Bay of Plenty rally driver Michael Young is on track for a strong finish in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship – extending his lead in the two-wheel-drive cup and claiming its Junior Cup with two rounds to go.

This follows a solid performance at the recent Malaysian Rally where he held onto his fourth place overall in the Asia Pacific series despite an engine scare costing him and co-driver Malcolm Read four minutes on the last stage after water got into the vehicle’s throttle sensor.

Top Bay of Plenty driver Michael Young, pictured in action on the recent Malaysian Rally where he claimed the Junior Cup.

Michael’s very happy to win the round’s two-wheel-drive and Junior Cup classes, saying luck also played a small part in allowing them to get back to service, to repair the throttle issue.

“Even though we didn’t get a record-breaking win, like last year, I’m still very happy with the weekend’s haul of points,” says Michael, who credits his consistent performance in seven rallies to his focused driving enabling him to keep up the pace without making mistakes.

The pair now turns their attention to Rally Hokkaido in Japan on September 26-28.
But in the meantime they’ve headed to Germany, to soak up the World Rally Championship while scoping out opportunities for next year.