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Close Call on Otago Rally

A huge moment on SS10 - click to play video...

New Zealand debut for Cusco Toyota C-HR

After missing last year's WRC Rally of New Zealand due to shipping delays, Mike Young and co-driver Amy Hudson will finally to get to drive Cusco's Toyota C-HR on home territory beginning with the Otago Rally that starts in Dunedin on 31st March and finishes 2nd April.Otago will be followed by Northland's Rally of Whangarei 12-14th May with both events qualifying rounds of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship as well as the New Zealand Rally Championship....

Finishing 2022 on a High Note

Testing the Cusco Toyota C-HR at Maramura Forest -  click to watch video...

On the Global Stage at the FIA Motorsport Games

Hi Everyone,What a massive opportunity it was to take part in last weekend's FIA Motorsport Games in Marseille, France. Seventy-four countries were represented competing in 16 different disciplines that included circuit racing, rallying and E-Sports. I was there as co-driver and coach for Indian rally driver Sanjay Takale who was competing in the Rally 4 category in a Peugeot 208.We've worked together before, as team-mates at Cusco Racing in the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship and then at th...

Podium Finish for Young and Hudson in Japan

New Zealand rally driver Mike Young finished his first all-tarmac event the Rally Montre in Japan, 2nd in the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship category and 5th overall driving the Cusco Racing team’s Toyota TRD C-HR. ...

Young Returns to Japan for APRC Rally Montre

It's nearly three years since Mike Young last drove in Japan and that was the 2019 APRC Rally Hokkaido, driving the brand-new Cusco TRD C-HR to a debut win.With Covid-19 restricting international travel in 2020 and based in Perth, Australia Young switched to national events and the West Australian Rally Championship. With long-time mentor Scott Beckwith co-driving and former Cusco driver Dean Herridge providing and running a Maximum Motorsport Subaru Impreza, no-one in the team was prepared for ...

Top Five Times for Young at Otago Rally

Although setting numerous stage times in the top five, Mike Young finished last weekend's Otago Rally 9th in the New Zealand Rally Championship and 11th overall, after throttle control sensor problems on both days dropped Young and co-driver Malcolm Read down the order.With over 4 minutes lost on Stage 1 due to the faulty throttle sensor, Young started Stage 2 in 59th place and set about hauling himself back up the leaderboard. After the 30Km Stage 2, Young had the SAS Subaru back up to 20th and...

New Zealand and Asia-Pacific Events for Young in 2022

With a successful pre-rally test completed Mike Young is relishing the chance to get back to the fast South Island roads and start his 2022 rally campaign with NZ Rally Championship Otago Rally, this coming weekend (April 8-10th).  For the Dunedin based event, Young will be back in the SAS Subaru Impreza he drove in 2021, along with regular co-driver Malcolm Read. Initially Young was to be co-driven by Amy Hudson but with Read’s plans to move to the UK delayed until early May, it was deci...

Young Improves Pace at Hawkes Bay Rally

Another solid result for Mike Young at last weekend’s Hawkes Bay Rally finishing 5th in category and 6th overall, has given Young and co-driver Malcolm Read plenty of confidence as they look ahead to the championship finale in September....

Hawkes Bay Rally and a New Sponsor

The Mike Young Motorsport team takes on a new challenge at this weekend’s Rally Hawkes Bay.Based in Napier and running on stages North towards Wairoa, it’s the first time in ten years the Kennedy Park Resort sponsored event has been run, meaning that most competitors have never driven the roads competitively.For Young who is completely new to his home rallies, it’s his best chance yet to score a good result against the New Zealand Rally Championship regulars....

Fighting Finish at South Canterbury Rally

Technical issues early in the event blunted any chances of a podium finish for Mike Young at last weekend’s NZRC South Canterbury Rally, however in the last loop of stages he and co-driver Malcolm Read fought their way back to 4th in the Category 1 and 8th overall. “It wasn’t the quite the start we wanted, but the SAS team worked hard in the first service to fix an engine miss and then we had a couple of other small issues on the afternoon loop that lost us time"."On the final two stages w...

Home Run for Young

New Zealander Mike Young is realising a long-held ambition to compete in his home championship by entering the final 3 rounds of the 2021 New Zealand Rally Championship. Young will team up with the regular co-driver Malcolm Read for the first event, this weekend’s third round the NZRC South Canterbury Rally. The pair will be driving the SAS team Subaru STi and after a test event in Central Otago last weekend Young is looking forward to driving the car."SAS have built a great car, its easily th...

Mike and Scott 2020 Champions

Mike Young and Scott Beckwith have clinched their first Western Australian Rally Championship amidst a dramatic year of COVID-19, close finishes and last minute entries.What began as a one-off event at the Forest Rally in September, quickly turned into a stunning championship winning season.Young’s clean sweep of victories proved his driving class, while also proving the speed and reliability of his Maximum Motorsport Subaru.Heading into yesterday’s Safari Darling Rally, Young’s absence at...

Second win in WA Championship for Young and Beckwith

Mike Young and co-driver Scott Beckwith took their second win in a row at the 2020 West Australian Rally Championship Karri Rally, held 3rd October, 2020 driving a Maximum Motorsport Subaru Impreza....

