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Rally of Thailand from today

By Sanjay Rajan

RAYONG (Thailand) NOV. 28. Speaking to journalists on the eve of the Rally of Thailand — the sixth and final round of the FIA-Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) for cars 2002 here on Thursday — Stuart Warren, the Kiwi-born Australian who is driving for Team MRF Tyres said, "I've always believed that one can do anything in life as long as he doesn't give up mentally."

Warren, co-driver Darryl Judd, is second in the APRC Group N (production cars) standings with 51 points and is in with a realistic chance of upstaging current leader, Italian Nico Caldarola (navigator Giovanni Agnese), who is ahead by 14 points.

Caldarola took part in each of the five previous rounds and his worst outing was in Japan where he garnered just seven points. Warren, on the other hand, missed the season opener in Canberra.

Warren, who emerged victorious in Rotorua and Japan, said, to win the championship they will have to finish ahead of Caldarola in all the three legs for bonus points apart from clinching the title.

"Here's where Reece Jones (Jeff Judd) comes into the picture,'' said Darryl. "It will be a huge advantage in our race to the crown if Reece finishes between Nico and us on all three days, provided we lead right through.''

It must be recollected here that Jones, experienced and fast, was roped in for this specific purpose. It is due to this reason that neither Naren Kumar nor Arjun Balu, Team MRF drivers from India, is figuring in this round.

Caldarola, winner here last year, sounded confident that his knowledge of the terrain and his attacking style of driving would clinch him what would be his maiden APRC championship crown. About the terrain, Darryl said the roads are rough, hard-based with more than a dash of water ruts owing to rains and is certain to be tough on the cars.

Warren said his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo7 is handling much better, especially on the corners. Karamjit Singh (Allen Oh) had assured himself of the APRC Group A and overall titles in China last month. But the bespectacled Malaysian, who recently won the World Rally Championship title in the Group N class, is here to help Proton secure the manufacturers' title. Proton leads with 64 points while Mitsubishi is second with 56.

In all, 25 cars are in the fray for the 1069-km rally of which 269.73-km comprise the 16 special stages in the three-day event. Karamjit is the top seed and is followed by Caldarola, Warren and Reece in that order.

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