Crocker on track for fourth APRC title in Indonesia
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Singapore-based Motor Image Racing Team (MIRT) rally driver Cody Crocker is right on track
to win a record-breaking fourth straight Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) title after
a successful Day 1 of the Rally of Indonesia 2009, the second last leg of this year's APRC
season.
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Day 1 of Rally Indonesia consisted of eight special stages covering a total of 135.88km
through the sugarcane plantations of Makassar, South Sulawesi. The MIRT pair of Crocker
and co-driver Ben Atkinson maintained their dominance on the track in their MotorImage
Subaru Impreza WRX STI despite the challenging track conditions from the afternoon downpour.
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Crocker won seven of the eight stages, comfortably commanding the opening day of the
sixth round of the APRC and coming in at a time of 2h 2m 28.4s, a minute clear of rival
Katsu Taguchi. MIRT teammate Emma Gilmour fought hard through the bumpy stages and
finished third, 7m 48s behind Crocker to seal yet another impressive race-day for Subaru.
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With the current points standing, Cody will be able to claim the APRC title by simply
finishing Day 2 and securing the one necessary point.
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Tan Keng Hock, Team Director, Motor Image Racing Team said, "I'm very glad with today's
results as we're right on track to win the championship title tomorrow. Both drivers and
cars performed well today despite the grueling conditions and I foresee them doing the
same tomorrow."
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However, today's win did not come easy. Crocker, recalling last year's Rally of Indonesia
said, "It was one of the hardest and fastest that I've done for some time, and this year
wasn't any different. Conditions were incredibly rough today with the roads cutting up badly,
and then the rain came which made the roads ridiculously slippery. The black soil just turns to silt."
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Crocker and Atkinson endured a few spins as they struggled to find some grip on the stages.
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"I had to abort one corner when we were literally doing 20 kilometres per hour in first gear,"
Crocker added. "On the long straights all you could do was start braking 200 metres before the
corner, then use the car's engine braking to try to slow down in time."
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With overshoots and spins galore on the bumpy roads of Makassar in Day 1, surviving the second
run will be of utmost importance for many of the competitors.
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The final day of Rally Indonesia will see the remaining competitors tackle six stages covering 85.22km.
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| Classifications for Day 1 - APRC Rally of Indonesia 2009 |
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Pos |
Car No |
Entrant |
Driver / Co-driver |
NAT |
Vehicle |
GRP/CLS |
Total Time |
1 |
1 |
Motor Image
Racing Team |
Cody CROCKER
Ben ATKINSON |
AUS
AUS |
SUBARU
Impreza WRX STI |
N4 |
2:02:28.4 |
2 |
2 |
MRF Tyres |
Katsu TAGUCHI
Mark STACEY |
JPN
AUS |
MITSUBISHI
Lancer EVO IX |
N4 |
2:03:28.4 |
3 |
4 |
Motor Image
Racing Team |
Emma GILMOUR
Claire MOLE |
NZ
GB |
SUBARU
Impreza WRX STI |
N4 |
2:10:16.4 |
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| 2009 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship Dates & Locations |
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| Rally de Nouvelle Caledonie |
France |
10th – 12th April |
| Rally Queensland |
Australia |
9th – 10th May |
| Rally of Whangarei |
New Zealand |
5th – 7th June |
| Rally Hokkaido |
Japan |
11th – 12th July |
| Malaysian Rally |
Malaysia |
15th – 16th August |
| Rally Indonesia |
Indonesia |
3rd – 4th October |
| China Rally |
China |
14th – 15th November |
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* Please note that the APRC 2009 will feature seven events on the calendar but participating teams only need to register and race in a
minimum of six events. Motor Image Racing Team has nominated to participate in all events except the Rally de Nouvelle Caledonie in 2009. |
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| The Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) |
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The APRC is organised by the FIA and consists of seven legs of rallying under
gruelling conditions. Taking place in some of the most diverse regions of the
world, the APRC attracts drivers from across the world. Each rallying leg has
it own unique characteristics, adding to the allure of rallying. From the dust
and dirt of Australia, to the wintery conditions of New Zealand, to the steaming
jungles of Malaysia, APRC offers participants challenges in both topography and climate. |
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The APRC is primarily a Group N championship in that the favoured cars are the current
world leaders in Group N rally technology. The championship is subject to regulations
laid down by the FIA. Vehicle eligibility is open to Production cars (Group N) and
Touring cars (Group A5, A6, A7). Each class has a driver and co-driver award along with
an overall manufacturer trophy. In 2006, Subaru were the recipients of the manufacturers'
trophy, while Cody Crocker won the driver's title. |
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Group N cars are built from base cars with a limited range of modifications allowed. The
Group N cars by Subaru use the same engines as the Subaru WRX STI road cars. The production
of the Group N rally cars in Singapore began in November 2006 with the support from Subaru
Tecnica International (STI) and Possum Bourne Motor Sports (PBMS). The Group N cars, which
are built and distributed from the state-of-the-art Subaru Hub in Toa Payoh, are production
vehicles fitted with safety equipment in compliance with the governing Federation International
de l'Automobile's (FIA) guidelines and regulations. |
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For more information on APRC, please refer to www.fiaaprc.com. |
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| About Motor Image Racing Team |
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The Motor Image Racing Team (MIRT) is part of Singapore-based Motor Image Enterprises that
was conceived in 2007 after a project with Subaru Tecnica International to build Group N Cars.
The MIRT has been making waves in the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) with two
manufacturers' titles under its belt and Cody Crocker winning two consecutive driver's
championships for the team. For more information, please visit www.miracingteam.com. |
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Motor Image is the sole distributor of Subaru cars in Singapore. The company started
operations in 1986 and over the years expanded its presence to manage the Subaru
distributorships in Southern China, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The Motor Image Group is a subsidiary of
Hong Kong-listed Tan Chong International Limited (TCIL), which engages in automotive,
commercial, manufacturing, trading and property investment businesses across Asia.
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Based in Japan, Subaru is the automobile brand produced by Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI),
a comprehensive, multifaceted transport equipment manufacturer that develops a wide range
of innovative products such as automobiles, aerospace, bus-manufacturing, house-prefabricating,
industrial products and ecology systems. Founded in 1955 Subaru has since grown to become one
of the world's leading carmakers. In 1972, Subaru became the first in the world to market an
All-Wheel Drive (AWD) passenger car and pioneered the market in Japan for high-performance
station wagons by combining a turbo-charged engine with an AWD system. Subaru has improved
and refined its AWD system, to create a symmetrical AWD system that enables optimal driving
pleasure and safety.
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Subaru (in Japanese) refers to a group of stars which is the name of a star cluster
in the Taurus constellation. The name was adopted in the 1950's, as its official logo when
the company produced its first passenger prototype, the P-1.
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Subaru is well-known by motoring organizations worldwide for its engineering, design,
functionality, safety and reliability. The Subaru range of vehicles includes the Forester,
Legacy, Outback, Impreza, Impreza WRX, Impreza WRX STI, Exiga and Tribeca.
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