Aussie star Gill ready for the world stage

Australian rising star Taylor Gill is ready for an opportunity years in the making as he makes his Junior World Rally Championship debut at the famous Rally Sweden this week.

Having impressed by being a winning machine in the FIA Rally Star season last year, Gill and co-driver Daniel Brkic will make a major leap to their WRC dream in the Nordic snow around Umea.

The pair will campaign a M-Sport developed Ford Fiesta Rally3 in the JWRC and be the first from down under since Molly Taylor steered a Citroen DS3 R3T to sixth in 2024.

Taylor Gill will steer a Ford Fiesta at Rally Sweden.

The first round of the season is none other than Rally Sweden, running alongside the second round of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship with 18 stages and just over 300km to complete.

It begins on Thursday which will be a first time being on the WRC stage for both Gill and Brkic and they cannot wait to take their biggest challenge head on.

“I really can’t wait for the rally,” Gill said.

“There are so many different factors coming into the opening rally of the season.

“The snow, the Junior WRC, the increased pressure and length of the World Rally Championship itinerary.

“We have done all the preparation we can but it is still going to be all new.”

At 20-years-old, Gill will contest the 2024 WRC Junior seaoson in a huge career leap

Gill has risen through the ranks as an emerging star from Australia having won three of the six FIA Rally Star events in 2023 at San Marino, Rally Saaremaa and Lausitz-Rallye.

As a result he is one of four FIA Rally Star graduates stepping up to the JWRC and is seeded 11th ahead of the opener.

To prepare for the steep challenge, Gill and the other three FIA Rally Star entrants completed a training camp of snow rally driving in Norway and Finland.

But the 20-year-old also took his training to the extra mile by doing two additional tests near his current home in Vaaksy, Finland.

Taylor Gill in the penultimate round of the FIA Rally Star in Spain

Coming from Australia and being one of just four JWRC entrants from outside of Europe, Gill could not have a tougher opener to deal with 301.76km of unfamiliar snow ahead of him.

But he believes he can overcome the steep hurdle and believes the extra distance in easily his longest rally ever can play into his hands.

“Coming from Australia, where a snow rally is non-existent, we’re behind the eight ball to begin with, in terms of experience,” Gill explained. 

“The majority of the entrants have competed on snow in the past, so the ability to test beforehand made sure we were not going into the rally blinded by a huge lack of experience.

“(But) I actually think the longer rally will play into our hands.

“It separates those who are a bit less conditioned, from those who are, meaning those who’ve put in the hard work to be better prepared are more likely to do well. 

The Swedish snow awaits Taylor Gill.

“Also, by Sunday, the final day of the rally, it will be our fourth consecutive day in the car, so I feel I’ll definitely have my eye in and drive as well as I can.”

As he prepares to steer into the unknown, Gill is hopeful of being a contender but is aware of the hurdles ahead.

“Of course, we want to be as close to the top as possible, but at this point, I really have no indication of where we’ll find ourselves on the timesheets,” he said. 

“It’s just going to be a case of keeping the car on the road and out of the snow banks and see where we can get ourselves to. 

“The learning experience on snow is going to be a huge one, so I’m prepared for that.”

In addition to Gill, Aussies Peter Rullo and Ben Searcy will also make their Rally2 debut at Rally Sweden, which begins on Thursday, February 15.

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