<p>Ace Indian rally driver Gaurav Gill began the Champions Yacht Club-FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship 2020 in style, winning the Rally of Arunachal, here on Thursday.</p>.<p>Gill, driving for JK Tyre, took a total of 56:55.200 minutes to complete eight special stages and record a victory by a margin of an impressive 4:25.700 minutes over Karna Kadur. Dean Mascarenhas finished third overall with a time of 1:02:30.500 hour.</p>.<p>The three-time APRC champion was in his ominous best and even a flat tyre on final stage could not stop him from underlining his supremacy in the opening round.</p>.<p>Gill along with co-driver Musa Sherif got off to a thrilling start and after opening up a considerable lead on the opening day, which witnessed four thrilling night stages, it was all about driving safe and bringing his XUV300 home.</p>.<p>However, that did not stop him from going full throttle and he drove like a man possessed to win three on day four to increase his lead further.</p>.<p>On the final stage, he had a flat tyre just two kilometres away from the flying start but still managed to finish, which was enough for him to draw the first blood.</p>.<p>"It was a great start to the season. The stages were really fast and I enjoyed driving here. The car has been fantastic and there is absolutely nothing I could complain about," Gill said.</p>.<p>"We made some adjustments to the car from last year and it has worked wonders. And all I could say is, me behind the wheels of a car like this on tarmac is just the perfect combination."</p>.<p>Karna Kadur on MRF Tyres overcame initial hiccups, which involved a tailspin on ss2, to make his way to the podium.</p>.<p>Karna, driving a Volkswagen Polo and who won the final stage of the round, clocked a total time of 1 hour: 01 min:2.9 seconds.</p>.<p>Karna and his navigator Nikhil V Pai, who ended the opening day in second place, showed great grit to stave off a fierce challenge from Dean and co-driver Shruptha Padival, who finished third.</p>.<p>Defending champion Team Yokohama's Chetan Shivram's title defence took a great hit as he crashed out of the round in the first stage due to engine failure.</p>.<p>The round 2 of the race will be held here on December 19.</p>
<p>Ace Indian rally driver Gaurav Gill began the Champions Yacht Club-FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship 2020 in style, winning the Rally of Arunachal, here on Thursday.</p>.<p>Gill, driving for JK Tyre, took a total of 56:55.200 minutes to complete eight special stages and record a victory by a margin of an impressive 4:25.700 minutes over Karna Kadur. Dean Mascarenhas finished third overall with a time of 1:02:30.500 hour.</p>.<p>The three-time APRC champion was in his ominous best and even a flat tyre on final stage could not stop him from underlining his supremacy in the opening round.</p>.<p>Gill along with co-driver Musa Sherif got off to a thrilling start and after opening up a considerable lead on the opening day, which witnessed four thrilling night stages, it was all about driving safe and bringing his XUV300 home.</p>.<p>However, that did not stop him from going full throttle and he drove like a man possessed to win three on day four to increase his lead further.</p>.<p>On the final stage, he had a flat tyre just two kilometres away from the flying start but still managed to finish, which was enough for him to draw the first blood.</p>.<p>"It was a great start to the season. The stages were really fast and I enjoyed driving here. The car has been fantastic and there is absolutely nothing I could complain about," Gill said.</p>.<p>"We made some adjustments to the car from last year and it has worked wonders. And all I could say is, me behind the wheels of a car like this on tarmac is just the perfect combination."</p>.<p>Karna Kadur on MRF Tyres overcame initial hiccups, which involved a tailspin on ss2, to make his way to the podium.</p>.<p>Karna, driving a Volkswagen Polo and who won the final stage of the round, clocked a total time of 1 hour: 01 min:2.9 seconds.</p>.<p>Karna and his navigator Nikhil V Pai, who ended the opening day in second place, showed great grit to stave off a fierce challenge from Dean and co-driver Shruptha Padival, who finished third.</p>.<p>Defending champion Team Yokohama's Chetan Shivram's title defence took a great hit as he crashed out of the round in the first stage due to engine failure.</p>.<p>The round 2 of the race will be held here on December 19.</p>