2014 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship

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The 2014 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship season was an international rally championship sanctioned by the FIA. The championship was contested by a combination of regulations with Group N competing directly against Super 2000 cars for points.

The championship began in New Zealand on 11 April and concluded in China on 9 November. The Asia Cup sub-championship had been due to continue to a 7 December finish in Thailand, but this event was cancelled. The championship was held over six events with a candidate event included as part of the Asia Cup. A second candidate event in India was scheduled to be held in India but proximity of local parliamentary elections restricted the event's ability to upgrade competitive stages within the timeframe allowed by the early season. The rally was rescheduled until the end of the local season and its APRC status removed.

The championship was won by European champion Jan Kopecký driving a Team MRF prepared Škoda Fabia. Kopecký wrapped up the championship early after his victory at Rally Hokkaido, the third of his four victories in the six-event season.[1][2] Defending champion Gaurav Gill won the other two rallies and held second in the championship until the final rally. Two late season failures allowed him to be overtaken by New Zealand Proton driver Michael Young. Škoda won the manufacturers championship from Mitsubishi. Team MRF – with drivers Kopecký and Gill – won all six rallies, winning the teams title from Japanese Subaru team Cusco Racing.[3]

Kopecký won the Pacific Cup in dominant fashion with almost double the points of his nearest competitors. Young and Australian Mitsubishi driver Mark Pedder tied for second, with Young being awarded the runners up position on countback.

Japanese Subaru driver Yuya Sumiyama won the Asia Cup, finishing 50 points clear of Sri Lankan Subaru driver Dinesh Deheragoda. Gill faded to fourth in the Asia Cup after failing to finish at Rally Hokkaido and Rally China Longyou.

## Selected entries

[edit]

Icon  | Cup

|

A | Asia Cup
P | Pacific Cup
Constructor  | Car  | Team  | Driver  | Co-driver  | Cup  | Class  | Rounds

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Škoda | Škoda Fabia S2000 |  Team MRF |  Gaurav Gill |  Glenn MacNeall  |  | RC2  | All
Jan Kopecký |  Pavel Dresler  | P | RC2  | All
Young Motorsport TS Club  |  Jun Xu |  Sheng Liu  |  | RC2  | 1, 3–5
Mitsubishi | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X |  Pedders Suspension  |  Mark Pedder |  Claire Ryan  | P | RC2  | 1–4
Dale Moscatt  | 6
Renault | Renault Clio R3 |  Tom Wilde |  Bill Hayes  |  | RC3  | 1–2
Anthony McLoughlin  | 3
Proton | Proton Satria Neo |  Cusco Racing  |  Michael Young |  Erin Kelly  |  | RC3  | 1
Malcolm Read  | 2–6
Subaru | Subaru Impreza WRX STI |  Sanjay Takle |  Sean Gregory  |  | RC2  | 1–5

## Event calendar and results

[edit]

The 2014 APRC was as follows:[4]

Round  | Rally name  | Podium finishers  | Statistics

|
|
|

Rank  | Driver  | Car  | Time  | Stages  | Length  | Starters  | Finishers
1  |  International Rally of Whangarei
(11–13 April)[5] | 1  |  Gaurav Gill | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 2:11:39.7  | 14  | 220.87 km  | 48  | 25
2  |  Richard Mason | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | 2:11:50.9
3  |  Jan Kopecký | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 2:11:51.6
\-  |  Rally of India
(26–27 April)  | event cancelled[6]
2  |  Rallye de Nouvelle-Calédonie
(16–18 May)[7] | 1  |  Emmanuel Guigou | Renault Clio R3 | 2:08:10.8  | 17  | 144.09 km  | 26  | 13
2  |  Patrick Christian | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 2:13:43.8
3  |  Claude Clavel | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 2:16:40.1
3  |  International Rally of Queensland
(20–22 June)[8] | 1  |  Jan Kopecký | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 2:20:09.1  | 15  | 222.30 km  | 51  | 28
2  |  Scott Pedder | Renault Clio R3 | 2:21:18.4
3  |  Brendan Reeves | Mazda 2 | 2:23:21.1
4  |  Malaysian Rally
(15–17 August)[9] | 1  |  Gaurav Gill | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 3:01:23.2  | 14  | 217.40 km  | 33  | 30
2  |  Yuya Sumiyama | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | 3:12:14.5
3  |  Mark Pedder | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | 3:14:25.7
5  |  Rally Hokkaido
(26–28 September)[10] | 1  |  Jan Kopecký | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 2:12:29.5  | 18  | 222.80 km  | 25  | 19
2  |  Toshihiro Arai | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | 2:13:11.8
3  |  Hiroshi Yanagisawa | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | 2:16:09.2
6  |  Rally China Longyou
(7–9 November)[11] | 1  |  Chris Atkinson | Volkswagen Golf SCRC | 2:51:56.0  | 13  | 230.92 km  | 110  | 46
2  |  Jan Kopecký | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 2:57:10.3
3  |  Yuya Sumiyama | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | 3:01:07.5
\-  |  Thailand Rally
(5–7 December)  | event cancelled[12]

