Cody Crocker has performed a clean-sweep of the 2009 Asia Pacific Rally Championship, claiming the final round of the series. Hi, I’m Bruce McKinnon and welcome to our final podcast for 2009, Rally China.

The Chinese stop for the APRC train sees competitors tackle the slow, difficult and demanding roads that run through the mountains near Longyou, south-west of Shanghai.

Crocker had already ensured a fourth straight title at Rally Indonesia, his crossing of the ceremonial start line the only formality left to complete. But the Aussie was determined to take both the Asia Cup and Manufacturers championships. From the very first stage, a muddy and dangerous super special, he dominated the rally which included high-profile european driver like David Higgins, Juha Salo and Jussi Valimaki. By the time he crossed the finish line of the final stage, he’d amassed a lead of more than four and half minutes over second-placed Dean Herridge.

– IV: Cody – Finish – 0:08 – 1:46

For the past four years Crocker has flown the Subaru flag in battle against the MRF Lancer’s. Former APRC champ Katsu Taguchi again led the ‘red’ cars, but again, China proved to be a stumbling block for them. The last time MRF and Taguchi won here was in 2004, but since then mechanical failures, crashes and plain bad luck has robbed the Indian team of any sort of result.

And, unfortunately, 2009 didn’t break that trend. An off-road excursion by Taguchi on stage 9 damaged the front suspension, a closer inspection revealing the cross-member mounting point to the chassis was also broken. Gaurav Gill’s horror run in the Evo X continued, a series of problems during the early stages plaguing the second MRF.

– IV: Gill – SS04 – 0:02 – 0:31

But that was the last we saw of the young Indian, a conrod piercing the Mitsubishi’s engine block during stage 6. Both MRF drivers were out with no chance of making a day 2 restart.

Taguchi’s retirement was made all the worse for the series longest-standing team. His crash opened the door for the Emma Gilmore to jump ahead in the championship points, making the season a one-two points result for Motor Image.

She was second of the APRC cars at the end of Saturday, and battled with the pain of a broken hand for most of Sunday to take 4th place in the APRC and 6th outright

– IV: Emma – End SS14 – 0:03 – 0:41

– Email Sweeper

The rain that fell during the week leading into the event made conditions treaturous, and all the teams struggled to find the best suspension settings on stages that were drying but also cutting up.

Like MRF, Cusco debuted their EVO X’s this season and the wide range of conditions experienced at the APRC rounds has been a development tourture-test. Hiroshi Yangisawa has made a solid start to the event, but damage to the oil cooler on stage 3 brought his season to a close. By the time he realised there was a problem, his Mitsubishi was out of oil, and forcing him to stop.

Likewise, Brian Green, back after a two round absence, suffered during the first day, retiring during stage 9 with engine and gearbox damage to his Evo 9.

But Alister McRae was back in the Proton S2000, and was looking good in 4th outright at the end of Staturday’s stages.

– IV: McRae – End of Day 1 – 0:04 – 0:34, 0:57 – 1:36

Unfortunately the Proton’s great run ended with the finish line in sight, a lower suspension arm during the second pass of the demanding San Men Yuan mountain stage.

And with Gilmore’s broken hand slowing her progress, the way was clear for both Rifat Sungkar and Yuya Sumiyama to climb onto the APRC podium.

Sumiyama had run out of brakes on stage 6 and then punctured on stage 7. But he battled on take 3rd for the APRC cars, record his first points of the season, and his first APRC podium

– IV: Yuya – End – 0:00 – 0:30

This year was Rifat Sungkar’s fourth Rally China start. In 2006 he took 3rd place in a privately entered Evo 9. But 2007 and 2008 were forgettable in the Motor Image Subaru; stuck into a ditch in ’07, and crashing out of the event during the super special last year.

If this season was one of rebuilding his profile within the series, he did it in the best possible way with a gutsy second place finish. Brian Young caught up with Rifat and co-driver Scott Beckwith at the end of the event.

– IV: Rifat – End – 0:00 – 0:30, 0:50 – 1:24, 1:30 – 2:16

Rifat made it to finish line in 4th outright, with China Rally Championship drivers Dean Herridge and Jari Ketomaa taking 2rd and 3rd outright.

But this event, and the championship, belonged to Cody Crocker. His most dominatent season since 2006, Crocker and the Motor Image team are clearly the class of the field. He may have the best funded team, with the best developed car. But he knows how to make the best of that advantage, makes very few mistakes, and piles the pressure on his rivals to match the speed he can set in the Motor Image Subaru.

Before we go I have to once again thank Brian Young and the APRC TV team. It’s with their support that I can bring you interviews with the drivers, so you get to hear, first-hand, what happens at each round of the series.

Don’t forget, you can catch up with the entire 2009 APRC season on DVD. The APRC TV DVD available the APRC.TV web site from mid-December, and there’ll be a link to it on the aprclive.com web site as soon as its available.

I also must thank New Caledonia Tourism, our sponsors for the first couple of rounds of the series. New Caledonia Tourism have supported the podcast for past two years, and it’s with their help that we pay for all the internet hosting and bandwidth charges associated with producing the show.

It’s been a great season. The year started slowly, with many of the teams finding it difficult to secure sponsorship. But the rallying has always been good. We’ve seen Crocker and Taguchi fight hard all year. Emma Gilmore has had a stella debut season, the Evo X’s of Gill, Yanagisawa and Sumiyama have stuggled during their first season of competition but hold promise for the future, and the new Proton S2000 looks like it can be a very competitive package in 2010.

So until we see you again for Rally Malaysia in April, let’s leave the final word to Cody Crocker, the winner of Rally China and the 2009 APRC Champion.

– IV: Cody – Pre-event – 0:43 – 4:00

Cody Crocker has carved out his own piece of rallying history, becoming the first driver to claim four APRC titles at Rally Indonesia. Hi, I’m Bruce McKinnon and welcome to APRC Live for our coverage of an historic Rally Indonesia.

Coming into the 6th round of the 2009 season, Crocker required only five championship points to become the most successful driver in APRC history. And he virtually guaranteed the title on the first morning, jumping to a 52 second lead after just four stages. Although torrential rain in the afternoon made conditions slippery, the Motor Image driver was able to extend that lead to an even minute by the end of the first day.

– IV: Cody – End Day 1

Crocker’s perennial rival, MRF driver Katsu Taguchi, was next best. And although he has battled hard this season, Katsu realised the championship was gone after the first morning.

