Gill takes career-best result in Paraguay

A strong, yet measured drive from Taylor Gill and Daniel Brkic has netted the Australians fourth place in WRC2 at Rally Paraguay and a top 10 overall result.

Contesting their first event with the TokSport Škoda team, and their first event in the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, the pair overcame tyre issues on the opening day to recover and bring home a result just seconds off the class podium. 

A difficult Friday saw Gill end the day in seventh position, already needing to claw back time from punctures on a day which saw carnage across the entire field of cars.

“Our rhythm was a bit interrupted on Friday,” Gill explained.

“We had a puncture towards the end of the second stage which we had to manage, and then on the penultimate stage of the day, we had a tyre delaminate, and we drove through a lot of the stage with no tread.”

Gill was not fazed, knowing that playing ‘the long game’ was more important, and come Saturday, he began the push back towards the top of the time sheets. Through the day, Gill’s pace improved as he narrowed the distance between himself and those at the top of the stage times.

“Saturday we were able to find some more rhythm, and with it came more speed, all the while without taking too much risk,” he said.

The risk stakes were high – a monster storm on Friday night caused chaos across the service park, damaging tents and team equipment, and threatening to change the conditions into a mudbath.

“We were still learning so much about the car and the event on the fly, so being able to be winning stages probably wasn’t the goal.

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“As we saw around us, it would have been easy to take a careless risk and end up on the side of the road like some others, so we stuck fat and kept going with our own plans, and it continued to pay off.”

And pay off it did. By the end of Saturday, Gill and Brkic had made their way up to fifth, just 1.8 seconds adrift of local driver Alejandro Galanti in fourth place. It set up an exciting final day, with a fight for position well on their hands.

Sunday’s rain threat was ever-present; it was all that anyone in the service park was talking about – when it would come and how much rain would fall.

“Drivers know how rain in a place like Paraguay can turn a whole rally on its head, so we were keeping tabs on the dark clouds which just never seemed to drop any water,” Gill added.

The rally’s stages avoided any serious rain, and while an accident ahead in the WRC2 field promoted Gill to fourth, a further accident in the Rally1 field on the second-to-last stage of the rally hindered the Australian’s chances of getting onto the podium.

“We had a poor first stage of the day and lost some time to Alejandro, but with enough kilometres left in the day we were still a chance of getting ahead, but when stage 21 was cancelled, it more or less killed our chances.”

Gill finished the rally in fourth place, just 13.9 seconds behind the podium. He was also able to get a single WRC point for the 10th overall finish.

“Dan and I are super proud of our efforts here this weekend. To come here and be a part of a new team and drive an unfamiliar car, and do the job we have, is really pleasing. 

“We came here with the goal of getting into the top five, and to have done that is a massive win for us.

“Having become more comfortable with the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 car, I feel like we have some good momentum going into Rally Chile, so we are excited to continue the adventure and hopefully get another good result.”

Gill’s WRC2 season continues in less than two weeks, when he will drive the same car in Chile, the next round of the FIA World Rally Championship from September 10-13.