## Championship standings

[edit]

The 2014 APRC for Drivers points was as follows:[3][13]

| Pos. | Driver  | Vehicle  |
NZL  |
NCL  |
AUS  |
MAL  |
JPN  |
CHN  | Total

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Jan Kopecký | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 2 13 | 1 10 | 1 14 | Ret 7 | 1 14 | 1 14 | 190
2  |  Michael Young | Proton Satria Neo | 6 4 | 3 9 | 5 6 | 5 5 | 4 9 | 2 12 | 118
3  |  Gaurav Gill | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 1 13 | 2 10 | Ret  | 1 13 | Ret  | Ret  | 104
4  |  Xu Jun | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 5 7 |  | 3 10 | 3 10 | 2 12 |  | 97
5  |  Mark Pedder | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | 3 10 | Ret 7 | 2 12 | 2 10 |  | Ret  | 90
6  |  Sanjay Takale | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | 7 2 | Ret 5 | 6 4 | 4 7 | 3 9 |  | 68
7  |  Tom Wilde | Renault Clio R3 | 4 7 | Ret 6 | 4 8 |  |  |  | 45
| Key

Colour  | Result
Gold  | Winner
Silver  | 2nd place
Bronze  | 3rd place
Green  | Points finish
Blue  | Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple  | Did not finish (Ret)
Black  | Excluded (EX)
Disqualified (DSQ)
White  | Did not start (DNS)
Cancelled (C)
Blank  | Withdrew entry from
the event (WD)

Note: 1 – 12 refers to the bonus points awarded for each leg of the rally for the first five place getters, 1st (7), 2nd (5), 3rd (3), 4th (2), 5th (1). There were two bonus legs for each rally.

### Pacific Cup

[edit]

Pos. | Driver  | Vehicle  |
NZL  |
NCL  |
AUS  | Total

|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Jan Kopecký | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 1 14 | 1 11 | 1 14 | 114
2  |  Michael Young | Proton Satria Neo | 4 8 | 2 11 | 4 4 | 65
3  |  Mark Pedder | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | 2 12 | Ret 7 | 2 10 | 65
4  |  Tom Wilde | Renault Clio R3 | 3 10 | Ret 6 | 3 6 | 46

### Asia Cup

[edit]

Pos. | Driver  | Vehicle  |
MAL  |
JPN  |
CHN  | Total

|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Yuya Sumiyama | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | 2 11 | 1 14 | 1 14 | 107
2  |  Dinesh Deheragoda | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | 6 3 | 5 6 | 2 12 | 57
3  |  Jun Xu | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 3 10 | 2 12 |  | 56
4  |  Sanjay Takale | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | 5 7 | 3 10 |  | 42
5  |  Gaurav Gill | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 1 14 | Ret  | Ret  | 39
6  |  Tomohide Hasegawa | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | 7 3 | 4 8 |  | 29
7  |  Mitsuhiro Kunisawa | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | 4 7 |  |  | 19

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Kopecky Wins APRC For Team MRF | World News Australian Rally Championship". Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2014-11-23.
2. ^ "Jan Kopecky wins APRC title - The Hindu". The Hindu. 29 September 2014.
3. ^ a b "2014 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship Points Summary" (PDF).
4. ^ "2014 Calendar". FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. Retrieved 2014-03-14. [permanent dead link]
5. ^ "eWRC-results.com - rally database". eWRC-results.com.
6. ^ "2014 Indian Rally Championship calendar announced". Overdrive.
7. ^ "eWRC-results.com - rally database". eWRC-results.com.
8. ^ "eWRC-results.com - rally database". eWRC-results.com.
9. ^ "eWRC-results.com - rally database". eWRC-results.com.
10. ^ "eWRC-results.com - rally database". eWRC-results.com.
11. ^ "eWRC-results.com - rally database". eWRC-results.com.
12. ^ "Thailand Round Cancelled". 19 November 2014.
13. ^ "Classifications | Federation Internationale de l'Automobile". Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2014-11-23.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* APRC Live Podcast
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