– IV: Katsu – End Day 1 + Morning Day 1

Even though Crocker has struggled in Indonesia in the past, his new Subaru N14 is now clearly faster than the MRF Evo 9, Taguchi capturing second place but unable to mount any meaningful attack on the Motor Image driver.

By contrast, the series first Super 2000 entry was finding the Indonesian conditions hard going. With Karamjit Singh unavailable, the Proton Satria Neo S2000 was piloted by former WRC driver Alister McRae, the Scotsman fourth after the second stage, but finding problems on the third.

– IV: McRae – Morning Day 1

Although the Proton team fixed the car for a leg two restart, persistent power steering problems brought an end to the Satria’s event on stage 13.

– Email Sweeper

Like the Proton Super 2000, the Lancer Evo X is also having its debut season in the APRC. But there were no prizes for it in Indonesia.

Last years winner Gaurav Gill arrived in Makassar with plenty of confidence, but first morning followed a similar script to previous APRC events this year. MRF’s new car has been getting better with each rally, but bad luck seems to be dogging the young Indian on the opening stages. This time it was a turbo pipe that let go during stage 1.

– IV: Gill – End Event

Also driving new Evo Xs, the Cusco pair of Hiroshi Yanagisawa and Yuya Sumiyama had their fair share of problems. Yanagisawa posted top four times during the first morning but was stopped by clutch and gear box problems during Saturday afternoon.

For Sumiyama, the first leg was much shorter; an off-road excursion destroying the steering of his Evo X on stage three. Sunday, however, was kinder to the Cuscos, both completing the leg, with Yanagisawa third quickest of the APRC regulars.

But the award for the grittiest determination in the face of adversity has to go to Rifat Sungkar. The popular local was back in his own Evo 8 to contest the Asia Cup, but his home event provided no advantage. Still, he was able to complete the event with a smile and collected third place points for the Asia Cup.

– IV: Rifat – End Event

And while Rifat has plenty of experience at Makassar, it was another new experience for Emma Gilmore. The Kiwi again made the best possible use of the opportunity Motor Image has provided this year, battling through the mud and rain of Saturday and the rocks and heat of Sunday, to collect another podium finish behind Crocker and Taguchi.

– IV: Emma – End Event

But this event, and this years championship, belongs to Cody Crocker. He’s contested the APRC for the past four years, and he’s won it every time. In fact, he’s won an international or national title of some sort 13 out of the past 14 years, and along with co-driver Ben Atkinson, can now claim the honour of being the most successful driver in APRC history.

We’ll be back for the season ending Rally China in mid-November. But until then, let’s go out with the 2009 APRC Champion, Cody Crocker.

– IV: Cody – End Event

Cody Crocker has one hand on a 4th consecutive APRC championship title, with a convincing victory at the 4th round of the 2009 season, Rally Hokkaido.

The Japanese round of the series is not only the mid-point of the season, it’s a pivotal event for the crews looking to claim the 2009 APRC Championship.

And the two most likely contenders for APRC crown, Crocker and Katsu Taguchi duked it out during the opening day.

Over the first 6 stages of leg 1, they took 3 wins each, the Japanese driver caugt napping on stage 3 when Crocker was able to take 18 seconds from him, but Taguchi reducing the gap to 12 seconds before midday service.

– IV: Crocker – Morning 1

But the rally took a dramatic turn after lunch, Taguchi punctured after a jump, elected to complete the stage on the rim, and lost nearly a minute in the process.

– IV: Katsu – Morning 1

Behind them, Gaurav Gill was having a better outing in the new MRF Evo 10, holding down 3rd place after 5 stages. But his luck deserted him on stage 6, a slow roll bringing to an end any chance of a good result.

– IV: Gaurav – Roll

While Gaurav and co-driver David Senior were unhurt in the accident, Senior was almost collected by Emma Gilmore, who arrived on the scene before the MRF crew could plac warning signs by the road.

– IV: Emma – Near miss

Gilmore extended her impressive debut in the MotorImage Subaru, setting consistent times in the unfamilar conditions to collect 4th outright and the final APRC podium place.

– Email Sweeper

Beating her for 3rd outright was Hiroshi Yanagisawa, the Cusco team back for the Asia Cup leg of the championship and showing real progress with their new Lancer EVO Xs. Yanagisawa and Gill trading stage times for much of the event, while the Cusco drivers experience on the northern Japanese roads meant he was able to stay well ahead of Gilmore for entire event.

– IV: Yana

Not so happy was his teamamte Yuya Sumiyama, who last 8 stages before transmission problems forced retirement.

But the event belonged to Crocker, who now takes a decisive lead in the championship, 11 points clear of Taguchi, the Japanese driver disappointed not just to have missed out on a win at his home event, and maybe also sensing the championship has slipped away

– IV: Katsu – End

So Cody Crocker extends his lead in the series, which now moves on to Malaysia on the 15th of August, an event he’s won for the last 3 years running. The Malaysian round will also see the return of a couple of APRC favourites. Indonesian Rifat Sungkar makes his 2009 debut in a Lancer Evo 9, while the ‘flying Shihk’ Karamjit Singh will roll out the new Proton Neo S2000 for him home event.

But let’s leave the final word to the winner of Rally Hokkaido 2009, Cody Crocker.

– IV: Crocker – Final

Cody Crocker is now just a few points away from an historic 4th consecutive championship title, after a runaway victory at the Malaysian Rally.

Hi I’m Bruce McKinnon and welcome back to APRC Live and our coverage of the 5th round of the 2009 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship.

Last year, the Jahor-round of the series saw some of the wettest conditions ever experienced in the series. This year provided a new challange with a change of location, all-new stages putting all the drivers on equal terms.

But once again Crocker sprinted from the start, putting pressure on championship rival Katsu Taguchi by taking a minute 44 sec advantage on the very first stage. By the time the crews completed the first loop of 4 stages, Crocker had a lead of almost 3 minutes, setting tone for the rest of the event.

– IV: Crocker – Morning 1 – End of SS4 – 0:01 – 0:31

By contrast, Rally Malaysia was a disaster for Taguchi. A puncture on the first stage was followed by a collision with one of the numerous palm oil trees that line the stages. By the time he returned to service park after stage 6, the Japanese champion had dropped to almost 4 minutes behind Crocker.

The MRF team elected to run mud tyres for the final two stages, but the gamble back-fired badly. Without sufficient heat in his tyres, Taguchi ran wide on the first corner of stage 7 and slide into a deep drain, he and co-driver Mark Stacey unhurt, but his Evo 9 Lancer left stranded in a drain.

