Canadian Paul wins second leg of Indonesian drag race

JAKARTA (JP): Canadian Robert Paul of the Star Mild team won the second leg of the national drag race at Sentul, near Bogor, on Sunday.

Paul, driving his Holden Torana, clocked 11.502 seconds, bettering his 11.716 secs recorded in the first leg of the drag race on April 5. Paul is a consultant at an oil company based in Jakarta.

"I had already set a target to better my record and I made it. This was, of course, because my car was in good condition and I was physically fit for the race," Paul said.

Heri Agung, in his Fairlady, took second place in 12.349 secs in Ronny Hermawan, also of the Star Mild team, finished third with 12.355 secs.

Donny Pangemanan, Paul's teammate, had to be satisfied with fifth place in 12.945 seconds, behind Wie Wie Rianto in 12.454 seconds.

Tim Kinlay was satisfied with the Star Mild team's performance. "We have shown that we are still the best."

Paul's victories in the two legs earned him a total 40 points. Ronny and Herry are tied in second place with 27 points. Third place is also a tie between Subagio and Wie Wie with 11 points each.

Some 250 drivers took part in the national racing championships, which also saw races in the 1,000cc to 1,800cc categories, jeeps, pickup and minivans.

Joko Nugroho won first place in the 1400cc event, clocking 15.560 secs. Sugeriawan was second in 15.664 secs and Martinus was third in 15.674 secs.

In the 1800cc, Boy Lubis triumphed in 15.079 secs followed by Ari Setiadi (15.340) in second and Andhika Adiputra (15.437).

In the jeep category, Acho Spinx won with a time of 17.212 seconds. Anjar Rahmanto (17.519) was second and Dodi Juniardi (18.005) third.

In the pickup event, Fikri Nurzaman took first place with 19.652 secs. He was followed by Yuda Pratama (20.557) and Gun Gun Gautama (20.932).

The third leg of the drag race will be held on May 31 also at Sentul. (lnt)