The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : Wet weather greets drivers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 13, 2006

Sport

Sport - Racing : Motor

Wet weather greets drivers

Noumea (New Caledonia): With the sun playing hide-and-seek and heavy showers daily, the organisers are gearing up for the Rallye de Nouvelle Caledonie 2006 to be run in wet conditions.

All the stages, except the super special stage at the Hippodrome on the second day of the rally, have been cancelled owing to safety concerns.

The drivers are upset at this development, as it will have a bearing on the bonus leg points. This issue is expected to be resolved at the Stewards' meeting scheduled for Friday.

Most drivers, including Jarkko Miettinen and Katsuhiko Taguchi of Team MRF, tested their cars on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Miettinen drove his repaired car for the first time after the serious accident in Canberra.

Experienced driver

Taguchi, the 1999 APRC champion, is quite familiar with the terrain and is easily the most experienced driver here. His chances have brightened as Cody Crocker and his teammate Eli Evans of Australia, who won the first leg in Canberra, have opted out of this round.

In fact, none of the Subaru cars, including that of Japan's Yanagisawa Hiroshi, will be participating here.

Two new drivers — Mark John Tapper and Dermott Malley (both from New Zealand) — have registered, taking the total number of entries for the year to 11.

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