APRC 2025: Gaurav Gill's dream start ends in misfortune; Bopaiah-Murthy top Indian pair in Indonesia

Parapat (Indonesia), Aug 9 (IANS) Hot favourite Gaurav Gill came out blazing at the Sumatera Utara Rally of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), winning the opening two stages in commanding fashion to establish a lead of nearly 30 seconds before cruel luck struck in Special Stage 3 with a mechanical failure that forced him to retire for the day, near here, on Saturday.

Bopaiah K.M. kept Indian hopes alive in the premier RC2 class. Making a comeback after six years, the Kodagu driver rolled back the years with flashes of his vintage form, ably guided by the seasoned P.V. Srinivas Murthy in the co-driver’s seat. Srinivasa Murthy’s wealth of experience and unerring pace-note calls ensured a measured yet competitive charge, as the pair navigated the demanding Sumatran terrain with poise and precision.

The setback left Nikeetaa Takkale, India’s only lady driver in the field here, as the day’s brightest spark. Competing in Indonesia for the first time, the Pune-based driver delivered a faultless performance and is on course for a rare triple podium in the third round of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship’s (APRC) Asia Cup, held about 32 kilometres from Parapat.

She is leading her class, the RC4, and the Ladies class. She is also likely to bag a podium in the Junior APRC. “It was a clean run and I enjoyed my day. But it's not yet over, and my focus is to bring the car home tomorrow,” she said.

Gill, the Team JK Racing spearhead and the only Arjuna Awardee in Indian motorsport, saw his brand-new Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo stall just 300 metres into SS3 when the electronic throttle body failed.

“I was nicely getting into rhythm and pace, with a comfortable lead after the first two stages, before this happened. It’s a rare issue, and we’re trying to fly the part in from Jakarta or Singapore,” said Gill, adding that he hopes to restart on Sunday to collect valuable leg points before the APRC finale in Japan.

The car, imported by Team Vamcy Merla Motorsports for Gill’s latest APRC title bid, showed its pace before the failure. In typical rally driver fashion, he still found a silver lining.

“I missed a braking point, took a massive jump, and loved the feeling of flying high,” he laughed. “We live for another day — that’s rallying and will come back harder.” His engineer, Roman Turuta of Moldova, described the fault as “extremely rare” for world-class machinery. “It’s a simple electronic package that can be fitted in minutes, so we don’t usually carry a spare. I’ll review the data with Gaurav,” he said.

Meanwhile, Nikeetaa focused on “bringing the car home safely” and did exactly that. Leading both the RC4 and Ladies classes, she is also in contention for a podium in the Junior APRC category for drivers under 28. She clocked 1 hour, 21 minutes, and 20.3 seconds to finish ninth overall.

In RC3, Goa’s Vaibhav Marathe, co-driven by experienced Ashwin Naik of Mangaluru, topped his class in a Ford Fiesta Rally3 Evo, finishing seventh overall. Bopaiah KM was the best Indian finisher in sixth overall.

Provisional unaudited results for Saturday’s Leg 1 saw Ryan Nirwan and Adi Indiarto take the overall and RC2 honours in 1 hour, 1 minute, and 43.7 seconds, followed by Musa Arjanshah and Mohamad Herkusuma, and Aldio Oeken with Respati Adhi. Among the Indians in RC2, Bopaiah KM with PV Srinivasa Murthy finished overall sixth, Abhin R Rai with Srikanth Gowda eighth, and Gill with co-driver Florian Barral tenth after his SS3 retirement, with penalties awaited. Marathe and Naik led RC3, while Nikeetaa, with co-driver Sudhindra Gopalakrishna, topped RC4 and the Ladies class. Junior APRC results are awaited.

Provisional unaudited Results (Saturday Leg 1):

APRC Overall and RC2 class: 1. Ryan Nirwan/ Adi Indiarto (01 hour, 01min, 43.7seconds); 2. Musa Arjanshah/ Mohamad Herkusuma (01:02:05.8); 3. Aldio Oeken/ Respati Adhi (01:02:18.5); (All three from Indonesia);

RC2 Class Indians: 6. Bopaiah KM/ PV Srinivasa Murthy (Kodagu/Bengaluru) (01:09:27.9); 8. Abhin R Rai/ Srikanth Gowda (Kodagu/Chikkamagaluru) (01:14.55.4); 10. Gaurav Gill/ Florian Barral (Delhi/France) (1:25:27.8) (DNF in SS3) (Penalty awaited);

APRC RC3: 1. Vaibhav Marathe/ Ashwin Naik (Goa/Mangaluru) (01:14:15.6);

APRC RC4: 1. Nikeeta Takkale/ Sudhindra Gopalakrishna (Pune/Bengaluru) (01:21:20.3);

Ladies Class: 1. Nikeeta/Sudhindra.

--IANS

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