Hat trick for Crocker and Motor Image Rally Team

Scoring his third straight win in a row, FIA Asia Pacific Rally Champion (APRC) defending champion Cody Crocker once again proved his mettle, this time on the narrow and gravelly roads of Hokkaido’s mountains. Driving the Motor Image Subaru Impreza WRX STI made in Singapore, and supported by the Motor Image Rally Team, the Australian’s winning time was 2 hours, 32 mins and 13 secs.

It was a dominating drive by Crocker, the reigning APRC champion, taking 10 points for the win and an additional six bonus points for finishing each day as the fastest car as well. The multiple Australian champ now sits on top of the series table with the maximum 48 points.

“It’s a fantastic result. Hokkaido is one of the more challenging courses in the championship and we were up against fierce competition from the Japanese guys like Katsu Taguchi, so it’s a pretty exciting win for us. We’ve still got three events left, so our goal is to win each of those as well,” said Crocker, 35.

“I want to congratulate both my drivers, Cody and Rifat for a great showing. The point is to be careful and get as many points as we can get. Hokkaido is known to be a very tough rally so coming in first is a real coup for the whole Motor Image Rally Team. This is our first year and there’s a lot to learn but we’ve assembled a great team - drivers, cars and engineers, and the results are showing,” said Glenn Tan, Group Chief Executive, Motor Image Group.

Indonesian driver Rifat Sungkar, 29, who is also backed by the Motor Image Rally Team came in 6th with a time of 2 hours, 41 mins and 39 secs. This is Sungkar’s first year driving a Subaru. “It wasn’t an easy weekend for me but I am gaining more experience with every leg and getting more familiar with the car. So I think what’s important for me now is to stay focused on doing my best and staying safe. We still have Malaysia, Indonesia and China to go and I’m looking forward to them," said Sungkar.

Comprising 16 stages and a total of 232.42km, the Rally of Hokkaido is the fourth round of the seven-leg FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship. With chilling winds overhead, the rally kick-started with a ceremonial flag-off and fireworks display on Friday (6 July 2007) in the city of Obihiro on Hokkaido, which is the northernmost island of the Japanese Archipelago. As always the event was supported by a large number of local fans waiting by the road, waving flags and taking photos.

In all, a total of eight teams competed in the APRC Rally of Hokkaido. The Motor Image backed teams driving made-in-Singapore Subaru Group N Rally cars were fronted by Cody Crocker, from Australia and Rifat Sungkar from Indonesia. Both teams made their debut in the Rally of Whangerei, held from 11th to 13th May 2007 in New Zealand. The next event in the APRC is the Malaysia Rally, 10th to 12th August and held on the Palm Oil Plantation roads in Johor Bahru, very near to Singapore.



[B]Final Results – Rally Hokkaido[/B]

1, (AP), C.CROCKER, SUBARU, 2:32:13.0,
2, (AP) K.TAGUCHI, MITSUBISHI, 2:33:36.6, +1:23.6
3, (AP) J.VALIMAKI, MITSUBISHI, 2:34:12.6, +1:59.6
4, (AP) YANAGISAWA, SUBARU, 2:37:07.1, +4:54.1
5, (AP) V-R N.KUMAR, MITSUBISHI, 2:38:51.2, +6:38.2
6, (AP), R.SUNGKAR, SUBARU, 2:41:39.6, +9:26.6
7, T.KAMADA, SUBARU, 2:42:52.6, +10:39.6
8, S.TAGUCHI, MITSUBISHI, 2:44:30.2, +12:17.2
9, (AP), Y.IKEMACHI, SUBARU, 2:46:21.6, +14:08.6
10, (AP), B.GREEN, MITSUBISHI, 2:48:17.7, +16:04.7

Credits: Kr0n