Dramatic rally brings unexpected outcomes at Wurth FIA APRC round 3

Friday, 27 June 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The third round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), held in Australia at the International Rally of Queensland, got off to a dramatic start on day one with many crews succumbing to a multitude of problems including Gaurav Gill’s shock retirement with team-mate Jan Kopecký taking the overall rally win on day two.

Gill’s low-speed accident, caused by a broken steering rack, put him off the side of a steep hill in second gear causing him and co-driver Glenn Macneall to retire from the rally during the first day. Team MRF bosses said later the same day that the car was too badly damaged to rejoin the rally but confirmed both Gill and Macneall were okay and suffered no injuries, reiterating that the safety gear they heavily invest in did its job. Piloting his Team MRF Skoda Fabia S2000 to victory, Kopecký eventually finished over six minutes ahead of his closest APRC rival, local driver Mark Pedder in his Pedders Suspension Mitsubishi Evolution 10, with Rally Queensland rookie, Jun Xu of China, rounding out the podium in third.

Kopecký’s biggest drama throughout the weekend was encountering cows in the middle of the road, often at high speeds, which he said caused his team great concern but overall, he’s thoroughly enjoyed the rally. Kopecký said: “Unfortunately Gill didn’t come to the finish so we scored maximum points here.” In addition to his rally win, Kopecký also wrapped up the Pacific Cup title contested over the three rounds held in New Zealand, New Caledonia and Australia. The next rally on the APRC calendar is the Malaysian Rally, set to be held in August around the city of Johor Bahru. To keep up to date with APRC news, follow Wurth Lanka on Facebook (www.facebook.com/wurth.Srilanka).