Akira Bamba = PROTON CUSCO Rally Team: Secures His First Ever Junior Title in APRC Whangarei! English page CUSCO

About us

TOP > English page > Akira Bamba = PROTON CUSCO Rally Team: Secures His First Ever Junior Title in APRC Whangarei!

Jul 19, 2011

Akira Bamba = PROTON CUSCO Rally Team: Secures His First Ever Junior Title in APRC Whangarei!

(c)aprc.tv

Round 4 of 2011 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), “International Rally of Whangarei” was held from July 15~17^th in northern New Zealand. As the premier importer and distributor of the PROTON Satria Neo from Malaysia to Japan, Carrosser had taken on a project to build a Group N machine for the CUSCO Junior Rally Team with this chassis. The crew consisting of Akira Bamba and Takahiro Yasui had successfully managed to secure the Junior Cup Title in this event. Also after joining the team from the last two stages in Queensland and New Caledonia, former APRC champion Malaysian legend Karamjit Singh and Indian Vivek Ponnusamy again took the wheel of a matching Satria Neo as Bamba’s team mate. The battle in the 2WD series between the veteran driver and young star gained much attention from various spectators and media outlets worldwide.

The Whangarei gravel roads have also been featured as an WRC Rally stage which gave challenge and mesmerized even the world’s best drivers. The scene consisting of a flow of cambered roads testing the driver’s proficiency is also known to be one of the most spectacular motorsport displays amidst WRC racing.

For this stage, the event kicked off with a ceremonial start at Whangarei on the 15th and the actual competition starting the following day. On day1 of competition, two loops of 4 SS including the longest stage of the event with 40.63km (1.5km Super SS) had been set in for a total of 8SS. For day 2, 8SS by two loops of 4SS had been determined, with a total of 16SS (301.90km) was set for the 2 day event.

The winter climate in the southern hemisphere contributed to heavy rainfall that continued several days before the rally. Additionally, the unpredictable conditions such as randomized sunshine, rain, and fog provided the contenders with a deeper challenge than expected. Clay formation on the road surfaces dragged on to the hard packed gravel resulted in an extremely slippery situation all through the repeated loops of 4 of the stages.

Even amongst the most advantageous 4WD machines would fall victim to mother nature, however Bamba showed unwavering performance and marked the top 10 time consistently. The bad conditions did not let up on day 2, but Bamba kept his own pace setting a quicker time than the APRC giant Singh on several stages. Overall, Bamba who displayed immaculate stability and excellent driving performance in the CUSCO PROTON Satria Neo, secured the Junior Cup Title with one more round remaining. Additionally, ranking in at an overall 8th place brought him valuable APRC points. Singh and Bamba finished at first and second among the 2WD series respectively which brought the PROTON CUSCO Rally Team 1-2 finish.