With one round of the 2004 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship still to go Malaysia Driver Karamjit Singh has secured his third APRC title.

Singh the Champion in 2001 and 2002 currently has an 11 point lead over reigning APRC Champion German Armin Kremer, but with 16 points on offer at Rally India and drivers having to drop their worst round Singh can not be beaten.

Should Kremer pick up maximum points in India and Singh fail to score then both drivers would be tied on points. However Singh would still be confirmed as Champion on countback having won more events than Kremer.

Singh who was also the 2002 FIA Production Car World Rally Champion has had a podium finish in all but one of the five rounds to date finishing first in Canberra, Rotorua and Japan and second in China. His only blot on his record being New Caledonia where he failed to finish.

Kremer has also had a consistent year finishing second in the first three rounds of the Championship followed by a 4th placing in Japan and third in China.

Co-driver for Singh fellow Malaysian Allan Oh, has secured the Co-drivers title with a round to go having an unassailable lead of 19 points over Australia Mark Stacey, the former co-driver for New Zealand Rally legend Possum Bourne.

It is expected that both Singh and Kremer will still have a fierce battle at India for the final round as both compete for points for the manufacturers title in their respective marques. Mitsubishi with Kremer as its number 1 driver has a 6 point lead over Proton with Singh flying their flag.

The final round of the 2004 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship will be held in India from 4-5 December.