Heading for Whangarei

Japanese driver Katsu Taguchi, with newly recruited Australian co-driver Chris Murphy, finished Rally Hokkaido the best of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) competitors to further extend his lead in the regional rally competition.
 
Taguchi heads to New Zealand’s APRC event, the International Rally of Whangarei, at the beginning of July with 74 points ahead of MRF Tyres team-mate Indian driver Gaurav Gill with 49 points.
 
Competitors tackled 18 special stages totalling 220 kilometres across Hokkaido Island, north of Japan’s mainland, during the two day event which saw former APRC competitor Toshi Arai take the outright rally win.
 
Another Japanese driver Hiroshi Yanagisawa, with co-driver Yoshimasa Nakahara, in the first of two Cusco Racing Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Xs, was second among the APRC competitors with Gill third.
 
Former World Rally Championship driver Scotsman Alister McRae took an early lead in the APRC category with his new Proton Satria Neo S2000 car, but woe befell McRae on the third stage when he suffered multiple punctures. Gill was well positioned to hold the overnight lead, but then on Sunday’s third stage, impact with a snow-marker damaged the rear suspension of his Evo X, and allowed Taguchi to leap-frog Gill’s narrow six second advantage and take the win. Until that point Gill was poised for the opportunity to tie with Taguchi for the series lead. Gill’s third place in the APRC class leaves him 23 points clear of Yanagisawa, and he was philosophical with the weekend’s result.
 
“I could have been more disappointed. It's great to be here,” said Gill afterward. “I finished third [overall], it is a podium place. Winning is better, but I'm happy to finish on the podium. We had a good rally and good competition, but I made a mistake. I'll learn from my mistakes and do better next time. Taguchi and Yanagisawa are fast, but I'll try again next year.”
 
Following McRae’s punctures on Saturday, team-mate and fellow former WRC driver Chris Atkinson, from Australia, had also shown promising speed before being forced to retire at the start of the fifth test with engine failure in the Proton. McRae could achieve little more for the Proton R3 Rally team when a rock damaged the sump of his car during the same stage.
The new Proton pairing rejoined on Sunday; McRae finished third for that day’s leg but Atkinson was again sidelined late in the day with a mechanical problem. Despite the setbacks, the pair recorded between them 19 top-five stage finishes, including two stage wins for McRae, over the event’s 18 stages.
 

The full entry list for the International Rally of Whangarei will be published on 11 June. News and information are updated on the event website, www.rallywhangarei.co.nz, on a regular basis.