Gill has won all three of his APRC titles in ŠKODA cars (a FABIA S2000 in 2013 and a FABIA R5 in 2016 and 2017). This year he was driving alongside Belgian co-driver Stéphane Prévot for the ŠKODA MRF team, who also secured the Co-Drivers’, Manufacturers’ and Teams’ Awards respectively. His FABIA R5 was prepared and run by Racetorque Engineering, which has prepared the ŠKODA MRF cars for each of last six years they have won the APRC title.
This season, Gill faced a stern new challenge in the form of his ŠKODA MRF teammate Ole Christian Veiby.
The APRC got underway this year in New Zealand at the International Rally Whangarei and it proved to be a fierce contest between Gill and Veiby. Veiby took an early lead in the first leg as both drivers had to contend with heavy rain that made the surfaces slippery. Conditions improved on the final day and Gill began to charge, but still had 23 seconds to make up with just three stages remaining. Then a technical issue cost Veiby time and a late arrival at a checkpoint meant a time penalty too. That gave Gill the advantage and he closed out victory by a margin of just over two minutes.
Next up was the National Capital Rally in Australia and it was a similar story again as Gill and Veiby battled at the head of the field. The lead swapped hands between the two several times but then at the evening service on day 1, Gill made some setup changes which didn’t work out. As a result, Veiby was able to widen the gap on day 2 and won his maiden APRC event, while Gill finished as runner-up.
Gaurav Gill at Asia-Pacific Rally Championship 2017
That result put Gaurav Gill in the APRC standings behind Vieby, but he went into the next round, the International Rally of Johor in Malaysia, hoping to regain the advantage. It wasn’t to be though as an accident on special stage 2 saw him hit a tree stump and damage his steering. This cost him a lot of time and any hope of victory and although he showed admirable mechanical skills to fix the steering arm when it finally broke, it still meant he finished second once again, almost five minutes behind Veiby.
Round 4 of the APRC saw teams heading to Japan for the Rally Hokkaido with Gill knowing he needed to better Veiby’s result. And this time it was Norwegian’s turn to endure misfortune as he suffered a puncture which caused him to slide into a ditch and retire from the rally. That left the coast clear for Gill, who put in a dominant display to take overall victory by almost two and a half minutes and win the APRC standings by more than eleven minutes. That result saw him regain the lead in the Drivers’ Championship and also confirmed the ŠKODA MRF team as winners of the APRC Teams’ Award.
So, going into the final round of the APRC, Gill held a slender advantage over Veiby, but would also be driving on familiar territory at his home event, the India Rally. Sadly, the titanic struggle between the two that most had hoped for wasn’t to be. Veiby suffered gearbox issues on SS2 which forced him to drive six more stages in just third gear. Gill took full advantage of his teammate’s misfortune as he delivered a faultless drive to win the rally and with it the APRC title.
Gill has won all three of his APRC titles in ŠKODA cars (a FABIA S2000 in 2013 and a FABIA R5 in 2016 and 2017). This year he was driving alongside Belgian co-driver Stéphane Prévot for the ŠKODA MRF team, who also secured the Co-Drivers’, Manufacturers’ and Teams’ Awards respectively. His FABIA R5 was prepared and run by Racetorque Engineering, which has prepared the ŠKODA MRF cars for each of last six years they have won the APRC title.
This season, Gill faced a stern new challenge in the form of his ŠKODA MRF teammate Ole Christian Veiby.
The APRC got underway this year in New Zealand at the International Rally Whangarei and it proved to be a fierce contest between Gill and Veiby. Veiby took an early lead in the first leg as both drivers had to contend with heavy rain that made the surfaces slippery. Conditions improved on the final day and Gill began to charge, but still had 23 seconds to make up with just three stages remaining. Then a technical issue cost Veiby time and a late arrival at a checkpoint meant a time penalty too. That gave Gill the advantage and he closed out victory by a margin of just over two minutes.
Next up was the National Capital Rally in Australia and it was a similar story again as Gill and Veiby battled at the head of the field. The lead swapped hands between the two several times but then at the evening service on day 1, Gill made some setup changes which didn’t work out. As a result, Veiby was able to widen the gap on day 2 and won his maiden APRC event, while Gill finished as runner-up.
Gaurav Gill at Asia-Pacific Rally Championship 2017
That result put Gaurav Gill in the APRC standings behind Vieby, but he went into the next round, the International Rally of Johor in Malaysia, hoping to regain the advantage. It wasn’t to be though as an accident on special stage 2 saw him hit a tree stump and damage his steering. This cost him a lot of time and any hope of victory and although he showed admirable mechanical skills to fix the steering arm when it finally broke, it still meant he finished second once again, almost five minutes behind Veiby.
Round 4 of the APRC saw teams heading to Japan for the Rally Hokkaido with Gill knowing he needed to better Veiby’s result. And this time it was Norwegian’s turn to endure misfortune as he suffered a puncture which caused him to slide into a ditch and retire from the rally. That left the coast clear for Gill, who put in a dominant display to take overall victory by almost two and a half minutes and win the APRC standings by more than eleven minutes. That result saw him regain the lead in the Drivers’ Championship and also confirmed the ŠKODA MRF team as winners of the APRC Teams’ Award.
So, going into the final round of the APRC, Gill held a slender advantage over Veiby, but would also be driving on familiar territory at his home event, the India Rally. Sadly, the titanic struggle between the two that most had hoped for wasn’t to be. Veiby suffered gearbox issues on SS2 which forced him to drive six more stages in just third gear. Gill took full advantage of his teammate’s misfortune as he delivered a faultless drive to win the rally and with it the APRC title.
