The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : Team MRF takes first leg honours

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Sunday, Apr 13, 2008
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Sport - Racing : Motor

Team MRF takes first leg honours

Rayan Rozario

NOUMEA (New Caledonia): With the rest of the field miles behind, the Rally of Caledonia here is turning out to be a one-horse race. Team MRF made it a merry one-two at the end of the first leg in this Asia Pacific Rally Championship opener, with its seasoned Japanese driver Katsuhiko Taguchi comfortably topping the charts. His teammate, Australian Scott Pedder was 38 seconds behind in second position.

Taguchi was fastest in five of the day’s nine stages, all run at Poya, a town 214 km north of here. He enjoyed a large slice of luck too. His car suffered electrical failure just a few feet away from the end of the ninth stage but he still managed to roll past the finish line without power.

Happy Taguchi

Taguchi said he was happy about his performance so far. “The terrain was 90 per cent dry and the surface was hard and easy to navigate,” he said at the parc ferme after the stages.

Meanwhile, Scott Pedder, making his APRC debut, continued his good work and, despite losing over 20 seconds due to an impact puncture, managed to stay right behind Taguchi.

The Rally of Caledonia, a 235.63-km, 15-stage affair, winds up on Sunday with four special stages at La Foa, nearly 100 km away from here. The event’s longest stage, a 35.10-km run at Katrikoin, will also be held on the final day.

Classification after first leg (11 stages): 1. Katsuhiko Taguchi & co-driver Mark Stacey (Team MRF Tyres, 1 hr, 38.19 secs), 2. Scott Pedder & Glen Weston (Team MRF Tyres, 1:38.19), 3. Dean Herridge & Chris Murphy (Cusco Racing, 01:38:56), 4. Hiroshi Yanagisawa & Yoshimasa Nakahara (Cusco Racing, 1:39:15).

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