Crocker scores hat trick in APRC

MANILA, Philippines - Three-time Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) champion, Cody Crocker, of Singapore-based, Motor Image Racing Team (MIRT), once again showed his mettle, when he scored his third straight win in the APRC 2009 in Hokkaido.

As first car, he had the usual duties of being road-sweeper, clearing all the gravel on the narrow and soft roads of Hokkaido’s mountains. Driving his made in Singapore MY09 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, the reigning champion’s winning time was 2hours, 15mins and 5.09secs.

With fellow co-driver Ben Atkinson, Crocker, who dominated Day 1 of the Rally, took a total of 15 points at Hokkaido – 10 points for the win, 3 points from the previous day’s heats and 2 bonus points.

Said Crocker, “I aimed for the win today and am really very ecstatic with the results. We were up against fierce competition from the Japanese guys like Katsu Taguchi but we are off to a good win and a strong lead in the Championships.”

Fellow MIRT drivers, Emma Gilmour and co-driver Rhianon Smyth managed to consolidate her third placing in the APRC standings behind team mate, Crocker and their Mitsubishi rival and former APRC champion, Katsu Taguchi from Japan.

Said Gilmour, “Today has been a long and challenging day. The pre-event rain made the roads very treacherous, but I was determined to secure third placing in Hokkaido, so it has all worked out as planned. I am glad that I am gaining more experience with every leg and getting more familiar with the car.”

“It’s a fantastic result and I am just as happy as the drivers. I would like to congratulate both Cody and Emma on winning first and third position, respectively. However, we have three more rallies to go, and we must work hard and win each of these to keep the title under our belt,“ said Glenn Tan, Team Principal of the Motor Image Racing Team.

The Rally of Hokkaido is the fourth round of the seven-leg FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship. The Asia Pacific Rally Championship moves on to its next leg to Malaysia on August 15-16, to Indonesia in October and China in November.

The two Subaru teams, sponsored by Motor Image Group (MIG) are fronted by defending champion Cody Crocker from Australia, and female driver Emma Gilmour from New Zealand.