SIMALUNGUN - The first round of the 2021 Lake Toba Rally in Aek Nauli, Parapat, Simalungun, North Sumatra, Saturday, December 11th, was completed and Sean Gelael from Team Jagonya Ayam was able to maintain his performance throughout the race so he could be the best.
What was achieved by the 25-year-old racer was in line with predictions considering that since the shakedown it was quite dominant. Moreover, it is supported by a capable vehicle, namely the Citroen C3 R5 and is supported by a solid team from Indonesia and Portugal.
"Everything went well. The car was good to drive on both muddy and rocky tracks. I enjoyed everything, the wins, the competition, and also the enthusiasm to make rallying in Indonesia better in the future," said Sean Gelael.
In this race which is the first round of the 2021 National Rally Championship, Sean Gelael who paired with navigator Hugo Ismael was able to record a time of 1:00:14,2 to complete six special stages (SS) and was entitled to 15 points.
The results achieved by Sean Gelael are very different from the results of 2019. At that time, the child of the pair Ricardo and Rini Gelael failed to win because they received a large penalty even though they had previously been far ahead.
Especially for this year's race, since SS1 Sean Gelael immediately shot and averaged more than 40 seconds ahead of his competitors. The closest competitor is the 2019 national rally champion Subhan Aksa who drives the Mitsubishi Evo X vehicle.
Sean Gelael's dominance continued until the next SS even when the morning session was over, he was able to lead by two minutes with his rivals. And when he finished, Sean made a total time of 1 hour 14.2 seconds, winning 4 minutes 48 seconds over Subhan Aksa who was in second place.
The results achieved by Sean Gelael also received comments from the navigator who has experienced WRC racing, Hugo Ismael. The man from Portugal assessed that the race went well even though the track changed drastically from morning to afternoon.
"But Sean raced well. Calm and didn't make mistakes. As for speed, we can see for ourselves," said Hugo Ismael after the race.
Meanwhile, his father, Ricardo Gelael, who was paired with Anthony Sarwoni, finished in the Top 10. Actually, the 2006 national rally champion was able to put up a fight but faced many obstacles including tire bursts.
After completing the first round of racing, Sean Gelael will undergo the second round of races at the same place, Sunday (12/12). Team Jagonya Ayam will still rely on the Sean/Hugo pair. While the second car will be driven by the Portuguese duo, Nuno Pinto/JJ Pereira.
Results of the first round of the 2021 National Rally Championships first round:
1. Sean Gelael/Hugo Magalhaes (Citroen) 1:00:14,22. Subhan Aksa/Mago Sarwono (Mitsubishi) 1:05:02,23. Glenn Nirwan/Adi Indiarto (Subaru) 1:06:27,44. Edwin Djaya/Maman Aruman (Mitsubishi) 1:08:31,15. Bimo Pradikto/M. Herkusuma (Mitsubishi) 1:09:13,5...10. Ricardo Gelael/Anthony Sarwono (Citroen) 1:11:22,3
Schedule of Round 2 of the Rally National Championship- SS1: Gorbus (15.23 km)- SS2: Aek Nauli B (14.70 km)- SS3: Aek Nauli A (9.48 km)
- SS4: Gorbus (15.23 km)- SS5: Aek Nauli B (14.70 km)- SS6: Aek Nauli A (9.48 km)
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