Chandra aims high in Asia-Pacific rally

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)