Motorsport: Gilmour heads to Rally Hokkaido

New Zealand rally driver Emma Gilmour will be chasing a third top three Asia-Pacific rally championship result in as many starts at this weekend's Rally Hokkaido in Japan.

The Hamilton-based Kiwi and her Australian co-driver Rhianon Smyth have been seeded fourth for the event behind their Motor Image Racing teammate and current Asia-Pacific champion Cody Crocker, former Asia-Pacific champion Katsuhiko Taguchi, and former Indian rally champion Gaurav Gill.

"While Cody and I drive the latest Subaru Impreza WRX STis, Taguchi and Gill are in Mitsubishi Evos," Gilmour said.

"With this being the home rally for both companies it is inevitable that it will be a serious Subaru versus Mitsubishi grudge match.

"Cody's mission is going to be to beat Taguchi, while mine is definitely to get the better of Gaurav Gill."

Crocker beat Taguchi and Gilmour comfortably outpaced Gill on the last Asia-Pacific round in Whangarei.

Indeed, Gilmour's pace was so strong that she was faster than Taguchi on the second day, and came close to beating him for the whole rally.

Despite this, she is cautious about her prospects of going one better this weekend.

"Whangarei was my home event, but up in Hokkaido he holds the local advantage.

"I expect to see him throw everything into winning, especially as this event is also a round of the Japanese championship, where several top Japanese drivers are lining up to push for the outright win.

"My plan is to focus on my position within the Asia-Pacific field, and third is the minimum I'll be happy with.

"It's the result we have scored on the last two rounds, so in some respects I'd like to go one better."

Rally Hokkaido runs over two days, with 11 special stages totalling 170km scheduled for Saturday, and seven stages totalling just 61km scheduled for Sunday.

Leading Asia-Pacific rally championship standings after three rounds: Cody Crocker (Australia) 32 points 1, Katsuhiko Taguchi (Japan) 23 2, Emma Gilmour (New Zealand) 16 3.

- NZPA