cancelled today and only short Stages to be run tomorrow, I have to settle for what I have. The gap is too much to make up.”
Classification after Leg-1 (Provisional):
FIA APRC: 1. Ole Christian Veiby / Stig Rune Skjarmoen (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (1hr, 58mins, 27.9secs); 2. Jari Ketomaa / Ville Mannisenmali (Mpart Sport, Mitsubishi Mirage) (02:03:00.4); 3. Gaurav Gill / Stephane Prevot (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (02:15:17.6).
Asia Cup: 1. Gaurav Gill / Stephane Prevot (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (02:15:17.6); 2. Michael Young / Malcolm Read (Cusco Racing, Subaru Impreza) (02:18:19.5); 3. Yuva Sumiyama / Takahiro Yasui (Cusco Racing, Skoda Fabia R5) (03:13:44.6).
eom/AP Media Communications release
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MRF’s Gill sets early pace in Rally of Johor: APRC
Gaurav Gill (right) and Ole Christian Veiby during FIA press conference a Johor on Friday. An MRF image Johor Bahru (Malaysia), 11 Aug 2017: India’s Gaurav Gill and Norwegian youngster Ole Christian Veiby set the benchmark while showcasing their pace in the International Rally of Johor, the third round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship as the Team MRF duo topped the time sheets during this morning’s shakedown here ahead of the ceremonial flag-off and the Super Special Stage later on Friday.
Delhi-based Gill, 35, was the quickest of the lot as he put in six laps around the 1.6 Kms dirt track clocking a best of one minute, 39 seconds as against 21-year old Veiby’s 01:39.6. The pair was well ahead of the pack that included WRC regular Jari Ketomaa from Finland and Swedish ace Robert Blomberg.
“Since this is my first drive in the Skoda Fabia R5 in nearly three months, I was keen to put in as much seat time as possible and am happy with how everything went today,” said Gill during the pre-event FIA press conference today. “However, the Malaysian Rally is the toughest of the championship with changing conditions and high humidity, but I am well prepared for it.”
Veiby, who is driving a brand new R5 which came here straight from the factory, said his goal was to maintain his lead in the championship, referring to his two-point advantage over Gill who had won the first round in New Zealand while the Norwegian took the next in Australia.
“My target here is to stay ahead in the championship. I know Gaurav is very quick and has the experience driving in these conditions, while this is my first time in Malaysia. I hope to do well,” said Veiby who recently won in the WRC-2 category in Poland.
After tonight’s Super Special Stage which will be run at the same premises as the shakedown, but with a few modifications in the track configurations, the cars head to the nearby palm oil plantations for the Special Stages spread over the next two days.
Shakedown results: 1. Gaurav Gill / Stephane Prevot (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (01min, 39secs); 2. Ole Christian Veiby / Stig Rune Skjarmoen (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (01:39.6); 3. Yuma Sumiyama / Takahiro Yasui (Cusco Racing, Skoda Fabia R5) (01:41.2).
eom/AP Media Communications
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Gill and co, raring to go: APRC Malaysia leg
Johor Bahru (Malaysia), 10 Aug 2017: The two-car Team MRF, spearheaded by India’s Gaurav Gill, are seeking another 1-2 finish as the third round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship gets underway here on Friday with the International Rally of Johor.
Gill, who was denied an Arjuna Award because of the lop-sided views of the Indian Government on motorsports, continue to hog limelight in motorsports, which is as demanding or more demanding as far as physical high-performance is concerned than many other sports and games like cricket, carrom and golf, which regularly get rewarded with an Arjuna Award. However, it should be noted that Narain Karthikeyan, the first Indian to enter Formula One is awarded Padma Shri in 2010, the highest civilian award and a notch better than Arujuna.
Delhi-based Gill, 35, is defending not only his Malaysian crown, but also the APRC title that he won for the second time last year. Parked between him and success is his MRF-Skoda team-mate, 21-year old from Norway Ole Christian Veiby or just “OC” as he prefers to be called.
Both are piloting the super-quick Race Torque-prepared Skoda Fabia R5 that has dominated the championship in which Veiby (70 points) with Stig Rune Skaermoen in the co-driver’s seat, leads Gill (68) partnered by Belgian veteran Stephane Prevot.
Gill, who enjoyed a great start to the current season with a victory in New Zealand in April, and followed it up by winning the first round of the Indian National Championship in Coimbatore a fortnight ago, is the clear favourite given his vast experience.
Veiby, after finishing second in New Zealand, bounced back to top the next round in Australia and recently, scored his maiden success in the World Rally Championship-2 category in Poland. Being the Skoda factory driver, the Norwegian youngster has enjoyed far more seat time than Gill who is getting the first feel of the R5 since the Australia round in May.
The heat and high humidity besides sudden thunderstorms which in the past have rendered the Special Stages into slush fields are to be factored in and which make the event the toughest in the championship which this year has been cut to five rounds following cancellation of China Rally. Both Gill and Veiby sampled the terrain during Wednesday’s test session in slippery conditions following overnight rains.
Reflecting on the ensuing event, Gill said: “This is the most difficult Rally of the year, be it for man, machine or tyres. The almost 100 per cent levels of humidity and 35 degrees heat takes a huge toll on the body as temperatures inside the car cabin exceeds 55-60 degrees, and let’s not forget the four layers of race fire-proof overalls I have to wear!
“The more time I spend away from the car means more practice I have to put in because the R5 is not a regular Rally car and demands respect and constant driving behind the wheel to keep in tune with it.
“Yes, I had a great weekend in Coimbatore recently, but this is a completely different ball game. Lots of rain is expected over the weekend and the weather is highly unpredictable, but I’ve got only one goal – to win. It’s extremely important to bounce back to the top of the series.”
Veiby, who arrived here on Sunday to acclimatize to the local conditions, said: “This is going to be a special rally. It’s rainy season down here and it’s said that when it’s raining, this is one of the most difficult events in the world. The surface is more or less mud and the rain makes the roads crazily slippery. I have never driven in such conditions.
“Another challenge is the heat and the high humidity. We have a plan for how to be as prepared as possible for what awaits us and will use the days before the rally to drink, eat and train properly.”
The International Rally of Johor will be run over 735.66 Kms of which 236.56 Kms comprise 14 closed Special Stages the first of which is scheduled for Friday night, a 2.64Kms sprint after the ceremonial flag-off. Thursday is set aside for the mandatory reconnaissance of Special Stages which are located in the nearby palm oil plantations.
eom/MRF press release
