Racing to the top

Gaurav Gill has been nominated for this year’s Arjuna award, he is the only motorsport athlete to be nominated for it

RALLY DRIVER GAURAV GILL HAS BEEN nominated for the highest civilian honour for sports in India, the Arjuna Award, for 2019. This year, the 12-member selection committee nominated 19 athletes for the award, including Gaurav Gill.

Gill has two decades of experience in rallying with numerous victories on home turf as well as internationally. Gill won the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) three times in 2013, 2016 and 2017 with Team MRF Skoda. In 2018, Gill also raced in the WRC2 category as a non-priority entry where he came back with impressive results driving the Ford Fiesta R5 car for Team MRF. Gill is expected to continue to compete in WRC2, leading JK Tyre's campaign in three rounds – Rally Turkey, Wales Rally GB and Rally Australia. Gill has won the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) six times and has won the Dakshin Dare every year he competed. Gill is also

competing in the 2019 INRC with Team Mahindra Adventure with JK Tyre. The awards are officially going to be announced on September 25, and Gill's name being part of the list of nominees is in itself a matter of great pride for the motorsport fraternity as he has now become the only professional racer to have ever been nominated for this prestigious award.

Gaurav Gill was recommended for the award for the last three years by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India(FMSCI) but this is the first time that he has been nominated and he is now being considered a strong contender for the award.

We hope that Gill now getting his long due official recognition by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Government of India will lead to other athletes from the sport too getting the recognition they deserve.