With the Carringtons Traffic Services Safari Rally this weekend coming there's been a small band of people from Western Australian rally community that have spreading there wings and have been taking part in Rally Hokkaido in Japan, round 5 of the Asia Pacific Rally Championships (APRC) with RallyWA/ARCom's Peter MacNeal leading the group as Competitor Relations Officer for the APRC event which would of been made interesting with a good selection of languages/nationalities involved. Also along for the event was Peters son Glenn MacNeall who was navigating for Gaurav Gill in a Skoda Fabia S2000, part of the powerful MRF Skoda team run by Perth motorsport preparation company Race Torque Engineering with help from Skoda Motorsport. You well see Glen calling the notes for Brad Markovic in the Auto One Subaru WRX Sti.
Mike Young who will be navigating for Stephen Oxley in a Subaru WRX on the Safari Rally was also in Japan but as a driver with the big Cusco Racing team in a Proton Satria Neo defending his the APRC 2 wheel drive Cup.
.
Glen's rally didn't go to plan with Gaurav putting the Skoda of the road into a tree while leading the rally on day 1 with both ok just hurt pride, but the car was to go no further in the rally. As for his team the Team MRF Skoda and Race Torque Engineering well they had better luck with the other Skoda of Jan Kopecky and Pavel Dresler winning the rally and in the process taking out the APRC drivers championship and the APRC Manufactures Cup with one round remaining in China.
As for Mike Young and his navigator Malcom Read they Won the 2 wheel drive part of the rally and took out the APRC Junior Cup and APRC 2 wheel Drive Cup as well for 2014 with one round remaining and now lead the APRC Production Cup which Rally China will determine the out come.
Rally Hokkaido is a tight technical rally on narrow road with some fast sections thrown in. The area is more know for it's farming than motorsport and the weather is very simular the Perth at this time of year.
As for myself I was lucky enough to get a full APRC media pass for the rally weather I used it wisely is to be debated as it is a big step up from doing local rallies and I leant a lot over the course of the event and I have a big list of things to do better if I ever get the opportunity again.
People I would like to thank are the team from Rally Hokkaido for giving me the opportunity and help. A big big thankyou to Brian, Malcom and Tony form APRC TV (www.aprc.tv) and good friend Osamu Yoda from Yoda rallying. And the and all the people involve that made this rally what it is and the locals, they I always felt welcome even tho there was a big language barrier from my side.
As for the Carringtons Traffic Services Safari Rally I miss you this year as I'm still in Japan on holidays but for every body involved have a fun safe event and I'll be following the event from over here.
A bit of you tube footage of Glen in action on the rally put together by APRC TV. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ONUm2_FQek&list=UUdNDUhAokaIuXJwIPcs1L6A&index=3