The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : A simple equation for Cody Crocker

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 08, 2007
ePaper

Sport

Sport - Racing : Motor

A simple equation for Cody Crocker

G. Prasad

LONGYOU (China): The equation is simple for Australian Cody Crocker. He just needs to start the final round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) 2007, which begins at Longyou County in the Zhejiang Province in South China on Friday, to defend his title.

Crocker has 70 points and enjoys a 21-point lead over Team MRF’s Jussi Valimaki of Finland. The latter’s teammate Katsuhiko Taguchi of Japan, is in the third place with 47 points.

Battle is on for the second spot between the two Team MRF drivers. Having secured a 1-2 finish in the previous round at Indonesia, the confidence of both Valimaki and Taguchi will be high.

As far as the manufacturers’ title is concerned, a tough fight is on the cards. After six rounds Subaru has 74 points, but only a two-point lead over rival Mitsubishi.

Subaru has dominated all through the year, with four wins for Cody Crocker, but Mitsubishi has stayed in the hunt by winning outright in New Caledonia and Indonesia.

With the drivers’ title almost wrapped up, the added knowledge that Subaru was dominant here last year will make Crocker feel more comfortable.

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