RACE REPORT168 http://www.evoIndia.com | July 2019
E BROKE NEWS OF JK TYRE
returning to rallying and now the
biggest piece of the puzzle falls
into place, with Gaurav Gill returning to
the team that launched his rallying career.
Twelve years ago, Gill switched from JK to
MRF Tyres, a move that netted him three
APRC championships and also a move to
the WRC 2 in 2019. However, with MRF
taking a sabbatical in 2019, Gaurav Gill has
decided to switch to JK Tyre, a move that
will see him compete in three rounds of the
WRC 2 this year – Turkey, Great Britain and
Australia – and in all likelihood continuing
with the M-Sport Ford Fiesta R5. The bigger
news for Indian motorsport enthusiasts is
that Gill will lead JK Tyre’s Indian National
Rally program, launching a nation-wide
talent hunt to unearth ‘the next Gaurav
Gill’ and expanding the GG Advanced
Driving Academy. “This is chapter two of
my life,” says Gaurav Gill. “Now I have a
bigger picture where I perform not just in
rallies but also for everyone else around
me.”
“We have our slightly different way of
operations,” says Sanjay Sharma, head ofat closed-stadium autocross events that
can be held in the heart of the city. This
will be rallying for the masses, making it
more accessible while also being visually
spectacular what with the crosskarts
being rear-wheel drive, powered by 600cc
superbike engines, running on loose
gravel, and the suspension also allowing
big jumps and crowd-pleasing antics.
The 2019 INRC is set to kick off with
the South India rally on June 27 and
will not see a full-fledged JK Tyre rally
team. Instead JK will support four
drivers, Karna Kadur, Younus Illyas, Dean
Mascarenhas and Suhem Kabeer. Karna
will be driving the VW Polo running the
new 1.2-litre TSI turbo-petrol engine
built by Arka Motorsport while Younus
will be driving the Mitsubishi Cedia
prepared by Joel Joseph’s Race Concepts.
As for Gaurav Gill he will continue with
Team Mahindra Adventure who will be
debuting the Mahindra XUV300 prepared
by Arka Motorsport. What tyres will Gill’s
XUV300 run on is the big question because
Mahindra Adventure have (successfully)
partnered with MRF Tyres ever since they
started rallying.
Will the rallying program come at the
expense of racing? “No,” says Sanjay
Sharma. “In fact, racing is going to be next
level and we will bring Formula 3 to the
final round of the JK Tyre National Racing
Championship. As for rallying we will back
to the way we were. We will take a little
time to get there and we have to start from
rock bottom but who better to spearhead
this entire operation.” LWORDS by SIRISH CHANDRANGill back in yellow
Multiple INRC and APRC champ Gaurav Gill returns
to JK Tyre to spearhead their return to rallyingW
Right: Sanjay Sharma, head of motorsport at JK
Tyre welcomes Gaurav Gill back to the teammotorsport at JK Tyre. “We don’t promote
for branding. We will pursue and practise
rallying as we did in racing. And now that
there is a new promoter [Champions Yacht
Club] it is all looking good.” The FMSCI
has also confirmed that FIA-homologated
four-wheel drive cars like the Fiesta R5
will also be allowed to compete for the
overall INRC title, which JK Tyre intends
to compete in with an R5 spec car like the
Fiesta R5 illustrated above, and of course
driven by Gaurav Gill. “We now need
someone to spearhead the operation. Not
only as a participant who is at the peak
of his performance and fitness but also to
produce a new breed of rally drivers. That’s
the need of the hour.”
In addition, much like what JK Tyre has
done with karting, the team will launch
Crosskarts in India. Unlike go-karts which
are limited to only asphalt, Crosskarts,
essentially go-karts with more ground
clearance and a roll-cage, can be used