Gill finishes 4th in APRC super special stage

Once the last of the surfboards was brought in, the people of Caloundra, a town on the eastern coast of Australia, gathered at the Sunshine Coast Industrial Park to seek another thrill: watching rally cars burn rubber. Deepti Patwardhan reports.

Once the last of the surfboards was brought in, the people of Caloundra, a town on the eastern coast of Australia, gathered at the Sunshine Coast Industrial Park to seek another thrill: watching rally cars burn rubber.

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The second round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), known as the Rally of Queensland, took off to a screeching start with the 2.26-km super special stage.

And Australia's Chris Atkinson, of team Proton, extended his good run by topping the charts on Friday. Atkinson, who had won this season's opening round in Malaysia last month, clocked 2:52.1.

Atkinson's teammate Alister McRae, former World Rally Championship driver, came in second with a timing of 2:52.8.

India's Gaurav Gill, driving for MRF, came in fourth, seven seconds behind the leader. Gill had become the first Indian driver to win the APRC round when he won the Rally of Queensland last year. He's currently second in the championship, owing to the impressive show in Malaysia.

Gill's teammate, Katsuhiko Taguchi of Japan took 3:06.1 minutes to complete the course and is placed eighth.