India's Jahaan Singh Gill underlined his supremacy as he clinched the FIA Junior Asia Pacific Rally Championship title 2023 in his maiden outing in Indonesia on Sunday. (More Motorsports News)
In a grid comprising 63 competitive drivers across categories, Gill ruled the junior class, while the other JK Tyre Motorsports drivers Suhem Kabeer and Lokesh Gowda stamping their authority in the NVA (National Vehicles Approval) category.
Gill has been in stellar form at the domestic circuit and recently sealed the Junior Indian National Rally Championship in Coorg. The rookie finished 8th overall in APRC R2 class as he took home his maiden international title.
Advertisement
"The stages were already very tricky and the rains made it worse. We knew the hazards of driving on this surface but we held our act together and managed to end on the podium," an elated Gill said.
Gill started rallying back in 2021 in K1000 Rally and soon caught the attention of the Indian motorsports fraternity for his speed and technical driving.
Driving a Subaru WRX STi, the youngster from Chandigarh, along with his co-driver Suraj Keshava Prasad of Bengaluru, did well to battle the tricky surface which became very dangerous due to continuous rains and finished the 12 stage gravel course rally.
Advertisement
Driving for the first time in an international rally, Mysuru's Suhem Kabeer, along with his navigator PVS Murthy, was at his imperious best and posted some impressive timings to win the NVA category and achieve the fourth position overall.
In the M2 class of Indonesia National Rally Championship, Kabeer finished an impressive second.
"It was one of the most difficult rallies that I have been part of. It was an unchartered territory for us with little knowledge of the terrain. The slush made the stages very slippery and I had to dig deep into my reservoir to finish the event unscathed," Kabeer said.
Bengaluru's Lokesh (along with co-driver Ashwin Naik) had a memorable outing too as he finished second in the NVA category and third in the M2 category for Team JK Tyre Motorsports in the premier continental championship.
He also finished fifth in the overall category.
