Chandra aims high in Asia-Pacific rally

JAKARTA (JP): Noted national racer Chandra Alim said on Wednesday that he was aiming to win the Asia-Pacific rally in Medan, North Sumatra, from March 31 to April 2.

"I have won several sprint races and the Formula Asia, but I have never won any rallies. I am fully prepared for the race," Chandra said.

The Asia-Pacific rally will feature local and foreign drivers. They will race for a distance of 2,000 kilometers or in four stages. Each stage is 500 kilometers long.

Chandra, who will bring his Chalim Motorsport team, said he would still use his Mitsubishi Evolution III car, which he has used since 1996.

"Our team has 10 crew members who will have different duties. Not that I don't want to use another car, but I have observed that the Mitsubishi Evolution III is the best car for such a rugged rally," Chandra added.

Chandra has been a racer since 1975 and has won a number of races in the Group N categories and Formula Asia races.

Referring to his rivals in the rally, Chandra said they would come from the young drivers.

"I am not concerned about the foreigners, but the young drivers. I want them to show their best performance," Chandra said.

The rally is sponsored by PT Fuchs Indonesia and Astra Otoparts. Fuchs is the manufacturer of the well-known lubricant Titan.

This line of products include Titan Sport 20W50, Titan Ranger 15W40, Titan Super 15W50, Titan Carrat 10W40, synthetic motor oil and Titan Supersyn 5W40 and 5W50.

Didier Vidal of Fuchs said the reason why the company wanted to sponsor the rally was because they felt confident with Chandra.

"I have known Chandra for seven years and I have seen that he is a good racer. We want to use the rally to promote our products," Didier said.

Didier was confident that the marketing of Fuchs lubricant in Indonesia would run smoothly.

"The market for our Fuchs lubricant is extremely good. We hope that all cars and motorcycles will use Fuchs lubricant," Didier said.

Astra Otoparts is the sole agent of Fuchs and Susanto said Fuchs lubricants suits tropical weather.

"So far many racing cars have used Fuchs lubricants and they were all satisfied," Susanto said.

Susanto hoped that Fuchs lubricants would be used for sprint races in Indonesia. "There are nine sprint races this year. We hope that the Fuchs lubricants can be used in the races." (lnt)