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BY now
it’s all over the news that Subaru, through the Motor
Image Rally Team, which is backed by Singapore-based
Motor Image Enterprises, clinched the drivers’ title in
the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) through the
fine efforts of defending champion Cody Crocker and his
codriver Ben Atkinson, who are both from
Australia.
Crocker
and Atkinson, who took victories in New Zealand,
Australia, Japan and Malaysia, only finished fifth in
last week’s Rally
Indonesia,
but it was enough to secure the championship with just
Rally China left on the calendar.
“After
the flat tire on SS5 we were out of contention, so the
focus became getting through the rally and securing the
APRC title,” said Crocker, who won three straight
Australian national rally titles before accomplishing
his back-to-back APRC championships.
Another win.
Crocker (left)
and codriver Ben Atkinson celebrate their Rally Malaysia
win.
“While
we could be disappointed with fifth here, the real story
for us and the team is a second straight championship.
We’ve had an incredible run, 10 straight event wins,
that run was never going to go on forever in a sport
like this. But for us to add two APRCs to three ARCs
across five years is just incredible,” the
ever-ebullient Crocker added. “Full credit to the team.
We were in many ways a new combination this year,
running for MotorImage for the first time. But
everything has gelled well. Ben has done a brilliant job
again and we can now go to China [the last round of the
championship] and really enjoy the fact that we’ve
achieved our goal for the year.”
The
Team, which includes former world production car rally
champion Toshihiro Arai of Japan and Indonesian Rifat
Sungkar, comprises engineers and mechanics from
Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand and
Australia, debuted in this year’s Rally of Whangarei in
New Zealand
which was held in May.
Before
the Rally Malaysia, which was held from August 10 to 12,
this writer was invited to
Singapore where
he met the members of the team including Glenn Tan,
group chief executive of Motor Image Enterprises, which
is the sole distributor of Subaru automobiles in
Singapore, Southern China, Hong Kong, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and the
Philippines.
The
highlight of the trip proved to be a special treat for
the press as the entire contingent was driven across
Singapore’s border with Johore, Malaysia where three
Subaru WRX STIs in rally trim lay waiting in a rubber
plantation, which served as a test site for the cars.
One by
one, each journalist took the codriver’s seat alongside
one of the drivers, who piloted the vehicles through the
technically challenging gravel roads at rally speed.
This
writer was given the rare opportunity to ride with
Crocker, who proved to be a virtuoso behind the wheel.
Throughout the switchbacks, handbrake turns, jumps, dips
and kinks, Crocker’s mastery of his craft came to the
fore. Despite traveling at high speed, he kept the car
under control—bordering at the limit, but precisely
under control. Even by the standards of a former rally
codriver in his younger years, this writer was extremely
impressed with Crocker—definitely world-class.
Equally
inspiring was the performance of the WRX, which is
arguably one of the most advanced road cars in the
world. In STI and rally configuration, the vehicle is
as robust as a tank and is probably as quick as a
Formula One car coming off corners. The machines were
really flying in the stages and not one of them had any
problems during the demonstration, which was done in
humid, dusty and slippery conditions.
Following Motor Image’s scintillating performance in
Malaysia, Tan commented: “This year’s APRC has certainly
proved to be an eventful one. Our team has overcome the
challenges of the treacherous terrain and extreme
humidity here at the Malaysian Rally. We are pleased
that Cody has clinched a fourth straight win and Rifat
also clocked good timings at several stages.”
According to Motor Image Pilipinas managing director
Nikki Mariano, “Our participation in the APRC stems from
our confidence in our products. Subaru owners will be
glad to know that their cars have a heritage that is
steeped in rallying. As you saw from the demonstration,
the cars are production versions equipped with safety
equipment. Thus, our customers can expect the same
dependability and performance.”
Mariano
also has some good news for Filipino rally aficionados:
“We are bringing in one unit of the rally-prepared
Subaru WRX STI.”
Those
who are interested should visit the Subaru showroom on
Edsa at the soonest possible time. Expect to be part of
a long line, though. |
