Karamjit Singh takes lead after Day 2: APRC

Pune, 6 Dec 2003: Celebrated rally driver Karamjit Singh and co-driver Allen Oh of Petronas Eon Racing team, Malaysia, driving a Group A, modified Proton Pert, snatched a 90-second lead over Germany’s Armin Kremer and co-driver Fred Berssen of Team MRF Tyres, to take the day’s honours on Saturday at the end of Leg 2 of the MRF India Rally, the fifth and concluding round of the 2003 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship, simultaneously run along the seventh and final round of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) here on Saturday.

Karamjit, the 2002 Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) and Production Cars category World Rally Championship winner, managed to erase the deficit of over one minute to overnight leader, Kremer who lead at the end of Leg 1.

Driving aggressively and hitting top speeds in the first Special Stage of the day (SS6), Karamjit took 14 second off Kremer, the 2001 European champion, and went on clip a further 54 seconds in the next stage and reclaimed the lead he had on Friday but some technical issues with suspension later on, spoiled his good work as he lost almost two minutes.

However, Karamjit consolidated his lead increasing it by another 45 seconds in SS-8 and then enhanced it to one minute, 29.7 seconds at the end of Leg 2.

Kremer, who had clinched the Group N (unmodified) title last night after his closest rival Japan’s Fumio Nutahara had dropped out following an off-road excursion, had to deal with gear selection problems. He was forced to drive his Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 7 in third gear through much of SS-7 and SS-8.

“It was basically a technical problem and I was stuck in third gear for nearly 10 kms of SS-7 and also the next Stage. It has been a tiring day for me, with the Stages being long, narrow and tricky. However, we only need to finish second Overall to win the APRC championship and that is not too bad a position to be in. But then, I need to keep an eye on Nutahara who might be starting again tomorrow to try for some Leg points,” said Kremer at the final Service halt.

Nutahara, after crashing out yesterday, started Leg 2 today, but half-way through SS-7, the gearbox of his Evo 7 gave way, forcing him to retire for the day. However, he plans to restart on Sunday.

Karamjit had no such issues, though he had to come to terms with a suspension that had gone soft and some problems with the brakes. “We have had no punctures, no big problems. So, I’m pretty happy with our performance,” said Karamjit.

Meanwhile, two top New Zealand entries, Geof Argyle (co-driver Steve Smith) of Racetech Seats and Andrew Hawkeswood (co-driver Paul Fallon) of Force Motorsport Ltd., dropped out of contention.

Argyle, in a Group A Evo 6.5, has had a wretched outing here. “I broke both the front struts today and had a puncture on SS-9 that cost me three minutes. So, it has been a disappointing Rally for me. Perhaps, I should have run on harder suspension, given the rough terrain here,” said Argyle who is placed fifth Overall, but second in Group A, behind Karamjit. Hawkeswood, also in a Group A Evo 6.5, retired after a puncture on SS-7 and broken strut on SS-8.

“I had broken two struts yesterday. So, I do not have any spares. It has been a disappointing APRC season for me, as I finished only two of the five rounds. Perhaps, I will take a year’s break and come back in 2005,” he said.

David Doppelreiter of Austria (co-driver Ola Floene of Norway), representing Team MRF Tyres, put in some fast times in his Group N Evo 7, to finish Leg 2 at fourth Overall, behind Karamjit, Kremer and 2002 Group N champion, Nico Caldarola (co-driver Paolo Cecchini) of Italy.

Provisional/unaudited classification after Leg 2:

APRC Overall: 1. Karamjit Singh/Allen Oh (Team Petronas Eon Racing) (3hrs, 9mins, 29.3secs); 2. Armin Kremer/ Fred Berssen (Team MRF Tyres) (3:10:59.0); 3. Domenico Caldarola/ Paolo Cecchini (3:14:44.7); 4. David Doppelreiter/ Ola Floene (Team MRF Tyres) (3:20:02.2); 5. Geof Argyle/ Steve Smith (Team Racetech Seats) (3:29:15.1); 6. Chris Atkinson/ Ben Atkinson (Team Monster Sport Australia) (3:33:03.2); 7. Brian Green/ Fleur Pedersen (Team Force Motorsport Ltd) (3:43:54.5).

APRC Group N (unmodified): 1. Kremer/Berssen ; 2. Caldarola/Cecchini ; 3. Doppelreiter/Floene 3.

Leg 2 Points: Karamjit Singh 3 pts; Kremer 2 pts; Caldarola 1 pt.

Total points after Leg 2: Kremer 5, Karamjit 5, Caldarola 2.