New Zealander, Mark Tapper, has won the coveted Pirelli Star Driver competition at the Rally of Malaysia, after Australian hopeful, Eli Evans, crashed on the final day.
Tapper was the fastest in three stages yesterday and in four stages today, finishing in a total time of 3 hours, 2 minutes and 57 seconds. His consistent performance throughout the rally won him the chance to drive in the World Rally Championship in 2009.
“It was a battle to keep my mind on the job in the last few stages. I just stuck to a place where I felt comfortable and didn’t take any risks. It’s pretty hard to describe my feelings right now. But yeah… awesome!” said a visibly emotional Tapper.
His fellow Pirelli Star Driver competitors didn’t have such a dream run.
Kiwi, Hayden Paddon did some major damage to his car in Leg One after sliding into an oil palm, and then lost a lot of time in the first Stage of Leg Two when his car had an electrical problem.
“We regrouped after the first service stop but Mark was too far in front for us to even think about winning the Pirelli Star Driver competition,” Paddon said.
Australia’s Eli Evans went into today confidently having scored the most number of points in Leg One. But his hopes were crushed when he flew off the track in SS10 and did some major damage to his car, and he and co-driver, Chris Murphy, retired from the event.
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