S. Koreans to race in Medan Rally
JAKARTA (JP): Undaunted by all the big names in the Bank Utama Indonesia Rally '95, two South Korean drivers will try their luck in Medan, North Sumatra.
Driving a relatively unknown Daewoo Nexia, South Korean leading driver Oh Young-man and navigator Bae Soo-oh will join an array of star-studded drivers which includes 555 Subaru's Colin McRae of England, Finnish Ari Vatanen and Mitsubishi world top Japanese driver Kenjiro Shinozuka, on a Mitsubishi, for the July 7-9 rally.
The Koreans will directly be involved in the battle of giants as they compete in the Group N 1,500 cc class.
"We come here to test our driving knowledge as we understand there will be world class drivers competing in the higher division. Taking part in a rally already rated among the best in the Asia-Pacific region is really a good thing to learn," Kim said.
Oh, champion in the Group N of the Kenya Safari Rally last April and driving the same car, believes he "can do something in Medan."
With a team of six mechanics and one service car, the Koreans have been here since last week, when they directly proceeded to Medan to get to know the venue.
The Medan event is the opening round of the Asia Pacific Rally, which will be followed by races in Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and China.
Vatanen
Ford Motorsport will make its first official appearance in the Far East when it enters two brand-new Group A Escort RS Cosworths in Medan.
The four-wheel drive Fords will be driven by World Rally Champion Vatanen and local rally star Dandy Rukmana, one of President Soeharto's grandsons. Both cars are currently being built to the latest specifications at Ford Motorsport headquarters in Boreham, England.
A third Group A Ford car will be driven by Indonesia's veteran rally driver Dolly Indra Nasution and his long time navigator Farryd Sungkar
In a bid to reclaim the title it won in the 1993 but lost last year, Mitsubishi Rally Art will field five cars, two for local drivers and three for foreigners.
The two local participants will be seasoned rallyist Oky Harwanto, co-driver Firman and Bambang and navigator Agung Baskoro.
"Oky will be fighting in Group A, who will team up with Kenjiro, Kenneth Eriksson and Tommy Makinen. Bambang will be in Group N," a Mitsubishi Rally Art Indonesia official said yesterday.
A record 51 drivers from 18 countries have confirmed their participation.
Competitors in the three-day race will have to complete 27 special stages covering a stretch of 461.32 kilometers.
Starting from Merdeka square, Medan, the participating drivers will take on the first eight special stages from Medan to Tebing Tinggi. They have to survive the longest track on the second day from Medan to Parapat, before spending the night at the country's most famous lake, Toba.
The final nine stages will start from Lake Toba and finish at Merdeka Square.
The organizers have dropped one of the scheduled 27 stages due to technical reasons. The straight track of the ninth stage at Rambong Sialang is considered too dangerous, technical commission official Indrajit Sardjono said. (rsl)