– IV: Katsu – Crashed SS07 – 0:08 – 0:15, 0:22-1:11

And it was double-pain for the MRF team. Taguchi’s Indian team-mate Gaurav Gill had been bouyed by a trouble-free rrun on the second leg of Rally Japan. But his persistent brake and tyre problems returned in Malayasia, the brakes fading after the first stage, and double-puncture spelling the end his day during stage 2.

– IV: Gaurav – Leg 1 Service: 0:08 – 1:20

By contrast, Crocker’s team-mate Emma Gilmore was surprising her team bosses with a determined run through the opening day. A Malaysian debutant, the conditions were completely foreign to her plus she was forced to team with stand-in co-driver Clair Mole, rushed in to replace Rhiannon Smyth at short notice.

But Gilmore took the rally in her stride, and while others faltered, she made steady progress to complete leg 1 in 2nd second place.

– IV: Emma – Leg 1 Service – 0:10 – 0:49

Although Gaurav Gill rejoined the rally on Sunday morning and claimed 2nd place bonus points for leg 2, Emma held on for a classy second place overall, her best result in the championship so far, putting the MotorImage cars at the top of the podium.

– Email Sweeper

Just before we complete our Rally Malaysia coverage, lets catch up with some APRC news. And one team that was noticable for their absense was Brian Green and Fleur Pedersen. The Kiwi crew were last minute withdrawals after a logistics mix-up left them without a car to compete in. And with the tight shipping schedules between events, they may also be forced to miss the next round in Indonesia.

As we mentioned earlier, Scottish co-driver Clair Mole partnered Emma Gilmore in the #3 Motor Image Subaru. The change of co-driver was forced after Emma’s regular co-driver Rhiannon Smyth was involved in a high-speed accident just two weeks earlier while competing at Rally Sth Australia. Rhiannon and her brother Brendan Reeves collided with a tree, leaving Rhiannon with multiple brakes to both legs, and Brendan with concussion and spinal injuries.

Both are making good recoveries, but their injuries has forced Brendan to withdraw from the Pirelli Star Driver shoot out at next months Rally Australia. Reeves was one of the favourites to take out the Star Driver award, but it now looks like it will be fight between Eli Evans and Hayden Paddon for the fully-funded PWRC drive in 2010.

Brendan’s withdrawal also makes way for Cody Crocker to reunite with former team boss Les Walkden, Crocker and co-driver Ben Atkinson stepping into a Walkden Subaru for a one-off drive in the PWRC category.

But it was the Proton Super 2000 that was the talk of Rally Malaysia, with Proton and 3-time APRC title holder Karamjit Singh joining forces for the Asia Cup.

Singh is a legend in both the APRC and Malyasian rallying circles, and is a popular figure in the service park and with the strong contingent of specators who watched the event. Unfortunantely a small mistake on stage 2 left him stranded in one of the deep ditches that run beside the roads.

It is, however, a learning year for Proton, Singh and Mellors Elliott Motorsport, who are developing the Proton. APRC TVs Brian Young caught up with Chris Mellors to discuss the new car.

– IV: Chris Mellors – 0:05 – end

Although Saturday wasn’t so kind to Karamjit, Sunday was better, the Proton S2000 experiencing a few dramas, but making it to the finish line.

– IV: Singh – Finish – 0:08 – 1:23, 2:00 – 2:53

Another former APRC regular has also returned for the Asia Cup. Rifat Sungkar, Cody Crocker’s former team-mate at Motor Image, was back in his brothers Rizal’s Evo 8. The car was a little under-prepared, with Rifat expereiencing a variety of engine dramas during leg 1. But he made through Saturday in third place, a position he held during Sunday’s stages to complete a great comeback to the APRC.

– IV: Rifat – Finish – 0:11 – 0:50

Gaurav Gill rejoined the rally on Sunday, and had a good run, taking 4 stage wins and staying well ahead of Emma Gilmore to take two bonus points for leg 2.

It gave MRF at least something to smile about, because on the other side of the service tent, things wern’t so happy. Desperate for bonus points, Katsu Taguchi went all out. He and Crocker dead-heated the first stage on Sunday, Katsu won the second, but on stage 11 it all came unstuck.

– IV: Katsu – Leg 2 Service: 0:05 – 0:51, 1:02 – 1:27, 2:00 – end

And that just left Cody Crocker to cruise to the finish. In all he won 11 of the 16 stages, grabbing maxiumum championship points yet again.

– IV: Cody – Finish – 0:10 – 0:35, 1:00 – 1:48

So Cody Crocker takes a commanding 27 point lead to Rally Indonesia, an event which has proved to be his weakest in the series. Katsu Taguchi has always been strong in Indonesia, but unless the Motor Image team falter, the series may now have slipped through his hands. For the first time in a long time, Taguchi walked away from an event without adding to his points tally , and is now being hounded by Emma Gilmore who jumps to just two points shy of the Japanese driver.

And Gaurav Gill will be encourgaged by his leg 2 performance, as he returns to the event where he scored his debut APRC victory.

But until Rally Indonesia, which starts on the 3rd of October, lets leave the final word to the brains behind the Motor Image team. Motor Image completly dominated this event, and principal Glenn Tan and team Manager Philip Rogers left Rally Malaysia very happy men.

– IV: Glenn 0:05 – 0:45, Philip 0:03 – 0:34, 0:43 – 1:45

There’s a change of venue for the second round of the season, and the big guns of the competition are back to fight for the championship crown. It’s Rally Queensland time, and we’ve got all the news and results from the last round on the Sunshine Coast, right here on APRC Live.

Hi, I’m Bruce McKinnon and welcome back to APRC Live for our coverage of the second round of APRC 2009, Rally Queensland.

The season is really starting to heat up now, with the return of the all-conquering Motor Image Racing Team, lead by triple-champions Cody Crocker and Ben Atkinson, and this year paired with the series first all-female crew, Kiwi Emma Gilmore and her new Australian co-driver Rhianon Smith.

And taking on the Motor Image Subarus once again, the MRF Lancers have made a late entry into the series, with Crocker’s arch-rival Katsu Taguchi in last year’s Evo IX, and PWRC regular Gaurav Gill in a brand-new Evo X.

As well as Motor Image, MRF and the series regulars, Brian Green, Hayden Paddon and Jean-Louis Leyraud, some experienced locals and international joined the field. Two-time Australian champ Simon Evans, driving Scott Pedders Evo 9 from last season joined the APRC field. Although not eligible to score APRC points, he was there to show the international teams just what he can do.

