Motor Image Rally Team Triumphs at the Rally of Canberra

Reigning champion Cody Crocker of the Motor Image Rally Team (MIRT) got his Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) off to a perfect start by winning the Rally of Canberra in Australia today.

MIRT’s victory in Canberra was made all the sweeter with the team clinching the coveted Manufacturer’s Title for Subaru. Together with his Australian co-driver, Ben Atkinson, Crocker overcame the various obstacles along the 566.55km route that included a challenging forested terrain, looming dust clouds and roaming kangaroos. He outperformed other competitors, such as Japan’s Katsu Taguchi and fellow Australian Scott Pender, clocking a triumphant 2 hours 23 minutes and 31.9 seconds.

With this victory, Crocker has put his name into the history of the Rally of Canberra, as the driver with the most number of wins in 21 years. This is the second Rally of Canberra title that Crocker has won driving a Singapore-assembled Group N Rally car, bringing the number of Rally of Canberra titles he has won to a grand total of five. It is also the fourth Rally of Canberra title that the Australian driver has won in a row.

While he did not contest the opening event in New Caledonia, Crocker and co-driver Atkinson collected a maximum of 16 points from their Rally of Canberra triumph, and now sit in third placing of the championship points table. Crocker is five points behind Dean Herridge of Cusco Racing and two behind his longtime rival, Taguchi of Japan.


“It has been a fantastic start as we were up against Pender and Taguchi but we managed to win and secure maximum points today. Overall, it was a good race, relatively trouble-free despite tricky roads and some wandering kangaroos. It is great to see that the drivers up on the final podium today all drove Subarus! I look forward to our next rally in Whangerai and to hopefully be able to continue this winning streak,” said Crocker.

Held yearly in Canberra, Australia, the Rally of Canberra is the second round of the seven-leg APRC. It first started in 1988 and has had a long list of illustrious past winners, which includes the late Possum Bourne, the rally legend who passed on after a car crash in 2003.

The Rally of Canberra comprises of a total of 566.55km over 18 stages of gravel-covered routes, through forested terrains. A total of 62 cars from over nine countries competed in this year’s Rally of Canberra. A total of eight APRC registered cars started out on Day Two of the Rally of Canberra. Out of this eight, only five managed to finish.

MIRT is fronted by two drivers, defending champion Crocker from Australia and Sungkar from Indonesia. Both drivers are sponsored by the Motor Image Group (MIG)and made their APRC 2008 season debut in the Rally of Canberra.

Credits: Jarvis