Asia-Pacific Rally Championship

Last updated
Asia-Pacific Rally Championship
CountryAsia
Oceania
Inaugural season1988
Drivers' champion Flag of New Zealand.svg Hayden Paddon
Official website fiaaprc.com
Motorsport current event.svg Current season

A Proton Satria Neo S2000 driven by 2011 champion Alister McRae at the 2010 Rally Hokkaido Proton Satria Neo Super 2000 Rally Car 2010.jpg
A Proton Satria Neo S2000 driven by 2011 champion Alister McRae at the 2010 Rally Hokkaido

The Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) is an international rally championship organized by the FIA encompassing rounds in Asia and Oceania. Group N cars dominated the championship for many years but in recent years cars built to R5 and S2000 regulations have tended to be the frontrunners.

Contents

The championship was first held in 1988, created out of the successful expansion of the World Rally Championship into Asia and linking with the debut of Rally Australia and won by Japan's Kenjiro Shinozuka in a Mitsubishi Galant VR-4. Initially the championship had strong support from World Rally Championship teams, aided by more than half the calendar being WRC rallies and by Japanese manufacturers backing half of the front runners with Mazda, Toyota, Mitsubishi and Subaru all running front running teams. Toyota's double World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz won the championship in 1990, Juha Kankkunen, Didier Auriol, Colin McRae, Tommi Makinen, Richard Burns, Richard Burns and Ari Vatanen all won rallies. Several WRC teams used the championship as a junior development squad. By the late 1990s, the big teams were dropping away from the championship, or were running drivers from the region. The 2000 Rally New Zealand was the last joint WRC/APRC event and the WRC teams and manufacturers left and regional teams, like Subaru's New Zealand based team and regional manufacturers like Proton were sharing the wins with privately run teams.

The shift to Group N and away from WRC regulations assisted as only Subaru and Mitsubishi had eligible cars for Group N. By the mid-2000s the teams were all privateers. The growth of Super 2000 regulations saw manufacturer teams return led by Proton.

In recent years (since 2013) Skoda have used the championship to develop young European-based drivers, with Esapekka Lappi, Jan Kopecký, Pontus Tidemand and Ole Christian Veiby all going on to compete at WRC WRC-2 level.

The championship has also been a proving ground for regional talent, even when World Rally teams were competing regional drivers from Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Malaysian driver Karamjit Singh brought the first victory for a driver from one of the emerging APRC nations with Jean-Louis Leyraud from the French Pacific island of New Caledonia and India's Gaurav Gill followed. The occasional European driver has moved into the region to find a cheaper series to compete in instead of the expensive European Rally Championship, like Jussi Valimaki.

Reflecting its roots as a subsidiary of the World Rally Championship it had class championships within the main championship for Group N cars and naturally aspirated Two Litre cars. In more modern times the sub-classes have been split geographically rather than technically, allowing competitors to compete for smaller portions of the series to bolster flagging entry numbers. The championships created were the Asia Cup, taking in Asian continent events in Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and China with Thailand joining in 2003. The Pacific Cup takes in Oceania events in Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia.

By taking victory at the 2009 Indonesian Rally, Australian Cody Crocker became the most successful driver in APRC history, winning his fourth consecutive title, all in Subarus. Four drivers have won three APRC titles each; New Zealander Possum Bourne, Kenneth Eriksson of Sweden, Malaysia's Karamjit Singh and India's Gaurav Gill.

The championship presently has events in New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Japan, China and India. In the past the championship has run events in New Caledonia, Thailand and Indonesia.

After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, APRC returned in 2022 with the first round held in Chennai's Madras International Circuit in India. Debutantes Karna Kadur and co-driver Nikhil Pai won the first round of the Asia Cup and qualified for the finals. Hayden Paddon won the APRC 2022 title. [1] In 2023, Indonesia's Rifat Sungkar and Aussie co-driver Ben Searcy won the APRC title while H.Rahmat and co-driver Hade Mboi lifted the Asia Cup. [2]

List of events

Sourced from: [3] [4]

EventYears Active
Flag of New Zealand.svg Rally New Zealand 1988–2000
Flag of Malaysia.svg Malaysian Rally 1988–98, 2000–01, 2005–present
Flag of India.svg Himalayan Rally 1988–90
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Rally Australia 1988–98
Flag of Indonesia.svg Rally Indonesia 1989–1997, 2000, 2005–09
Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand Rally 1992–2003, 2005, 2013
Flag of Hong Kong 1959.svg Hong Kong Beijing Rally 1994–96
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China Rally 1997–2002, 2004–present
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Rally of Canberra 1999–2008, 2017
Flags of New Caledonia.svg Rallye de Nouvelle-Calédonie 2001–02, 2004–2016
Flag of New Zealand.svg Rally of Rotorua 2001–06
Flag of Japan.svg Rally Hokkaido 2002–present
Flag of India.svg Rally India 2003–04
Flag of New Zealand.svg International Rally of Whangarei 2007–present
Flag of Australia (converted).svg International Rally of Queensland 2009–2016
Flag of India.svg Rally of India 2015–present
Flag of New Zealand.svg International Rally of Otago 2019–present

