Cody Crocker Maintains Lead at Whangarei, New Zealand
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Defending champion, Cody Crocker, of Singapore-based Motor Image Racing Team (MIRT) took
the lead today, when he finished first on Day 1 of the Rally of Whangarei in New Zealand.
Coming in at a time of 1hr 34mins and 08.4 seconds, he led all the way despite the tough
road conditions, followed closely by competitor, Katsuhiko Taguchi, with a close 11 seconds
behind.
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As the top seed and therefore, first on the road, Crocker and co-driver Ben Atkinson, had to
contend with heavily-metalled roads during the first runs throughout the four stages of Day
One, which were repeated in the afternoon.
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Said Crocker, "It was definitely a very tough set of stages, and we had to sweep lots of gravel
off the road for the following cars. We've completed around 160km, so we're pretty tired. Fortunately,
we came home first in the APRC field to gain three bonus points for the day."
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Emma Gilmour, Crocker's MIRT team-mate, ended the day with a time of 1 hour, 34 minutes and 37.2 seconds.
This puts her in an impressive 3rd place on the final table on Day One at Whangarei.
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"Rhianon and I are very happy with our day today. To finish third was a good result for us and I am
looking forward to tomorrow to try and improve on our position, as we are only 17 seconds behind Taguchi,"
said Emma Gilmour.
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"We're very happy with the result today considering that the team went through a very tough set of stages.
Their cars performed well and the teams have shown good speed. If they can keep that up tomorrow, we should
be in for another good showing," said Mr. Glenn Tan, Team Principal, Motor Image Racing Team.
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At the end of today's race, Crocker holds a slender 11-second lead over Taguchi, with Gilmour, 28 seconds
behind Crocker.
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Both MIRT drivers will return tomorrow to contest for the Rally of Whangarei title as Day 2 of the New Zealand
leg continues with another 120km of competitive driving over six stages on roads around Paparoa and Whangarei.
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The two Subaru teams, sponsored by Motor Image Group (MIG), are fronted by defending champion Cody Crocker
from Australia, and female driver Emma Gilmour from New Zealand.
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| 2009 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship – Rally of Whangarei Day 1 Results |
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S/N |
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 |
01:34:08.4 |
2 |
2 |
MRF Tyres |
Katsu TAGUCHI
Mark STACEY |
JPN
AUS |
MITSUBISHI
Lancer EVO IX |
N4 |
01:34:20.2 |
3 |
5 |
Motor Image
Racing Team |
Emma GILMOUR
Rhianon SMYTH |
NZ
AUS |
SUBARU
Impreza WRX STI |
N4 |
01:34:37.2 |
4 |
4 |
MRF Tyres |
Gaurav GILL
Glenn MACNEALL |
IND
AUS |
MITSUBISHI
Lancer EVO X |
N4 |
01:35:32.0 |
5 |
7 |
Brian Green
Motorsport Ltd |
Brian GREEN
Fleur PEDERSEN |
NZ
NZ |
MITSUBISHI
Lancer EVO IX |
N4 |
01:42:34.4 |
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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 automobiles in Singapore, and has since
expanded its presence to manage the Subaru distributorships in Southern China, Hong Kong,
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand. The Group is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed Tan Chong International Limited (TCIL), engaging in
automotive, commercial, manufacturing, trading and property investment businesses in Asia.
Visit Subaru's official website at www.motorimage.net.
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Subaru's philosophy is based on high quality engineering, safety, reliability,
a fun driving experience and value. The company was founded in 1955 when a P-1
prototype of an all-wheel drive passenger car was completed. Since then, Subaru
has grown to become one of the world's leading carmakers, with Subaru vehicles
offering superb driving pleasure and safety based on advanced technologies,
including the Horizontally-Opposed Engine, the symmetrical All-Wheel Drive (AWD)
system and the intelligent continuously variable transmission (I-CVT).
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