Gill starts strongly before mechanical failure ruins his day in Sumatera Utara Rally

Parapat (Indonesia), Aug 9 (PTI) Favourite and three-time champion Gaurav Gill began the Sumatera Utara Rally, the third round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship Asia Cup, in commanding fashion on Saturday, winning the first two stages to open up a lead of nearly 30 seconds. But his charge came to a premature halt in Special Stage 3 when a mechanical failure forced him to retire for the day.

The setback left Nikeetaa Takkale, India's only lady driver in the field here, as the day's brightest spark.

Competing in Indonesia for the first time, the Pune-based driver delivered a flawless performance and is on course for a rare triple podium in the third round of the FIA APRC Asia Cup, held about 32 kilometres from here.

She is leading her class, the RC4 and the ladies class. She is also likely to bag a podium in the Junior APRC.

Gill, the Team JK Racing spearhead and the only Arjuna Awardee in Indian motorsport, saw his brand-new Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo stall just 300 metres into SS3 when the electronic throttle body failed.

"We started out early in the morning with good rhythm. There was lot of overnight rains, so the roads were very slippery and tricky. There were lot of challenges that were unseen. There were patches that were full of slush and water. In fact, there was a point we missed a braking point, took a massive jump, and loved the feeling of flying high," a visibly disappointed Gill said.

"I was nicely getting into rhythm and pace, with a comfortable lead after the first two stages, before this happened. It’s a rare issue, and we’re trying to fly the part in from Jakarta or Singapore,” he said, adding that he hopes to restart on Sunday to collect valuable leg points before the APRC finale in Japan.

The car, imported by Team Vamcy Merla Motorsports for Gill’s latest APRC title bid, showed its pace before the failure.

"We were fastest on SS1 and there was good rhythm and precision for me in stage 2 as well that worked well. We made some changes to the tyres and suspension. After stage 2 we had almost 38 or 39 seconds lead, quite a big lead. Unfortunately on the SS3 start the mechanical failure happened, just 300 metres into the round. That part generally doesn't fail." In typical rally driver fashion, he still found a silver lining.

“We live for another day -- that’s rallying and will come back harder.” "We can have some penalties added to the time format that runs and we are eligible to continue all day tomorrow. If we can put in some really good time we can actually be top-3. So I won't be surprised if we end up in a good position." Gill's engineer, Roman Turuta of Moldova, described the fault as “extremely rare” for world-class machinery.

“It’s a simple electronic package that can be fitted in minutes, so we don’t usually carry a spare. I’ll review the data with Gaurav,” he said.

Meanwhile, Nikeetaa focused on bringing the car home safely and did exactly that.

Leading both the RC4 and Ladies classes, she is also in contention for a podium in the Junior APRC category for drivers under 28. She clocked one hour, 21 minutes and 20.3s to finish ninth overall.

In RC3, Goa’s Vaibhav Marathe, co-driven by experienced Ashwin Naik of Mangaluru, topped his class in a Ford Fiesta Rally3 Evo, finishing seventh overall.

Bopaiah KM also kept Indian hopes alive in the premier RC2 class. Making a comeback after six years, the Kodagu driver rolled back the years with flashes of his vintage form, ably guided by the seasoned PV Srinivasa Murthy in the co-driver’s seat.

Srinivasa Murthy’s wealth of experience and unerring pace-note calls ensured a measured yet competitive charge, as the pair navigated the demanding Sumateran terrain with poise and precision.

Bopaiah KM was the best Indian finisher in overall sixth position. PTI SSC TAP