Maxxis supports Sri Lankan return to Asia-Pacific Rally C’ships

Maxxis Sri Lanka will support Sri Lanka’s return to the Asia Pacific Rally Championships (APRC) when local rally champs Shafraz Junaid and co-driver Akhry Ameer throw dust at the India Coffee Day Rally of Chikmagalur, the final round of the APRC to be held from 24-26 November.

The local duo narrowly missed the podium in the India Rally Championships (IRC) category at last year’s edition of this event. This year they will be competing in the higher APRC 2WD category, signalling a return of Sri Lanka to the APRC since the previous participation by Dinesh Deheragoda in 2015.

 “Shafraz and Akhry have been consistent performers in the local rally scene for more than a decade and have demonstrated their commitment to the sport. We are delighted to back their participation and wish them all success to better their performance from last year,” said Tyre House Group Director Gayan Fonseka.

 “As the final round of the APRC, the Coffee Day Rally is a much looked forward to event. It is also a very technical rally with quite a number of turns and we are looking forward to giving it our best,” said Junaid of their planned return. 

As a returning international entry, the Sri Lankans have also been invited to kick dust in the ceremonial shakedown stage with the APRC 4WD rally cars.

The duo will be supported by Maxxis Lanka, HTL Logistics, Contura lanka and Pro Mech, each of whom have contributed towards their entry, logistics and various aspects of their participation.

The duo drove hot into the second leg of the Coffee Day Rally last year to catch up 20 seconds for a third place finish, but an engine miss towards the latter stages and the possibility of not having an opportunity of a service made them nurse the car and settle for a fourth place finish 40 seconds away from the podium in the IRC category.

Junaid and Ameer, who were recently adjudged winners of the KORSC TSD night rally, will be racing a Volkswagen Polo rally car tuned by GT Tuners, Bengaluru. The car will be different from what they competed in last year as the higher APRC2 category requires greater conformity to FIA specifications, such as the fire bomb apparatus and other car setup changes. Their VW will share the same paddocks with leading APRC contenders Mike Young and Malcolm Read.  Junaid and Ameer have been pairing up for more than a decade and have many accolades to their credit. They have been competitively placed across the board in TSD raids in the motorcycle category, riding a Honda Transalp 600, winning overall in a Nissan 4WD cab and in their Subaru GC8 rally car.