Winning the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship is about beating the best in 40-plus degrees Celsius on some of the hottest rallies the planet has to offer. This week, PROTON’s Satria-Neo S2000 faces the opposite end of the temperature range as it ventures north, way north, to Scandinavia – a place 70-odd degrees colder than the scene of the Malaysian team’s historic 2011 successes.

This week is all about the second round of the FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship, Rally Sweden (starting on Thursday February 9). After dominating the opening round of the series on last month’s Rallye Monte-Carlo, local hero P-G Andersson starts his home event with high hopes of another commanding performance. And Andersson’s preparations in the Satria-Neo S2000 couldn’t have gone better, with a Super 2000 victory on the KNA Rally Finnskog in Norway yesterday.

Scotsman Alister McRae joins Andersson in Sweden to make his debut in the Super 2000 World Rally Championship. McRae is, of course, no stranger to the WRC, having competed at the sport’s highest level for six years. This week’s Rally Sweden will be his 76^th WRC start. McRae is no stranger to success, either. He arrives at the Karlstad start of the rally as the reigning FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Champion.

Despite his stunning S2000 victory and fourth place overall on KNA Rally Finnskog, Andersson is keen to further refine the Satria-Neo S2000 at the team’s test tomorrow. According to the two-time Junior World Rally Championship, the car is almost perfect; tomorrow he’ll make it perfect for the Thursday night start of Rally Sweden. Andersson is only too well aware of the need for a fast start, 12 months ago, he led the WRC’s only winter rally outright after the opening test.


Competing on Rally Sweden is unlike any other event in the World Rally Championship. Unique in the WRC calendar, the cars run on specially made winter tyres, fitted with 380 studs. Each one of those studs is 20mm long, but just seven millimetres sticks out of the tyre to claw at the rock-hard ice and snow surface. The result is phenomenal grip, allowing the drivers to brake later than they would on gravel roads. The sight and sound of the Satria-Neo S2000 being balanced on an icy knife-edge of top-gear grip is sure to be one of the highlights of the season.

The event gets underway at a ceremonial start in the centre of Karlstad on Thursday (February 9) at 1900. The crews will then face a day of competition in Norway (Friday February 10), with service in Kongsvinger before heading back into Sweden for a weekend of action based around Hagfors. The event finishes back in Karlstad after 24 high-speed stages on Sunday (February 12) at 1616.

Quotes:

P-G Andersson said: “I had a good idea of what I wanted from the car before we started Rally Finnskog yesterday, but we still made some really small changes to the car through the day. It’s almost perfect now. We still need to do some suspension work for the rougher sections; the roads in Norway didn’t get too cut-up, but we should be able to do those changes at the test tomorrow. By the time we get to the start, I’m sure the car will be exactly as we want it. Yesterday’s rally was fantastic. The temperature was -32 or something like that, but the sun came out and the roads were incredible. Yesterday was what rallying is all about: full sideways and flat-out. I’m really looking forward to the start of Rally Sweden, where, of course, we are aiming for the SWRC win. I hear there might be some snow coming on the weekend; I would like that, I prefer it when the conditions get a bit more tricky. But, for sure, fourth in Finnskog yesterday was the perfect start for the Satria on snow.”

Alister McRae said: “When the conditions are right on this event, Rally Sweden is the best in the world, no question. When you are flat in top and leaning the car on the solid snow banks, coming out of the corner a gear higher than you thought possible, it’s the best feeling in rallying. And I’ve missed it for the last eight years – so I can’t tell you how glad I am to be back. It’s fantastic. P-G’s result yesterday, along with the pace the team showed in Monte Carlo and the multiple championships we won last year have all lifted PROTON Motorsports to another level. Living in Western Australia, we don’t get to see much snow, so it’s going to take me a while to back into driving on the stuff. Fortunately, my car set-up is pretty similar to P-G’s – we saw that when we competed together on Rally Scotland last year – so I should be able to start tomorrow’s test with his base set-up on the Satria-Neo. We start every event looking for the win and this is no different, but being realistic, I think P-G’s PROTON is going to be the one more likely to be the fighting at the front, certainly at the start of the rally. P-G showed last year that he is extremely quick in these conditions – so we’ll just follow him!”

