Chennai, April 17 (NationPress) After a year-long hiatus from rallying, India's premier driver Gaurav Gill returned with a vengeance, showcasing an impressive performance that saw him lead the timesheets during the 49th South India Rally, which kicked off at the Madras International Circuit on Friday.

This three-day event marks the second round of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, powered by Vamcy Merla, and also serves as Round 1 for the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship.

The 44-year-old driver from Delhi, a three-time APRC champion and holder of seven national titles, achieved a remarkable combined time of two minutes, 51.5 seconds for two loops of the 1.45 Km dirt Super Special Stage, driving a Volkswagen Polo. He finished 5.1 seconds ahead of his closest competitor, Karna Kadur, in the APRC category, with Jason Saldanha from Mangaluru taking the third spot.

Gill, who has received the Arjuna Award, also led the INRC by a margin of 4.1 seconds over local contender Ritesh Rai, who is participating just for enjoyment, while Kadur holds third position.

With the seasoned Srikanth Gowda from Chikkamagaluru as his co-driver for the first time, Gill executed a nearly flawless display of speed, accuracy, and vehicle control, appearing well-prepared for the upcoming Special Stages.

“It was a solid start, and I'm thrilled to be back in rallying, which I truly love. My team, R-Tech, did an exceptional job of prepping the car in just three days due to delays in spare parts and my last-minute decision to participate. This is the first time I'm racing a Polo competitively, along with a new co-driver in Srikanth, who brings invaluable experience in his 36th season,” said Gill.

A frustrated Kadur noted that some “gremlins” hindered his performance. “We had to restart; then my co-driver's watch (Kumar Ramaswamy from Coimbatore) malfunctioned, forcing me to reset mine. Later, the intercom failed. It wasn't the ideal start with these issues. Nonetheless, there’s plenty of rally left, and I’m hopeful for improvements,” shared the former national champion.

Arun Y Mavaji from Bengaluru and Arvind Dheerendra topped the INRC 2 and INRC 3 classes, respectively, while Tarushi Vikram from Chikkamagaluru emerged as the fastest in both the Ladies class and the Junior INRC category.

Former Andhra legislator Vallabhaneni Vamsi Mohan and High Court Advocate K Jyothi Prasad from Hyderabad flagged off the event.

Provisional results (Leg-1, Section-1):

Asia-Pacific Rally Championship: 1. Gaurav Gill / Srikanth GM (India) (02mins, 51.5secs); 2. Karna Kadur / Kumar Ramaswamy (India) (02:56.6); 3. Jason Saldanha / PV Srinivasa Murthy (India) (02:58.3).

Indian National Rally Championship:

INRC Overall: 1. Gaurav Gill / Srikanth GM (02:51.5); 2. Ritesh Rai / Phalguna Raghavendra (02:55.6); 3. Karna Kadur / Kumar Ramaswamy (02:56.6)

INRC 2: 1. Arun Y Mavaji / Jeevarathinam J (03:09.5); 2. Ritesh Guttedar / Suraj M (03:10.3); 3. Rakshith Iyer / Chandrashekar (03:18.2).

INRC 3: 1. Arvind Dheerendra / Shahid Salman (03:01.5); 2. Ashwin Pulagiri / Raghunath Swaminathan (03:01.9); 3. Tarushi Vikram / Athreya Kousgi (03:05.6).

INRC 3T: 1. Vikash Balachandran / Chiranth Jain (02:59.6); 2. Adith KC / Avinash CA (03:09.7); 3. Sidhartha Santosh / Sawan Sathyanarayan (03:11.9).

Ladies: 1. Tarushi Vikram / Athreya Kousgi (03:05.6); 2. Athira Murali / Arun Chakkalakkal (03:05.9); 3. Shivani Pruthvi / Vinay Padmashali (03:09.4).

Junior INRC: 1. Tarushi Vikram / Athreya Kousgi (03:05.6); 2. Hoshmand Elavia / Venu Ramesh Kumar (03:14.0).