Back-to-back international rallies for Mike Young
Bengaluru: The Coffee Day India Rally 2017 , the last round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) will be organised by Motor Sports Club of Chikmagalur (www.mscc.org.in) at the stages near Chikkamagaluru from November 24 to 26.
New Zealand rally driver, Mike Young, is preparing for two back-to-back international events in India and Australia in November. After the APRC, he will rally at the final round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) Kennards Hire Rally Australia.
Young will drive a Volkswagen Polo R2 in India with Malcolm Read in the co-driver seat, and Dunlop tyres as the duo are familiar and comfortable with how the package will perform on the notoriously difficult Indian stages.
“I am so excited to get behind the wheel of the Volkswagen in India, thanks to Volkswagen India and GT Tuner’s Bengaluru. The Volkswagen is FIA R2 spec, so is a 1.6 litre car with a sequential gearbox and I think it will suit the narrow and twisty roads well,” said Young.
“The roads are actually run in the coffee plantations along the narrow access roads. It’s quite mountainous and the average speed can be as low as 50 kilometres per hour. Plus add rock-lined banks and lots of trees, and you have a very tough environment but that’s why I think the nimble VW will be so good.”
Both Young and Read enjoyed the buzz of the Indian event based in Chikmagalur last year and vowed to return this year after finishing second overall last year and winning the Group N category.
“It is a very cool experience I must say. There is a crazy amount of spectators at every junction or spare piece of road. The first super special stage is a real highlight because thousands of people watch us fly around the Amber Valley School football field on a man-made track, which is very unique,” continued Young.
Co-driver Malcolm Read from Hamilton is also looking forward to the events with Young and said he’s excited to compete with Young again, especially in India.
“Mike and I haven’t had a lot of events together this year so I’m really looking forward to doing two rallies back to back. He’s a great driver so I’m sure he will adapt quickly to the front-drive Volkswagen and after our experience from last year I sure we can get another good result,” said Read.
Fans can follow Young’s progress, and support his campaign by purchasing MYM merchandise through his Facebook page (www.facebook.com/mikeyoungmotorsport).
Young’s campaign is supported by Cusco, Mike Young Motorsport, Dunlop, Yoda Rallying, Excelerate Media, APSM and Winnmax.
Young is arriving in India on Nov 20 and will attend the Official Press Conference in Bengaluru on Tuesday Nov 21.
eom/inputs from Young’s release
