REPORT
On the first day of the second half of the rally, Chayapon Yotha takes the overall lead
Katsuhiko Taguchi will aim to move up the field from 5th overall
LEG4/SS4, the fourth day of competition in the Asia Cross Country Rally 2024 (AXCR) took place on Thursday 15 August and Chayapon Yotha (Thailand) /Peerapong Sombutwong (Thailand) took the lead in the No.103 TRITON of Team MITSUBISHI RALLIART. Meanwhile, Katsuhiko Taguchi (Japan) /Takahiro Yasui (Japan) in Car No.107, who were in 5th overall, suffered from miss-courses and were unable to pick up the pace. However they managed to hold on to 5th overall heading into the final stages of the rally.
The total length of Selective Section (SS) 4 was 172.15 km, departing from Hua Hin to travel to Kanchanaburi, which is the final base for this event. The battle took place in a mountainous area near the border with neighbouring Myanmar. Since the route passed through many settlements along the way, drivers were required to exert extreme caution, and it was a difficult stage structure with continuous tricky places such as junctions, rocky areas and river crossings. The four TRITONs run by Team MITSUBISHI RALLIART were also not unscathed, and forced to fight taking big or small damages.
Having started in 2nd today, Yotha quickly passed a rival in front to claim the lead position. He then succeeded in widening the gap with his pursuer in 2nd to 23min 57sec in the total time. Taguchi lost a lot of time being blocked by a stuck car and finished the SS in 13th. He also spent a lot of time stuck behind another car and so, he was unable to increase his pace as much as he would have liked. However the Japanese driver limited damage with only a 30min 3sec gap to the leader and brought his TRITON rally car back to the service area. Taguchi will be aiming to further improve his position in the last two SSs. Incidentally, Sakchai Hantrakul (Thailand) /Jumpol Doungthip (Thailand) got stuck in the second half of the SS, but got out thanks to quick support from Kazuto Koide (Japan) /Eiji Chiba (Japan). However, after that, they were hit by trouble, and forced to retire from the day. Koide also stopped short today because it became difficult to remain in the competition in terms of physical condition caused by an air conditioning problem, but he will continue to support the team from tomorrow onwards.
On the fifth day of the competition on Friday the 16th, LEG5/SS5 will be a 172.15km section set in an area west to northwest from the base in Kanchanaburi. The longest SS of this rally is set for tomorrow. As the distance of the final day is 86.73 km, it is no exaggeration to say that results today are the key to the final outcome of the rally. The rally will begin at 7:00am with the first starter in the MOTO class (motorcycles).
Comment from Katsuhiko Taguchi, driver of Car No. 107
“There was incredible mountain climbing today, and when we got there, the road was blocked because the cars and motorcycles in front of us couldn't climb the mountain. As the traffic got stuck for a long time, Yasui got out of the car and helped remove motorcycles. Thanks to that, we were finally able to get through. Our TRITON didn't get stuck and had no problems at all either. However, it seemed that the expression ‘go along the road’ in the route map and our own sense of ‘going along the road’ were different, and as we drove more and more, it seemed we were more delayed because of course errors. It was a frustrating day. On the other hand, the car has been running great. It's really good. The handling is also good. With two days left, I want to do everything I can to turn things around."
Comment from Hiroshi Masuoka, Team Director of Team MITSUBISHI RALLIART
"The fourth day of the rally was a really eventful day. The good news is that our ace driver Chayapon (Yotha) has taken the lead. It was good to see that they were able to recover after such a tough battle. Although Taguchi has had a lot going on, he’s managed to hang on to the top group, so the team will do our best to support him towards the end of the rally. Sakchai (Hantrakul) had a problem in the SS and Koide helped him, but Koide also fell ill due to an air conditioning malfunction and had to retire from the day. In any case, on the last two days, the team will use all its resources to inspect and service both Chayapon and Taguchi's cars to send them out in perfect condition. Anyway, we want to fight tenaciously until the very end and not give up."
All creative assets on this news release page are for editorial or personal use only.
Commercial use, including advertising, marketing and merchandising, is strictly prohibited.
Please note that the links mentioned in the news releases and other pages may be closed without notice.