Mike takes Forest Rally win by 0.5 seconds

Perth based New Zealander Mike Young has narrowly won the Forest Rally, round 2 of the West Australia Rally Champs.The Kiwi was in second place for much of the 135 kilometre event held on 13th September, but when his arch rival and rally-leader John O’Dowd had an overshoot in his Skoda R5 on the penultimate 32 kilometre Wellington Dam stage, the gap between them was down to just 2.4 seconds....

Mike enters Otago Rally with new Sponsor

New Zealander Mike Young has added Otago Rally to his international schedule in 2020 driving a Mazda AP4 supported by Dunlop Tyres and new sponsor GO! Logistics.Andrew Hawkeswood’s Force Motorsport will run the car with Malcolm Read reading the notes and the pair entered in both the FIA Asia-Pacific and New Zealand Rally Championships.“After working on the event with the NZRC television team last year I’m really looking forward to actually competing at Otago Rally this time, those South Is...

Mike and CUSCO back for another APRC Challenge

2019 FIA APRC Asia and Junior Cup winner Mike Young and Cusco Racing Japan have confirmed their entry in the 2020 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship and while the full calendar is still to be confirmed, the team is planning on entering the International Rally Whangarei, followed by September’s Rally Hokkaido and the final in Coff’s Harbour, Australia. The team will compete in the Cusco developed Toyota C-HR backed by TRD (Toyota Customising and Development) and Dunlop Tyres Japan. Young’s...

Season Wrap - From Snow and Ice to Auzzie Bushfires

2019 is done and dusted. Our rally season has finished for the year and it has taken us all over the Asia Pacific region - from the freezing snow of Rally Tsumagoi in Japan to the bush-fires at WRC Rally Australia in Coffs Harbour. We led four out of six rallies we entered this year including a debut win for the Toyota CH-R at Rally Hokkaido and won three championships - FIA Asia Cup, FIA Junior Cup and the Japan Super Series. Lets start at the beginning. In February my co-driver Malcolm Read an...

Two FIA Cups but no Championship Title

He may have won more stages than any other driver, but New Zealander Mike Young's dream of becoming the 2019 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Champion came to an abrupt halt on stage 4 when his Cusco TRD C-HR stopped with an electrical problem. Young and co-driver Malcolm Read were locked in battle with eventual winner Chinese-Taipei driver Lin Dewei – swapping the lead on each stage and with just seconds separating them. Unfortunately, without warning Young’s car lost power and he and Read were force...

Debut Win for CUSCO TRD C-HR

New Zealand rally driver Mike Young, paired with Australian co-driver Glenn Macneall, convincingly won last weekend’s Rally Hokkaido round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship, powered by Würth. Covering 16 special stages through the lush countryside of northern Japan, Young returned to the ceremonial finish with a winning margin of just over seven minutes. The penultimate round of the four-round FIA Asia Cup, Young set fastest time in every stage – and now takes a commanding points ...

Young to Debut Cusco TRD CH-R at APRC Rally Hokkaido

Kiwi international rally-driver Mike Young has plenty to look forward to this weekend as he debuts Cusco’s brand new Toyota CH-R at Japan’s Rally Hokkaido, a qualification round for the 2019 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship powered by Würth....

Win for Cusco TRD Yaris & testing a new car

Late last month Malcolm Read and I jetted off to Japan to compete in the Japanese Super Rally Series, a championship that includes international competitors and international spec rally cars. Its a four round series that started with the Snow Rally in Tsumagoi in February, APRC Montre and finishes next month with APRC Rally Hokkaido. Yokote Rally is round three, located five hours north from Tokyo and near the top of the main island. To our surprise the summer in Japan was in full swing and abov...

Fight Back to Podium Finish

Although leading APRC Rally Montre at the time, broken suspension on Stage 9 prevented Mike Young from posting his first win in the 2019 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship driving the CUSCO TRD Yaris 4WD . Co-driver Malcolm Read showed his amazing skills by rebuilding the suspension on the road-section afterwards, but the time lost proved too much to claw back on Day 2, even though the pair won all the gravel stages and were fastest for the leg. A podium for 3rd place in the APRC’s Asia Cup w...

Young Confident for Montre Victory

Mike Young and co-driver Malcolm Read have completed a full test session ahead of this weekend’s Rally Montre, run in Japan’s Gunma Prefecture. With the experience of competing in the same area earlier this year, the Kiwi is confident the reliability issues that have so far plagued his Cusco TRD Yaris are a thing of the past, and is aiming for victory at the third round of the 2019 Asia Pacific Rally Championship. “Today we had a pre-event test at a local dirt track near to the Rally HQ”...

Third place at International Rally of Tsumagoi

Mike Young and Malcolm Read have kicked off their 2019 rally season with an impressive third place at the International Rally of Tsumagoi, a snow rally held in Gunma Prefecture north-west of Tokyo. Leaving behind record summer temperatures in New Zealand and Australia, Young and Read headed to the winter wonderland of Japans’ mountains where temperature plummet to -20C at night. Competing in the international section of the event they were up against APRC regulars such as Mitsuhiro Aoki and fe...