Gill blazes to National Rally Championship title

Coimbatore: Gaurav Gill was in blazing form at the wheels of his Mahindra XUV as he and navigator Musa Sherif showed immense skills and patience to win the Rally of Coimbatore on Sunday and again emerge national champions.

By winning two legs on tarmac in Itanagar last month and coming to the leafy environs of Kethanur -- 40km outside Coimbatore -- where the rally stages were situated, Gill showed he was also the king on gravel.

From Saturday to Sunday afternoon, Gill had a lot of problems. From Stage 1 on Saturday till the end of Stage 6 on Sunday, his rally machine was not in best shape.

The car was in "limp mode" where he was not able to drive at the maximum speed he wanted on a demanding surface where gravel, hard pieces of stone and rock lit up the proceedings.

There were twists and turns, cars kicking up dust which made the two days of rallying action a joy to watch. "I am extremely happy to win three rallies in a row and become national champion for the seventh time," said Gill.

"I knew I was not able to push beyond 100 or 105kmph in dirt. I had to drive technically and ensure I finished. I must thank Hardy Sir (Sanjay Sharma) of JK Tyre for being ever supportive. We have won the championship and this is pure joy," he added.

Between Gill and Musa, the duo have participated in 63 rallies together, with 39 rally finishes, 38 on the podium and 36 wins.