APRC LEADER TAGUCHI SET TO FACE TOUGH CHALLENGE

JOHOR BAHRU (Malaysia), Oct 10 (Bernama) -- Japanese driver, Katsu Taguchi will have a tough time retaining the lead on the Malaysian stage of Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) as heavy rain the last few days has caused the route to become wet and muddy ahead of the official flag-off Friday.

Clerk-of-the-course for the championship, Tengku Shahrin Abu Bakar Tengku
Suleiman said the ground check Thursday indicated a lot of cars would slide and
get stuck in the mud.

"We had a lot of rain over the last few days. In the recce today
(Thursday), it was evident that the visiting drivers found the conditions
challenging," he
said in a statement here Thursday.

The pressure is on Taguchi to pull off strong finish in his Mitsubishi
Lancer Evo 9 because he will not be competing in the final round in China this
November.

"I have experience in wet conditions but I prefer dry condition. Anything
can happen when it's wet," he said in the same statement.

In second place in the curent standings is Australian Cody Crocker from the
Motor Image Rally team followed by Cusco Herridge (Germany), Hiroshi Yanagisawa
(Japan) and Rifat Sungkar (Indonesia).

On Saturday, twenty cars will start in the palm-oil plantations in
the vicinity of Bandar Tenggara with drivers from Indonesia, India, Japan, New
Zealand, Australia, Germany and Malaysia.

The rally doubles with the fifth round of the local Malaysian Rally
Championship (MRC), which means local rally drivers and co-drivers will compete
side-by-side with the international APRC competitors.

Twenty five local cars have confirmed participation including current
Malaysian rally champion, Karamjit Singh of the GSR Pennzoil Team.