Gill clinches 5th crown in style
Mahindra Adventure’s Gaurav Gill annexed his fifth Indian National Racing Championship trophy, speeding away to victory in the MRF 43rd K- 1000 Rally in Bengaluru on Sunday.
The three- time APRC champion underlined his class and control once again, winning all five special stages without having to look too much into his rear view mirror. He recorded an overall timing of 00: 55: 41.6 minutes, almost three minutes ahead of the second finisher, to take his final tally to a perfect 100 points.
Gill, along with co- driver Musa Sherif ( 110 points), has been unbeaten in the MRF INRC 2017, romping home in each of the four rounds that he had taken part in. He missed Round 4, the Rally of Chikmagalur, as it coincided with the APRC, but that didn’t stop him from being crowned the undisputed king.
“It was a perfect day, a perfect finish for us,” Gill said after the race. “The first couple of stages were slippery but we managed to handle them well; we controlled the rally thereafter,” he added.
INRC 3 champion Dean Mascarenhas, despite rolling into a ditch in the first Super Stage and falling behind by over 16 minutes, managed to take second place in the overall standings.
Defending champion Karna Kadur took advantage of home conditions to force his way to the third position in the K- 1000. It ensured him two podium finishes too, the second place in his INRC 2 category and the third place in the overall championship.