Australian rally driver Lewis Gill has announced an expansion of his WRC2 campaign for this season. After initially being scheduled for just Rally Finland, Gill and co-driver Dan Brkic will now also contest Rally Paraguay and Rally Chile, adding two events in South America.
The decision comes as a pleasant surprise given the team's limited budget, but the golden opportunity to compete in two rounds back-to-back proved too tempting. "We believed Finland would be the finish of our WRC year. However, Paraguay was a big bonus. To then be able to add Chile to complete the South American double-header is incredible," Gill said, as quoted from Speedcafe.
For both events, Gill and Brkic will drive a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 prepared by Toksport World Rally Team. This will mark the third different Rally2-spec car for Gill this year, after debuting in a Toyota GR Yaris and more recently a Citroen C3.
Gill's performances this season have been impressive. His WRC2 debut in Rally Sweden yielded a fourth-place finish. He then took ninth in Croatia and tenth in Finland. "I had a small drive of a Skoda last week in Finland, and it was good to start the learning process. It's a strong car, and it gave me great feedback right away," he explained.
Full support comes from his Finnish manager Jukka Hara, also known as a strong supporter of Sami Pajari. Hara has been instrumental in opening doors for Gill. "Toksport has proven their world-class level time and time again over many years. When you look at the championships it has won, the pedigree speaks for itself," praised Gill.
Of course, the cost is a significant challenge. "Nothing is free at this level of the sport, but it's something we needed to do to get ourselves closer to our goals. We're still yet to fit the final pieces together, but we have to take every opportunity that presents itself and work harder than ever to get things off the ground," Gill asserted.
The pair will begin with Rally Paraguay on August 27-30, followed by a short turnaround to Rally Chile on September 10-13. With limited time, thorough preparation will be key.
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