July 17, 2025
Three in a Rally3: Gill and Brkic make significant gains across three rallies
Taylor Gill and Dan Brkic have made significant gains across three rallies in as many weekends. Competing across three countries, two surfaces and in three different Ford Fiesta Rally3s, the duo impressed at the Acropolis Rally Greece (WRC), Rally di Roma Capitale (ERC), and Rally Kouvola (Finnish Championship).
While the scoreboard might show a second-place finish and two retirements, the overall story is one of pace, growing maturity, and a level of determination which has bolstered their chances for the remainder of the season.
2nd Place – Junior WRC
The trio of rallies began with a return to familiar terrain for Gill and Brkic, as they lined up in their M-Sport-run Ford Fiesta Rally3 at the Acropolis Rally, round three of the 2025 FIA Junior World Rally Championship.
Having won both previous JWRC rounds in Sweden and Portugal, Gill came into Greece tied for the championship lead, and had one goal for the weekend – to outscore rival Mille Johansson on points and hold the lead alone.
The Acropolis, infamous for its punishing rocky roads and searing heat, had been part of the Aussie duo’s 2024 campaign, so they had some idea on what to expect for the rally.
Gill and Brkic claimed two stage wins across the rally, and felt a rollercoaster of emotions across the event, and were glad to finish in the silver placing.
“The outcome in Greece was pretty much to plan,” Gill said.
“While the actual happenings of the rally weren’t perfect, we achieved what we had set out for the weekend, so were thrilled to take the lead of the championship at the conclusion of the weekend.”
Rally 2: Rally di Roma Capitale – European Rally Championship (ERC)
Retired day one, won every stage day two
With barely any time to breathe, the team made a rapid turnaround for Rally di Roma Capitale, round five of the European Rally Championship. Entered in the ERC3 category, Gill and Brkic were using the event as an additional opportunity to gain asphalt mileage.
In this event, they were run by a team they'd not worked with before, KMS Racing from Finland. In a different Fiesta Rally3, they had many extra freedoms not offered in the JWRC, and were able to use these to their advantage.
After winning the opening two stages on Saturday, they were forced to retired on the road section to the third, with fuel pump failure.
They would return for Sunday’s stages and continue their dominance in the ERC3 category. Such was their dominance, they won every stage on Sunday, stamping their authority on the field.
“Being run by KMS was a great experience – it was cool to work with the team engineers and have everything from the team focussed on us,” he explained.
“We were super happy with our speed. We drove consistently all weekend, and our pace got closer and closer to that of the Rally2 cars, which is a good benchmark for us.
“The increased freedoms with car setup in a non-JWRC event was great, and it was awesome to be able to adjust things on the fly based on specific information we were being given.”
Rally 3: Rally Kouvala – Finnish Championship
Retired (Technical)
Again, the Aussies would have no time to rest, as they returned to their European homeland of Finland to contest the Finnish Championship round, again in a Fiesta Rally3.
This time, however, they would be run by Dogbox Oy, another reputable Finnish team, and a team they have worked with multiple times over the past two seasons.
After showing promising speed despite some teething issues with the car, they were forced to retire before the final stage, with a mechanical issue preventing them from going into the last stage.
Despite this, it was still valuable kilometres in the car in the lead up to the upcoming Rally Finland, which is the next round of the JWRC.
“We had a really tricky day. The car wasn’t behaving the way I wanted it to,” Gill said.
“Regardless of the outcome, we still see it as a valuable weekend; we got some good testing in the car on the high speed gravel of Finland, which will help us going into the next JWRC rally.”
The schedule doesn’t get much easier for Taylor and Dan, as they’re already deep in preparations for Rally Finland, which is in under a month’s time.
Between now and then, it’s watching stage videos, gathering data, and also some more testing in the forests of Finland, to put them in the best possible position to again extend their lead in the JWRC.