Gill poised to sweep APRC

Chikkamagaluru, Dec. 4: Gaurav Gill of Team MRF is poised for an unprecedented clean sweep of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship as he surged to an unassailable lead at the end of Leg-1 in the Coffee Day India Rally on Sunday.

Gill (co-driver Glenn Macneall) ended the day with a handsome lead of seven minutes, 33.6 seconds over second-placed Michael Young (Malcolm Read) of Cusco Racing after team-mate Fabian Kreim (Frank Christian) crashed out early in the day.

Should 35-year old Delhi-based Gill, who has already sealed the 2016 APRC driver’s title — his second since 2013 — win the rally on Monday, he will be the only competitor to achieve the rare feat of winning all the rounds of a FIA Rally championship en route to annexing the crown. Provisional results (Leg-1): APRC: 1. Gaurav Gill / Glenn Macneall (Team MRF) (02hrs, 42mins, 32.8secs); 2. Mike Young / Malcolm Read (Cusco Racing) (02:50:06.4); 3. Sanjay Takale / Noriko Takeshita (Cusco Racing) (03:00:06.5). INRC Overall: 1. Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik (Mahindra Adventure) (01:19:34.6); 2. Karna Kadur / Nikhil Pai (Team Yokohama 2K) (01:19:42.2); 3. Dr Bikku Babu / Milen George (01:21:17.1). INRC 2000: 1. Karna Kadur / Nikhil Pai (Team Yokohama 2K) (01:19:42.2); 2. Dr Bikku Babu / Milen George (01:21:17.1); 3. Philippos Mathaii / Harish KN (01:30:37.0). FMSCI Cup: 1. Minchu Ganapathy /Venu Ramesh Kumar (01:26:34.4); 2. Jacob KJ / Manoj Mohanan (01:26:57.9); 3. Veeresh Prasad/Shahid Salman (01:28:44.2). IRC: 1. Sanjay Takale / Noriko Takeshita (Cusco Racing) (01:12:08.1); 2. Amol Satoskar / Dr Dinesh (01:28:01.4); 3. Shafraz Junaid / Akhry Ameer (01:28:28.6). Gypsy Star (non-championship): 1. Sanjay Agarwal /Smitha N (01:32:46.0); 2. Avin Nanjappa / Suraj Shetti (01:36:26.8); 3. Dheeraj KV / Ravi (01:46:39.5).