2011 APRC China Rally Report
Karamjit Singh Secures 2WD Title at Longyou China Rally
Round 6 of the 2011 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) “China Rally Longyou” was held over the weekend of November 4th in Longyou city Zhejiang, China. Team Carrosser were represented by Rifat Sungkar / Scott Beckwith and Yuya Sumiyama / Naoki Kase teams each in the Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X, where the Sumiyama / Kase team aspired for the Asia Cup Title.
Throughout the season, CUSCO constructed and campaigned the PROTON Satria Neo group N. rally car and officially entered the series as the PROTON CUSCO Rally Team, wrapping up the season with outstanding results. The success consisted of three titles in the PROTON vehicles, the Junior Cup, Driver’s Cup, and the Co-Driver’s title in the 2WD Championship class.
In this season finale event, two PROTON Satria Neo machines were entered into competition piloted by the Japanese rising stars Akira Bamba & Takahiro Yasui, and the 3 time APRC champions Karamjit Singh (Malaysia) & Vivek Ponnsusamy (India). Both groups had equal and high prospects for the 2WD championship title which further stirred up the intensity between each and every competitor.
Similar to the previous year but with increased paved surfaces, the China stage consisted of a variation between gravel and tarmac road surfaces. The rally made its ceremonial start on the 4th of November, followed by the single run of the Super SS and the official competition starting the following day. Comprised of two laps in three stages for a total of 13SS / 231.40km runs, the slippery Longyou tarmac surface made it extremely challenging for each runner.
Rainfall made the conditions even more difficult, with teams scrambling to change tires and adjust the machine settings for optimal performance. For the very first time in their career, Sungkar’s team was inundated with a flat tire quandary after miscalculating the SS1 line, inflicting front tire damage. This set the team back over 4 minutes and managed to finish 5th in the APRC but only after experiencing another flat tire in the later stage. Favorably, Sumiyama on the other hand finished 4th in the APRC and 2nd in the Asia Cup.
Nevertheless, the race wasn’t at all an easy task for Sumiyama, as he faced turbocharger complications at the Leg2 section directly before the SS8 finish line but somehow managed to finish with 6 minutes of lost time. The CUSCO team mechanics remained in hustle mode taking care of all the team members where swift repairs were necessary; replacing Sumiyama’s turbocharger, Sungkar’s brake rotors, and Bamba’s lower arm in no time. Sungkar finished 3rd behind McRae and Atkinson, where as Sumiyama placed 5th overall and 2nd in the Asia cup. His goal of taking the top place in the Asia cup could not be achieved but an overall 2nd place was confirmed due to his high point standings.
Bamba, who was eager to defeat the Malaysian giant and gain his very first 2WD victory exhibited spectacular performance and finished Leg 1 in the top ranks amongst the 2WD class. His 35 second lead over Singh which seemed like a secure win, however Bamba encountered brake issues which he was penalized 2 min 30 sec due to arriving 15 minutes late trying to resolve the issue. Bamba concluded the season just shy of the 2WD victory however his season proved to be fruitful, debuting in the PROTON vehicle and finishing all races without any retirement. Moreover, the rookie Akira Bamba was crowned the APRC Junior Cup champion with the Satria Neo.
Singh took victory of the 2WD class title in this event and brought the 2WD title to the CUSCO built Satria Neo group N machine. The 2WD Co-Driver title went to Bamba’s partner Takahiro Yasui, distributing all three coveted titles to the PROTON CUSCO Rally Team.
Thank you all for your loyal support and an invigorating and successful season from the CUSCO Rally Team.
