Team MRF Tyres returned to the WRC Rally Australia stages on Sunday and proved that the tyres can handle the toughest conditions at the WRC Kennards Hire Rally Australia.
Having to restart under Rally2 rules, Gaurav Gill and Glenn Macneall were up against very slippery conditions with rain and mud throughout the six stages and 83.96km competitive kilometres that made up the day.
The MRF Tyres Ford Fiesta R5 led after Friday’s stages but had to retire on Saturday due to a mechanical issue but the pace on Sunday showed that Friday was no fluke.
Gill and Macneall took the fastest time in the RC2 class on SS19: Coramba (15.55km), SS20: Sapphire (19.27km) and SS23 – the second run through Sapphire. They took a top 10 stage time overall and the fastest time in RC2 on the final stage SS24 – Wedding Bells Reverse (7.16km)
The rally showed the development and work put in by the entire MRF Tyres team during the 2018 WRC season had begun to pay dividends.
For driver, Gaurav Gill, it was satisfying to show the pace on such a difficult rally.
“Today was very difficult. The heavy rain made the stages very muddy and it was very slippery and you had to be very careful,” Gill said.
“We knew we had the pace this weekend but the conditions today were so different to what we had on Friday but the car and tyres were fast in both the dry and wet conditions.
“The MRF Tyres though handled the conditions well though and we were able to make it through without any incidents.
“This was my first time to Rally Australia and I think the pace we showed this weekend is a good indication of the work the entire team at MRF Tyres has put in this year.”
This was the fourth outing for MRF Tyres in the WRC this year. After dominating the Asia Pacific Rally Championship the Indian tyre manufacturer set its sights on developing a tyre to compete in the WRC.
This year has been about learning about the challenges of the WRC stages and getting valuable data for the development of the tyre.
The information gathered on the Coffs Harbour roads will be used for the continued development of the MRF Tyre.
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