The Pirelli Star Driver competition enticed Simon’s younger brother Eli Evans to join the field, plus Brendan Reeves and Nathan Quinn, all battling for the chance to compete at September’s Rally Australia and the promise of a coveted PWRC drive in 2010.

And experienced internationals Atsushi Masumura from Japan and Rui Wang from China completed a 13-car strong field.

–

It’s a change of venue for the Australian round of the series. For the past decade Canberra has hosted the event, almost guaranteeing a tight battle between the leading crews, who all had years of experience on the dusty Canberra forest tracks.

But the move to Imbil on the Sunshine coast hinterland means the locals now have a distinct advantage. Rally Queensland is possibly the most technically demanding rally on the Australian rally calendar. It’s a place that rewards local knowledge, and its a place where Cody Crocker has won before.

– IV: Crocker Day 1, Pt 1

If the event had remained in Canberra, Crocker’s brand new Subaru Impreza may have been a disadvantage. A new and untested car pitted against Taguchi’s fast and proven MRF Lancer. But the nature of the Queensland roads meant he and the other drivers looking to knock Crocker off his pedestal would have to bank on the new Motor Image cars failing.

And during Saturday’s seven stages, Crocker’s local knowledge came to the fore. 2005 was the last time he competed in Queensland, but he’d won there 6 times prior to this event. The depth of expierence was just too much for Taguchi to overcome, and although the Japanese driver set respectible times himself, Crocker managed to beat him on every stage.

– IV: Katsu – Day 1

Katsu’s Evo 9 was perfectly reliable, and third quickest among the APRC field was an outstanding result at his first attempt. Crocker was fast, but Simon Evans was faster. If his goal was to impress the internationals, he was certainly succeeding. He’d won here in 2007 and 2008, and again headed the field, beating Crocker by 39 secs over the days 7 stages.

Behind Crocker and Taguchi, their team-mates were having a few more problems. Both Gaurav Gill and Emma Gilmore were in brand-new, untested cars, and both had issues during the day.

12 months ago Gill was sidelined with a knee injury, and struggling to cement his place in the MRF team. But his maiden victory in Indonesia last year and a full-time PWRC drive for Sidvin seems to have unlocked reserves of confidence. Fading tyres and brakes dogged him all day and he lost more than two minutes to Crocker. But to his credit, he worked around these problems to bring his Evo X to evening service in the third point-scoring position.

– IV: Gill – Day 1

Behind Gill, Emma Gilmore was not only learning a new car, but also a new team and co-driver. An engine problem slowed her progress and she finished two minutes behind the second MRF car.

– IV: Gilmore – Day 1

Unfortunately for the three APRC competitors who contested the washed-out New Caledonia round, the chance of scenery had no brought a change of fortune.

Hayden Paddon is one of the dominant forces in New Zealand domestic rallying at the moment, but problems have dogged his APRC car. His times for the first couple of stages were reasonable. But during stage 3 he hit a causeway too quickly, a large rock tearing a hole in the differential. He was forced endure another two stages before making it back to service park, but by then he’d dropped to the bottom of the time sheets. Although reasonable times in the final two stages meant he finished the day as the 5th point-scoring APRC car, he was now two minutes behind Gilmore.

Jean-Louis Leyraud held both the young Kiwis at bay for most of the day, but a last stage puncture saw him lose around 3 minutes, and he tumbled down the leader board to finish 18 secs behind Paddon.

But by far the highest flyer of the day was Brian Green. The veteran Kiwi was cagey about his day when I spoke to him at the end of the stage 7. But co-driver Fleur Pedersen was a little more forth-coming, and their lucky escape after 5th-gear take-off over a blind crest.

– IV: Fleur – Day 1

– New Caledonia Ad

They are back and supporting the podcast yet again. I really have to thank New Caledonia Tourism for their generous support of the podcast this year, and course the support they provide to rallying in New Caledonia. They’ve been long-time supporters of Jean-Louis Leyraud, and for the past two seasons they’ve helped APRC Live. So a big thanks to New Caledonia Tourism, and make sure you go to their web site, www.newcaledonia.com.au, check out the holiday deals and start planning your next holiday in the sun.

And while I’m on the topic of thinking people, I have to give a huge shout-out to Alan McDonald of MacSpeed Foto for organising the interviews for this event. Alan did an incredible job of getting around to each of the crews so I could interview them by phone, and well as doing his regular job of actually taking photos of the event. So I think you Alan, and I’m sure the other listeners of the podcast thank you as well!

– Email Sweeper

As I mentioned earlier in the show, Rally Queensland is a qualifying round for the Pirelli Star Driver competition, but the rules are a little different this year.

Like last year, the fastest two drivers in the qualifying rounds are determined by a points scoring system. Points are awarded for each stage, and the driver with the most points wins. You don’t need to make it to the finish line, but you do need to be consistently quick.

This year drivers can qualify at each APRC round, with the shootout held at Rally Australia in September.

At Rally Queensland, four drivers lined up to qualify; Pacific Cup entrant Hayden Paddon, and locals Eli Evans, Brendan Reeves and Nathan Quinn.

And it was a two horse race for the most of the event between the two former Les Walkden team drivers. Eli Evans got off to a great start by winning the first three stages, but Brendan Reeves stormed back in the afternoon to take four wins in a row and finish Saturday with a 1 point advantage.

But Eli came back on Sunday morning, the two locked on points after 10 stages. Eli went ahead once more on stage 11, but the next stage was a disaster. His Subaru swallowed too much water at a creek crossing on stage 12, the car stopping on stage.

That was Eli’s rally done, and Brendan eased his way home for a clear victory.

– IV: Reeves – Day 2

– Hayden – Promo

Back to the day 2 action at Rally Queensland, and for the international crews their experience of the Saturdays stages would be of little benefit on Sunday. Although leg 2 stages would use the same roads as leg 1, only three would be repeats, while the remaining four were re-runs of Saturday stages but in the opposite direction.

For the crews at the head of the field, only the opening stage was a different story to that of leg 1. A puncture mid-way through the 12km ‘Million LA’ stage saw Cody Crocker drop nearly a minute to the stage winning time of Simon Evans. And Taguchi was proving himself to be a fast learner, shaving almost a second per-kilometer on these two repeat stages.

– IV: Taguchi – Day 2

Crocker’s early puncture seemed not to scare him, but to spur him on. On the following stage he beat all the crews, including Simon Evans, and took back 14 of the 36 seconds Taguchi had won on the opener. For the outright win, it was a fight between the Motor Image champion and Evans, and the battle was tight throughout the day.

