Subaru driver, Cody Crocker, has scored his first international victory, taking the opening round of the Asia Pacific Championship, the Subaru Rally of Canberra, by an impressive 34.2 seconds over Mitsubishi driver, Scott Pedder.

As he got out of the car at the end of the gruelling 262 kilometre event, Crocker said: "We've all been keeping it quiet all weekend, but this one is for Possum."

Crocker's fellow Subaru Rally Team Australia driver, Dean Herridge finished in third place, completing an excellent weekend for the team following the withdrawal of Bourne. The seven-time national champion was seriously injured in a car crash in New Zealand on April 18 and remains in Intensive Care at Dunedin Hospital.

Bourne's absence meant the team leadership responsibilities fell to Crocker, and he handled them superbly, with a drive that adds further to his growing reputation as the next star of the sport in this country. The Canberra title comes on top of a win at the opening round of the Australian Championship in March and a second placing in Group N at the World Rally Championship event in New Zealand a fortnight ago.

Crocker, driving an Impreza WRX STi, showed great maturity in his tactics across the three-day event. Day one saw him finish in second behind Finnland's Juha Kangas, well placed just ten seconds off the lead. By early on day two he was in front, and then Kangas exited and the Victorian suddenly found himself with a handy 32-second buffer. He finished Saturday cautiously; 13.5 seconds ahead of Pedder, but then built his lead over each of the seven stages on the final day to finish a comfortable winner.
"We are delighted with this win at two levels," Crocker said.

"Firstly, the significance of this win goes beyond the rally. We had Åedoing it for Possum' written on the car today, and we all were."

"Secondly, it is another milestone for us, a first international win. The year is off to a great start in terms of results, and this gives us a lot of confidence going forward for the rest of the season."
"We had a plan for the weekend and it worked out perfectly. Congratulations to Scott (Pedder) though. He had a terrific drive and he kept us very honest the whole way today."

Dean Herridge played the support role to Crocker, ensuring a good points result for Subaru, as the event also counted towards the ARC manufacturers' title.

Going into the final day, the 26-year-old West Australian knew his job was to finish ahead of the veteran Mitsubishi driver, Ed Ordynski, which he did comfortably.

"This has been another really solid weekend for us and we continue to demonstrate how much we have improved since last year," Herridge said.

"We had a podium result at the Forest Rally and another one here. We obviously have a goal of moving up a couple of steps but with the form that Cody's in that's not going to be easy."

"The whole team was fantastic this weekend. We wanted to do the job for Possum and I reckon he'd be pretty happy with first and third."

At the end of the event, Subaru General Manager, paid tribute to the members of Subaru Rally Team Australia.

"Everyone in the team knows and loves Possum and we all came here because we knew it was the thing that Possum would have wanted us to do."

"That everyone performed so well, was so totally professional in these circumstances, says a lot about everyone here, and for the respect that each and everyone of us has for Possum."

"It's pleasing to see Cody and Dean perform exceptionally well at this international level, repaying the faith that we have showed in them."

Final Results Subaru Rally of Canberra (Provisional)
1 C Crocker/G Foletta (AUS) Subaru Impreza WRX STi N4 2:50:52.0
2 S Pedder/P Humm (AUS) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 N4 +34.2 secs
3 D Herridge/G Macneall (AUS) Subaru Impreza WRX STi N4 +1:25.0
4 E Ordynski/I Stewart AUS) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7 N4 +3:04.5
5 A Kremer/F Berssen (GER) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7 N4 +3:04.7
6 G Argyle/S Smith (NZ) Mitsubishi Lancer A8 +3:05.4
7 F Nutahara/S Hayashi (JAP) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7 N4 +3:13.5