Heat, high humidity big obstacles in rally championship
JAKARTA (JP): Scorching heat and high humidity over Sumatra's rubber and palm oil plantations will challenge the men and machines trying to conquer the 11th round of the Gudang Garam World Rally Championships next week in Medan.
Most of the world rated rally drivers from European countries agree that Indonesian rallies are the toughest in the world.
Mitsubishi Ralliart driver Tommi Makinen of Finland, teammate Richard Burns of England; Kenneth Eriksson of Sweden and Scotland's Colin McRae (Subaru); Spain's Carlos Sainz and Juha Kankunnen of Finland (Ford Escort); and Toyota driver Didier Auriol of France will find the going in Medan more challenging than the first ten events.
High temperatures and astonishing humidity mean that drivers need a high level of fitness to succeed, while the distinct possibility of tropical storms can make the rubber and palm oil plantation tracks in North Sumatra as slippery as any stage of the Monte Carlo or Swedish Rallies.
If it is dry, on the other hand, the 22 Special Stages can be extremely rough.
Makinen's brilliant victory in Finland on Aug. 31 has taken him a giant step toward retaining his World Rally Championship title and strengthened Mitsubishi's position in the manufacturers' series.
The Finnish driver and navigator Seppo Herjanne will be one of the favorites in the Medan Rally from Sept. 19 to Sept. 21.
The three-day event starts and finishes in the bustling industrial city of Medan, bordering the Malacca Strait, but much of the event is concentrated to the southwest, near the tourist resort of Parapat, which borders Lake Toba.
The first leg starts on Sept. 19 and has eight stages totaling 137 kilometers. The second leg loops around Parapat and also has eight stages, covering 149 kilometers.
The final day takes crews back to Medan and is a little shorter, but its six stages make up 115 kilometers. And the drivers cannot relax because the rally is such that even the final kilometers can have a sting in the tail.
"It is a particularly difficult rally, because of the heat and wet conditions. If it is wet and muddy, you need a car with good torque, which suits Mitsubishi very well. Tire choice is absolutely critical, because the weather can change so fast. I think the event is a bit of a lottery, because of the weather. The toughest leg will be the wettest," predicted Team Mitsubishi Ralliart Manager Phil Short.
Tracking system
Organizing committee spokesman Helmy Sungkar said in Medan yesterday that a tracking system would be installed in each participating car to monitor its whereabouts during the race.
"We will also provide a transponder and a repeater on an airplane. The airplane will circle the tracks with the repeater sending signals to the rally command at the rally headquarters," Helmy said.
Meanwhile, the national car Timor has received accreditation from the International Automobile Federation, FIA, to participate in the rally's Group N class.
Johnny Pramono of the Johnny Motor Sport association said Thursday that 15 Timors have been registered in the Group N class.
"I will use my own specially designed car in the race. My car will be fixed by the A Kong 20/20 Workshop crew which will design the car's body and interior, A Miau Motorsport for the machine and Asuk Asie Candi Naga for the transmission," Johnny said, who will team up with navigator Komar Johari from Malaysia.
Timor received accreditation from the federation on Sept. 1, 1997 it was signed by G. Cardinger. (rsl/lnt)