Team Mahindra Adventure's ace driver Gaurav Gill returned to reclaim the Dakshin Dare title, winning the gruelling rally for the third time here.
Gill conquered the special stages in the four-day long route from Bangalore to Hubli in 04:51:49.001 hours. Overall, he covered a distance of close to 2,000 kms.
The JK Tyre-sponsored rallyist holds the unique distinction of winning the country's most prestigious cross-country rallying every time that he has entered into it.
Gaurav, a six-time INRC champion, proved his mettle once again late on Thursday as he came out on top in seven stages out of the nine special stages.
Accompanied by his trusted co-driver Musa Sherif, he won all the three stages on the opening day, clocking a time of 45:45.053 minutes. He fell back on the second day, losing both the stages to his teammate Philippos Mathai (with co-driver PVS Murthy).
Going into the third day, he was trailing by 00:47.261 seconds but that didn't deter him. He roared back into the front by claiming the two stages of Day 3 to take a handy lead of 6:42.383 minutes.
More From This Section
With such a huge lead, it was near to impossible for anyone to catch Gaurav on the final day. The three-time APRC champion lived up to his reputation on the final day too, clocking around a minute less than his closest competitor to sign off in style.
"I am really excited to win the Dare once again. This is my third Dakshin Dare title and I am really very happy with this achievement." Gill said.
"The stages were very challenging but I believe we had a very good car at our disposal and our tyres indeed helped us in maneuvering these treacherous stages. I would like to thank my tuners and mechanics for preparing such a fine car.