Gill jumps clear
Australian duo Taylor Gill and Dan Brkic have extended their lead in the FIA Junior World Rally Championship in Finland.
The pair brilliantly bounced back from a day two puncture to second, finishing just 8.3 seconds behind rally winner Eamonn Kelly.
As a result, Gill now holds a 16-point advantage over Mille Johansson with just one round to go, the Central European Rally in Germany in October.
Gill sat in the top three as early as the second stage and even hit the lead by Stage 8.
The Aussies were sitting strong and held the lead until SS17 when a pucnture saw them slip to second.
But Gill rose to the challenge, winning back-to-back 24KM stages to slash Kelly’s advantage from 30s to 8.3s and snare back second.
Gill was delighted by the impressive fighting drive.
“Today we really needed to take those two stage wins, so we just threw everything at both passes, and were able to win them both,” he said.
“I was basically shaking at the end of the first pass.
“It was just incredible, but honestly, we had two almost perfect runs, I would say. There was not a lot left in the tank.”
In addition to the JWRC, Gill and Brkic also lead the WRC3 standings with an eight-point advantage over Matteo Fontana.
“We obviously are cross-entered in both categories, and to be leading them both is a credit to the work we put in so far this season,” he said.
The Central European Rally finale based in Germany, plus Czech Republic and Austria, it will be held from October 16 to 19.
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