WRC2 Acropolis Rally Greece: Gaurav Gill earns first points of the season

JK Tyre-backed Gaurav Gill finished sixth in his category, ahead of current WRC2 championship leader Andreas Mikkelsen, earning his first points of the season.

After a subdued start to his WRC2 campaign this year, JK Tyre's Gaurav Gill had an immensely successful run at the recently concluded Acropolis Rally Greece. The Arjuna Awardee powered his Skoda Fabia R5 through the challenging gravel stages in Lamia, Central Greece, and emerged at the finish line with his best result of the season, which earned him eight championship points. The Indian rally star finished sixth in the WRC2 category, in a grid comprising 35 competitors. And in the overall WRC classification, Gill stood at a commendable 12th place, ahead of the current WRC leader, Kalle Rovanperä! 

Gill also managed to clock some of his best times, and on further analysis, it came to light that he was just three seconds off (per km) from some of the top dogs of WRC, such as Hyundai Motorsport's Thierry Neuville – the winner of Acropolis Rally Greece.

Sharing his thoughts on the outing, Gill said, 'The Acropolis Rally has been one of the toughest rallies that put our car and tyres to extreme tests. It was a tough weekend where we faced multiple issues, but that’s how this rally treats you. Almost zero visibility forced us to stop every few kilometres as it was dangerous, but overall, it was a unique experience for me and Gabriel (co-driver).' 

In his previous outing in Rally Finland, Gill secured a respectable 11th-place finish in WRC2, but it was not enough to fetch him any points. Prior to Finland, Gill started his WRC2 campaign in Rally Kenya but suffered a DNF.

Read more:

Gaurav Gill retires from Safari Rally Kenya due to engine failure

INRC 2020 Round 3: Gaurav Gill wins seventh championship title in Coimbatore