Japanese driver Katsu Taguchi won a dramatic Rally of Hokkaido taking victory in the final stages from his countryman Hiroshi Yanagisawa in the Cusco Subaru by 2.3 seconds and moving into the drivers championship lead with 43 points, 3 points in front of last years APRC champion Australian Cody Crocker.

Based in the city of Obhiro, Rally of Hokkaido takes place in the forests around Rikebetsu 100 kilometres to the north. Months of dry weather ended a few hours before the start, turning the previously dry and dusty route into treacherously slippery tracks, especially in the forestry stages that sit under a canopy of trees.

While Cocker lead APRC after the first short Rikebetsu stage, Taguchi moved ahead on stage 2 and after 5 stages held a 15 second advantage over fellow Japanese driver Hiroshi Yanagisawa, with Crocker 5 seconds further back in third. Early casualties were Scott Pedder out with gearbox problems and Kamada who crashed big time in his Subaru – the damage so bad that he won’t be a starter in the next APRC round in Indonesia.