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Gaurav Gill. The name needs no introduction. Born and brought up in Delhi, Gill is India’s leading rally driver who has numerous recognitions to his credit, including “Motorsport man of the year 2008”. He is the only Indian Driver to have won the title and invited by the FIA Gala Awards night which is usually compared to the Oscars of the motorsport world. He is also the winner of National Rally Championship, National Road Racing Championship and FIA APRC Rally Indonesia. In 2013, Gaurav made history by becoming the first ever Indian driver to win the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. He recently invited us to experience his newly opened 3M Car Care Center in New Delhi (Kailash Colony) and spent his valuable time for a friendly one-on-one interaction.
Hi Gaurav. How and when did you decide to become a rally driver?
Gaurav Gill said:
When I was about 15, my uncle was into rallying and that’s when I decided, this is what I want to do. Initially I started racing with bikes but I always wanted to be a rally driver. I chose bike racing because I was too young to obtain a formal driving license. On the other hand, that wasn't the case with motocross; you don’t require a civil driving license since it takes place in an enclosed area. Eventually when I turned 18, I became a rally driver.
How do you train? What’s your daily routine like?
Gaurav Gill said:
We’ve very early mornings when we’re out for rallying. Typically our day starts at 5:00 AM or sometimes even at 4:00 AM. It’s normally a week long program when I’m rallying which includes reconnaissance, testing, meets with the fans, autograph sessions etc. Post rallying, we are again busy preparing for the next round. So it’s a hectic schedule. We’ve different itinerary for different days. Sometimes we have to do testing which starts in the morning and goes on till the day. Then we have reconnaissance which can last for two days because it’s upto 800 - 1000 kilometers of driving each day. Of course, the rallying itself is a long event. If you put everything together, we end up driving for at least 12 hours at minimum.
What is your all-time favorite rally car and why?
Gaurav Gill said:
I obviously like the Audi Quattro S1 because it’s so aggressive and mean looking machine. It can eat up everything that comes into its way. I also like the two-door Subaru Impreza 22B which Colin Mcrae used to drive after winning the world championship. I also really like the Lancia Stratos and Toyota Celica GT-Four with popup lights. It’s among my favorite rally cars. Actually I have many favorite cars but these ones are particularly close to my heart.
What do you think is the best stock rally car in India right now?
Gaurav Gill said:
I think that Esteem, Polo and Cedia are all good stock cars for rallying. Maruti Esteem is best only as far as budget rallying is concerned. Though best rally car in terms of reliability, minimal modifications, something in which one could simply put on the roll cage and go on to the track has to be the Volkswagen Polo. Mitsubishi Cedia is also another very capable car.
Why not the Ford Fiesta? I believe it was formerly used in INRC?
Gaurav Gill said:
We had done a lot of test miles with the Fiesta. It didn’t fair out very well because of the spare parts being relatively expensive. It wasn’t also favored by the teams with big budgets for the same reason.
What’s the most difficult part about driving a rally car?
Gaurav Gill said:
To attack each corner till the limit through a 30 kilometer stage where you end up having 500 corners! I’m sure it sounds difficult.
Sure it does! So tell us, what’s more important in rallying: The car or the driver?
Gaurav Gill said:
Rallying is indeed a real man’s sport. Here, driver’s efforts and skills are far more important than in Formula 1 or any other racing sport in which it’s other way round. In Formula-1, its 75% car and 25% driver but in rallying, 80% is skill and driver talent. Of course, you have to find the right car and right package to win but sometimes a superior driver with less developed car has chances to win in rallies. All in all, I’d say, it’s the driver who makes the car.
Gaurav Gill said:
It has all become pretty much natural for me now. I switch myself into the rally mode. When I go for the events, my friends and family members know that I don’t like to be disturbed. I sleep on time at 9:00 PM and follow a much disciplined schedule. For me, it’s crucial to have a proper 8 – 9 hours of sleep to have a maximum concentration all the time.
What’s the importance of a good navigator in rallying?
Gaurav Gill said:
It’s the co-driver who could make the driver look good or bad because of the fact that a co-driver has to be really smart and calculative about how we deliver the pacenotes on time according to the speed at which the driver is driving the vehicle. A co-driver who sits with me at flatout average speed of 120 Kmph can still be good when sitting next to a driver who’s slow because he’s smart and intelligent enough on how to deliver those pacenotes on the correct time. Timing is the key for a co-driver and screwing up is not an option. If he screws up, we both screw up.
What is your favorite and most hated surface for rallying?
Gaurav Gill said:
I don’t hate any surface, I just love rallying. It’s all about driving on natural terrain. However, at occasions, countries like Malaysia can be quite difficult for driving because the surface is layered with moss and algae while the base is grass. Let alone driving, you can’t even walk on it. Driving on such terrain is technical but I enjoy it. It has taken a few years for me to understand how to drive there; as a result, I’m now the fastest driver there.
What all factors do you take into account while setting up the car for various stages?
Gaurav Gill said:
It’s important to understand what the top surface is. Sometimes the top surface can be very loose while the base could be hard. It’s a tricky concept because you can setup your car according to the surface on top but by the time a few cars pass over it, the terrain could be completely changed. If I arrive at one corner, next time, it could be totally different. Things are very unpredictable. That’s how rallying is. So it’s always safe to find a neutral setup for both kinds of surface, rather than focusing on one particular type.
What’s the ratio of a properly set rally car vs. driver talent in modern day rallying?
Gaurav Gill said:
In modern day rallying, setups do matter quite a lot. In older days, even if you didn’t have a well-set car, you could still have won rallies easily. Now the times have changed and it’s more technical. The suspension systems have progressed and become more complicated. If you don’t know how to use them, you’re certainly lagging behind. Therefore, a driver must be well-informed and thoroughly understand the ins and outs of the vehicle.
Gaurav Gill said:
Indian rallying scene is eventually catching up. There’s a healthy competition. People still have a long way to go because we’re still lacking exposure to powerful cars due to the fact that govt. is not supporting us by waiving off the duties. We’re still stuck on the 100 – 150 horsepower cars whereas rest of the world is driving 300+ BHP cars. Obviously, it has nothing to do with the competition but everyone will become a better driver if we have the right equipment. Yet, in spite of that, there are some good drivers in our country who are performing well.
What is the future of rallying according to you?
Gaurav Gill said:
The Indian rallying scene seems to have a bright future. Mahindra is backing us up; Volkswagen is also playing a major role in supporting a lot of talented people. They have their own factory team. I’m quite positive that other manufacturers too are already looking into the sport of rallying in India because it serves them for demonstrating the abilities of their products as well as works out as a good marketing exercise.
Which is more difficult: Formula 1 or WRC? Why?
Gaurav Gill said:
For sure, WRC. Put a F1 driver in rally car and I can bet that he won’t take the first corner in same speed as we can. A Formula-1 driver drives on a man-made circuit and he does same lap on the same corner for about 200 times over the week, whereas we guys travel from point A to point B on absolutely natural terrain and conditions. Sometimes when we drive up towards the mountain, it’s dry but as soon as we reach up, it could be raining or snowing hard. We need to cope up with all these situations only by looking the road on which we’ve never been before. There’s no way that F1 can be close to rallying as far as driving skills are concerned.
Would you want to move to other form of motorsports apart from rallying?
Gaurav Gill said:
I love rallying and I never see myself becoming a Formula 1 driver because it’s not my cup of tea. But yes, perhaps off-roading sport would be a good fit for me because by now I have gained strong experience competing against some of the best drivers in the world. So long distance raids and sort of stuff is something that I wouldn’t mind doing in future.