The fourth round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) started at the Angsana complex earlier today, where crews competed over the 2.5 kilometre long stage but it was Gaurav Gill in his Team MRF Skoda Fabia that took the early lead.

 

Rain earlier in the day made the road surface slippery and many crews struggled with grip in the tight, muddy corners, which may prove to be a sign of things to come in the Tai Tak Plantation tomorrow.

 

However the mud didn’t seem to affect Gill, as he now leads the rally over team-mate Esapekka Lappi and last year’s Asia Cup winner, Yuya Sumiyama in a Subaru Impreza, by three seconds who rounds out the podium in third.

 

Meanwhile, Shuhei Muta rounded out the Asia Cup podium behind Lappi and Sumiyama in his Subaru Impreza.

 

The two-wheel-drive battle is also set to be close tomorrow, with only three seconds separating leader Michael Young in his Cusco Toyota Vitz from team-mate Hiroshi Asakura in a Proton Satria Neo.

 

Tomorrow the crews head north of Johor Bahru to compete across seven stages, totalling over 130 kilometres of closed special stages. For full results see www.malaysianrally.com