Hutomo out of Petronas rally

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's leading rallyist and national champion Hutomo Mandala Putra, assisted by navigator Tony Sircombe of New Zealand, was ousted from the Petronas Rally Malaysia after the duo's Subaru Imprezza crashed into a palm oil tree during the first leg of the race.

Despite running at high speeds, neither driver from the Goro team were injured. The accident occurred at the third special stage in Kuala Selangor, 109 kilometers northwest of Kuala Lumpur. "That's the nature of a rally," said Sircombe, who is also the Goro team's manager. "However good your preparation, you cannot win without good luck."

The rally, also serving as the third round of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, consists of three legs and will end tomorrow. Forty-eight drivers from 11 countries are taking part, including top rallyists Kenjiro Shinozuka and Richard Burns of Mitsubishi and Kenneth Eriksson of Subaru. (arf)