– IV: Crocker – Day 2, Pt 1

A man definitely making up time on Sunday was Hayden Paddon. His first three days of APRC rallying had been dogged by disappointment. But on Sunday, he was showing the field just how fast he can be when his car is working. For most of the day he was quicker than Taguchi, and with one stage to go was point-3 ahead for the leg.

The crews had been pushing themselves all day, but there was no respite with the final stage being a 34km monster called ‘Phat Lady’.

A combination of two other stages linked by unused roads, it was just familiar enough to catch out the unwary, and that’s exactly what happened.

Gaurav Gill and Emma Gilmore had both struck problems with their new cars on Saturday, but Sunday was proving to be better. They were well off the lead but having their own battle, Gilmore beating her more experienced rival on the first stage, Gill shading her on the remaining stages.

There was no expectation of a change of position; large gaps between third placed Gill and forth-placed Gilmore had been set on the opening day. It was more a battle of pride.

But on ‘Phat Lady’, things took a very dramatic turn, as Gaurav Gill explains.

– IV: Gill – Day 2

Gaurav did managed to drag his car out of the stage and back to service park to register a finish. But with nearly four minutes lost, third place was was handed to Emma Gilmore. It may have been due to Gill’s misfortune, but the young Kiwi had performed well in her first APRC event and returned the kind of result Motor Image will expect of her for the rest of the year.

– IV: Gilmore – Day 1

While one Kiwi had benefited from Gill’s puncture, it spelt disaster for another. Forth car on the road and, critically, the car immediately following Gill, Paddon soon caught the Indian on stage. Blinded in the dust from the MRF Lancer, he took the wrong over the causeway that caused him problems on Saturday. Hitting the large rocks that litter the side of the road, the left-rear suspension was destroyed and he too was left to drag his car out of the stage.

To their credit, Padden and co-driver John Kennard did make it to the finish line, but the time lost meant they dropped to 6th place, the final APRC crew home.

Brian Green was again reliable, taking 5th place after Jean-Louis Leyraud rolled off the road and out of the rally on stage 11.

Simon Evans took the outright win with almost a minute and a half advantage. But the APRC win belonged to Cody Crocker, the triple champion finishing more than a minute 20 in front of Taguchi, and showing signs that he really does want to become the first driver to win the title four times.

–

And that wraps up Rally Queensland for 2009.

The next stop on the APRC calendar is Whangarei in early June, and it’s an event that all of the crews know well.

Hayden Paddon will be back in his NZ championship winning car, so expect to see him at the front of the field. He beat Crocker in Whangarei two years ago, and he’s still to qualify for the Pirelli Star Driver shoot-out, so he’ll be out ensure a strong result.

And no doubt Emma Gilmore will be looking to strengthen her hold on third place in the championship points at her home event.

You can see the full championship leader board at aprclive.com, as well as news of the series between events. And of course you can listen to, or download, each of the old shows at aprclive.com, or you can find us in the iTunes music store. Just search for ‘APRC Live’.

The season really is in full swing now, so to take us out let’s hear from the man who has already taken the lead in the series, Cody Crocker.

– IV: Crocker – Final

It’s round 5 of APRC 2008 which means it’s Rally Indonesia time. Hi, I’m Bruce McKinnon, welcome to APRC Live and our coverage of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, and as I mentioned, the crews had left behind the rain and mud of northern Japan, and were now in the hot, dusty farmlands of South Sulewesi.

There’s just 3 rounds left to complete APRC 2008, but in this championship, the sting is definitely in the tail, with Indonesia and the next round in Malaysia being, probably, the two most physically challenging events on the calendar.

Physical fitness plays an important part in the way crews handle hours of in-car temperatures which can exceed 50 deg Celsius, as the other Motor Image driver, Cody Crocker, explains:

– IV: Cody – Shakedown

This rally would see one of the smallest APRC fields for some time. Drivers can score points from only 6 of the APRCs 7 rounds, so for Rally Indonesia the Cusco Subaru’s had elected to stay in Japan, while Brian Green was back in the fold having missed the previous round in Hokkaido.

And with German driver Edith Weiss a last-minute withdrawal, only 6 APRC crews started the event, the three MRF Lancers of Katsu Taguchi, Scott Pedder and Gaurav Gill, the Subarus of Crocker and Rifat Sungkar, and Brian Green in his privately entered Mitsubishi.

The other APRC regular missing from Indonesia was Takuma Kamada. The damage caused by his roll early on day 1 of Rally Hokkaido was too great for the Arai Motorsport team to repair in time for shipping from Japan. Forced to sit out the event, it’s been a pretty miserable season for the experienced Japanese campaigner.

Of course, being Rally Indonesia, it’s the home round of Rifat Sungkar, was not only keen to do well among the APRC crews, but was also contesting the event as part of the Indonesian national rally, the title he won last year and the title his brother Rizal is keen to win from him.

– IV: Rifat – Shakedown

–

Rally Indonesia had changed significantly from last year. Being run as a test event for the WRC rally which comes to Indonesia in 2010, this year featured new stages and and an in-door service park in Makassar’s convention centre.

Saturdays stages consisted of a tight loop of four stages, run morning and afternoon, located just 30km to the south of Makassar. And with only 137km of stages to play with, staying away from the the rocks that litter the road side, and the punctures they cause, would be even more important. Have a problem, and there wouldn’t be the opportunity to make up lost time.

But punctures were the last thing in Cody Crocker’s mind. The first of 4 stages that made up the morning loop was slow and twisty, and the Motor Image driver was having serious electrical problems with his Subaru.

– IV: Crocker SS2

For Crocker, the only driver he was racing was Katsu Taguchi. He had to stay close to Katsu in the race for championship points, and Katsu immediately took advantage of Crockers problems, 17 secs quicker in the first stage and another 21 in the second. Things were going well until a rock on stage 3 holed a rear tyre, and he plummeted to the bottom of the time sheets.

– IV: Katsu ServA

And the rocks on stage 3 also claimed Crocker’s team-mate Rifat Sungkar, the local champion losing two minutes in the process. But that was nothing compared to Scott Pedder. The Australian has had a miserable run this year, and was keen to turn his season around in Makassar.

This year he’s paid heavy penalties for small errors, and that trend continued for him on stage 2.

– IV: Pedder – ServA

The Indonesian roads were taking a heavy toll on all the APRC crews. All the crews, bar one.

