Rd.1 of China Rally Championship was held in Nanjing between July 12th and 14th. Compared to previous year, the event has become livelier with joining of new faces; anywhere from big-name teams to private competitors. TEIN will be supporting TEAM KST and their driver J.Salo, who is well know for his achievement in Finnish Rally Championship, and Liu Cao Dong, who has become the number 1 domestic driver in China. In order to live up to everyone's expectation, they will give their best from the opening round to aim for the championship title.
DAY1
J.Salo faced front right puncture early in the stages and he tries to minimize the time loss, but ends up lagging behind the leader. He pushes hard to close in on the leader, but he was unable to gain position and finished the day placing in 3rd position. Liu Cao Dong maintained steady pace like how he performed in previous season and finished 5th, which was the highest among the domestic drivers.
DAY2
Under the scorching heat, J.Salo squeezed every drop of strength he had left and sets fastest time on SS8 and SS9. He continues to push hard, but the time lost in DAY1 was too much to overcome and settled for 3rd place. Liu Cao Dong kept his calm throughout the round and finished 4th place, ranking highest among the domestic drivers.
After the rally, J.Salo commented "I need to adjust my driving style in a course like this. I shouldn't restrict myself to the previous setup, and I want to try out different setup from now on!" and shows positive enthusiasm towards the next round.
Rd.2 will be held in Huairou, Beijing between July 8th and 10th. Hang in tight for more action from TEAM KST and TYPE Gr.N damper. |
