Following the opening round of the series in New Caledonia, the Rally of Canberra, the second round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), was held in Australia, as the championship tours around the Southern Hemisphere in its early stages.

The total distance of the rally was 554.60km, while the total competitive distance of eighteen stages was 220.52km.

The crews were confronted with extremely slippery surfaces which exceeded everyone's expectations. Because of this, the opening stages were quite eventful and saw last year's winner retire due to mechanical trouble in the morning of Day 1.

The grip came back to a degree in the afternoon stages because there was less dust on the surfaces. But the competitors still had to stay alert to avoid a course off throughout the day.

In the SS8, Takuma Kamata was forced to retire when his latest model Subaru Impreza suffered suspension trouble. It was a pity for him as many expected him to get a good result with his brand new car.

Meanwhile, the two cars entered by Cusco World Rally Team steadily ran through Day 1. Dean Herridge and Hiroshi Yanagisawa finished the day in fourth and sixth respectively with the prospect of a podium finish the following day.

Many of the stages on Day 2 were repeats of ones on the previous day, which allowed the drivers to push harder. Particularly, Herridge closed up to the leader by posting some very competitive times. With his teammate extending the gap with followers, the Cusco pair established a firm 2-3 formation in the middle phase of Day 2.

In the closing stages, when only two SS were left, the Cusco squad was bothered with the news that Herridge had a problem with his engine. But he nursed the car and actually went on to finish the final SS without losing his position, which was second overall. He has now taken the runner-up position for two events running after performing the same feat in the opening round.

As a result, the Australian driver heads for the next and third round in New Zealand as the championship leader.

The other Cusco driver, Yanagisawa, also kept his position during the day and finished in third to join his teammate on the podium.

In addition, Atsushi Masumura, who drove a privately run Mitsubishi Lancer, finished in sixth. The result was proof of ADVAN rally tires' superior performance.

　[Result: 2nd overall]

"The car was really good because we could find the right setup in the pre-event test and our tire choice was correct for the surface conditions and temperatures.
"But, considering the whole championship, I didn't take any unnecessary risk since my main rival, Taguchi, had already retired in SS2.
"Even with such a careful approach, I was able to take the runner-up spot thanks to the team's effort and the good performance of ADVAN tires.
"I think we can expect a good result again in New Zealand because it is one of my favorite events."

(Note: This comment is reverse-translated from a Japanese text.)