Gaurav Gill and Glen Macneall are the 2013 Asia Pacific Rally Champions after finishing Day 1 of China Rally and taking an unbeatable lead in the championship standings.

“This is definitely the highlight of my career so far, we’ve come close on several other occasions and this year wasn’t easy either. I have to thank the team, my co-driver Glenn (Macneall), Skoda and a big thank you to MRF tyres too as they’ve stuck with me all these years and so its nice to reward them and my country”.

Gill had a trouble-free day, except for a puncture on the afternoon loop. “We stopped and changed it loosing 2-3 minutes, but the main thing is to get it the car back here”.

Gill’s team-mate Esapekka Lappi from Finland leads the event by 4 minutes. There’s still one day to go, before the finish when the MRF Skoda team can celebrate on the APRC podium, the manufacturers and team prize.

Michael Young, from New Zealand, was the only driver in with a shout of preventing Gill from taking the title, despite his front-wheel-drive Toyota Vitz giving away a stack of performance to Gill’s pacesetting Skoda Fabia Super 2000. But Young’s non-appearance means Indian driver Gill cannot be caught in the championship charge.