By IANS
Noumea (New Caledonia) : Team MRF delivered a 1-2 finish in the Super Special Stage of the first round of 2008 Asia Pacific Rally Championship, which commenced here today.
MRF’s lead driver Katsu Taguchi (co-driver Mark Stacey) clocked three minutes, six seconds to top the time charts, followed by team-mate and debutant Scott Peder (co-driver Glen Weston) with 03:10.
French siblings Patrick and Dominique Yanai (03:11) were in the third spot.
All the three top finishes were in Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9 cars.
The competition hots up on the morrow when the cars head to the Special Stages in the mountains with the 35-Kms long Katrikorn Stage dominating the proceedings.
With rains predicted, the going is expected to get tougher with the terrain turning slippery.
Taguchi, winner here in 2006 and runner-up last year, is among the favourites in the event that concludes on Sunday.