Chennai: Gaurav Gill, the 2013 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship winner, will lead a three-car Team MRF for the forthcoming season beginning in New Zealand from April 17.

Joining the Team MRF stable is 24-year-old Swedish driver Pontus Tidemand who will be making his APRC debut while New Caledonian Jean-Louis Leyraud completes the Chennai-based tyre manufacturer’s line-up.

The three MRF drivers will be piloting the super-quick Race Torque-prepared Skoda Fabia in the Pacific Cup section of the championship, according to a MRF press release here on Tuesday.

Having participated in the APRC for over a decade, Team MRF has in the last few years dominated the event with their cars running on specially prepared tyres for all surfaces.

Arun Mammen, Managing Director, MRF Tyres, said: “We eagerly look forward to this year’s APRC Championship. We are thrilled to be defending our APRC title and with three teams, we hope to extend our dominance in the field and reiterate our commitment to the sport.”

Runner-up to teammate Jan Kopecky last year, 33-year-old Delhi-based Gill and his Australian co-driver Glenn Macneall will be hoping to reclaim their position as the championship’s leading crew when the first event gets underway in New Zealand next month.

Tidemand, on the other hand, is an APRC novice, but after leading his home World Rally Championship round after the first stage in February, he is a proven talent who should adapt quickly to the new challenge.

Tidemand, who will be partnered by Emil Axelsson, was the 2011 Swedish Rally champion, and also took the Junior World Rally Championship title in 2013.

“With the continued support of MRF Tyres, we have managed to put together a team that is hard to beat, and one that the opposition fear.

“We will be using the same cars that finished last season so successfully, and with further development we expect to our drivers to be right on the pace again,” said team boss Lane Heenan.

The APRC calendar: April 17-19, New Zealand; May 15-17, New Caledonia; June 19-21, A A Australia; August 14-16, Malaysia; September 18-20, Japan; October 30 – November 1, China; December 11-13, Chikmagaluru, India (Asia Cup).