Johor Baru, Malaysia, August 15, 2015: The indications are that the Malaysian Rally which is also
the fourth round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship and commencing
here on Saturday after tonight’s ceremonial flag-off, will
prove to be a tough test for Team MRF’s Gaurav Gill and Pontus Tidemand who are
locked in an intense battle for supremacy.
Following the
reconnaissance run on Thursday, both Gill, the 2013 Asia-Pacific champion
who trails team-mate Tidemand of Sweden by 34 points, described the 14 Special
Stages, totaling 226.56 Kms that will be run over two days, as “tough and
extremely challenging”.
Speaking at a
pre-event Media conference here on Friday after the shakedown where
the two MRF Skoda Fabia S2000 cars were among the quickest, Gill, who won here
last year, opined that the rally tracks had knee-high growth of grass which
could test the vehicles.
“I have never
seen so much grass on a rally route in all my years in this event. It is going
to be hard on the cars, but hopefully, we will come through,” said 33-year old
Delhi-based Gill who will be partnered by his long-time co-driver Glenn
Macneall from Australia.
Echoing Gill’s
views, 24-year old Tidemand, who is coming off a second-place finish in World
Rally Championship-2 in Finland a fortnight back, felt that as much as the track,
the weather conditions could also be a major hurdle.
“The Stages are
rough and it is my first time in Malaysia. So, I have to get used to the heat
and humidity, but I hope to do well,” said Tidemand who will have
fellow-Swede Emil Exelsson beside him.
Gill said his
Skoda Fabia S2000 is fitted with a new engine for the Malaysian Rally, and
after tweaking the set-up on Friday, he was happy with the car.
At the half-way
mark in the Championship, Tidemand heads the championship after wins in New
Zealand and Australia and a second place finish behind Gill in the
season-opener in New Caledonia.
With three more
rounds, including the Malaysian Rally, to be run, Gill can ill afford to drop
any more points, like he did in Australia where he packed up after the engine
expired.
“It was
unfortunate not to get the result we were after in Queensland, but we had a
great battle with Pontus and I am looking forward to renewing that competition
in Malaysia this weekend,” said Gill.
Team MRF’s
Skoda Fabia S2000s have not only been the fastest cars in the APRC in recent
seasons, but have also been the strongest and most reliable.
Team MRF boss
Lane Heenan said: “The Skoda Fabia S2000 is the most successful S2000 car ever,
and we are confident the cars and MRF Tyres are up to the task of winning at
each event we attend.
“The APRC gives
us such diverse conditions that the car needs to be capable of coping with
widely varying roads, whether that be the smooth, flowing roads of New Zealand,
or the rougher plantation roads in Malaysia.”
Tidemand and
Gill will have to contend with 2005 APRC champion, Jussi Valimaki, a former MRF
team driver, returning to pilot a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X after a gap of eight
years, besides 22-year old New Zealander Mike Young in a Subaru WRX, and Indonesian
Subhan Aksa in a Lancer Evo X.
Championship
points after three rounds:
FIA Asia
Pacific Rally Championship for drivers
Driver
|
Country
|
New
Zealand
|
New
Caledonia
|
Australia
|
Total
|
1.
Pontus Tidemand
2.
Gaurav Gill
3.
Michael Young
4.
Subhan Aska
|
Swe
Ind
NZ
Idn
|
39
29
26
20
|
31
38
-
-
|
38
7
18
15
|
108
74
55
44
|
FIA Asia
Pacific Team Championship
Driver
|
New
Zealand
|
New
Caledonia
|
Australia
|
Total
|
|
1. Team MRF Skoda
2. Cusco Racing
3. Bosowa Rally Team
|
84
26
20
|
94
|
54
29
24
|
242
55
44
|
Press release
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