The Hindu : Sport : Team MRF Tyres finishes 1-2

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 25, 2005

Sport

Sport

Team MRF Tyres finishes 1-2

R. Narayanan

HOKKAIDO (JAPAN): When the dust finally settled on the Rally of Hokkaido, it was Katsuhiko Taguchi and not overnight leader Toshihiro Arai who was standing on top of the podium.

In a dramatic turnaround in the fourth round of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, Arai spun out of the race in the 11th stage after sliding into the ditches and rolling over.

Though he and his co-driver Tony Sircombe escaped unhurt from the crash, their chances had been hurt beyond repair.

When Valimaki talked about having `better luck' on Sunday, he would hardly have imagined that he and his Japanese counterpart would hit the jackpot.

It was a 1-2 finish for Team MRF Tyres, something that did not look even remotely possible after the first leg on Saturday.

With this win, Taguchi caught up with Geoff Argyle in second place at 25 points, while Valimaki took his tally to 55 — a whopping 30-point advantage. Argyle did not compete in the Rally of Hokkaido.

"I have finally won in Japan," was how Taguchi reacted and he was thrilled to finish first in front of his home fans.

After seeing victory slip from his grasp in the final stages in the last few years, he finally had luck on his side today.

Incidentally, it was Taguchi's maiden triumph in the 2005 APRC series and he couldn't have timed it better.

It turned out to be a good day and a great result for Valimaki too. "We did not give up and tried to go as fast as possible.

The stages were quite good today and some of them were similar to the ones in Finland," said Valimaki. The Finn now enjoys a big lead and it would be difficult to overtake him in the drivers' standings.

The APRC caravan moves to Malaysia where the fifth leg will be held from August 19 to 21.

The results (provisional): 1. Katsuhiko Taguchi (Jpn)/Mark Stacey (Aus), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8, Team MRF Tyres, 2:40:06.7.

2. Jussi Valimaki/Panu Plosila (Fin), Mitsubishi Evo 8, Team MRF Tyres, +2:34.4.

3. Mitsuhiro Kunisawa (Jpn)/Anne Gigney (Aus), Subaru Impreza WRX, Mitsuhiro Kunisawa, +14:16.7.

4. Dermott Malley/Stephen Smith (NZ), Mitsubishi Evo 8, M Rally Team, +16:03.1.

Points position after four rounds: 1. Jussi Valimaki (55 points), 2. Katsuhiko Taguchi and Geoff Argyle (25) and 3. Toshihiro Arai (19).

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