After mastering most of the stages in the WRC in Marmaris (Turkey) last week, India’s Gaurav Gill (co-driver Musa Sherif) is back to deliver his best in the Maxperience Rally, the third round of the Champions Yacht Club FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship for cars, that begins here on Saturday.
Quite a few expect a face-off between Gill (Team Mahindra Adventure) and Team Champions’ Dean Mascarenhas (Shruptha Padival) the next two days. That’s not the truth as Gill is a champion driver and has proved that to a great measure for many years now.
Miles away
“There’s not going to be any sort of face-off. Gill is a World Rally driver and am miles away to reach there. But, I am sure that I can get there on time, hopefully, with his guidance and experience,” Dean told The Hindu here on Friday.
“He has been helping me and am also looking at learning the way he goes about in his academy. From there, I should be able to do something better,” he added.
Dean currently leads the INRC2 class and is second overall. “But there are four more rallies to go from here and there’s lot more that can add or change,” he said.
The rally, powered by MRF, is expected to bring the best out of the participants as it boasts of some super-fast sweeping roads. And the hungry-looking Gill may well begin his title hunt in this Sun city.
“I am fresh off my WRC round but this is a completely different car that requires different inputs of driving and using the package that we have — the gearbox, the differentials and the engine.
I need to detune myself to a different style of driving. These engines are not as fast as those cars and I need to quickly get used to these speeds,” said Gill.
New package
“We have not had the best rounds so far, but this round we have a completely new package, with the engine, the tune and the tyres, so I am hoping to finish on top,” he added.
Race Concepts Younus Ilyas (Harish Gowda) of Kochi is the other driver who will be eager to give the two a run for their money.
The Rally of Jodhpur, run on gravel, will cover about 300kms which includes 125kms of Special Stages.
