Mike has finished the first day of the International Rally of Queensland, the second round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), in third overall after eight tough stages through the Imbil forest.
With roads significantly varied between slippery and dry, Young and co-driver Malcolm Read had to carefully manage their speed throughout the day, with their Dunlop tyres eventually making the difference to increase their speed.
“It was a much better afternoon for us. Changing the tyres on the Cusco EZY Racing Subaru worked well and gave me so much confidence. We were basically going 40 seconds quicker in afternoon stages than in the morning. The roads got quite dry too, and even the slippery parts were good. It was a good afternoon with no mistakes, which is really good for us.”
A close battle between Mike and local driver Nathan Quinn quickly emerged during the morning stages, although he was able to maximise on Quinn’s engine troubles later in the day and built up a 24 second lead by day end.
“It was really good to battle with Nathan. He’s obviously going really fast but we’ll just keep racing our own race. It will be interesting to see how we both go tomorrow.”
His Cusco EZY Racing Subaru is also prepared for the battle tomorrow, with Mike saying the car hasn’t needed any setup changes for the stages tomorrow. “The setup is good and as long as it’s not raining the morning, it should be alright. The rain could affect quite a few things but everyone will have the same problem, so it won’t be so bad.”
The International Rally of Queensland continues tomorrow over eight closed special stages, totalling 119 competitive kilometres before finishing at the Imbil Showgrounds at approximately 3.30pm.
Young’s campaign is supported by Cusco, EZY Racing, Dunlop, Dreams India, Yoda Rally, Verandah Apartments and KOS Sunglasses.