Gaurav Gill had missed 3 rounds of the season due to a bike accident, had shown great skill in atrocious conditions in Hokkaido, and was now sending a clear message to the other APRC crews that he would be a force to be reckoned with. Second behind Taguchi after stage 1, he then won the other 3 morning stages and returned to first service with a very handy minute and 7 second lead over Crocker.

– IV: Gill – ServA

–

There was just 20 minutes allowed during first service, and there was plenty of work for the team mechanics. The Motor Image crew tracked down the source of Cody Crockers engines woes as being a loose plug on a sensor, that in turn effected the cam timing.

And MRF mechanics did their best to fix as much of Pedders Lancer as possible, the brake lines replaced but the cross member would have to wait until evening service. He struggled on for the rest of the day, not out of the top 5, but no able to really able to keep pace with his team mates.

Thanks to his morning puncture, Katsu Taguchi was 3rd but a minute 35 adrift of Crocker. And with only this event and Rally Malaysia left to finish his season, he was desperate to not only catch, but pass Crocker. Gill won stage 5, but Katsu blizted them on the next two, and by the end of the day, he’d taken 26 secs from Cody.

– IV: Katsu – ServB

It was a good afternoon for Katsu, but it was now Gills turn to strike problems. As I mentioned, he won the afternoons opening test, but then was forced to back off when he realised the gearbox mountings on his Lancer had fractured. He nursed the car through the remaining stages, dropping just under a minute on stage 7, the longest of the day.

But he made back to service park, and importantly with his lead intact, although now reduced to just 15 seconds.

– IV: Gill – Serv B

With his Subaru now repaired, Crocker’s plan had been to chase down Gill and put himself as far in front of Katsu as possible. Gaurav’s gearbox problems opened the door, but the wrong choice of tyres stopped Cody taking advantage and snatching the outright lead.

– IV: Cody – Serv B

And it was also a mixed day for Rifat Sungkar, his morning puncture costing him time, but solid times in the afternoon allowed him to remain in 4th place, although he was now almost 2 minutes behind 3rd place Taguchi.

– IV: Rifat – Serv B

And while all the MRF and Motor Image crews had run into their share of problems, spare a though for the sole single car team of Brian Green and Fleur Pederson. Mechanical problems had dogged them all day, and while they were more than 8 minutes off the lead, they employed all their experience to get their Mitsubishi back to service park and stay 5th of the APRC crews.

– IV: Green – Serv B

– Mash-up Promo

OK, just a quick reminder that if you’d like to checkout video of Rally Indonesia, head on over to www.aprclive.com and you’ll find a short little video of highlights from the rally. In fact we do a recap of the previous years event a week or before each rally, and then I put up a highlights video a couple of days after each event.

Of course that video comes courtesy of APRC TV and if you have a look at www.aprc.tv you’ll find details of when and where you can view complete coverage of the rallies on TV. The APRC is now shown on TV in most parts of the world, so check it out, it’s all good stuff.

And if you’re a long-term APRC Live listener, you might remember that we had a give-away contest last year. I got a great response last year, so we’re running another contest this year. But it’s a bit different, so make sure you listen to the end of the show when I’ll give you details of how you can win your own little piece of the APRC.

– Email Sweeper

So let’s finish off Rally Indonesia, and day 2 was probably the shortest day of entire championship. Just three stages run twice, and only 86kms in length. But these Makassar roads had proven themselves to be car-breakers, and there was no relief

And Rifat Sungkar was the first to hit problems, the lose of 1st and 2nd gears on the tight and twisty stage 10 saw him drop a further minute behind the leaders.

– IV: Rifat – Serv C

But while Rifat was safe in 4th place, the complexion of the rally was about the change completely. A stray cow on SS9 saw him drop 4 seconds to Crocker. And forced to change a tyre on the transport to the next stage, they a incurred a 10 sec for arriving late to time control. The lead was down to just point 4, but the young Indian wasn’t about to give in without a fight, and on the next stage he clawed back valuable seconds to finish the morning with a 3.7 sec lead.

– IV: Gill – Serv C

Although his lead had been whittled away, luck was riding with Gaurav. Had the tyre given up during stage 11, he would have likely dropped at least 2 minutes, and with any change of victory.

And although Gaurav was fighting on, Crocker could sense the chance of victory.

– IV: Cody – Serv C

But while Cody was focused on Gill, Taguchi was pushing hard, taking time off the Motor Image driver to score extra bonus points for the day.

– IV: Katsu – Serv C

–

So just 42kms and three stages to complete the event, and there was a ding-dong battle amongst to top 3.

But behind them, the other three APRC crews were holding station. Scott Pedder struggled on in the MRF Lancer, but clearly the car wasn’t working for him and lost further time to 5th placed Brian Green. It had been a tough weekend for them both, and it was test of character that they made it over the finish line.

As it was for Rifat Sungkar, a loose intercooler pipe giving him a scare late in the day. But 4th in APRC earned him good points in both the main championship and the Asia Cup, while first place among the Indonesian series driver secured him back-to-back national titles.

– IV: Rifat – Final

Rifat’s team-mate Cody Crocker left service park for the final time determined to take the lead. But it all came unstuck on stage 12, the Indonesian rocks finally catching up with the defending champion just a wrong moment.

– IV: Cody – Final

That dropped Cody to 3rd outright, third for the leg, and importantly handing extra championship points to Katsu.

– IV: Katsu – Final

And that’s an important point about team orders. No matter your opinion of them, and I personally don’t like to see results manipulated for the benefit of one team member over another, the decision by the MRF/Race Torque team not to hold back Gaurav and allow Katsu into the lead may well cost them the championship.

If Katsu does lose the series by one or two points, this will be the moment we’ll look back on.

But while Crocker and Taguchi fought over championship points, the undeniable star of the event was Gaurav Gill.

– IV: Gill – Final

–

So a maiden APRC victory for Gaurav Gill at Rally Indonesia.

Now I mentioned earlier we’re running a contest this year, and we’ll make it much simpler than last year. Just one prize this time, a fantastic Motor Image team shirt that Rifat Sungkar has very kindly provided. The only way you can get your hands on one of these is to either become part of the Motor Image team, or to win this competition.

And to win it, you need to answer this question:

Prior to Gaurav’s win, who was the last driver to claim his or her maiden APRC victory. I want to know the name of the driver, the name of the event and the year it took place.

So who was the last driver to win an APRC round for the first time, prior to Gaurav winning at Rally Indonesia.

Send you answer by email to me at studio@aprclive.com and the first correct answer wins the Motor Image team shirt.

