Canadian Paul wins Indonesian drag race

JAKARTA (JP): Canadian Robert Paul of the Star Mild team won the fifth leg of the national drag race in Manado, North Sulawesi on Sunday.

Before a crowd of 20,000 people, Paul in his BMW M3, clocked 12 minutes 50 seconds. This score was below the time of 12:250 created by Dolly Indra Nasution in the first leg in Batam.

The Manado race was opened by North Sulawesi governor E.E. Mangindaan and was at the Boulevard circuit near the Manado beach.

The race was held to commemorate the 30th anniversary of North Sulawesi province and was participated in by 86 racers. Paul was the only foreign racer in the fray.

Donnie Pangemanan came in second place after his VW Beattle crashed into security fence 80 meters from the starting line.

Donnie suffered slight injuries when the fence fell on him. "When I was just about to switch into second gear, my car suddenly slid to the left of the sandy road. Luckily nothing serious happened," Donnie said.

Paul now leads the pole position with 84 points. Paul is a consultant who resides in Jakarta.

Ronnie Hermawan, also of the Star Mild team, was in third place with a time of 13:340. Ronnie scored 42 points.

Fourth and fifth places went to Pare Soemoele (35) and Dolly (32).

Paul regretted Donnie's tragedy. "It's a pity that Donnie could not continue the race. If he had, the race would certainly have been exciting."

There are eight legs in the National Drag Race. The first was in Batam and the final leg will be hosted by Sentul, near Bogor in mid October. (lnt)