Chris Mellors (team principal) said: Given that the Satria-Neo S2000 had never competed in conditions anything like the -32 degrees we endured in Norway, it’s fair to say we didn’t know too much about what to expect. But the car was perfect. The only change we made to the car was to fit a stronger heater in the car to make sure we could keep the windscreen clear – oh, and we chucked some warmer jackets in the back for the boys. Otherwise, this was the car which won in Malaysia when it was 70 degrees hotter; pretty versatile this Satria-Neo! Alister and P-G will be testing again tomorrow, but we’re down to fine-tuning the car for Rally Sweden now.”

Event data

Round: 2/8, FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship
Based: Karlstad, Sweden
Stages: 24
Surface: snow
Liaison distance: 1,493.44km
Competitive distance: 349.16km
Total distance: 1,842.60km
Pre-event press conference: Press office, Karlstad (Thursday February 9, 1330)
Post-event press conference: Press office, Karlstad (Sunday February 12, 1830)
Time difference: Karlstad is GMT+1hr

Event timetable
Thursday February 9
Start Karlstad            1900
SS1 Super Special Stage Karlstad 1 (1.90km)       2004

Friday February 10
SS2 Mitandersfors (27.07km)         0804
SS3 Opaker 1 (20.17km)     0928
SS4 Kirkener 1 (7.10km)     1003
SS5 Finnskogen 1 (20.97km)          1038
Remote service Kongsvinger           1144
SS6 Opaker 2 (20.17km)     1248
SS7 Kirkener 2 (7.10km)     1323
SS8 Finnskogen 2 (20.97km)          1358
SS9 Torsby (19.21km)         1605
Service Hagfors         1645
SS10 Super Special Stage Karlstad 2 (1.90km)    1920

Saturday February 11

SS11 Vargasen 1 (24.63km)           0758
SS12 Sagen 1 (14.23km)     0946
SS13 Fredriksberg 1 (18.15km)     1046
SS14 Hagfors Sprint 1 (1.87km)     1203
Service Hagfors         1243
SS15 Vargasen 2 (24.63km)           1346
SS16 Sagen 2 (14.23km)     1534
SS17 Fredriksberg 2 (18.15km)     1634
SS18 Hagfors Sprint 2 (1.87km)     1751

Sunday February 12

SS19 Lesjofors 1 (15.00km)            0834
SS20 Rammen 1 (22.76km)            0910
SS21 Hagfors 1 (4.66km)    0959
Service Hagfors         1039
SS22 Lesjofors 2 (15.00km)            1208
SS23 Rammen 2 (22.76km)            1244
SS24 Hagfors 2 Power Stage (4.66km)      1411
Finish Karlstad          1616

DUNKO - the inside story of Ross Dunkerton, an Australian rally legend - has been written by another former Australian Rally Champion, Bob Watson.

Watson co-drove for Dunkerton over a six week period in the 1977 Singapore Airlines London to Sydney Marathon rally.

Ross Dunkerton is five times winner of the Australian Rally Championship, twice winner of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship and winner of 37 International rallies, but he is much more than that.

Dunkerton is a successful businessman, highly respected after dinner speaker, television star in his native West Australia, family man and raconteur extraordinaire. He is a larrikin who has achieved major success as well as surviving two serious accidents and 19 roll overs.

This book traces Dunkerton’s lifelong passion for rally driving, his adventure in Australia, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and on marathon events including London to Sydney, London to Mexico and Hong Kong to Beijing. The book is liberally laced with Ross’s hilarious anecdotes and almost 100 exceptional photographs.

DUNKO will be formally launched at Rally Calder, the first heat of the 2012 Australian Rally Championship on March 2-4.

Leading New Zealand rally and former APRC driver Emma Gilmour is about to head to Geneva, Switzerland to participate in her first meeting as a member of the Women & Motor Sport Commission, part of the world governing body of motorsport the Federation Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA).

Nominated by MotorSport New Zealand at a meeting of the FIA General Assembly late in 2011, Dunedin-based Gilmour was then elected to the commission that includes representatives from other countries highly-ranked in the motorsport world.

The Women & Motor Sport Commission is headed by former World Rally Championship driver Michèle Mouton and was established by the World Motor Sport Council to facilitate greater participation by women in motorsport. Gilmour will sit alongside the rally icon and her former co-driver Fabrizia Pons, who represents the ACI-CSAI, Italy, and Gilmour’s role is to provide a voice from the Asia Pacific region at steering the commission’s strategies and policies.

“It is really exciting. I am very grateful to MotorSport New Zealand for thinking of me for the position. It is a great opportunity to be involved with the FIA at such a high level,” says Gilmour. “I’m looking forward to it; it will be a very big opportunity to work alongside so many influential, like-minded people.”