APRC Champions

Sourced from: [5] [6]

SeasonDriverCo-driverCarTeam
1988 Flag of Japan.svg Kenjiro Shinozuka Flag of Lithuania.svg Fred Gocentas Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
1989 Flag of New Zealand.svg Rod Millen Flag of New Zealand.svg Tony Sircombe Mazda 323 4WD
1990 Flag of Spain.svg Carlos Sainz Flag of Spain.svg Luis Moya Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165 Toyota Team Europe
1991 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ross Dunkerton Flag of Lithuania.svg Fred Gocentas Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
1992 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ross Dunkerton Flag of Lithuania.svg Fred Gocentas Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 Mitsubishi Ralliart
1993 Flag of New Zealand.svg Possum Bourne Flag of New Zealand.svg Rodger Freeth Subaru Legacy RS Subaru 555 World Rally Team
1994 Flag of New Zealand.svg Possum Bourne Flag of New Zealand.svg Tony Sircombe Subaru Impreza 555 Subaru 555 World Rally Team
1995 Flag of Sweden.svg Kenneth Eriksson Flag of Sweden.svg Staffan Parmander Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III Mitsubishi Ralliart
1996 Flag of Sweden.svg Kenneth Eriksson Flag of Sweden.svg Staffan Parmander Subaru Impreza 555 Subaru 555 World Rally Team
1997 Flag of Sweden.svg Kenneth Eriksson Flag of Sweden.svg Staffan Parmander Subaru Impreza WRC Subaru 555 World Rally Team
1998 Flag of Japan.svg Yoshio Fujimoto Flag of New Zealand.svg Tony Sircombe Toyota Corolla WRC Tein Sport
1999 Flag of Japan.svg Katsuhiko Taguchi Flag of Malaysia.svg Ron Teoh Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI Mitsubishi Ralliart Malaysia
2000 Flag of New Zealand.svg Possum Bourne Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Stacey Subaru Impreza WRX / Subaru Impreza S4 WRC Possum Bourne Motorsport
2001 Flag of Malaysia.svg Karamjit Singh Flag of Malaysia.svg Allen Oh Proton PERT Proton Eon Rally Team
2002 Flag of Malaysia.svg Karamjit Singh Flag of Malaysia.svg Allen Oh Proton PERT Proton Eon Rally Team
2003 Flag of Germany.svg Armin Kremer Flag of Germany.svg Fred Berssen Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII MRF Racing
2004 Flag of Malaysia.svg Karamjit Singh Flag of Malaysia.svg Allen Oh Proton PERT Proton Eon Rally Team
2005 Flag of Finland.svg Jussi Välimäki Flag of Finland.svg Jarkko Kalliolepo Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MRF Racing
2006 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cody Crocker Flag of Australia (converted).svg Benjamin Atkinson Subaru Impreza WRX STI Les Walkden Racing
2007 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cody Crocker Flag of Australia (converted).svg Benjamin Atkinson Subaru Impreza WRX STI Motor Image Rally Team
2008 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cody Crocker Flag of Australia (converted).svg Benjamin Atkinson Subaru Impreza WRX STI Motor Image Rally Team
2009 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cody Crocker Flag of Australia (converted).svg Benjamin Atkinson Subaru Impreza WRX STI Motor Image Rally Team
2010 Flag of Japan.svg Katsuhiko Taguchi Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Stacey Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X MRF Racing
2011 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alister McRae Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bill Hayes Proton Satria Neo S2000 Proton Motorsport
2012 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Chris Atkinson Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Stéphane Prévot Škoda Fabia S2000 MRF Racing
2013 Flag of India.svg Gaurav Gill Flag of Australia (converted).svg Glenn Macneall Škoda Fabia S2000 MRF Racing
2014 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Jan Kopecký Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Pavel Dresler Škoda Fabia S2000 MRF Racing
2015 Flag of Sweden.svg Pontus Tidemand Flag of Sweden.svg Emil Axelsson Škoda Fabia S2000 MRF Racing
2016 Flag of India.svg Gaurav Gill Flag of Australia (converted).svg Glenn Macneall Škoda Fabia R5 MRF Racing
2017 Flag of India.svg Gaurav Gill Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Stéphane Prévot Škoda Fabia R5 MRF Racing
2018 Flag of Japan.svg Yūya Sumiyama Flag of Japan.svg Takahiro Yasui Škoda Fabia R5 Cusco Racing
2019 Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg Lin De-wei Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Le Kepeng Subaru XV Subaru Rally Team China
2020
—
2021		Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022 Flag of New Zealand.svg Hayden Paddon Flag of New Zealand.svg John Kennard Hyundai i20 AP4 Hyundai New Zealand
2023 Flag of Indonesia.svg Rifat Sungkar Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ben Searcy Škoda Fabia R5/Rally2 evo LFN Sederhana Motorsport

