Young, driving the Cusco EZY Racing Subaru, engineered by the Japan based Cusco, completed what he classified as “the toughest rally to-date” in an unusual Japanese Rally that saw heavy rains throughout Day 2 providing extremely difficult conditions to compete in.
Rally Japan which was supposed to be a fast rally with conditions similar to New Zealand, hence tipped to favour the 22 year old Kiwi’s style of driving, were turned upside down when the torrential rain took the out some of the very best of the 22 cars to start the rally, which included even the Japanese drivers who knew the conditions well.
Young and Co driver Malcolm Read fought bravely to overcome a blown fuse that stalled the car, torrential rain that made them ride through stagnant water puddles and relegation in the starting order due to a late arrival at the start, to fight from the back and achieve the pinnacle.
“I dedicate this win to the Cusco EZY Racing Team who stuck together during a tough Malaysian Rally where a light mistake potentially cost us the Rally” said the young Kiwi driver after the Rally.
Mike was referring to the unfortunate incident that incurred in the Malaysian leg of the APRC Championship in August where he had to retire while running in 2nd Position.
“In Malaysia we were gutted. We came out of it strong with a lot of learnings and I was determined to complete this rally.
There was a bit of pressure on us as we conceded a huge lead in the Asia Cup to Gaurav (Gill).
So this Rally was crucial for us. We had a strategy in place going into this Rally and finishing the rally was our ultimate goal” continued Young.
Gaurav Gill driving for MRF Skoda Rally Team, retired on the very first stage on Day 2, similar to the Cusco EZY Racing driver in Malaysia.
Young who displayed a mixture of daredevil driving and controlled aggression, was consistently among the top 3 in every stage in the 20 stage, 227KM Rally which saw 22 of the Asia Pacific’s leading drivers compete.
The Sri Lankan based team who are in their 2nd year of International Racing were richly rewarded for some bold and courageous decisions they made in the beginning of this year when they totally restructured their International Motor Racing approach.
“Today will be a day I will always remember in my life and in the corporate culture of EZY Racing.
I would first like to congratulate Mike and Malcolm for displaying courage and speed to reward us with this win.
I also thank everyone at Cusco for the hard work they did to engineer a very competitive car for us.
This win means a lot to us, especially when we look back at the decisions we had to make in the beginning of this year when we boldly moved into the partnership with Mike and Cusco.
It was Mikes first ever drive in a 4WD, but we believed he was the next prodigy in Asia Pacific rally driving.
Today’s result have vindicated the bold decisions we made ", said an elated Shafraz Hamzadeen who founded EZY Racing in 2010.
Japan based Cusco, who are a specialised motor parts company are EZY Racing’s Technical Partner in the 2015 Asia Pacific Rally Championship.
Cusco who professionally engineer Rally Cars provided an entire upgrade for the Cusco EZY Racing Subaru prior to the Rally.
“ Cusco provided us a brand new engine, gear box, suspension and some crucial parts for this Rally which were crucial to manage the car fatigue from the previous 3 rallies.
We now have fresh legs to go all out in the remaining 2 rallies in the Championship” said Hamzadeen.
“Reliability was a key component that we wanted to focus on in 2015. Cusco has provided that for us.
Our focus has always been on being consistent. Its our ability to be consistent that has helped perform and even challenge the far more superior MRF Skoda’s in front.
Without Cusco, we would never have been able to achieve this” continued the Sri Lankan based teams Founder, Hamzadeen.
The Rally was in no way a smooth task for Young who had a scary moment immediately after re fuelling after stage 4.
Young who had a 1 minute 16 second lead to Japanese driver H. Takayama in stage 4, was leading the Asia Cup standings and 2nd in the Overall Rally to Pontus Tidemand when he found his car not starting after the refuelling.
Malcolm Read, Young’s trusted Co Driver, who is also known for his in-depth mechanical knowledge managed to find the fault, which was on a short circuited fuse and resolve the situation.
The EZY Racing driver was however penalised 3minutes and 40 Seconds for Arriving 22 minutes late for Stage 5.
A determined Mike who was demoted to 4th Place in the overall Rally in Stage 5, conceded the lead in the Asia Cup to Takayama during this stage before putting in a daredevil display of Rally Driving to fight his way back to the Asia Cup lead and overall 3rd place at the end of Day 2 of the Rally.
With the time penalty giving 2nd placed Japanese driver Masumara in his Mitsubishi Evolution X a 1 minute 40 second lead on the final day, a super charged Young was seen shaving off that advantage from the Japanese driver within 3 stages to regain the 2nd place in the overall rally and hold on to his Asia Cup winning position.
With over 25,000 new fans joining EZY Racing’s fast growing fan page www.fb.com/ezyracing on the weekend of the Japanese Rally, Young thrilled the 230,000 fan strong EZY Racing team by giving the team its first International Race Victory.
A super charged young did the impossible in Stage 9 where he beat the Newly Crowned APRC Champion and 2013 WRC Junior Champion, Pontus Tidemand in the untouchable MRF Skoda over the 28.75KM stage by 3 seconds.
“ I had no other choice but to continuously push as the odds were stacked against us after the issue we had in refuelling.
I was starting 16th and I believed that helped in clearing some water from the stage” said a humble Young.
“We know our pace quite well. We know that we are fast and what exactly we can expect from the car.
The Wan Yu Rally Team was very fast and they had an advantage over us as they weren’t curtailed by the Group N Regulations. However, we knew Cusco stacked in reliability to the Cusco EZY Racing Subaru and that proved to be the key differentiator” said a jubilant Young after the Rally.
EZY Racing who first entered International Motor Sports in 2014, contracted APRC Junior Champion Mike Young in 2015 and partnered with Cusco to become a recognised International Player.
“We believe that reliability is a Key Factor in Motor Racing. Earlier this year we realised that we needed to look outward to secure the services to make us reliable.
Cusco has been the dream answer. The reliability they have provided to us has given Mike the platform to display his skills, speed and consistency.
For a 22 year old, Mike has a very mature head. I guess with over 30 international Rallies at such a young age, he has learnt the art of managing aggression.
We have a 100% podium ratio in 2015 in the rallies we completed. In New Zealand we were 3rd in the overall Rally.
In Australia we were 2nd and again here. This speaks volumes of our approach.
So hopefully we could bring the car home with decent points in China as well to hold on to our lead in the Asia Cup Standings”, said Hamzadeen commenting further on his teams overall position.
EZY Racing are currently positioned strongly in the Asia Cup Championship with their driver Mike Young currently leading the Championship over MRF Skoda Driver and 2013 Asia Pacific Rally Champion, Gaurav Gill.
The Team next heads to China on 30th October and 1st November where they will be looking to consolidate their position in the Asia Cup and Asia Pacific Cup.
"In Addition to the Asia Cup the Cusco EZY Racing Team is currently fighting for the Runner Up position in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship" said Hamzadeen.
