World rally champion team braces for 1996 season
World rally champion team braces for 1996 season
JAKARTA (JP): There is no real enemy but interest, a classic
doctrine in politics says.
It proves to be true for a new pair of world rally champion
team, Subaru's Colin McRae and Kenneth Eriksson, who last season
locked horns bitterly but who have now joined forces under the
same racing suit.
By all standards, one would not expect a peaceful compromise
between world champion McRae and Asia Pacific champion Eriksson.
All-blue Subaru team has formed its new line-up in a quest to
retain its rally supremacy.
"We have never worked together, but I believe we can build up
a much stronger team," Flying Scotsman McRae said in a media
meeting yesterday.
McRae and Eriksson are touring five countries in the Far East,
starting from Jan. 4, ahead of the world championship series
which kicks off in the snowy Swedish Rally on Feb. 8 to Feb. 12.
The two drivers enjoyed only 12 hours of touring here
yesterday. They are slated to return for the Indonesia Rally, the
new inclusion and the third stage of the world championship
series, in Medan, North Sumatra. McRae won the race last year.
New teamate
Eriksson, nicknamed the Iceman in reference to his homeland
Sweden, agrees with his new teammate. "We have known each other
for years out of the driving seats. This team looks very good,"
the 38-year-old Swede said. Eriksson signed for Subaru after six
years with rival team Mitsubishi Ralliart.
Subaru released former world champion Carlos Sainz of Spain,
who will don a Ford racing suit this season. The final and
deciding RAC rally in November saw McRae power his way past
teammate Sainz to his first world title, after a grueling race
between them.
McRae, the first Briton and, at 27, the youngest driver to win
the world rally championship, will lead Subaru's world campaign.
Eriksson will also take part in a full program of the world
championship series for the first time, although Subaru prefers
him to focus on his Asia Pacific title defense. Italian Pierro
Liatti will accompany Eriksson in the Asia Pacific races.
"I have a very good chance of taking the world title, I
think," Eriksson, renowned for his discipline and analytical
driving, said. He missed four world events, but managed to finish
third overall last year.
The Swede recollected a great memory of beating McRae in the
Australian Rally last September.
Subaru team manager John Spiller claimed that the McRae-
Eriksson tandem is his most formidable force which will bring the
team another success this year. England's foremost motor sport
magazine Autosport favored the new line-up to win the world
title.
But McRae said he had some worries on his mind. "This season
will be as hard as last year. It's always very difficult to
defend a title," he said.
Even former crosser McRae listed his new teammate as one of
his biggest hurdles. "Kenneth and I had several excellent battles
last year. I'm sure he will be putting me under a lot of pressure
this year," McRae said. (amd)