2012 Rally Hokkaido
EVO X Sumiyama / Kase Wins APRC!
Toyota 86 Miyoshi / Taniuchi Scores First Podium!
Akira Bamba Crowned APRC Junior Cup Champ!
The 5th round of the 2012 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championships (APRC) was held in conjunction with the 7th round of the All Japan Rally Series in Hokkaido, Japan.
Participating in the APRC for Team Cusco Racing is Yuya Sumiyama / Naoki Kase team in the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, as well as the JRC member Shuhei Muta / Hajime Hoshino in the Subaru Impreza STi. The Proton R3 Cusco Team consisted of Akira Bamba / Takahiro Yasui along with Team Michael Young in the Satria Neo machines.
In the Japan Rally Championship (JRC) side, Hiroshi Yanagisawa / Yoshimasa Nakahara piloted the Subaru Impreza STi Spec C, along with Hideaki Miyoshi / Hisataka Taniuchi in the Toyota 86. The Protons consisted of Shintaro Meiji / Masahiko Shimazu in the JN3 class along with Miyoshi's 86. Cusco's pits were filled with machines participating in both APRC and JRC Rally for this event.
The event kicked off with a Super SS run after the opening ceremonies on September 14th, followed by a a rigorous off-road terrain the next day. The 2nd day consisted of 28.04km course, with a transitional 4.63km short stage and a 9.98 km 3SS run, for a combined 8SS plus two additional Super SS laps. September 16th consisted of the longest track of 29.11km with 2 loops of 3SS, onto the ceremonial finish area.
The 2010 APRC champion Sumiyama had placed 2nd in the previous Malaysian round, marking its dominance with several record times especially in the SS3. His calm and collected runs added up victorious, as the Hokkaido round winner. Sumiyama will be striving to take best overall in the next round taking place in China.
Team Muta / Hoshino Impreza managed keep pace with the crowd and were bumped up to 2nd place, however suffered a mishap, going off course at one point. The damages to the machine were too great to be able to finish the race.
The spectator highlight for this event was the notorious right turn following the water puddle, where 4 machines plummeted off course. One of them was Michael Young in the Proton, forcing retirement for this race. Akira Bamba took this opportunity to fully complete each course, resulting in a podium finish.
In the JN3 class, Miyoshi in the Toyota 86 managed to score the best times in 4 out of 11 stages with only a few minor vehicle difficulties. A rather large lead of 56 seconds was set during the 2nd leg, taking 1st place in the class. Miyoshi is now currently ranked 2nd in the overall points, which is a great achievement so far especially with a brand new debut chassis.
Meanwhile, Meiji in the same JN3 class had tire issues in his Satria Neo, finishing 6th place after a power struggle with the two Toyota 86s in the same class.
The next APRC rally is scheduled for October 26~28th as the final round in China and the Japan Rally is scheduled for October 12~14th.
