Timmu uddapanda

Indian National Rally Championship: Arjuna Awardee Gaurav Gill and co-driver Aniruddha Rangnekar overcame initial hiccups and performed admirably to take the lead after Day 1 in the Robusta Rally, the fifth and penultimate round of the fmsci Indian National Rally Championship 2024 here, on Saturday.

Gill, the Speed Maestro from Delhi, was forced to start on a cautious note as their intercom failed resulting in no calls and he had to drive from memory. After losing 17.4 seconds to Karna Kadur, who was fastest in Stage 1, Gill bounced back brilliantly to clock the fastest times in the remaining five Stages and took a handsome lead of over 53 seconds by the end of the day.

“It has been a perfect day. The stages were rougher than I expected with massive stones and boulders but we managed to overcome all odds as our tyres performed well. We had decent speeds and the goal is to bring back the car home tomorrow,” said Gill, the seven-time National champion.