Guangdong (China), Nov 2 (IANS): Gaurav Gill created history by becoming the first Indian driver to win the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) title after finishing Day 1 of the Rally of China at the wheel of his Team MRF Skoda Fabia S2000.

Title rival and teammate Esapekka Lappi was leading Saturday with Gill in second. The Indian, with Australian co-driver Glenn Macneall, only had to finish the rally to secure his first title while Lappi is in a position to move up to second in the championship, having finished second in the S2000 category at the recent Sanremo Rally in Italy.

Finnish Lappi leads the event by four minutes. There's still a day to go before the end when Gill and the team can celebrate on the podium. Gill suffered a puncture which cost him 2-3 minutes but managed to get back in the rally.

“This is definitely the highlight of my career so far. We've come close on several other occasions and this year wasn't easy either. I have to thank the team, my co-driver Glenn, Skoda and a big thank you to MRF tyres too as they've stuck with me all these years and so it's nice to reward them and my country," said Gill.