Gill did the double on the rough gravel roads, taking out the WRC3 win as well as the JWRC class in his Rally3-spec Ford Fiesta.

“What a tough weekend,” said the Novocastrian.

“It was so long and so demanding both physically and mentally, but I’m really proud of the job we did.

“It’s been challenging as well with really long days, especially on Friday. That was probably my longest day in a rally car, so I’m ready for bed now after the busy weekend.”

That Friday leg featured 149.42km of stages totalling 15 hours of action, with proceedings not concluding for Gill until 10pm.

“The goal was to win, absolutely. That’s what we were here to do, and we had a good plan,” Gill explained.

“Relatively speaking, 90 percent of the weekend went to plan, so I’m really happy with how we executed everything.

“It was a really good job in the car from Dan and myself, and I think we’ve levelled up, even just from Sweden, but especially our driving on gravel has really stepped up this weekend.

“We were able to commit to the notes without taking crazy risks and set some really good stage times along the way.”

Gill took the lead on SS2 and never relinquished the lead thereafter.

Mille Johansson, who suffered a slow rollover on the first full day of competition, fought back from a one-minute deficit to end the rally within 13.4 seconds of the lead at the end of 24 stages.

Despite Gill taking two wins to start the season, points awarded for stage wins means Gill sits level with Johansson in the points.

“It’s really, really good, because to be honest, it’s pushing me further and further forward as well,” Gill said of the looming threat.

“If we didn’t have Mille, then we wouldn’t be developing and progressing (as fast), and that’s the whole point of this championship.”

Gill will continue his season at the Acropolis Rally Greece on June 26-29.