Hutomo out of Petronas rally

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)