Asia Cup

SeasonChampionCarTeam
2008 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cody Crocker Subaru Impreza WRX STI Motor Image Rally Team
2009 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cody Crocker Subaru Impreza WRX STI Motor Image Rally Team
2010 Flag of Japan.svg Yūya Sumiyama Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X
2011 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alister McRae Proton Satria Neo S2000Proton Motorsport
2012 Flag of Japan.svg Yūya Sumiyama Subaru Impreza WRX STi
2013 Flag of New Zealand.svg Michael Young Toyota Vitz Cusco Racing
2014 Flag of Japan.svg Yuya Sumiyama Subaru Impreza WRX STi
2015 Flag of Japan.svg Hitoshi Takayama Subaru Impreza WRX STi
2016 Flag of India.svg Gaurav Gill Škoda Fabia R5 MRF Racing
2017 Flag of India.svg Gaurav Gill Škoda Fabia R5 MRF Racing
2018 Flag of Japan.svg Yūya Sumiyama Škoda Fabia R5 Cusco Racing
2019 Flag of New Zealand.svg Michael Young Toyota C-HR Cusco Racing
2020 Not held
2021 Not held
2022
2023 H. Rahmat

Pacific Cup

SeasonChampionCarTeam
2008 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dean Herridge Subaru Impreza WRX STI Cusco Racing
2009 Flag of New Zealand.svg Hayden Paddon Subaru Impreza WRX STI
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 		Team Green
2010 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brendan Reeves Subaru Impreza WRX STI
2011 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Chris Atkinson Proton Satria Neo S2000 Proton Motorsport
2012 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Chris Atkinson Škoda Fabia S2000 MRF Racing
2013 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Simon Knowles Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX
2014 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Jan Kopecký Škoda Fabia S2000 MRF Racing
2015 Flag of Sweden.svg Pontus Tidemand Škoda Fabia S2000 MRF Racing
2016 Flag of Germany.svg Fabian Kreim Škoda Fabia R5 MRF Racing
2017 Flag of Norway.svg Ole Christian Veiby Škoda Fabia R5 MRF Racing
2018 Flag of Italy.svg Fabio Frisiero Peugeot 208 AP4
2019 Flag of New Zealand.svg Hayden Paddon Hyundai i20 AP4 Paddon Rallysport

Group N

SeasonChampionCar
1996 Flag of Japan.svg Yoshihiro Kataoka Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III
1997 Flag of Malaysia.svg Karamjit Singh Proton Wira
1998 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Michael Guest Subaru Impreza WRX
1999 Flag of Japan.svg Katsuhiko Taguchi Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI
2000 Flag of Malaysia.svg Karamjit Singh Proton Pert
2001 Flag of Malaysia.svg Karamjit Singh Proton Pert
2002 Flag of Italy.svg Nico Caldarola Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII
2003 Flag of Germany.svg Armin Kremer Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII

2 Litre

SeasonChampionCar
1996 Flag of Japan.svg Nobuhiro Tajima Suzuki Baleno
Suzuki Swift
1997 Flag of Japan.svg Nobuhiro Tajima Suzuki Baleno
1998 Flag of Japan.svg Nobuhiro Tajima Suzuki Baleno
1999 Flag of Sweden.svg Kenneth Eriksson
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alister McRae 		Hyundai Coupe
Hyundai Coupe
2000 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Simon Evans Volkswagen Golf
2001 Flag of Japan.svg Nobuhiro Tajima Suzuki Ignis
2002 Flag of Japan.svg Nobuhiro Tajima Suzuki Ignis

Manufacturers

SeasonManufacturer
1996 Flag of Japan.svg Mitsubishi
1997 Flag of Japan.svg Subaru
1998 Flag of Japan.svg Toyota
1999 Flag of Japan.svg Mitsubishi
2000 Flag of Japan.svg Subaru
2001 Flag of Japan.svg Mitsubishi
2002 Flag of Malaysia.svg Proton
2003 Flag of Japan.svg Mitsubishi
2004 Flag of Malaysia.svg Proton
2005 Flag of Japan.svg Mitsubishi
2006 Flag of Japan.svg Subaru
2007 Flag of Japan.svg Subaru
2008 Flag of Japan.svg Subaru
2009 Flag of Japan.svg Subaru
2010 Flag of Japan.svg Mitsubishi
2011 Flag of Malaysia.svg Proton
2012 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Škoda
2013 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Škoda
2014 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Škoda
2015 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Škoda
2016 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Škoda
2017 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Škoda
2018 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Škoda
2019No Award

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Karna Kadur wins South India Rally". The Times of India. 27 March 2022. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  2. ↑ BruceMcK (27 November 2023). "Sungkar and Searcy win 2023 FIA APRC title". FIA APRC. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  3. ↑ "Motorsport Winners".
  4. ↑ Shacki. "eWRC-results.com - rally database". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  5. ↑ "APRC History".
  6. ↑ Shacki. "Top stats - eWRC-results". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
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