Gaurav Gill, the king of Queensland

Gaurav Gill of India, driving for MRF-Skoda, captured the Rally of Queensland title on a foggy Sunday morning here. Rainfall of apocalyptic proportions sent the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship organisers scrambling for cover at Imbil here, forcing them to cancel Special Stages 13 through 16.

However, the drivers had to cover a 1.2 kilometre course — dubbed Special Stage 20 Super Short — required to complete the mandatory minimum kilometre-count. This was so that full points could be awarded to the drivers.

In the end, Gill along with co-driver Glenn Macneall won comfortably with a timing of 1:43:45.3 and a healthy lead of 1:59.6, half of which was racked up on a sunnier, drier opening day.

This was Gill’s second straight victory in the 2016 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship.

MRF’s German wunderkind, the 23-year-old Fabien Kreim (with Frank Christian), was the runner-up — his second consecutive second-place finish in his debut season — with a timing of 1:45:44.9.

Gill kicked off the day’s proceedings by experimenting with his car’s set up, something he had indicated he would do. As a result, Gill was forced to drive well within the car’s limits, conceding the stage lead to Kreim.

“We tried something new with the car,” Gill said, referring to the Skoda R5 which he has been driving only this season. “I wasn’t feeling very confident so I took it easy. I finished first in all the remaining stages though.

“The conditions were unsafe. We finished without any incident but several cars had gone off the track,” he added.

Next up for Gill and the MRF team is the China leg of the competition but before that, the itinerant Gill is looking forward to spending some time with family in Delhi.