: India's Gaurav Gill came up with another mature drive to retain the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship title, his third since 2013, as he led a Team MRF sweep in the Coffee Day India Rally 2017 here today.
He finished ahead of team-mate Ole Christian Veiby of Norway by 17 minutes, 38.4 seconds.
Going into the rally, which doubled up as the fifth and concluding round of the 2017 APRC, 35-year old Gill and co-driver Stephane Prevot of Belgium led Veiby (Stig Rune Skjarmoen) by six points, with both requiring a win to clinch the title.
With the 21-year old Norwegian suffering mechanical problems yesterday and losing time, Gill cruised to another fine win. It was also Gill's 17th victory in APRC since his debut in 2008.
The victory was worth 38 points which took Gill's tally to 174 while Veiby finished on 160.
While the Indian ace won three of the five rounds, Veiby triumphed in the other two as MRF Tyres bagged the team championship while Skoda took the manufacturer's trophy.
Enjoying a commanding 15-minute lead overnight, Gill did not feel the need to push hard and yet won one of the day's four Special Stages while Veiby continued his charge to move from third to the second spot.
"Obviously, I am extremely pleased to win such a hard-fought championship. My satisfaction lies in the fact that I beat my team-mate OC (Veiby) who is a World Championship driver and even won the round in Poland," Gill said after the win.
"More importantly, this victory is for Indian motorsport and it showed that India is capable of competing with the best talent in the world," he added.
Provisional results: APRC: 1. Gaurav Gill/Stephane Prevot (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (03hrs, 20mins, 19.8secs); 2. Ole Christian Veiby/Stig Rune Skjarmoen (Team MRF, Skoda Fabia R5) (03:37:58.2); 3. Shafraz Junaid/Akhry (Volkswagen Polo) (04:10:17.4).
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