Naren set for weekend after finishing 3rd in the shakedown stage

Whangarie, New Zealand, May 11 (UNI) Former Indian National champion Naren Kumar of Team Rally India set ablaze the track by finishing a creditable third at the shakedown stage in the Whangarie leg of Asia Pacific Rally Championship today.

After today's performance, Kumar, a debutant in the Championship, has a realistic chance of a podium finish in the second leg of the event.

Naren and his navigator D Ramkumar, who finished with a surprise fourth place in the first leg of the season opener in New Calidonia last month, said, ''We had a good testing session 2 days ago and are very happy with the progress. We found some good improvements with the set up of the car, and we are looking to convert that into results.'' ''The leg one and two of the rally has four stages each repeated twice. Leg one is medium speed with slippery surface and leg two is very high speed with lot of blind corners. There is lots of spectator interest in this part of the world and I am really looking forward to the event.'' Having finished the recce today, Naren is all set for the stages that are one of the fastest and the most challenging roads in the rallying circuit.

UNI