While most of the APRC teams have headed off on holiday before the 2012 season, hard-working Kiwis Brian Green and Fleur Pedersen have wrapped up another season with victory in the Rally Thailand Kings Cup.
Held in the Saraburi and Lop Buri provinces of central Thailand, the rally is a tricky combination of tarmac and gravel stages. Competing in an MRU Motorsport Subaru Impreza STi, Green and Pedersen took the lead from the opening super special stage and increased the margin as the event progressed.
“On Saturday we increased our lead to 1 min 28 seconds, and then won the opening Sunday stage by 24 seconds”, commented Fleur Pedersen on her return to New Zealand. “From there we drove carefully for the remaining five stages and the finish line.”
“The Kings Cup has been awarded to the winner of Rally Thailand since 2002, and we have contested for it every year. We’ve had several podium placings, and led the event in 2007 only to break an input shaft break late on the second day. To finally win it is such an amazing feeling, and a fantastic way to cap off our season.”
The win caps off another eclectic season of events for Green and Pedersen, competing in the APRC, the New Zealand and New Caledonian rally championship, and Targa New Zealand.
Stage photo courtesy of www.motorsportlives.com.