Rally Malaysia Review

Phew, home now and the work is piled about a mile high. Tech and motor-sport work is competing for my attention, and I know exactly which one I want to give my all! But unfortunately I still need to finish my degree work. One of my current projects is the event review for NZ Speedsport, so look out for that one in next month's issue - it'll be a keeper.

Here is my event review from the second day:

Tapper elevated to world rally scene

A few more dramas followed the carnage of Day One on the Ancom Malaysian Rally, but New Zealander Mark Tapper came through the second day unscathed to take the title of Pirelli Star Driver for the Asia Pacific region.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” commented Tapper, “the phone’s been ringing off the hook with calls from around the world.”

Not only did Tapper top the young drivers, but he also made the podium on the event overall – beating out more experienced APRC drivers to third place.

“It’s a added bonus to be on the podium again at an APRC event and to beat the regulars by such a large margin.”

After some tough times in the last few years, the twenty-seven year old has come out on top and will now move up onto the world stage.

“The biggest part for me is being able to re-pay the people who have backed me and had faith in me even when things have not gone so well.”

Day Two started off looking like it was going to be a fantastic fight between Tapper, Eli Evans and possibly even re-joining Hayden Paddon. But it was not to be.

Evans got off to a flying start, winning not only the stage for the Pirelli Star Driver points, but the stage overall as well. The second stage of the day is where everything went wrong for the young Australian.

“We had a good run in the morning and we were confident with our tyre choice but on Stage Ten it was a bit greasy under the trees and we slid wide into tree,” Evans said after the event, “credit to Mark [Tapper] and Jeff [Judd], their pace made us push harder and that’s where the mistake happened.”

Tapper had a relatively trouble free day and knew by the mid-point service that he just needed to finish the day to win the massive Pirelli Star Driver prize.

Fellow New Zealander Hayden Paddon came back to finish strongly after his crash on Day One. Paddon took two stage wins in the afternoon and traded off the others with Tapper.

“It’s been good when it’s dry and I’ve got a bit of confidence back. Pretty disappointing weekend all in all though.”

Rizal Sungkar had a better day but was still finding the humid conditions challenging.

“[It was] very tough, but we made it,” he said at the end of Stage 14.

A better day was had by Arjun Rao Aroor, but a bad tyre choice in the morning meant that he lost time on the first loop of stages. A change of tyre at service suited the mid-morning repeat.

Kirsty Nelson, Patrick Malley and James Russell rejoined to take a crack at the second day’s stages, whereas Gaurav Gill’s engine damage from the first day put him out completely.

A pace note mistake finished Malley’s rally for the second time when he went to fast over a crest near the end of Stage Nine.

“We jumped as we came over the crest, there was just no braking distance and we went into the bank. We did the intercooler and radiator – and broke the steering wheel, again!”

Nelson and Russell came through to finish the rally, gaining valuable experience in the challenging Malaysian conditions.

“It was much easier today,” Nelson said, “it didn’t rain and we didn’t have to shut the vent – which is what made me sick yesterday.”

A lost intercom on the last two stages proved tricky for Russell on the second run through the stages, but he found that he was still quicker.

“We’ve did the last two stages without any real notes, but I remembered the last [stage] well, so it wasn’t a problem. We’ve improved our times by over a minute compared to the last run [on these stages].”

But overall, a fantastic result for Mark Tapper from a very difficult weekend. This is the kind of stepping stone that the late Possum Bourne grabbed with both hands – as Mark now looks to follow in his footsteps to represent New Zealand in world rallying.

ENDS… Sarah Byles


And a Tapper special: (Same title, I know, was feeling lazy and tired)

Tapper elevated to world rally scene

New Zealander Mark Tapper steps up triumphant as the Asia Pacific Pirelli Star Driver winner after a challenging weekend at the Ancom Malaysian Rally.

Hayden Paddon’s early retirement meant a boxing match between Australian Eli Evans and Tapper on Day One and the start of Day Two – with each trading stage wins. But Evans’ retirement on the second stage of Day Two meant Tapper only had finish out the day with reasonable times to secure the title.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” commented Tapper after the finish, “the phone’s been ringing off the hook with calls from around the world.”

Not only did Tapper top the young drivers, but he also made the podium on the event overall – beating out more experienced APRC drivers to third place.

“It’s a added bonus to be on the podium again at an APRC event and to beat the regulars by such a large margin. Our Reece Jones Rallysport prepared Evolution Nine ran faultlessly all weekend – a great testament to Reece himself and his team.”

After some tough times in the last few years, the twenty-seven year old has come out on top and will now move up onto the world stage.

“The biggest part for me is being able to re-pay the people who have backed me and had faith in me even when things have not gone so well.”

This prize will catapult Tapper onto the world stage in the way that no-other single event can. He will now go onto compete in six WRC rounds in 2009 against the four winners from the other regional Star-Driver competitions. Full details about the Pirelli backed initiative are yet to be decided.

An assault on the world rallying scene like this is anything but cheap and the fully funded package put together by Pirelli is rumoured to be in excess of 500,000 Euros. This will take a lot of pressure off Tapper next year enabling him to focus on his driving.

A calculated approach and a relatively problem free weekend enabled Tapper to keep a level head and drive to match the tough Malaysian conditions.

“We chose to use the slippery wet conditions to our advantage and had the right car and tyres for the job, and feel that’s where we won the award.”

This is the kind of stepping stone that the late Possum Bourne grabbed with both hands – as Mark now looks to follow in his footsteps to represent New Zealand in world rallying.

ENDS… Sarah Byles


Now I very much believe that these releases were the main ingredients for some of the articles published back home. But I'd like to find out for sure. However, RallyBuzz have very kindly published my article on their blog here. And also, the work that I knew I would be doing before I went over for APRC TV is here and here.

Much partying happened Sunday night, stories of which you will have to see me personally, cause I'm not writing them here! All I can say is that I can't wait to see the photos from my disposable camera when they come back tomorrow.

On the way home I spent some time in Singapore (Monday) before flying out to Brunei for an overnight stop-over that night and then back to NZ on Tuesday night. Found that Kirsty Nelson and her crew were on my flight, so had people to talk to before the last flight home.

All I can say at the moment is that I'm so busy and this event has thrown my plans up in the air again! So many choices! APRC, WRC, NZRC, Summer Series, Rally Australia, what to choose! What to choose! [More photos up soon - when I get a bit more time]