Saturday, August 10, Surat Thani

Before the Race

ASEAN's largest cross-country rally
Preparations for AXCR 2024 are steadily underway.

Colourful machines and a large number of rally competitors are arriving in a stead stream to the peaceful town of another in a peaceful town of Surat Thani, in southern Thailand. This city is located 650 km south of Bangkok and is the starting point for this year's Asian Cross Country Rally.

Smiles, handshakes and hugs are everywhere at the Diamond Plaza Hotel, the rally headquarters, where the participants, were reunited with old friends from last years event which finished in Laos.

Preliminary vehicle inspections were being conducted next to hotel, ahead of tomorrow's official vehicle inspections. The inspectors checked the engine bay, measured the diameter of the restrictor that restricts the intake air, and checked each car closely one by one. Seals are securely attached to those that pass.

Meanwhile, in the hotel car park, the machines competing in the two-wheel and four-wheel races were undergoing their final servicing. The concrete crept up quickly in tempreature as the sun rose throughout the day. The mechanics' foreheads were sweating profusely and the cooler boxes full of water were being consumed quickly.

As the competitor vehicles arrived they looked quite unassuming however once the event sponsors' stickers and numbers were applied, they looked more like race cars. Their big day is just around the corner and tomorrow evening at 20:00, they will make a spectacular podium appearance at the ceremonial start, and then set off for the finish line in Kanchanaburi on 17 August.

Japanese language briefing and rally stream.

At 16:00 in the evening, a briefing in Japanese was held. The organiser, Tadayuki Sasa, told the riders one important thing. which was how to run the special stage (SS).

The details of the SS were as follows: "When passing through the villages, speed restrictions have been set up in places, and competitors who do not slow down as instructed will be given a 10-minute penalty from the first time they start the SS. And if they repeat it further, they will be disqualified".

This ruling is backed up by the Rally Stream technology introduced this year. This enables organisers to monitor data such as the speed, current position and trajectory of the cars in real time using a smartphone app. There are high hopes that this will enable easier and fairer competition management.

Riverside welcome party

When the cool evening breeze began to cross the surface of the River Ta Pi AXCR's annual 'Welcome Party' began. The venue was The Riverside Surat Thani, a riverside restaurant overlooking the beautifully lit up Ta Pi Bridge.

The toast was given by Kenji Ishida, President of the Asian Rally Friendship Association and met with a huge round of applause from the teams in the audience.

The Japanese MC was Kiyoko Manome, who returned to AXCR for the first time in 10 years. Videos of this event are uploaded on the official Youtube site "AXCR TV" on a daily basis, so if you are interested in AXCR, please check it out.

The competitors all lost track of time and enjoyed the music, drinks and local food. This is the only time when the boundaries between motorcycles and four-wheelers, organisers and competitors, and rivals are transcended, and the conversation is free and flowing. This year's welcome party was once again full of the friendly charm that is unique to the AXCR.

Tomorrow, after the official vehicle inspections, the 'Ceremonial Start' will take place after sunset. Look forward to the next report!

(Photo: Manabu Takahashi, Text: Dai Kawamura)