World teams to resume Indonesia Rally drive

World teams to resume Indonesia Rally drive

JAKARTA (JP): The top two world teams of Subaru and Mitsubishi have confirmed their entry to the 1995 Indonesia Rally in Medan, North Sumatra next July, with Asia's developing manufacturers expecting to steal a bit of the thunder.

The July 7-9 rally will serve as the opener for the six-leg Asia Pacific Championship series, the Indonesian Motor Association stated in a press release on Monday.

As Subaru and Mitsubishi resume their heated rivalry, South Korea's Hyundai will, for the first time, tackle the event which is staged on grueling tracks along rubber and palm oil plantations in North Sumatra. The rally will also see Malaysian Proton make its second appearance.

Organizers have yet to receive the drivers' list, but the teams' top flights look set to drive behind the wheels.

Mitsubishi's Swedish pair of Kenneth Eriksson and Staffan Parmander outsprinted Subaru's defending champion Possum Bourne who teamed up with fellow New Zealander Tony Sircombe last year.

However, the New Zealand team dominated the remaining five series to win the Asia Pacific championship for the second year running.

Eriksson and Parmander earned their world championship laurels at home last week when they finished first at the Swedish Rally ahead of teammates Tommi Makinen and Seppo Harjanne.

The Mitsubishi team has reigned at the Indonesia Rally since its inception in 1989 through skillful drivers Ross Dunkerton and Kenjiro Shinozuka. Bourne gave Subaru its lone victory in 1993.

The Asia Pacific series will move to New Zealand from July 27 to 31, Malaysia from Aug. 12-14, Australia from Sept. 15-18 and Hong Kong from Oct. 12-18, before the season-ending race in Thailand from Dec. 2-4. (amd)