Answer: 2006 when Cody Crocker claimed Rally Rotaru in his first APRC event.

The championship table now sees Katsu on 55 points, extending his lead over Crocker who remains in second on 49 points. The two Cusco driver, Herridge and Yanagisawa stay in 3rd and 4th places, but there’s now a fight over 5th with Gaurav, Rifat and Brian Green all on 17 points.

And in the Asia Cup, Gaurav jumps into the lead on 18 points, then Yangisawa on 15 and two MotorImage drivers tied on 12 points.

The next event of APRC 2008 is Rally Malaysia, the heat and dust of Sulawesi replaced by the stifling humidity of the Malaysian palm-oil plantations. And the round will also serve as the decider of the Pirelli Star Driver competition, so we’ll see some fast and spectacular drivers from across the asia-pacific region.

As Gaurav mentioned, he’s one of the drivers registered for the Star Driver competition. Kiwis Hayden Paddon and Brad Ayling won the qualifying round in Whangarei and with it assistance to compete in Malaysia, plus there’s a number of young drivers from around the Asia-Pacific region lining up for the chance to win an assisted drive in the Production WRC next year.

And if the rumours are true, Gaurav will get a drive in the PWRC this year. The scuttlebutt says Mohan Nagarajan, the man behind Team Sidvin and Naren Kumar, want Gaurav in a second Team Sidvin car for Rally Japan at the end of October.

Is the rumour true? Who knows? I guest time will tell.

But here in Indonesia, it’s maximum points and a maiden APRC victory for Gaurav Gill, repaying the faith the MRF team have shown in him. We’ll see you next month for Malaysia, but for now, let’s leave the final word to the man who dominated Rally Indomesia, Gaurav Gill

– IV: Gill – End

Welcome to APRC Live, the podcast of the Asia-Pacific rally championship. I’m Bruce McKinnon and this is our podcast of the first round of the 2008 series, Rally New Caledonia.

And before we get started I must apologise for the delay in getting this podcast to you. As you probably realise, with the APRC events spread all around Sth-East Asia and Oceania, we rely pretty heavily on technology and internet connections to collect all the material that goes into producing the show, and in this case, some of the technology let us down. So I apologise for the delay in getting the show to you.

However, it is a new season, and as we covered in last weeks season preview show, there’s extra awards on offer this year, and new drivers coming into the series. Rally New Caledonia would be the series debut for two new drivers, Scott Pedder and Dean Herridge, both of whom have been leading drivers on the Australian domestic rally scene for many years, as well as being the first of the Pacific Cup events.

As we discussed in the season preview last week, a great fight is looming in the Pacific cup between Herridge and the French trio, Jean-Louis Leyraud, Patrick Yanai and Patrick Christian.

The conditions in NC are unique, and who better to explain, than Patrick Christian, back in his Mitsubishi Evo 9 and running the ‘Team New Caledonia’ colours.

– IV: Christian Pre – 1:20 – 1:56, 2:13-2:43

As expected, the Kiwi regular Brian Green has also nominated to contest the Pacific cup, but MRF made a surprise decision to compete Katsu Taguchi for the Pacific Cup, while leaving Scott Pedder and Gaurav Gill to fly the MRF flag in the Asia Cup.

The Japanese driver is one of the most experienced competitors in the series, and is looking forward to not only beat the new-comers, but win a second APRC title for himself.

– IV: Taguchi Pre – 0:40 – 1:45

Like Taguchi, Hiroshi Yanagisawa has a new team-mate in the Cusco team. Having finished second in the series in 2006, last year was little disappointing with a series of mechanical failures and accidents. This season Cusco are back with a second car, and lead driver with plenty of New Caledonia experience and determined to make a good start to the season

– IV: Yana Pre – 0:24 – 1:30 (??) – 3:20 – 4:20

–

There’d been heavy rain during the week leading into the event, but sun came out for the two opening stages at the Noumea Hippodrome. And even though it was only 3kms, Katsu Taguchi managed to bag a 10 sec lead to start Saturdays stages, three passes of three stages and all based near the town of Poya, 200km nth-west of Noumea.

And with a 9am start time, that meant an early start for the crews, and an even earlier start for the mechanics and the other team members.

But MRF have a lot of experience here and have dominated the event over the past few years, and on the first loop of stages it was no different. Scott Pedder was making a positive start for his new team, equal third on stage 3 with Hiroshi Yanagisawa, then losing time on the next with a puncture and spin, and bouncing back with a win on the final stage before first service to remain 2nd overall.

But his team-mate was unstoppable. Taguchi had lead here last year, and the experience showed. He tripled his lead, not even the local wildlife able to slow him down.

– IV: Taguchi SS05 – 0:06 – 0:33

The Cusco pair were more evenly matched, with Yanagisawa moving ahead of Herridge during the morning, while Jean-Louis Leyraud also managed to slip past the second black car. The rain during the preceding week meant Herridge had little meaningful testing time in the car, and was struggling to get a handle on it.

– IV: Herridge SS05 – 0:07 – 0:40, 1:02 – 1:24

Patrick Christian suffered turbo problems during the first loop, and lost ground to both Patrick Yanai and Brian Green, who used all of his experience and skill to capture 2nd fastest on stage 4.

Back out for another loop, and this time Pedder was staying closer to Taguchi, just 4 secs the difference, but the Japanese drivers gap now out to 34 secs.

– IV: Pedder SS08 – 0:10 – 0:47

Behind them, there was a great struggle developing for 3rd, 4th and 5th. The changes Herridge called for at first service were starting to work, and he moved past Leyraud into 4th, cutting 3 secs out of Yanagisawa’s lead, the lead Cusco driver suffering with a bad tyre choice.

– IV: Yanagisawa SS08 – 0:08, 0:20

But while Leyraud was still battling for position, things weren’t going so well for the other French drivers. Patrick Yanai stopped on stage 6 with diff problems, while Patrick Christian struggled on, his turbo problems fixed but his brakes failing during the afternoon.

– IV: Christian End Day 1 – 0:10 – 0:32, 0:40 – 0:46

So one more loop of stages to finish day 1, and Taguchi didn’t let up. Scott Pedder matched his times from the morning, but Katsu bettered his, extending his lead out of 43 secs. And luck seemed to be going his way. The only problem with the car appearing right at the end of the days final stage.

– IV: Taguchi End Day 1 — 0:05-1:01

Following the MRFs, the battle for third had been resolved, at least for the time being. Dean Herridge and the Cusco team were starting to gel, his car getting better with each loop and dead-heating the final stage with Scott Pedder, he moved into third with a 20 sec lead over Yanagisawa.

