Gill makes his mark in Rally of Turkey, but campaign ends in heartbreak

New Delhi : India's top rally driver Gaurav Gill won praise of his co-competitors by overcoming mechanical failures and a series of punctures before it ended in a heartbreak for him in the gruelling Rally of Turkey, the first event of the FIA World Rally Championship 2 on Sunday.

Going into the final day with a top-five finish firmly in sight, the JK Racing ace underlined his mettle by finishing second in the first stage of the day.

He continued in the same vein, taking the third place in the next stage too, demonstrating phenomenal speed and control to post spectacular timings to inch up the leader-board.

These results added up to a top-3 finish in five out of the nine stages that he had conquered without a hitch, not counting the shakedown in which he proved to be the fastest among the lot.

In the penultimate stage with a strong finish beckoning him, disaster struck -- the transmission of the car seized and grounded him to a halt.

The car locked up completely and could not be pushed into neutral, killing all chances of recouping and making up in the final stretch of the WRC.

"It was one of the toughest weekends, rather toughest rallies of my life. Right from the beginning, it was difficult to get into a good rhythm because the rally was so slow and twisty, with so many huge rocks and boulders around," Gill said.

"Of course I didn't have much previous experience with the car and the setup, making it that much more difficult. The plan was to take one step at a time and it almost paid off.

But we were marred by so many issues, including mechanical problems in the car. The good thing is we got some great timings and should keep us in a positive frame for the next round.