Gaurav Gill suffers setback, Bopaiah and Nikeeta shine in Aaprc Rally

Gaurav Gill’s strong start at the Sumatera Utara Rally ended with a mechanical failure, while Bopaiah kept RC2 hopes alive and Nikeeta Takkale led both RC4 and Ladies class in Indonesia

Hyderabad: Hot favourite Gaurav Gill came out blazing at the Sumatera Utara Rally, 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 in Parapat (Indonesia) on Saturday.

K M Bopaiah kept Indian hopes alive in the premier RC2 class.

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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 setback left Nikeeta 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.

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