Gaurav Gill finishes second in APRC Malaysian Rally 

Team MRF driver Gaurav Gill (co-driver Glenn Macneall) finished second in the Malaysian Rally, the fourth round of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship in Johor Bahru on Sunday. His teammate Pontus Tidemand (Emil Axelsson) was the winner.

Tidemand finished one minute, 56.5 seconds ahead of Gill. However, the Indian had the satisfaction of winning the first round of the Asia Cup, with over 19 minutes ahead of Fan Fan (Junwei Fang) from China.

Tidemand now has 147 points, while 33-year old Delhi-based Gill, winner of the first round in New Caledonia, moved to 104.

Leading by 01:19.9 overnight, Tidemand kept the throttle down on Sunday when six more Stages were run over much shorter distance than on Saturday as the Swede was quickest in five loops while Gill, driving in heavy rains, took the last Stage of the day.

Gill, winner in Malaysia last year, had problems with the rear differential of his Skoda Fabia S2000 besides overheating and loss of grip.

“The rear differential stopped working during the first loop and there was no grip. So, I couldn’t drive normally. Then we had heavy rains during the second loop, but we were quicker in the last Stage.

“Overall, it was the worst weekend of my life with all the problems we had due to grass getting into the radiator grill and all that. I now look forward to the remaining two rounds,” said Gill who did not participate in the conventional champagne ceremony as a mark of respect for Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India president R Bharath Raj who passed away in Bengaluru on Saturday.

Provisional classification (after Leg-2):

Asia-Pacific Rally Championship: Pontus Tidemand / Emil Axelsson (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia S2000) 1 (03hrs, 05mins, 11.5secs); Gaurav Gill / Glenn Macneall (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia S2000) 2 (03:07:08.0).

Asia Cup (Round-1): Gaurav Gill / Glenn Macneall (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia S2000) 1 (03:07:08.0); Fan Fan / Junwei Fang (South-East Motor, Evo EX) 2 (03:26:58.8); Genki Takeuchi / Naoki Kase (Cusco Racing, Subaru Impreza) 3 (03:32:28.1).