World-class teams try out Medan rally

JAKARTA (JP): Batu Lokong Bagerpang must be somewhat like Lorelei in the third leg of the world rally championship in Medan, North Sumatra, from May 10 to May 12.

For the particularly tricky special stage, which covers a distance of 12.35 kilometers, has lured five world-class teams to complete their warm-ups there.

The five teams -- Subaru, Ford Repsol, Goro, Toyota and Mitsubishi -- have chosen to test the route, which is the second of the 27 stages in the three-day race.

Subaru has been on the route since Thursday. The team is expected to finish its reconnoitering by the end of this month. The Subaru team will bank on three ace rallyists Piero Liatti of Italy, defending world champion Colin McRae of Scotland and Kenneth Eriksson of Sweden.

Ford Repsol, fielding former world champion Carlos Sainz of Spain and Britain's Gwyndaf Evans, are due to spend three days scrutinizing the 12.35-kilometer distance.

After Subaru and Ford, the other three teams (Goro, Toyota and Mitsubishi) will try to get used to the track sometime between May 1 and May 8.

The Goro team, winner of the Timor Rally in Medan last month, will field President Soeharto's son Hutomo Mandala Putra and his co-driver Tony Sircombe of New Zealand. Sircombe teamed up with compatriot Possum Bourne to win the Rally of Indonesia in 1993.

Mitsubishi's challenge will rest on the shoulders of championship leader Tommi Makinen of Finland, Richard Burns of Britain and Yoshihiro Kataoka of Japan. The three will drive the latest edition of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III.

Other teams are warming up on other stages.

As of yesterday, 61 teams have confirmed their participation. They include the Tein sports junior team of Japan and two Malaysia Silverston teams.

Initiated in 1989, the Rally of Indonesia has been included in the world championship's calendar for two successive years, starting from this year. (arf)