Motorsport: Gilmour second in Malaysia

Kiwi driver Emma Gilmour is two points behind Katsuhiko Taguchi Asia-Pacific rally championship standings. Photo / Northern Advocate

New Zealand driver Emma Gilmour has produced her best result in international rallying by finishing second behind teammate Cody Crocker in the Malaysian round of the Asia-Pacific rally championship (APRC).

The result yesterday ended Gilmour's run of national and international championship third placings stretching back close to a year, and propels her to within two points of former champion Katsuhiko Taguchi in the APRC standings.

Rain made for exceptionally slippery roads on the rally's opening leg, with Taguchi one of those who fell victim to the conditions.

He crashed his Mitsubishi Evo into retirement on the day's seventh stage, leaving the way clear for Crocker and Gilmour to score their first one-two finish for the Motor Image Subaru Racing Team.

The rally's opening day was not without its dramas for Gilmour either.

An intercom failure meant she was forced to complete two stages without the benefit of pace note instructions from co-driver Claire Mole and the rain then made conditions so bad that she spun several times in a single stage, damaging the steering of her Subaru Impreza STi in the process.

"I knew the Malaysian stages would be especially tough if it was wet, but nothing can actually prepare you for competing in such slippery conditions for the first time," Gilmour said.

" We spun five times, and overshot a junction all on one stage. Usually that would add up to an absolute disaster in rallying terms, but because conditions were so bad we found ourselves counting the stage as a success, simply because we recovered from those dramas to complete it.

"Finishing the day was an achievement in itself, and doing so in second place for the day was just the icing on the cake really."

Having lost several minutes to Crocker with the car's bent steering, and with Taguchi and his teammate Gaurav Gill both casualties of the opening leg, Gilmour found herself having to take a conservative approach for yesterday's second leg of the rally.

- NZPA