The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : MRF drives off with season opener

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Monday, Apr 14, 2008
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Sport - Racing : Motor

MRF drives off with season opener

Rayan Rozario

Taguchi-Stacey triumph

GREAT START: Team MRF’s Katsuhiko Taguchi (right) and Mark Stacey are ecstatic after winning the first leg of APRC at New Caledonia.

Noumea (New Caledonia): Katsuhiko Taguchi is one of the shortest rally drivers. But the 36-year-old Japanese, doing the duties along with Mark Stacey for Team MRF Tyres, stood tall and proud on the podium after clinching the opening round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship here on Sunday.

Taguchi, the winner here in 2006, went about savaging the tricky terrain with the Mitsubishi Lancer EVO9, in his usual style. His only possible opposition, teammate Scott Pedder (co-driver Glen Weston) was more than 40 seconds adrift at the start but seemed to be going strong.

It was heart-warming to see the duo maintain the kind of form they showed in the earlier stages. They were getting quicker and quicker.

Costly slip

But just when the going looked good for the team, fate struck in the form of a fall. Pedder, who showed a peppering of promise earlier on, slipped off the terrain and found himself on the edge of the creek in the opening stage of the day.

Despite the fallout, Taguchi went about doing his job — to deliver, what he is capable of, for Team MRF. And he did so with good grace to cherish a most important chasten moment of the season.

“I am extremely elated because it is my second win here,” said the soft-spoken Japanese.

“We found the first and the third stages really slippery. We knew it would be tricky because we did the recce. The overnight rain did most of the damage. So, we planned not go flat out.

“It was sad that Scott (Pedder) was out otherwise it would have been even more memorable for the team," he added.

Taguchi’s praise

Taguchi was happy with the behaviour of the car and the tyres. “Luckily, it worked well for us. We hope to carry it from here to the Rally of Canberra (May 10-11).”

Pedder was a disappointed man. “I never had a slow accident like this one all my life. I was cruising well but got shocker of a corner. I was caught by surprise. But, that’s what rallying is all about,” said Pedder, who is driving for the first time after almost a year.

However, the 31-year-old Australian promised to be at the podium in his hometown event, the Rally of Canberra.

The results (provisional):

1. Katsuhiko Taguchi & Mark Stacey (MRF Tyres) 02:59:35 seconds, 2. Dean Herridge & Chris Murphy (Cusco Racing) 03:01:29, 3. Brian Green & Fleur Pedersen (Brian Green Motorsport) 03:12:04.

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