Hokkaido: Japan will play host to round five of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) with Rally Hokkaido set to take place this weekend. Team MRF drivers Gaurav Gill (India) and Jan Kopecky (Czech Republic) are locked in an intense battle for the title with a mere eight points separating the two drivers. Indian Rallying ace Gill took advantage of Kopecky's DNF to win the Rally of Malaysia and close the gap in the championship.
Gill took a dominant victory in Rally Hokkaido last year, and will be hoping for a similar result.
Kopecky retired his Skoda Fabia S2000 at the previous event in Malaysia, and while his team-mate, and the 2013 APRC champion, is chasing hard, the Czech driver remains confident of victory. Gill is hoping to repeat last year's performance but aware of the threat posed by Kopecky. He said, “It goes without saying that I would like to win here again this year. That would be a big step towards defending my drivers’ title. However, that will not be easy, as Jan (Kopecký) is a quick learner at rallies that are new to him. The strategy is going to be absolutely flat out from the word go in Japan. It’s going to be a sort of decider for us. It will either make it or break it.”
Kopecký is quietly confident, even after his mechanical problem and retirement in Malaysia, “It will be another great battle. Gaurav has the advantage of knowing most of the special stages in Japan from last year. But I will obviously fight hard. If you can make good (pace) notes like we did in Malaysia it’s possible to make up the difference.”
Weather conditions for the event are likely to be warm, although the weather bureau has predicted the chance of a typhoon on Thursday, which would certainly spice up road conditions.
APRC points after Four rounds
Jan Kopecky 112 points, Gaurav Gill 104, Mark Pedder 90, Jun Xu 67, Michael Young 67, Tom Wilde 45 , Sanjay Takle 44
