After achieving a class win in 1998 Petronas Rally Malaysia, I thought I had enough of this punishing event. My participation this year was definitely not on the agenda until an irresistible offer to drive a Subaru Vivio RX-R AWD, supplied by the Subaru Motor Sports Group N Koseki rally team, came up. It was my first chance to race with a professional outfit after two years of running independently, so I jumped at the chance.

This Group N Vivio had gone through several rallies, but its suspension components were all-new and with an experienced crew that serviced only Subaru rally cars, there were no worries about race reliability.

Although this year's Rally Malaysia wasn't an Asia Pacific Rally Championship round, it was awarded a status of 'candidate' for future APRC rounds. As such, several FIA observers were appointed to observe the event.

As usual, we reported two days before the flag-off date to carry out reconnaissance. The dry conditions meant the standard Proton Wira didn't get bogged down in mud, but the stages were also dusty and visibility was reduced to mere metres if not enough distance was kept between cars. On race day, the time interval between flag-offs was revised from one to two minutes so as to allow the dust to settle. FIA-seeded driver Katsuhiko Taguchi in car number 1 was the first to leave, followed by compatriot Shigeyuki Konishi in car number 2. In all, 25 cars participated in the event.

The rally proper started with Special Stage (SS) 1 at Sepang. To the disgust of most competitors, an overnight shower at Sepang altered the terrain and pace notes gathered earlier would be of little use. True enough, the stage became very slippery and a cautious drive from everyone was expected. Ironically, the first casualty of the event was the safety car that ended up in a ditch after running into a large muddy patch!

The next few stages were dryer, and by SS4 my co-driver Jamie Teo and I had settled down. We were moving faster as the stages went by, and for the first time I was able to achieve an average speed of above 60km/h. However, we paid a price for this wild burst of speed and badly damaged a wheel on a large rock while charging over a bridge.

We were able to change the wheel and rush to the next stage within five minutes without incurring a time penalty. However, SS5 was cancelled after Yukihiko Sakurai multiple-rolled his car. It was also here that top-seeded Taguchi retired from the rally due to multiple punctures.

After witnessing all the drama I decided to drop the pace a little, not least since the next three SS are known as the 'ball bearing stages'. SS7 at Sua Betong is notorious for its slippery surface, even though it's a fast stage. The Vivio with its hard suspension and high CG was telling me its rear end could be faster than the front at any time should I floor the accelerator in a corner. Feathering the throttle was the name of the game at this stage.

Words and pictures adapted from Torque Magazine. Please visit their website at http://www.mediacity.com.sg/torque