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Japan APRC: Gill controls Leg 1 proceedings

Championship leader Gaurav Gill commanded first leg of Rally Hokkaido, winning eight out the 11 stages to establish a comfortable lead over Team MRF teammate Fabian Kreim.

Gaurav Gill, Stephane Prévot, Skoda Fabia R5, Team MRF

Gaurav Gill, Stephane Prévot, Skoda Fabia R5, Team MRF

APRC

Fabian Kreim, Frank Christian, Skoda Fabia R5, Team MRF
Sanjay Takale, Noriko Takeshita, Subaru Impreza WRX, Cusco Racing
Gaurav Gill, Stephane Prévot, Skoda Fabia R5, Team MRF
Mike Young, Malcolm Read, Subaru Impreza WRX, Cusco Racing
Gaurav Gill, Stephane Prévot, Skoda Fabia R5, Team MRF
Mike Young, Malcolm Read, Subaru Impreza WRX, Cusco Racing
Fabian Kreim, Frank Christian, Skoda Fabia R5, Team MRF
Sanjay Takale, Noriko Takeshita, Subaru Impreza WRX, Cusco Racing
Mike Young, Malcolm Read, Subaru Impreza WRX, Cusco Racing team
Fabian Kreim, Frank Christian, Skoda Fabia R5, Team MRF

After trailing Kreim (co-driver Frank Christian) by one tenth of a second in the opening stage on Friday, Gill (co-driver Stephane Prevot) turned the tables by winning six stages in succession on Saturday.

The Indian then topped SS9 and SS11, ending the day with a total time of 1hr03m44.5s, which was 1m24.9s clear of Kreim, the German salvaging wins in SS8 and SS10.

The German overcame lack of rear grip and puncture in the early stages to close the gap to the 2013 APRC champion, but was unable to go past the Indian in the end.

Behind the leading duo, Mike Young (co-driver Malcolm Read) in the Cusco Racing's Subaru was over two minutes from Gill's time.

Meanwhile, Hitoshi Takayama (co-driver Hideki Takeyabu) was fourth fastest in the leading Mitsubishi with Satoshi Imai (co-driver Jason Ronald Farmer) finishing three minutes adrift in fifth.

In a longer grid for the Japanese round, Eiichi Iwashita (co-driver Akihiko Takahashi) and Fuyuhiko Takahashi (co-driver Mitsuo Nakamura) were classified sixth and seventh respectively.

Sanjay Takle (co-driver Noriko Takeshita), the other Indian returning after missing China round, completed the leg in 1hr14m14.0s to finish eighth fastest in the Subaru.

Mitsubishi's Wataru Aono (co-driver Yuko Mitsukuri) and Subaru's Hiroshi Hoshino (Tsuyoshi Kobayashi) completed the top 10.

19 drivers made it to the end in Leg 1 action on a partly damp track with 10 stages run adding to the lone stage on Friday. Seven more stages on Sunday will decide the winner of the fourth round. 

Leg 1 results - Top 10:

PosDriverCarTimeGap
1  Gaurav Gill 
 Stephane Prevot
Skoda 1:03:44.5  
2  Fabian Kreim
 Frank Christian
Skoda 1:05:09.4 +1:24.9

3  Mike Young
 Malcolm Read
Subaru 1:06:04.5 +2:20.0
4  Hitoshi Takayama
 Hideki Takeyabu
Subaru 1:06:21.1 +2:36.6

5

 Satoshi Imai

 Jason Farmer

Mitsubishi

1:09:27.0 +5:42.5

6  Eiichi Iwashita
 Akihiko Takahashi
Mitsubishi 1:10:41.4 +6:56.9

7  Fuyuhiko Takahashi
 Mitsuo Nakamura
Subaru 1:12:51.8 +9:07.3

8  Sanjay Takale
 Noriko Takeshita
Subaru 1:14:14.0 +10:29.5

9  Waturo Aono
 Yuko Mitsukuri
Mitsubishi 1:14:44.8 +11:00.3

10

 Hiroshi Hoshino

 Tsuyoshi Kobayashi

Subaru

1:15:15.9 +11:31.4

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