2013 APRC Rd 5 Rally Hokkaido
Yuya Sumiyama Finishes 2nd in Hokkaido as the APRC Top Place
Michael Young Grabs Title, in Close Range as 2WD Champion
The 5th round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championships took place September 27-29th, in Hokkaido Japan.
This season will mark the 12th year for Rally Hokkaido and is considered a benchmark race that can change the outcome of the APRC and Asia cup season. Cusco Racing was in full swing for support for its team members, as exhibited in the service park pit area.
In the APRC race, Cusco Racing has again campaigned the reigning FIA Asia Cup champions Yuya Sumiyama / Naoki Kase in the Subaru WRX-STI, with Sumiyama's first time driving this rally. The Shuhei Muta / Takahiro Yasui combo competed in a Groupe R4 spec Subaru STI with oustanding results last season, however aimed for a better result with a new Group N spec machine on hand. Michael Young and Malcom Read in the Toyota Vitz RS have entered all rounds of the APRC thus far in the 2WD Class, and has a great chance at obtaining the title this year.
From Left: Kase, Young, Sumiyama, Yanagisawa (JRC), Muta, Yasui, Nakahara (JRC), Read
The race took place September 27th starting with the opening ceremony and the actual race event kicking off the following day, the 28th. The 29.11km course is mostly offroad where 23.49km is gravel surface, connected by a 4.63km short stage 3SS and 8SS. Rainy weather persisted the initial day, however race day was filled with clear skies and chilly temperature, making it the perfect day to rally. By the final day of the rally, the number of spectators passed the 60k mark, an indication that this was indeed a successful motorsports event.
Contender Esapekka Lapi of Team MRF in the S2000 spec vehicle exhibited great performance as it continuously marked the top 3 times, versus Yuya Sumiyama in the Group N prepped Cusco machine. Howeveer Lapi was forced to retire as major suspension failure plagued his rally, as Sumiyama ends in overall 2nd place this day. The R4 spec Subaru WRX STI driven by Muta/Yasui combo faced difficulties with its vehicle weight specification changes it has undergone when converting from previous Group N specs. Finishing overall 5th place, Muta ranked in 2nd place in the Asia Cup.
Sumiyama / Kase Subaru WRX-STI (left), Yuya Sumiyama (right)
The second leg consisted of Sumiyama/Kase combo finishing the race without any issues despite the difficulties others faced with the dynamic road surface conditions. By finishing the race, they team was granted top place in the APRC and 2nd overall, along with podium in the Asia Cup series. Team Muta/Yasui are now placed in the top 3 from securing a huge victory the previous race.
Muta / Yasui Subaru WRX-STI (left), Shuhei Muta (right)
Team Young / Read in the Toyota Vitz RS displayed excellent performance, trapping in at lap times better than some AWD machines. Their machine had never even exhibited a hint of trouble during the 232.32km stage, finishing in top place in the 2WD category. With 1 round remaining, Young / Reac currently hold enough points to be named this season's 2WD champion. Young declared that this season will be his last year competing in the Junior Cup.
Team Cusco top podium finishers consisted of Sumiyama / Kase, Muta / Yasui, and Young / Read, all obtaining points for the lead.
Young / Read Toyota Vitz (left), Michael Young (right)
Unfortunately for Asakura / Takahashi in the Cusco prepped Proton Satria Neo, gearbox issues came up during Leg 1 of the rally. It took all day to repair the unit, facing a 110 second penalty. The machine managed to make it back to the race and finish the course safely.
Asakura / Takahashi Proton Satria Neo
The final round of the APRC will take place as the China Rally in Novenmber. The final round of the Asia Cup series races will be held as the Thailand Rally (December 7-8th).
Photo by Mitsuru Kotake
Web Info
APRC Official Results http://www.rally-hokkaido.com/results/2013/pc/
