Date:26/04/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/04/26/stories/2003042602622000.htm

Sport - Racing : Motor

Nutahara in lead

By Sanjay Rajan

CANBERRA APRIL 25. The rally route wound through pine forests, which were ravaged by bushfires in January.

"It was the worst fire in more than 50 years," said Terry Dack, who drove us around the six special stages on the opening day of the three-day Subaru Rally of Canberra, the first of the six-round 2003 Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) for cars, on Friday.

The Mine Shaft is the second stage and a huge attraction for spectators owing to its steep descent and the stiff challenge that it poses to drivers.

Top seed Nico Caldarola of Italy and Team MRF's German driver Armin Kremer, the second seed, manoeuvred it with caution while Japanese Fumio Nutahara blazed it.

Caldarola, the reigning APRC Group N champion, however, crashed out in stage four when, coming over a crest, he nose-dived and busted his engine.

It being a national holiday, there was a large turn out of spectators. They braved the steady drizzle through the afternoon. The on-track action was riveting, especially the final two stages held under lights at the Fairbans Park.

Nutahara, in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo7, emerged the Group N leader among the APRC-registered drivers while Kremer, also in an Evo7, finished second. Only 10.9 seconds separate the two.

New Zealander Geoff Argyle, driving a souped up Evo6.5 in the Group A (modified) class, leads the APRC overall with Nutahara and Kremer behind him in that order.

"Driving fast is my style. For now my focus is on completing the rally. I'll take my chances on the final day,'' said the bespectacled Nutahara.

Kremer (Fred Berssen) lost 12 to 15 seconds in stage two when a part of the blower broke and fell under the accelerator pedal, forcing him to cut speed. Kremer said the suspension has been raised to suit the terrain.

"We are driving safely at the moment. I must say the second stage was demanding, narrowing down sharply towards the end."

The other Team MRF driver, David Doppelreiter (Ola Fioene), lost close to four minutes when his car went off the road in the second stage. "It was a tight right bender. We hit a rock, lost control and the car slipped down the slope. Bad luck, I'd say. But then the rain has made the conditions a lot different from what we saw at the recce," said the Austrian.

Of the 277.55 kms gone through with, 60.48 kms were special stages.

Provisional standings (only APRC-registered drivers, after leg 1): Overall classification: 1. Geoff Argyle (Steve Smith), NZ, Gr A, 42:09.5S; 2. Fumio Nutahara (Satoshi Hayashi), Japan, Gr N, 42:27.6S; 3. Armin Kremer (Fred Berssen), Germany, Team MRF, N, 42:38.5S; 4. Andrew Hawkeswood (Paul Fallon), NZ, A, 43:06.0; 5. Chris Atkinson (Ben Atkinson), Aus, A, 44:58.2S.

Group N: 1. Fumio Nutahara (S. Hayashi), 2. Armin Kremer (Team MRF), 3. Reece Jones (Leo Bult), NZ, 45:56.6S; 4. Atsushi Masumura (Tokinori Fukumura), Japan, 47:11.6S; 5. David Doppelreiter (Austria)/ Ola Floene (Norway), Team MRF, 49:22.8S.