Guess who’s back!
Representing India on the grid, Gaurav Gill makes a comeback at the WRC after a couple of years
GILL CLOCKED THE FASTEST LAP TIME IN THE SHAKEDOWN
AFTER A HIATUS OF TWO years, Gaurav Gill has made a comeback, competing in the World Rally Championship, with Brazilian co-driver Gabriel Morales. This is his first WRC outing since the 2019 Rally of Turkey and Australia. Gill has returned to WRC2 class, piloting the 282bhp Skoda Fabia R5 backed by JK Tyre.
The Safari Rally Kenya saw a serious face-off between Gill, Polish driver Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Martin Prokop from the Czech Republic. Sadly Gill had to retire due to engine issues because he fell victim to the deadly ‘Fesh Fesh’ which the Safari Rally is infamous for. Gill clocked the fastest time in the shakedown, which is very commendable to say the least.
After the dusty and rugged terrain around central Nairobi and Lake Naivasha in Kenya, Gill was all set to take on the forests around Jyväskylä and central Finland in Sweden. And that he did. Rally Finland is the fastest rally of the season that saw competitors cover 1,414km in four days, including 323km of special stages.
“Rally Finland is a special event in terms of very high speeds and the incredible route of wide and smooth gravel roads consisting of many blind crests and jumps. Gabriel and I will have to have seamless coordination as Rally Finland is all about driving a correct racing line and having perfect pace notes,” said Gill. “There are thousands of crests and sometimes it’s very difficult, you will have to quickly adapt to the way you see the road, the pace notes and many more,” he added.
Gill was held back by fuel system issues which led him to slow down early on in the initial stages and that took a toll on his pace. He quickly showed progress later, but it was too late then, for the competitors had progressed on. Nevertheless, Gill managed to finish this rally at 11th place in his class and 31st overall. The 2022 World Rally Championship season’s next stop is Greece, with the race there scheduled for September 8-11. ⌧