Sport - Racing : Motor   

Third title for Kremer

By Sanjay Rajan

RAYONG (Thailand) Nov. 2. Team MRF Tyres' Armin Kremer bagged his third Asia Pacific Group N (production cars) title of the season at the Rally of Thailand, which concluded here on Sunday.

Piloting a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo7, the German, a former European champion, also recorded the fastest leg time in his category for the third day on the trot to finish the event with full 19 points and take his championship tally to 66, a clear 12 points ahead of his nearest rival, Japanese Fumio Nutahara, who finished runner-up here.

Meanwhile, Kremer's teammate, Austrian David Doppelreiter, who was in position to finish third in Group N, was done in by engine failure at the start of the 17th and final stage. Doppelreiter, however, takes home two bonus points from the rally.

Kremer (co-driver Fred Berssen) also finished second behind Malaysian Karamjit Singh, driving a Group A (modified) Proton, in the APRC overall (as well as the rally as such), which saw him inch closer to championship leader, Kiwi Geof Argyle, who finished third here. Kremer now has 42 points to Argyle's 46 and one can certainly expect fireworks at the MRF-India Rally in Pune (Dec. 5 to 7), which is the fifth and final round of the 2003 season.

At the post-rally press conference, Argyle confirmed his participation in the India Rally, Karamjit Singh his would depend on mobilization of funds while Nutahara explained that his team, the Advan-PIAA, would decide shortly.

Beating Nutahara to the Group N crown here was not a huge task, considering that Kremer had an overnight lead of 39 seconds (he eventually won by 49 seconds). Kremer said finishing ahead of Argyle in the overall was a good feeling. "Argyle was driving a Group A modified Lancer Evo6, which is a quick machine. It was a hard-fought battle," said Kremer, who edged the Kiwi by just three seconds.

Argyle said he lost precious time in the final stage. "The engine began misfiring and as a resultant loss of concentration I went off the road. My confidence took a beating yesterday when I encountered onward traffic in the Special Stage. I mean, you don't expect that on Stages. It kind of forced me to drive cautiously thereafter."

Karamjit said he was happy with the result. "I was pushing for bonus points," said the reigning champion, who is fourth with 35 points in the overall standings, one slot behind Nutahara who has 37.

The final placings (after 3 legs):

APRC Group N: 1. Armin Kremer (co-driver Fred Berssen), Germany, Team MRF Tyres, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo7, 2:08.52, 2. Fumio Nutahara (Satoshi Hayashi), Japan, Evo7, 2:09.41, 3. Norberto Cangani (Christina Castorina), Italy, Evo6, 2:16.00.

APRC overall: 1. Karamjit Singh (Allen Oh), Malaysia, Petronas-EON, A-8, Proton Pert, 2:07.57, 2. Armin Kremer, N-4, 3. Geof Argyle (Steve Smith), New Zealand, A-8, Evo6, 2:08.55, 4. Fumio Nutahara, N-4, 5. Chris Atkinson (Ben Atkinson), Australia, A-6, Suzuki Ignis Super 1600, 2:14.09.

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