- The first stage of Asia Cross Country Rally took the competitors from Pattaya to Pula Chinburi. The 55 competitors had to deal with a very tricky 197 km stage, facing hard terrain and complicated navigation. As a result of the difficulties, some competitors weren’t able to finish the stage in time, receiving the penalties for missing the check points.
In the motorbikes, the first rider to reach the finish line was last year’s champion, Jakkrit Chawtale from Thailand a KTM EXC. The second was Koun Phandara from Cambodia on another KTM, this time a 450 EXL. Today’s third place was for Yoshio Ikemachi, who last year fought for the overall victory against today’s winner, and today was unlucky as a problem on his Husqvarna slowed him down on the final kilometres of the stage.
Winning today’s stage and leading the cars is a crew that is a 5-time winner of the race, Natthaphon / Peerapong on a Isuzu D-Max. Their main opposition comes from their archrivals Mana / Kittisak crew (Toyota HILUX Revo) from Toyota Cross-Country Team Thailand. On third place finished the crew Chamnan / Chonlanat (Thailand) of Sakaew King Off Road Isuzu Team who actually are racing with a Mitsubishi Triton. Finishing in 4th place, the crew made of Hanawa / Somemiya (Toyota HILUX Revo) were today’s main surprise, after starting in a modest 21st position.
The war between Isuzu and Toyota is quite open, with the two manufactures having 9 out of 10 cars inside the Top 10. By team, the following three teams alone occupy 8 of the top 10 cars, and the battle between them is expecting to get hotter this year.
· Isuzu The Land Transport Association of Thailand
· Toyota Cross Country Team Thailand
· Sakaew King Off Road Isuzu Team
In contrast to the fight for the best places, some crews appear to be more interested in enjoying rally rather than racing too hard. There are many teams who are willing to participate with their favourite cars, among which the # 117 Yamamoto / Tsujimoto crew (FJ Cruiser), and the # 118 Toyota Land Cruiser, driven by the actor Aikawa.
The next longest stage of the 2018 edition will will finish in Buriram.
Source: Rally-Raid Network Image: Asia Cross Country Rally