Gaurav Gill almost pulled off a fighting top-eight finish at Rally Cyprus, only to retire on the road section after the final competitive stage.

After completing the last of the tricky Sunday stages, Gill had maintained eighth place among the PWRC teams, with two championship points in the bag. But on the transport stage back to the finish podium, the engine in his Subaru let go, leaving him and co-driver David Senior to rue a missed opportunity.

“It’s so disappointing and a big waste of effort,” said Gill. “We were getting better and better all rally, and even made it to the end of the last stage!”

Earlier in the day, Gill and Senior were forced to repair a broken steering arm at the remote service following stage 12.

The result would have been a good return for the Sidvin crew, after brake failure during the opening leg them languishing in 12th place. But Gill excelled on the wet Saturday stages, claiming four positions and setting times competitive with the PWRC leaders.

PWRC honours were claimed by Patrik Sandell, who nudged past the slowing Mitsubishi of Armindo Araujo. Araujo held the lead for much of the event, but a failing gearbox slowed his progress over the closing stages, allowing Sandell to claim a maiden PWRC victory for the new Skoda Fabia S2000.

The next event for Team Sidvin is Rally Portugal, starting three weeks time.

Photos courtesy of www.team-sidvin.com.