Following a staggeringly erratic start, Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Deheragoda of Ezy Racing Team came in sixth at the FIA organised Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) ‘Super Special Stage’ on gravel and concrete terrain here at Longyou, Zhejiang Province, China, on Friday, Nov. 7.
Yet Deheragoda’s chances to be among the top three in the adjoining Asia Cup remain intact, as he still enjoys the third place, among drivers who are in contention for that title, in this sixth leg of the 2014 APRC in China.
Driving his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and aided by co-driver Shafraz Junaid, Deheragoda recorded exactly two minutes in the 182kms distance of the Super Special Stages (SSS) on Friday amid a large spectator gathering at Longyou.
“I broke the beam just before the start and it cost me about 8 to 10 seconds. That pushed me back about 15 seconds behind (Yuya) Sumiyama (of Japan who drove a Subaru). It is a huge drawback. Now I need to look for maximum points in the six SS Stages on Saturday (today) to go to the next event in Thailand. Sumiyama will be my benchmark in the remaining races here,” Deheragoda told The Island after races on Friday.
Ceremonial opening
Before the first leg began on the rustic, muddy and highly dangerous terrains, many kilometres away from the Longyou city centre, all eyes were on the ceremonial opening of the event that was held the Rongchang Square Friday morning amid thousands of eager motorsport followers and general public in this south-western city of Zhejiang Province.
India’ Gaurav Gill, the current APRC champion riding the elite brand ‘Skoda’ who finished SSS in 1.43 seconds, and Japan’s Sumiyama were looking for the first two places in the Asia Cup running parallel to the APRC.
Deheragoda is in with fair chance of entering the top three and have a podium finish if he does well in the remaining stages of the rally.
“I’ll try my best to push myself up in the Asia Cup. The car is in perfect condition. The SSS today (Friday) was really exciting. It included dangerous drops and also some driving very close to the residential areas. The slippery concrete sections of the road were very tricky. Police gave maximum protection. The reaction of the spectators was very heartening. They were really passionate about this rally here in Longyou.”
