REPORT
On a turbulent day and at a critical point in the second half of the rally
Chayapon Yotha loses the lead after a problem
LEG5/SS5 of the Asia Cross Country Rally 2024 (AXCR) took place on Friday 16 August. At Team MITSUBISHI RALLIART, the overnight leaders Chayapon Yotha (Thailand) /Peerapong Sombutwong (Thailand) in the No.103 TRITON lost a lot of time and consequently the lead due to a problem. Katsuhiko Taguchi (Japan) /Takahiro Yasui (Japan), who were in 5th overall, suffered from course errors again and finished the day in 5th.
SS5 has been the longest of this rally at 228.87km. The competitors headed north near the border with neighbouring Myanmar on a route which was also run yesterday, then moved to east by repeatedly going north and south on major roads and through settlements, before finishing north of the downtown Kanchanaburi. The course setting was typical of Southeast Asia, with its share of jungles, flat dirt roads, barren land, and sandy surfaces, things that drivers have already encountered on previous days of the rally.
Yotha in the overall lead started in 2nd today. Considering the margin that he had built so far, there was no need to drive at an overly fast pace, and the main priority was to avoid risks to safely complete the day. With his rivals in hot pursuit, Yotha was making good progress driving at a steady pace until the final stage of the SS when suddenly, with just 2km to go, his engine stopped and he was forced to pull in. Yotha couldn’t continue running any further and finished the SS with help by Kazuto Koide (Japan) /Eiji Chiba (Japan) who came from behind and towed them. The Thai pair was given a three-hour penalty, which dropped them to 20th overall and as a result, they dropped out of the fight for victory.
Taguchi showed a strong run despite facing the tough conditions typical of the AXCR, but he also ran into some unfortunate events, such as being held up by a train at a railroad crossing over the Burma-Thailand Railway. He was 18th in the SS and that put him 5th overall before the last day. Sakchai Hantrakul (Thailand) /Jumpol Doungthip (Thailand) damaged the suspension of their car in the latter section and returned to the service area with the body of their car tilted. Koide rescued Yotha and finished the SS. He towed Yotha’s car from the SS finish to the base hotel in Kanchanaburi, playing the role of quick support, and ended the fifth day of the rally.
Saturday the 17th will be the sixth and final day of the rally. LEG6/SS6 will take place on an 86.73km route in the northern area of the city of Kanchanaburi. The route goes through farmland on flat dirt passes and roads with some ups and downs. The final section will share the same roads as LEG5/SS5. The rally will begin at 7:30am with the first starter in the MOTO class (motorcycles).
Comment from Hiroshi Masuoka, Team Director of Team MITSUBISHI RALLIART
"Chayapon (Yottha) was driving well again today in the lead, but after completing 200km of the SS, his engine suddenly stopped just 2km before the finish line. He couldn’t restart his engine and was eventually towed back to the service by Koide (Kazuto). It's still unclear what the cause was, but it's very disappointing to have lost the top spot. However, Taguchi (Katsuhiko), Sakchai (Hantrakul) and Koide are still in the rally and I believe that in this rally, it’s important for the three cars to securely finish in those positions. Tomorrow is the last day, and we’ll do our best until the end, so please support us.”
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