The Rally Shanghai is the first round of the 5-round China National Rally Championship (CRC) which made it's start on March 24th (Friday), 2006. On the 26th the event was played out in the suburbs of Shanghai, the 2nd largest city in China. British driver Alister McRae competed in the event as part of the Jimmy Rin/Wan Yu Rally Team driving a Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. He took an impressive win on the opening event. Second place went to Xu Long of China also driving a Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution ending the event with a spectacular 1-2 finish for Mitsubishi.

China is currently experiencing a rally boom and this domestic event attracted an unprecedented 85 entries. After the selection process, 70 cars were eventually entered. Out of the 70 entries 15 were Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions, a tribute to its popularity.

	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution A.McRae / G.Noble

The event also attracted a number of celebrities such as famous Taiwan actor Jimmy Rin, also a driver on this event. He is supported by the Wan Yu Rally Team. The Jimmy Rin/Wan Yu Rally Team first appointed Alister McRae as its ace driver on the 2002 World Rally Championship (WRC) as part of Team Mitsubishi Ralliart. In addition, Karamjit Singh of Malaysia, who had in the past won both the FIA Production Car World Rally Championship (PWRC) and the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) entered as part of the KST Rally Team as was young Finish driver Jarkko Mietinen. Mietinen is currently Katsuhiko Taguchi’s teammate on the 2006 APRC. Furthermore, the UK's David Higgins who won the SCCA Pro Rally in the USA back in 2002 & 2003 also displayed his skills. He is also currently entered in the 2006 PWRC series. These talented drivers all compete in the Group N specification Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.

The ceremony got underway on Friday march 24th with great fanfare with a huge crown looking on. The 2-day rally event itself was played out on the 25th (Saturday) and the 26th (Sunday). The special stages (SS) were competed on farm roads and public roads around the city of Shanghai. The course was basically gravel but there were also rough roads as well as asphalt and concrete sections. Overall the course conditions varied considerably.

	Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.Lang / D.Moscatt

Under these severe conditions it was McRae who came out on top on the second day of the event. The previous year he did not display his true potential but on this event he displayed his uncanny rally technique and managed to get through the tricky course leaving the rival groups in the dust. This was the first time he entered a rally in a Group N specification Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. The car and his talent seemed a winning combination as he took top honors on the first CRC event of the season. Second place went to young Chinese driver Xu Long who also finished an impressive 19th overall on the 2006 Dakar Rally. He supported by the Hong He Rally Team, a team that backed 2005 APRC Champion Finish driver Jussi Valimaki in the Group N specification Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Hong He Rally Team backed him on the final event of the season, the China Rally and subsequently took overall victory. Third place went to Japanese driver Takuma Kamada of the Subaru Rally Team China, who entered just this event during a break in the PWRC.

Others include Karamjit Singh who took a magnificent 5th overall. APRC regular Brian Green of New Zealand finished 11th overall. Rally veteran David Higgins experienced trouble in Leg 1 and ended the event in 20th place. Unfortunately Jarkko Miettinen was forced to retire. In addition, a team championship was set aside for the CRC. With Alister McRae leading the pack, the Jimmy Rin/Wan Yu Rally Team with 7 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution won. Out of 70 entries, 39 finished the event. 9 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution were among the finishers.

Round 2 of the CRC will be the Rally Lupenshui to be held from July 21st (Fri) to July 23rd (Sun).

OVERALL FINAL CLASSIFICATION
Pos	Driver Co-Driver	Vehicle	Grp Pos	Time
1	A.McRae G.Noble	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII	N 1	1:19:48.1
2	X.Lang D.Moscatt	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII	N 2	+18.5
3	T.Kanada H.ichino	Subaru Impreza	N 3	+1:37.5
4	D.Caldarola P.Cecchini	Subaru Impreza	N 4	+1:39.4
5	K.Singh J.Singh	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII	N 5	+2:25.2
6	L.Bin H.Yu	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII	N 6	+2:55.7
7	L.Caodong A.Phillipp	Subaru Impreza	N 7	+3:23.8
8	C.Zihua D.Baolin	Subaru Impreza	N 8	+3:28.8
9	W.Hongjie S.Hongwei	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII	N 9	+4:12.3
10	L.Ningjun H.yong	Subaru Impreza	N 10	+5:06.3