India’s Gaurav Gill of Team MRF Tyres made the most of the misfortune to overnight leader and team-mate Ole Christian Veiby and turned back a 33-second deficit to win the International Rally of Whangarei, the first round of FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship in Whangarei in New Zealand on April 30, 2017.
Final Results APRC Rally of Whangarei
1st round of FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC)
1
Gill/Prévot (IND/BEL), ŠKODA FABIA R5, 2:35:06.8 h
2
Veiby/ Skjarmoen (NOR/NOR), ŠKODA FABIA R5, + 2:02.8 min
3
Blomberg/Andersson (SWE/SWE), Mitsubishi Mirage, + 17:45.5 min
4
Takahashi/Nakamura (JPN/JPN), Subaru Impreza WRX STi, + 28:17.3 min
5
Abhilash/Gowda (IND/IND), Subaru Impreza WRX STi, + 37:42.9 min
Veiby (co-driver Stig Rune Skjærmoen), who eventually finished second behind Gill, led by 23 seconds at the half-way mark after first loop of three Special Stages, but suffered brake failure on his Skoda Fabia R5 in the very first Stage after service which cost him one minute, 22.6 seconds.
The 20-year old Norwegian was then docked a penalty of one minute, 30 seconds for reporting nine minutes late to the start of the next Stage which effectively ruined his chances of scoring a win in his maiden APRC appearance.
CALENDAR OF THE 2017 FIA ASIA-PACIFIC RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP (APRC)
EVENT
DATE
Rally of Whangarei– New Zealand
28.04–30.04.2017
Rally Canberra - Australia
26.05–28.05.2017
China Rally
07.07–09.07.2017
Malaysian Rally
11.08–13.08.2017
Rally Hokkaido - Japan
15.09–17.09.2017
Rally of India
24.11–26.11.2017
The opening round of the 2017 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) took place around the host city of Whangarei on New Zealand’s Northland. Heavy rainfall in the forests in the north of Auckland made the special stages on the first leg of the rally very slippery. “It was raining cats and dogs. The changing conditions of mud and rain made it slippery in places, when others were really grippy. Sometimes it was raining so heavily the wipers couldn’t clear all the water away – it was hard to see at all,” commented Ole Christian Veiby, who took the lead after the first leg of the rally with more than a half minute gap.
Teammate Gaurav Gill meanwhile was struggling with the setup of his ŠKODA FABIA R5. By the end of the first day, he changed the shock absorbers, modified the differential settings and was ready to fight back for the lead. The weather improved on the final day of the rally and a thrilling and close battle for the victory evolved. On Sunday morning Gill was fastest on two stages, Veiby fought back with one scratch time. With three more stages to go, Veiby was still 23 seconds ahead of Gill. In SS 14 Veiby had a brake issue and lost a lot of time in the stage. After a roadside repair, he checked in late on the time control for the next stage, got a time penalty and dropped to second place behind teammate Gill.
At the finish in Whangarei, Ole Christian Veiby was already looking forward to the next rally: “What an experience. I never thought I would be leading most of the rally, can’t wait for the rest of the APRC season!” Gaurav Gill and Stéphane Prévot celebrated their win on the podium in Whangarei after a tense and thrilling battle with their young Norwegian teammates.
Reigning champion Gill (co-driver Stephane Prevot), also in a Race Torque-prepared Skoda Fabia R5, seized the chance and cruised home sparing two minutes, 02.8 seconds to Veiby. In the process, Gill notched his third New Zealand crown and seventh APRC win in a row, following his clean sweep of six last year when he took his second championship title.
Delhi-based Gill was obviously elated at his success, though he admitted that he would have enjoyed the win much more had Veiby not suffered brake failure.
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