Jussi Valimaki makes it two in a row. Driving his MRF Tyres Mitsubishi EVO 8 run by Race Torque Engineering Jussi won the second round of the APRC in New Caledonia to claim his his second win in the first two events. After taking the leg 1 win and leading the rally team mate Katsu Taguchi was forced to retired with over heating problems while he had a 40 second lead over Valimaki.
The second round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship took place in New Caledonia in slippery conditions after heavy over night rain before leg 1. Both Taguchi and Valimaki set the pace from the start while others struggled with the conidtions. Valimaki set the pace on SS 1 but was slowed with a broken front diff on SS 2 and and was forced to drive a very unpredictable car for the next two stages and lost over 30 seconds to his team mate until he reached the service.
The team change the front diff during the twenty minute service without penalties. This left Valimaki 3rd = with Argyle and Taguchi leading. Over the next group of stages Valimaki and Taguchi both pulled away from the rest of the field and took back their 1st and 2nd positions. With both cars using the Special MRF mud tyre they finished the day and claimed maximum bonus points for the team.