Rifat, Herry lead fight for 2005 Rally Indonesia crown<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Defending champion Herry Agung and current leader Rifat are
\nbracing for a neck-and-neck challenge in the final leg of the
\nGudang Garam International Rally Indonesia 2005 from Pasir Bungur
\nto Subang, West Java, next week.<\/p>\n
Rifat of the Pertamina Rally Team tops the standings with 53
\npoints, followed by Herry of the Bosowa Rally Team with 43
\npoints. Rifat's brother, Rizal, is in third with 32 points.<\/p>\n
With maximum points of 20 awarded to the winner, 13 for
\nrunner-up and 10 for a third-place finisher, Rifat will just need
\nto finish a runner-up to ensure the championship.<\/p>\n
However, Herry has not lost hope yet and said he was ready to
\nwin the final leg.<\/p>\n
\"We are optimistic that we can win the race this year although
\nwe are ten points behind the leader, Rifat,\" he said here on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
\"We have prepared our car a lot better than in the previous
\nlegs and we are physically in better shape,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Herry's co-driver, Hade Mboy, said the current gap between the
\nleader and his team was closer than those in 2003 and 2004.<\/p>\n
\"In 2003, we were 20 points behind the leader Chandra Alim,
\nbut we triumphed at the end, last year we were 12 points behind
\nthe leader Rifat but we won,\" Hade said.<\/p>\n
\"So with a ten-point gap at present, we are sure that we can
\nstill win the national title,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Rifat was not present at the press conference. Representing
\nthe driver, co-driver M. Herkusuma said that despite the huge
\nlead, they were far from complacent.<\/p>\n
\"There are a lot of factors that may prevent us from becoming
\nchampions. We don't want them to occur so we will be focused and
\nfight our best,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The rally will be staged over two days on Nov. 26 and 27,
\nconsisting of 12 special stages and covering a total distance of
\n315.22 kilometers.<\/p>\n
Race committee deputy chairman Poedjo Bintoro said organizers
\nhad registered about 20 cars for the race.<\/p>\n
Poedjo said next year's race would also have four legs.<\/p>\n
\"The first leg will be held in Palembang from April 7 to April
\n9, followed by the second leg from June 23 to June 25 in Medan,
\nthe third leg from Sept. 15 to Sept. 17 in Makassar, and Dec. 15-
\n17 in Pecatu, Bali,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Like this year, the Makassar race will serve as a round in the
\n2006 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship.<\/p>",
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