Atko seals second in the 2011 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship

Chris ‘Atko’ Atkinson has finished the China Rally Longyou 3rd overall and in the process finished 2nd in the 2011 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship. A fantastic result for the year with three rally wins from six events!

Conditions on the China Rally were as difficult as anything Atko had faced all season, with wet weather – and heavy rain in the days leading up to the start – making the gravel and concrete stages unbelievably slippery.

He ended the event on a high with four consecutive fastest stage times on the roads through the Longyou region. Having won three of the season’s six APRC rounds, the Australian was unable to score the fourth maximum he needed in China to take the title from his team-mate Alister McRae.

Between them, McRae and Atko won all but two of the 13 tricky stages in the mountains south of Shanghai.

Atko was second in the overall Drivers’ championship, having already won the FIA Pacific Cup. PROTON won the FIA APRC Teams’ Trophy and the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship Manufacturers’ title.

Words from Atko:

“I’m disappointed not to have won the Drivers’ championship, but in winning three rallies and leading two more APRC rounds this year, we played our part in helping PROTON to win the Manufacturers’ and Teams’ titles. As we expected, this was a tricky event with the conditions and the nature of the stages.”