New Zealander Morrie Chandler, who is a vice president of the FIA and the World Motor Sport Council, says Gilmour’s appointment will help enhance New Zealand’s position on the world stage which has two major rally sport events – the Brother International Rally of Whangarei and Brother Rally New Zealand – on the 2012 calendar.

“The commission was set up two years ago to give women a direct voice in the planning and development of motorsport from their perspective. It is a real credit to both Emma and New Zealand motor sport that she should be elected to such an influential role and I am sure that her experience will be an asset to the commission.

“Emma has proven she’s an equal among men with her consistent rally championship results both in New Zealand and offshore. That makes her a perfect ambassador for women who need proof they can participate at any level and be a leader.”

Runner-up in the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC) in 2011 and 2010, Gilmour also finished second overall in the 2009 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC).

For 2012 she and co-driving partner Glenn Macneall intend contesting the Brother International Rally of Whangarei, which is the opening round of the NZRC and APRC, and starts on 30 March. They will also contest Brother Rally of New Zealand, the seventh round of the WRC, which runs from 21 to 24 June and is based in Auckland.

He had three Enduro cars and one buggy of his own design in the world's toughest event, all running under the banner of the Dutch-based Team Prodakar.

This year's Dakar went through parts of Argentina, Chile and Peru and after the 8391km of dust, dunes, rocks and rivers, just 249 of the 443 starters made it to the finish line.

The event has for the past few years been run across the most inhospitable parts of South America after warring sweethearts in North Africa made the original route too dangerous.

The McRae machines did well until an electronic bug hit McRae's own car, and towards the end, a fuel line sheared off the car driven by Dutch star Chris Leyds.

But the buggy of Tim Coronel made it to the finish line, as did the Enduro of German lass Stephanie Manns.

“Well, at least half the team finished, but it was disappointing,” McRae said.

“We had come up in the field and I think we had a good chance of a top 20 finish when the electrics played up and wouldn't let the turbocharger operate above 2500 revs. 

“We also broke the rear suspension, and couldn't start Day Nine.”

McRae, who runs a driver training school and heads McRae Motorsport in Perth, will drive for Proton again this year, contesting the Asia Pacific and the Super 2000 World Rally Championships. 

He won the 2011 Asia Pacific title, which he said was one of the highlights of his international rallying career.

The Asia Pacific Rally Championship’s Junior cup is one of the best options in 2012 for young drivers who want to gain international experience and media exposure. Based on Group N 1600cc cars, the current car of choice is the Proton Satria 1.6, but others manufacturers that have cars that qualify including Suzuki, Toyota and Renault.

In 2012 four events qualify for the Junior cup, Rally Whangarei (New Zealand), Rally Queensland (Australia), Malaysian Rally and Rally Hokkaido (Japan). Drivers must be under 28 years old on the 1st January, to qualify.

APRC Team Coordinator Murray Brown is excited by the interest in the Junior Series,  “The qualification criteria for the APRC Junior Cup have been relaxed for 2012 in an attempt to encourage junior drivers from within the region to have a go. In an attempt to make it more attractive the minimum number of events has dropped to 2 events, 1 of the 2 Pacific events, and 1 of the 2 Asia events. Competitors can also register at any time prior to events, providing they meet the minimum participation criteria.


Brown added “This is an ideal low cost alternative for up and coming young drivers to participate in a FIA recognized international series, and testing their skills against other similar drivers in the region. All drivers benefit from stepping outside their comfort zone and experiencing other international events beyond their home turf. For any junior rally driver contemplating a driving career, this is an ideal opportunity to prove themselves”.

Last year's winner Akira Bamba is planning to return, possibly with a Proton factory run junior team and several other young drivers are expected to join. Possibilities include Malaysian Kenneth Koh,  Australian Glen Raymond, New Zealanders Matt Janson and Matt Summerfield. After competing in Malaysia and Hokkaido in 2011, New Zealander Michael Young with Australian co-driver Daniel Willson is also hoping to compete in some rounds. Cusco and MRU Motorsport both have cars available for lease or buy.

Since its inception in 1988, the APRC has fostered a huge range of drivers that have gone on to become either World Champions (Carlos Sainz) or drivers in the World Rally Championship. Possum Bourne, Karamjit Singh, Brendan Reeves, Hayden Paddon and Chris Atkinson all started their international rally careers in the APRC, where they not only learnt to drive on the many different road surfaces, but also how to cope with different cultures, climates, the media and promotional pressures.