Gaurav Gill. File
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
India’s quickest rally driver Gaurav Gill of JK Tyre put himself in rivalry for a podium end after grabbing a top-three place on the finish of the opening day of the Otago Rally in New Zealand.
Gill and his New-Zealand-based co-driver Jared Hudson had been third on the timesheets, slightly over 30 seconds behind general chief Jack Hawkeswood and 11 seconds adrift of second-placed Robbie Stokes.
Gill and Hudson had been piloting 2022 APRC champion and 10-time Otago Rally winner Haydon Paddon’s Hyundai i20 N Rally2 machine.
On day one, the drivers navigated via eight particular levels. Gill misplaced fifteen seconds on stage 5 attributable to an error, however the triple-APRC champion supplied proof of his outright pace by successful levels 4, 7 and eight.
“It has been a very unique experience; the super-fast stages are so distinct and varied from one another that I would describe them as extremely fast. I have never driven this fast before,” mentioned Gill, an Arjuna awardee.
(*1*) he added.
The Otago Rally is amongst essentially the most historic racing occasions in the world and has been held yearly since 1976.
This yr, the rally has drawn a area of 117 automobiles, the most important in 4 years. A customary combine of difficult sections in the rally comprise 16 particular levels.
Over 144 km of aggressive levels, the contestants demonstrated their driving prowess on Saturday. On Sunday, one other 130 kilometres will likely be pushed.
Gill is competing on the Otago Rally for the primary time. He is a three-time winner of the Rally of Whangarei, which additionally takes place in New Zealand.
