June 26, 2025
Gill on the hunt at Rally of the Gods
After a dream start to the 2025 Junior World Rally Championship (JWRC), Australia’s Taylor Gill and Daniel Brkic face the biggest challenge of the season – Acropolis Rally Greece.
The pair lead the JWRC standings after claiming victory in the opening two rounds in Sweden and Portugal, and aim to continue their momentum in the Greek heat this weekend.
Renowned for being one of the toughest rallies in the world, the rough and rocky gravel in Greece is car-breaking and requires both skill and luck to push for the win on the unforgiving mountain stages.
The event is being held amid a hot Greek summer, with temperatures set to soar over 40 degrees Celsius. To perform at their best, the Aussies will need to be on their game both physically and mentally.
To their advantage, Gill and Brkic will enter the event with some experience, having competed at the 2024 instalment.
“We know firsthand how rough and tough this event can be,” Gill explained.
“We were undone by a large rock in this event last year, which put paid to our title chances, so we’re hoping this year will be different.
“There’s certainly an element of luck involved in this event with the amount of rocks around, especially being down in the Junior field. We have to manage our weekend well.”
The Ford Fiesta Rally3, used by all competitors in the JWRC, has been reliable for Gill so far in 2025, and the difficult conditions faced this weekend will be the ultimate test for the vehicle.
It’ll be a case of finding the right balance of care, caution, and speed, and getting the combination right will go a long way to a strong result.
“We definitely have to plan our rally and make smart decisions throughout,” Gill added.
“It’s tricky because we need the points for stage wins, but a mistake when pushing for those points would cost us in our overall result, so there’s a fine line.”
The 2025 Acropolis Rally will be based in Lamia, Greece. Crews will tackle 17 special stages across 345 competitive kilometres, and it is one of the most popular events on the WRC calendar.