Australian rally star Taylor Gill is remaining optimistic for future events, after undertaking the difficult Rally Valli Ossolane alongside co-driver Daniel Brkic.
Gill and Brkic described their most recent outing as a “learning curve” during their Italian Challenger Championship debut, finishing further down the leaderboard than they originally hoped following unforeseen mechanical issues.
Making their first competitive appearance in a Citroën C3 Rally2, the pair tried their best at getting a handle on the vehicle, but it took some getting used to on the twisty tarmac roads of northern Italy.
Sustaining a front-running pace against a highly competitive local field proved challenging as the rally progressed, though, with the task made tougher by technical issues towards the end of the event.
“Our first event in Italy was the definition of a learning weekend, but that’s exactly what this program is designed for,” Gill said.
“Taking the Citroën C3 Rally2 onto these stages was all new for us, and it was a weekend of pure acclimatisation and discovering how the chassis reacts on the limit, and learning the nuances of the different platform.”
Despite all odds and the fierce competition, Gill and Brkic were inside the top ten for most of the weekend.
Unfortunately, their forward momentum was compromised when a mechanical problem presented itself on Sunday.
The issue resulted in a time loss of nearly a minute and a half on that final stage alone. When combined with subsequent time penalties, the problems dropped them down the final classification to 16th overall.
“We were fighting hard for a top-ten finish, but we struggled with the issue, which then intensified just before the final stage, forcing us to cruise through the final stage, just to get the car across the finish line,” Gill added.
“Losing that time is frustrating, but the mileage gained is invaluable, and the team and I understand what we need to work on. We’ve discovered the baseline now, and we’ll do our homework and build on this experience for the Rally della Marca next month.
“That rally will be another difficult task, but from what we’ve learned with the car so far, I know where we can make improvements and the work will continue to get on the pace.”
Gill and Brkic returned to Australia this week, where Gill will fulfil local sponsorship engagements, including an appearance at PowerPlay Next-Level Karting’s newly opened location in Sydney.
It’s just three weeks until they return to Italy for the Rally della Marca from 10-12 July, before travelling north to begin their preparation in earnest for Rally Finland.
