Gaurav Gill returns to conquer Dakshin Dare again

Gaurav Gill (second from right) with navigator Musa Sherif and biker Vishwas SD (second from left) after the Dakshin Dare competition

Goa, September 8: Six years after his first and triumphant foray, Gaurav Gill returned to conquer the Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare once again, scorching the field in his inimitable style over five gruelling days.

With trusted navigator Musa Sherif by his side, the six-time APRC champion won each of the five legs and most of the 15 Special Stages to re-emphasise his preeminence in the country.

In the bike category, Vishwas S.D claimed the overall title, making the most of overnight leader and firm favourite Yuva Kumar's misfortune in literally the last Special Stage, SS12, of the rally.

Day 5: Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare Rally 2018!
Heartly Congratulations to PB Racing's Rider Yuva Kumar for his excellent performance throughout the rally.👏✌Rider Yuva Kumar has secured third position by leaving behind all the hurdles that came across his path. 👍 pic.twitter.com/vJbgMMUGay
— Punit Balan (@punitbalan) September 8, 2018

Yuva, who was leading all the way from the start, saw his bike break down with just 15 kilometres to go and by the time he could repair the damage, he lost 15 minutes and the crown.

Gill's teammate Philippos Matthai (with PVS Moorthy) claimed the overall second place in the car category, while Maruti Suzuki's Samrat Yadav (with Karan Aukta) held on to the third position.

Gill and Musa crossed a significant milestone while racing away to their second victory in the Dakshin Dare, organised by Motorsport Inc; it was their 50th rally together and their 31st win to set a unique Indian record. Incredibly, they made the podium each of the 35 times they had completed a rally, missing out the remaining 15 times only due to DNFs.

.@Gillracing & Vinay Prasad are crowned champions of the 10th edition of the Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare after 5 grueling days of driving in Karnataka, Maharashtra & Goa. Here are the provisional results at the end of the rally: https://t.co/QpNYEPg3pA pic.twitter.com/rq6NQ4lX1L
— FMSCI (@fmsci) September 8, 2018

"Even after all these years, I retain the same enthusiasm for rallying. I am motivated enough to give 200 per cent each time I drive," Gill said, while accepting the team championship trophy.

"We had a very good team and a great strategy that helped us last five tough days," he added.

Gill took 06:57:44 to complete the five legs, winning with a handsome margin of over 15 minutes. On the last day, he went all out in the rally's longest stage and clocked 01:15:50 minutes for the 70 kilometres.

Team Maruti Suzuki were in the thick of all the action, with Sandeep Sharma and Suresh Rana grabbing the fourth and fifth places.

The 2,000-kilometre rally began in Bengaluru on September 2 and traversed through Karnataka and Maharashtra before finishing in Goa on Saturday night.

RESULTS

CARS (HH:MM:SS)

1. Gaurav Gill/ Musa Sharif - 6:57:44

2. Phillippos Matthai / PVS Moorthy - 7:12:00

3. Samrat Yadav / Karan Aukta - 7:21:10

BIKES

1. Vishwas SD

2. Vinay Prasad

3. Yuva Kumar

MSDD 2018 Car Open

1. Pramod Vig / Prakash M

2. Raghunandan / Sakthevel