– IV: Herridge – End Day 1 – 0:08 – 1:05

But while the Herridge and the other New Caledonia rookie, Scott Pedder, has managed to come through day 1 unscathed, day 2 presented the biggest test of all. At 35km, Katrikoin winds it’s way up through the hills, combining dry rocky sections with wet and muddy sections through the rainforest.

Last year Taguchi took a handy lead on day 1 and lost it and the rally thanks to a wrong tyre choice. So what did the two new guns think of the stage:

– IV: Herridge – End Day 1 – 1:18 – 2:14

– IV: Pedder – Day 1 – 1:12-1:35, 1:40-2:01, 0:20-0:40, 2:35-2:48

So what did the locals think? Well Patrick Christian had identified Katrikoin as the key stage in the event, and Jean-Louis Leyraud, regarded by the locals as a master in the mud, had some fairly definite ideas on how to survive day 2.

– IV: Leyraud End Day 1 —– 0:52-1:02, 1:25 – 2:38

– Advertisement for New Caledonia Tourism

And big thanks to New Caledonia Tourism, our first sponsor on the podcast. As you’ve probably noticed there’s a lot more time and effort being put into the web site and the podcast this year, and it all costs money. So we’ll be running some advertising on the web site and in the podcasts, and it’s great New Caledonia Tourism have come on-board for this show.

– Email Sweeper

Now as I mentioned at the top of the show, this year the series has added the Pacific Cup and the Asia Cup awards within the structure of the APRC series. And it’s probably worthwhile mentioning that the point scoring for the cups is completely separate from the regular APRC series.

Just like the APRC, drivers who nominate for one of the cups are awarded 10pts for 1st, 8pts for second, 6 points for 3rd and so on, plus bonus points for the top 3 of each leg of an event.

So for Rally New Caledonia, the first three drivers who are registered for the full APRC were Katsu Taguchi, Scott Pedder and Dean Herridge, earning them 3, 2 and 1 bonus points. But Scott Pedder and Hiroshi Yanagisawa are contesting the Asia Cup, so the Pacific Cup day 1 bonus points to go Taguchi, Herridge and Jean-Louis Leyraud.

Sound confusing? Yeah, I was too. But have a look up at aprclive.com where you’ll find an up-to-date points table for both cups, plus the overall championship leader board.

– Dean Herridge promo

So on to day 2 of Rally New Caledonia, and this time the teams moved up into the hills, roughly half-way between Noumea and Poya. There was only two loops of two stages, but the days opener, Katikoin, was the stage catching the most of the drivers attention.

Muddy and wet in places, grassy and slippery in others, and along with Rally China’s San Men Yuan, it’s one of the toughest stages in the championship. So what’s it like? Well let’s take a ride with Brian Green and Fleur Pederson as they negotiate stage 12 Katikoin.

– IV: Green OB Stage 12 —- 0 – 0:16, 0:25-0:30, 0:35-:43, 0:57-1:32 (don’t forget bleep)

And as you heard from Fleur, Katrikoin had claimed one of the Cusco cars. It was Yanagisawa, his car off the road and performing a slow roll down the hill. No on-one was hurt, and his co-driver Yoshimasa Nakahara were explained what happened.

– IV: SS13- Nakahara – 0:08 – 0:32

But Yanagisawa wasn’t the only car to be claimed by Katrikoin. Up ahead, Scott Pedder had picked his way through most of the stage, but a simple lapse in concentration proved costly.

– IV: SS13 – Pedder – 0:11 – 1:15

So with Yanagisawa and Pedder out of the rally, the leaders were reshuffled, with Leyraud inheriting 3rd and Herridge up to 2nd.

– IV: Herridge SS13 – 0:07-0:56

But for Katsu Taguchi, Katrikoin posed no problem and the rally was his for the taking.

– IV: Taguchi SS13 – 0:10-0:40, 0:49-1:03

So after service, just one loop of stages to finish the rally. It had been a good event for Brian Green, fourth overall behind Leyraud but 3rd in the APRC registered cars.

– IV: Green End – 0:28-1:20

And 3rd in the Pacific cup was good result for Jean-Louis Leyraud, the sole Frenchman to make it to the finish after Patrick Christian was disqualified for a start line infringement, and Patrick Yanai was unable to restart after his mechanical problems on Saturday.

– IV: Leyraud End – 0:09-0:20, 0:30-0:49, 2:16-2:20

And it was a particularly relieved Dean Herridge who made it back to service park unscaved, managing a stage win on the final test of the day.

– IV: Herridge 1:36-2:03, 0:11-0:57

But the man who lead from start to finish was Taguchi, the Japanese driver not seeming to break a sweat as he coasted home for his first APRC round win in 2 years.

– IV: Tag 0:34-0:44,
– IV: Tag2 End2 – 0:15-0:22,
– IV: Tag End 2:00-2:11, 1:11-1:27, 0:57-1:00

So that is the first round of the APRC 2008 done and dusted. There’s just a couple of weeks break between events, the next stop on the APRC calendar being Rally Canberra, which starts on May 10. And this is where the season really starts to get serious, with Cody Crocker, Rifat Sungkar and the Motor Image team making their first appearance this year, and Team Arai making their debut into the championship with two brand-new 2008-spec Subarus.

I’ll be down in Canberra for the rally, and the plan, at the moment anyway, is to record a show for each day of the event. So we’ll have live interviews with all the crews, and hopefully we can pick up a bit more of the flavour and excitement of the event.

So how to do you get hold of the show? Well if you use iTunes, you’ll find APRC Live by searching for us in the podcast section of the iTunes music store. If you click the Subscribe button you’ll get each show, automatically, as soon as it ready.

If you don’t use iTunes, but another program that automatically downloads podcasts, then you’ll find the shows RSS feed, on the APRCLIVE.COM web site.

And if you don’t know what all this new-fangled RSS-stuff is about, we can send you an email when new shows become available. Just go the aprclive.com web site, type your email address at the right-hand side of the page, and click the Subscribe By Email button.

And don;t forget, if you’d like to be part of the show, you can either leave a written or audio comment on the aprclive.com web site, or send email me at studio@aprclive.com.

So maximum points for Katsu, and a great return to form for the MRF. It’s been a great start to the season, and I suspect things are only going to get better. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks for Rally Canberra, but until then we’ll leave the last word to the winner of the Rally New Caledonia, Katsu Taguchi.

– IV: Taguchi 1:45 – 1:47, 0:07-0:12