MOTOR RALLY: Johor Baru to stage night race

The Malaysian leg of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) to be held in Johor Baru next week is to go under the floodlights for the first time.

A specially designed 2.5km long dirt track in the vicinity of the Plaza Angsana will form part of the special stage of the rally and that's where the organisers have decided that the race will be held at night, under the glare of the floodlights. 'Midnight Rallying' the organisers call it and all 16 entries for the fourth leg of the APRC on July 13-15 have been assured that adequate safety measures and lighting are in place.

Datuk Hoo Seong Chang, the state chairman for tourism, domestic trade and consumer affairs, at a press conference yesterday to launch the APRC championship, said: "Johor Baru is hosting the Malaysian leg of the APRC for the eighth year but this is the first time we are introducing night rallying to bring the fans closer to the action. "The special stage race will allow spectators to get closer to the action and having it in the evening means more people will find the time to come and watch it."

APRC co-ordinator Murray Brown gave the thumbs up: "As long as the safety aspects are in place, which I am sure the organisers would be able to comply with, rallying at night is OK. It has been done elsewhere before too. In fact, the infrastructure for the Malaysian leg of the APRC has always been good."

Current leader Chris Atkinson of Australia in a Skoda S2000 leads the entry list. Malaysia's Proton, with Alister McRae behind the wheels of his Proton Satria Neo 2000 and who is lying fifth overall after three rounds of the championship, is also confirmed for the race. So is Karamjit Singh, the country's No 1 rally driver who will racing under the Proton R3 Cusco team.

The Malaysian Rally Championship, now into it's third round, will be held simultaneously and will see a total of 20 entries with China's leading rally driver Fan Fan, heading the list. Fan Fan, in a latest edition Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, is also the defending champion in the Malaysian leg of the APRC but he has chosen to skip the event and instead concentrate on the Malaysian Rally championship where there are two more rounds to go after Johor Baru - in Negri Sembilan and Malacca.

-NST online.