Fastest on four of the 13 stages, the Subaru pairing extended their opening stage lead to 5min 35.2sec when they arrived for the crowning ceremony.

Lin recounted the ten years’ experience he has of the event, which uses roads north and south of host city Longyou, Zhejiang province.

“Longyou Rally is very difficult – the stage conditions are different every year,” said Dewei.

“I am happy now, this is very exciting. I am very happy to win this championship for my sponsors and everyone.”

Of the seven teams vying for the overall title, only four finished. Fellow Cusco driver Suguru Kawana and Takahiro Yasui steered their Citroën DS3 to second place before being overtaken by the New Zealand pairing of Andrew Hawkeswood and Jeff Cress in the Mazda 2, during the closing stages.

Dry dusty conditions during Friday’s opening Super Special Stage gave way to damp sections of gravel and concrete on the Saturday, with persistent rain on Sunday adding sections of mud to the challenge.

Finishing fifth overall, behind the non-championship contender Zhang Guoyu, Mike Young gained enough points over Suguru Kawana to claim the FIA Asia Cup.

Visit the event photo gallery here.

For more information:

- FIA APRC standings 

- FIA APRC website

Results – China Rally Longyou

1. Lin Dewei / Le Keping (car #7), Subaru XV, TPE/CHN, 3hr12min 11.1sec

2. Andrew Hawkeswood / Jeff Cress (car #5), Mazda 2, NZL/NZL, +5min 35.2sec

3. Suguru Kawana / Takahiro Yasui (car #2), Citroen DS3, JPN/JPN, +7min 06.9sec

4. Zhang Guoyu / Li Jiarun (car #9), Subaru XV, CHN/CHN, +16min 43.4sec

5. Mike Young / Malcolm Read (car #1), Toyota C-HR, NZL/NZL +3hr57min 28.3sec

2019 APRC standings:

1. Lin Dewei / Le Keping, TPE/CHN - 38 points

2. Andrew Hawkeswood / Jeff Cress, NZL/NZL - 28 points

3. Suguru Kawana / Takahiro Yasui, JPN/JPN - 25 points

4. Mike Young / Malcolm Read, NZL/NZL - 21 points

5. Nao Otake/Noriko Takeshita, JPN/JPN - 4 points

6. Yuki Kohama/Megumi Fujita, JPN/JPN - 1 point

2019 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship - calendar

1. Rally Otago – New Zealand – 13-14 April (P)

2. Rally Whangarei — New Zealand — 4-5 May (P)

3. Montre Rally – Japan – 6-9 June (A)

4. Rally Tasmania - Australia — 22-23 June (P)

5. Rally of Indonesia —Indonesia — 26 – 28 July (A)

6. Eureka Rally – Australia – 24-25 August (P)

7. Rally Hokkaido — Japan – 21-22 September (A)

8. China Rally — Longyou – 26-27 October – (A) final

(P) = Pacific Cup qualifying round.

(A) = Asia Cup qualifying round.

Photograph credit: Lance Hastie, FIA APRC.