The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : Japan put on the world rally map

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 01, 2004

Sport

Sport - Racing : Motor

Japan put on the world rally map

By Stan Rayan

KOCHI, AUG. 31. As the World Rally Championship returns to Asia this week after a five-year break, there is considerable excitement among the motor sport fraternity. For, it's the Formula One of rallying.

There is a note of anxiety too as WRC's return also marks Japan's debut on the world rally map. Hence the course remains an unknown entity for many of the fast boys.

The Japan Rally begins in the quaint city of Obihiro, on the Hokkaido Island, on September 3.

There is one Indian who has the keys to the Japanese course. Team MRF's Indian champion V. R. Naren Kumar competed in the Rally Hokkaido — which is virtually the route for this week's rally — when Japan made its debut in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) in September 2002. In fact, the event was Naren's last international outing.

"The special stages were very exciting, with a lot of surprises: very narrow and very fast which call for precision driving," said Naren. "The stages were totally gravel, in fact all Asian rallies are gravel," said the former Asian Zone champion who drove a Mitsubishi Lancer in Japan.

Japan also marked Naren's best performance in the APRC. "I was the fastest in two of the first day's five special stages. But then, I was forced to pull out with a broken gearbox," said the Coimbatore-based star. Naren was unlucky as mechanical problems let him down in his three APRC attempts.

"You'll see how colourful and glamorous rallying is when you go to the WRC," said Naren, who has seen a few of them in close quarters when he went to Australia a few years ago to gain a diploma in metallurgy.

"The cars, the amount of money involved, the performance of the drivers and crew, they look so much more spectacular and faster than any of the rallies you've seen so far," said Naren, a four-time National champion.

Focus on Asia

With major races and rallies almost every weekend, motor sport suffers from overexposure in Europe. And the world body, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), is now keen to try out new venues and this is one reason why the focus is on Asia these days.

Six years ago, Japan was the only Asian nation to figure in the Formula One calendar. With Malaysia joining the club, there were two countries till the last season. But this year, with Bahrain and China making their debut, F-1 is being held in four Asian venues.

The WRC first arrived in Asia in 1996 with Rally Indonesia, which ran for two years. China made its WRC debut in 1999 but dropped out soon after that. Japan is currently the only Asian venue in the WRC.

There were moves to bring big-time motor sport, including F-1 and WRC, to India some time ago. With the State Government providing a strong backing, Hyderabad was eager to host F-1 a couple of years ago.

F-1 or WRC?

Which one would come first to India, F-1 or WRC? "The World Rally Championship," said Naren. "We're at the doorstep of the WRC since we've already hosted the APRC. The WRC is the next step," said the National champion, who has beaten some big names, including 2002 World Production Cars champion Karamjit Singh of Malaysia during his Asia Zone and National Championship drives.

Apart from being a WRC round, the Japan Rally will also be the fourth leg of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. Team MRF's Armin Kremer currently leads the APRC drivers' standings with 33 points while Karamjit, who has his roots in India, is just a point behind him.

The APRC is a six-round affair and the grand finale — the MRF India Rally — will be held in Pune in December. Is India ripe for the Worlds?

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport