Vatanen win rally, enters history books
BEIJING (Agencies): Flying Finnish driver Ari Vatanen entered the history books yesterday as the only man ever to win the Hong Kong-Beijing Rally Championship twice as the race is to be reshaped to a new format next year.
The former world champion, who has a string of famous rally victories to his name, led the remaining 23 drivers into Beijing's Tiananmen Square yesterday morning.
Having set the pace in the 3,800-kilometer race since the fourth day on Tuesday, Vatanen headed a trio of Mitsubishi drivers onto the podium with a combined time of five hours, one minute and 27 seconds.
The Veteran Finn beat his young teammate Richard Burns of England by 43 seconds. Long-distance specialist Kenjiro Shinozuka of Japan came third.
Vatanen enjoyed a similar honor back in 1993, then at the head of Mitsubishi's arch-rival Subaru team.
It was Mitsubishi's third victory of the six rounds in the Asia Pacific Championship series this year, assuring itself of the manufacturers' championship title.
The rally has been billed as a resumption of a ceaseless battle between the two world leading constructors. Early event leader was Subaru's Italian novice Pierro Liatti, who crashed out on the fifth stage Monday. Top seeded Kenneth Eriksson of Sweden extended the list of Subaru casualties when he quit after the 12th stage Tuesday.
Vatanen paid tribute to the heritage of this classic event after the final stage at the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs. "I like traditions, and formality is an essential part of life," he said. "It's a very, very fitting end to an important moment in rallying history."
The saloon Group N category crown went to Malaysia's Karamjit Singh who drove a Proton Wira. Other major class winners included Nobuhiro Tajima in the two-liter Suzuki Baleno and Irishman Stephen Murphy in a Honda Civic.
Since its inception 11 years ago, the Hong Kong-Beijing Rally has played a major role in establishing international motor sport in China.
The new format next year looks to indicate a serious effort to run the first ever World Rally Championship on mainland Asia. Indonesia is currently the only Asian country to host the world championship.
Leading final standings: 1. Ari Vatanen/"Tliber" (Fin) Mitsubishi 5:01:27 2. Richard Burns/Robert Reid (Eng) Mitsubishi 5:02:10 3. Kenjiro Shinozuka (Jpn)/Fred Gocentas (Aus) Mitsubishi 5:23:55 4. Karamjit Singh/Allen Oh Siew Sien (Mal) Petronas EON 5:25:26 5. Yoshihiro Kataoka/Satoshi Hayashi (Jpn) Mitsubishi 5:29:13