Two continents, four countries and 4030.92 kilometers of rallying winds down to the last 775 km when the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) begins its last leg tomorrow in Panshet, 40 kilometers to the west of Pune. Tough as it sounds, the concluding leg — the MRF-India Rally — has the makings of a thriller, particularly after all the contenders unanimously described the route as ‘challenging’. With 10 cars making the starting grid, two titles — overall and Group N (unmodified) — would be decided on Sunday. The rally route includes 251 kms of special stages, split into three legs: 95 km on Friday, 114 km on Saturday and 51.50 on Sunday. The event has a national flavour as Team MRF Tyres, who have Germany’s Armin Kremer (co-driver Fred Berssen) in their ranks, sight a rare grand double. The team, which began participating last year, had mixed results with the New Zealand driver-navigator combo of Stuart Warren and Darryl Judd driving home an Overall third position and second place in in Group N. This year, however, with Group-N honours almost secure — Kremer has a 12-point lead over Team Advan-PIAA — sights are on the Overall title. Having gained pole position after the rounds in Canberra (Australia), Rotorua (New Zealand), Hokkaido (Japan) and Rayong (Thailand), Geoff Argyle of Racetech Seats, New Zealand, driving a Group-A (modified) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6.5, has just one worry. A ‘‘limited budget’’ that includes just one spare suspension (shock absorbers) makes his approach cautious rather than “all out.” Argyle, knowing that the points difference between him and Kremer is narrow, knows neither can afford a DNF (Did Not Finish) result. To make matters interesting, Kremer has Nutahara breathing on his back five points behind on 37 points. The ’experienced’ Malaysian Karamjit Singh (co-driver Allen Oh) of Team Petronas Eon Racing, who has not had the best of APRC runs this year, has a mathematical chance to dash the Top-3s chances. The Malaysian is most feared by the rest and, with his vast experience, could turn the tables. ‘‘I’ve nothing to lose’’, he said.
