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Caloundra, Australia, June 18: Team MRF Skoda driver, Pontus Tidemand, took an easy win in the end in the International Rally of Queensland, the third round of Asia Pacific Rally Championship, here on Sunday. In s sharp contrast to leg 1, Gaurav Gill’s rally came to an anti-climactic end following an engine failure on the 16th stage, after raising visions of a great fight to the finish line that saw the Indian taking an overnight lead of 4.5 seconds. This is the third year in a row that Gill has failed to finish the International Rally of Queensland due to mechanical issues.
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Gill started the second leg in style winning the 11 stage by a margin of over 3 seconds, extending his lead to 8 seconds. But Saturday’s differential issues cropped up once again on the 13th resulting in a complete loss of rear-end grip, meant Gill struggled to keep the car on the slippery road. The two team-mates went into service, with the Swede leading by 4.5 seconds.
On the second run of the 22km after service, Gill was hit by a puncture that helped Tidemand to extend his lead to over 28 seconds. But the 2013 APRC champion’s litany of woes was far from over for the day. On the SS 16, the brand new engine on his Skoda Fabia S 2000 gave in, putting him out of the rally for good. “It was a shame that we couldn’t finish the rally. We really had good pace, but it seems luck was not on my side today. First, I had a puncture, which cost a lot of time and them the engine gave in,” said Gill, who got a new engine in his car before the rally.
Once Gill was out of the reckoning, Tidemand cruised to an easy victory. Till that point, the two team-mates had a great fight, swapping fastest stage times. “Obviously, I am very happy to win here. It was a good fight and it’s a shame it ended in retirement [for Gill]. But for sure it’s good for the championship and I have learned a lot on this rally, because it’s been a new surface... so for me, it’s been really good,” said Tidemand.
