August 5, 2025
Aussies extend World Championship lead
Taylor Gill has produced a near-perfect drive to finish second in the Junior World Rally Championship category at Rally Finland, extending his championship lead with one round to complete.
The scene of where he took his maiden JWRC win in 2024, Gill and co-driver, Dan Brkic, recovered brilliantly from a puncture on day two, finishing just 8.3 seconds behind rally winner Eamonn Kelly.
Second place and five stage wins mean that they have doubled their championship lead, putting them in the box seat to take the championship crown.
Gill appeared on the podium on the second stage of the rally, and from then on, would hold a spot on the podium until the end of the rally.
He took the lead on special stage eight, and would then hold it until SS17, when a puncture caused them to fall to third place, with three stages to run. Saturday’s final stage would see it remain status quo, but over the two runs of the classic Ouninpohja stage, on Sunday, Gill was simply superb.
He convincingly won the 24-kilometre stage on both occasions, driving almost inch-perfect for the combined 48 kilometres.
Beginning the final day over 30 seconds from the lead, Gill’s big push certainly gave a fright to eventual winner Kelly, as he would cut the lead to just 8.3 seconds across the two stages.
“Today we really needed to take those two stage wins, so we just threw everything at both passes, and were able to win them both.
“I was basically shaking at the end of the first pass. It was just incredible, but honestly, we had two almost perfect runs, I would say. There was not a lot left in the tank.”
only finished sixth in the overall standings, giving Gill a small buffer going into the final round in Central Europe in October.
The Finland-based Aussie holds a 16-point advantage over Johansson, with Turkish driver, Ali Turkkan, a further 17 points back in third.
Further to his Junior World Rally Championship success, Gill and Brkic also hold a comfortable lead in the WRC3 category, taking top spot over the weekend.
“We obviously are cross entered in both categories, and to be leading them both is a credit to the work we put in so far this season.”
The final round of the JWRC is a double points scoring rally, on tarmac. Based in Germany, with stages also in the Czech Republic and Austria, it will be held from October 16 to 19.