Gill falls back as Kopecky surges in APRC

WHANGAREI, NEW ZEALAND: Being the defending champion proved counterproductive for Gaurav Gill on Day One of the season opener of the Asian Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) held on the outskirts of Whangarei on Saturday.

Being the first car out on loose gravel country roads, Gill couldn’t get enough traction and, as if this was not enough, he saw his teammate and main rival Jan Kopecky opening up a formida- ble 23.1 second lead on top of the leaderboard.

As the day’s struggle got over, Gill, lying overall second, seemed more reflective, adding that he “is still trying to get back into rhythm after a six-month break”.

“We pretty much knew this would happen. We ended up sweeping a lot of gravel off the track and making it easier for the others. There wasn’t much grip, so it was more slipping, sliding with no clear lines for racing. On Stage Two, we had a spin thus losing more time. In these conditions one’s driving has to be very exact but then I have been away from the car for such a long time,” Gill said.

In the total of eight stages, including the two night stages, held till now Kopecky managed to beat Gill in five. The lead, a mere 1.1 seconds at the end of Stage One, increased to 9.3 seconds by Stage Two. Gill did manage to take 3.9 seconds off the lead on the third, but Kopecky kept coming back, getting better with the each passing stage. Stage six sealed the deal for Kopecky with Gill finishing 17.9 seconds behind. “We didn’t

WE ENDED UP SWEEPING A LOT OF GRAVEL OFF THE TRACK AND MAKING IT EASIER FOR THE OTHERS

GAURAV GILL, Reigning APRC champ

push hard because the tyres would have got overheated. It was a bit of conservative driving on my part but I never expected to be that slow,” Gill added.