The championship is wrapped up for a fourth time and if Cody Crocker can finish in China it will be his 27th consecutive international finish, surely a record?? Read his pre-event interview.

THE CONDITIONS HERE ARE A HUGE CONTRAST TO THE TWO PREVIOUS APRC EVENTS?

Yeah it was so hot and steamy in Indonesia and Malaysia, but here with the rain its been about 13 degrees, rain and foggy up on top of the mountain where it gets down to 9-10 degrees, that’s good for getting more power from the engine though.

THOSE ROADS LOOK LIKE THEY’LL CHOP UP PRETTY QUICKLY?

Yea we’re going to do three passes, its going to very tough on the third pass. Last year we had one or two stages cancelled because of that. We’ve got to make sure we’ve got a setup that will cope, to give you the confidence to push-on in those conditions.

THE APRC CHAMPIONSHIP IS WRAPPED UP, BUT THERE IS STILL THE ASIA CUP TO GO FOR HERE?

Its great to have the championship wrapped up and I think manufacturers is there as well, so we ‘ve just got to make sure of the Asia Cup. I know Katsu is not going to let us have anything easily, so we’ll have a good battle for that one.

KATSU SAID ITS A SURVIVAL RALLY

Oh it is, there’s so many ‘don’t cut’ in our notes. There’s some big rocks on the inside of corners to catch you out and if you so much as get one wheel width off the road you’re in trouble. Its very very narrow – very treacherous. This event traditionally has a very high rate of attrition, sometimes only two finishes out of the whole APRC field and that says a lot. Of course the idea is to keep the pressure on, so you can’t back off too much.

THERE’S A LOT FOREIGN DRIVERS HERE IN THE CHINESE CHAMPIONSHIP, DO YOU WATCH WHAT THEY’RE DOING?

This is one of the great rallies where there is a high calibre of competitors in the Chinese National championship, a lot of foreigners in there too, they’re certainly very quick and they’re having a real good battle going on between themselves but we’ll make it a battle between all of us for overall honours. My former team-mate Deano (Herridge) is here and we always have a good battle and hope that Subaru can be at the top of the podium.