National sprint rally relocated to Lido

National sprint rally relocated to Lido

JAKARTA (JP): The second leg of the national sprint rally will be held at the Lido resort in Bogor instead of in Palembang, South Sumatra, on March 3.

The relocation is meant to make the rally more challenging. Unlike the Palembang track, the mountain resort offers a straight clay, gravel track with bumps and twisting turns. The track produces much dust in hot weather and is slippery when wet with rain.

The rally's first leg, also held in Lido, was won by President Soeharto's son Hutomo Mandala Putera. Since the first leg, Hutomo has led with 20 points.

In the upcoming second leg, Hutomo will again take on his first-leg runner-up Arief Indiarto and other tough contenders such as Bari Bintang, Dolly Indra Nasution and Ricardo Gelael.

Rally organizer Abdullah Husin said here on Saturday that participants should get the most out of the rally, which serves as a warm-up for both the first and second legs of the national speed rally championship.

The speed rally championship will begin its first leg from March 30 to March 31 in Medan, North Sumatra. Its third leg, to be held in May, will be part of both the world rally championship and the Asia-Pacific rally championship. (arf)