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Mitsubishi / Ralliart will back Katsuhiko Taguchi/ Mark Stacey (Australia) in the upcoming "Rally New Caledonia", the 2nd round of the 2005 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship(APRC) that will be held from Friday May 20th to Sunday May 22nd. The crew will enter in the Group N specification Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII under the "Team MRF Tyre" team colors.
Katsuhiko Taguchi will take part in 6 of the 8 APRC rounds this season. He is scheduled to tackle rounds 1 through 5 and either round 7 or 8. Unfortunately, on the first round, the Rally of Canberra, he was forced to retire but he is still enthusiastic about wining his first championship since his spectacular win back in 1999. Team mate and even-ranked Jussi Valimaki of Finland won the first round of the APRC (4th overall) and is scheduled to participate in the 2nd round. We can both look forward to some rally action by these two great drivers.
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Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
Jussi Välimäki / Jarkko Kalliolepo
(2005 Rally of Canberra) |
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The event will take place on the southwest region of the main island of New Caledonia. The event will be based in the captial Noumea and run for 2 days, comprising of 2 Legs. 17 gravel special stages are planned in 6 regions of the island. The course will have a total of 996.35km with 224.06km of special stages. A total of 33 entries have been confirmed including participants from the domestic championship. 14 entries will participate in the APRC, with 9 APRC registration drivers. Manufacturers include 7 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions, 1 Proton and 1 Honda. Katsuhiko Taguchi is the only Japanese driver slated to enter the event. Other APRC registered drivers such as Toshihiro Arai (Subaru Imprezza) and Mitsuhiro Kunisawa (Subaru Imprezza) are not scheduled to participate in this round. In addition, out of the 14 entries, 9 are Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions.
A recce (test run) will take place from May 18thiWednesdayjto May19th (Thursday),. The scrutineering will be held on the May 19th (Thursday). Shakedown and technical check (turbo seal etc.) is scheduled for the 20th. After this, a ceremony will be help in the capital of Noumea at 6:00pm. The 1st Leg is scheduled for the 21st (Saturday) in the mountain region north of Poya. (SS9 total 150.63km) On the 22nd (Sunday) the event moves to a logging road near the suburb of Plum for the 2nd Leg.(SS8 total 73.43km). Then the event concludes on this day with the goal set in the city of Noumea.
Katsuhiko Taguchi won an APRC double title back in 1999, clinching both the overall and Group N titles. He gained significant experience as part of the Mitsubishi / Ralliart sponsored program for training and developing top Japanese drivers. In addition Taguchi gained valuable experience by participating in a Works machine on the 6th round of the 2001 FIA World Rally Championship, the Cyprus Rally. In 2004 APRC he participated in a Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. In the 5th round, the China Rally he clinched an impressive overall win and followed that with a 2nd overall on the Rally India and ultimately ending up 3rd in the series ranking charts.
Comment by Katsuhiko Taguchi
"The 1st round was quite disappointing but I've put that aside and now I'm in perfect condition. I arrived in the event area early and I am ready and prepared to go. There are areas of the gravel stages on the New Caledonia Rally that are really tough and I won't loose focus but the Lancer is in top condition too. I will try my best and aim for the top spot!"
APRC Round 2 Major entry
| No. |
Name |
MACHINE |
| 1 |
Karamjit SINGH* |
Proton Pert |
| 2 |
Katsuhiko TAGUCHI* |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution |
| 3 |
Jean Louis LEYRAUD |
Subaru Impreza |
| 4 |
Jussi VALIMAKI* |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution |
| 5 |
Geoffrey ARGYLE* |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution |
| 6 |
Brian GREEN* |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution |
| 7 |
Fan FAN* |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution |
| 8 |
Chee Hong KAN* |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution |
| 9 |
Daniel PALAU |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution |
| 10 |
Patrick CHRISTIAN |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution |
| 11 |
Eugènes CREUGNET |
Subaru Impreza |
| 12 |
Dermott MALLEY* |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution |
| 14 |
Yves LEFEVRE |
Subaru Impreza |
| 15 |
Julien LENGLET* |
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution |
| * denotes APRC registered |
Mitsubishi Motors 2005 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship WEB site
http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/motorsports/e/05aprc/
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