McRae's car hits enbankment as heavy rain mars test drive
McRae's car hits enbankment as heavy rain mars test drive
MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): Despite heavy rain here the
Mitsubishi, Subaru, Toyota, Ford and Seat Sport teams set out to
test the route of the Gudang Garam World Rally Championship due
to start tomorrow.
Colin McRae/Nicky Grist, who drive under the 555 Subaru World
Rally Team banner, had engine trouble after their car hit an
embankment during the official test drive in the plantations of
Batulokong, Deli Serdang.
The incessant rain turned Special Stage 2, which is 12.4 kms
long, muddy and slippery.
All the teams tried out the track.
The slippery road forced drivers to be extra careful.
McRae and Grist tried their car after the other drivers but
only 900 meters before the finish line, their car hit the
embankment.
They were able to make it to the service area to be fixed by
their mechanics.
It was the second accident for the 1995 world champions of
England.
Their car hit a public transportation vehicle in Parapat
during a survey last week.
The Mitsubishi team will field Tommi Makinen/Seppo Harjanne
and Richard Burns/Robert Reid. Subaru will also field Kenneth
Erikkson/Staffan Parmander.
The Toyota Castrol Team will field Didier Auriol/Denis
Giraudet and Neal Bates/Coral Taylor. Ford Motor Co. Ltd. will
field Carlos Sainz/Luis Moya and Juha Kankkunen/Juha Repo. The
Seat Sport team, in a Seat Ibiza, will field Harri
Rovanpera/Voitto Silander and Erwin Weber/Manfred Hiemer.
A marshal said that Auriol had produced the best time in test
drive.
"I don't think the slippery roads will be a problem. We have
to travel all the sections anyway," he said.
Organizing chairman Indrajit Sardjono said that the rain would
not make conditions too tough for the drivers despite the
slippery tracks.
Medan's meteorology and geophysics office predicts the weather
in the area, from Sept. 10 to Sept. 22, will be cloudy. There
will be rain and thunder most evenings in most areas.
All Medan's hotels are fully booked during the championship.
Henny Octaviani, public relations officer of Hotel Tiara, told
The Jakarta Post that the hotel's 178 rooms have been booked
since May.
The Subaru and Indonesia Goro teams are staying at the hotel.
President Soeharto's son Hutomo Mandala Putra is a member of
the Goro team.
The 151-room Garuda Plaza Hotel is booked until Sept. 21.
Journalists and the Malaysian team are staying at the hotel.
About 7,000 local people as being employed in security during
the rally. (21/yan)