Victory for Crocker at Whangarei, New Zealand
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Reigning champion, Cody Crocker, of Singapore-based, Motor Image Racing Team (MIRT) continued
with his Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) victory at the Rally of Whangarei in New Zealand,
today. Winning at a total time of 2hrs 46mins and 56.9 seconds, he maintained his speed and lead
position throughout the 120km stretch.
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Battling through the equally-challenging road conditions as on Day One, the top seed who was first
on the road, with co-driver Ben Atkinson, led all the way driving over the six stages on roads around
Paparoa and Whangarei.
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They managed to hold off a charging Katsuhiro Taguchi, who finished second, to claim victory and the
maximum 16 points. The result keeps Crocker at the top of the APRC points' table and will hold him in
good stead for a record fourth APRC title.
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Said Crocker, "It's been a fantastic day and we'll certainly keep on the attack, although I must say,
that today, was certainly no easier than Day One. We made a few changes to the setup of the car and
that improved our speed."
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Fellow MIRT drivers, Emma Gilmour and co-driver Rhianon Smyth helped the MIRT maintain its lead, when
they managed to beat rival, Taguchi for the narrowest possible margin today, just 0.1 secs, to clinch
2 bonus points for the APRC.
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Said Gilmour, "We had another eight stages with over 100km of driving on some of the best gravel roads
in the world! We really enjoyed driving the car this weekend. I am glad we had a great result for another
tough rally and I'm looking forward to the next."
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"I'm really pleased with the teamwork between the new drivers. The new rally car has also performed well
to contribute to today's good result. Cody has done well to maintain his lead at the top of the APRC table
and the girls, too, have put on an impressive performance. I am happy with the team and am looking forward
to more progress in the APRC," said Mr. Glenn Tan, Team Principal, Motor Image Racing Team.
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The Asia Pacific Rally Championship continues on the island of Hokkaido in Japan on 11-12 July, and then
moves on to Malaysia in August, Indonesia in October and China in November.
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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 2 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 |
02:46:56.09 |
2 |
2 |
MRF Tyres |
Katsu TAGUCHI
Mark STACEY |
JPN
AUS |
MITSUBISHI
Lancer EVO IX |
N4 |
02:47:43.03 |
3 |
5 |
Motor Image
Racing Team |
Emma GILMOUR
Rhianon SMYTH |
NZ
AUS |
SUBARU
Impreza WRX STI |
N4 |
02:48:00.02 |
4 |
4 |
Brian Green
Motorsport Ltd |
Brian GREEN
Fleur PEDERSEN |
NZ
NZ |
MITSUBISHI
Lancer EVO IX |
N4 |
03:00:59.00 |
5 |
7 |
MRF Tyres |
Gaurav GILL
Glenn MACNEALL |
IND
AUS |
MITSUBISHI
Lancer EVO X |
N4 |
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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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