CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF RALLYSPORT (CARS)
Press Release


Contact: Michel Poirier-Defoy
Tel: (450) 491-2480
E-mail: lpindfoy@sympatico.ca
Date: July 4, 1999


SUBARU CANADIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
presented by
YOKOHAMA TIRES OF CANADA


EVENT:Rallye Baie des Chaleurs
LOCATION:New Richmond, Quebec
STATUS: Fifth event in 1999July 2 - 3
STATS: 17 special stages265 Km of speed sections
TOTAL RALLY DISTANCE: 375 KmTwo day event


1999 Standings: Frank Sprongl, 100 points; Sylvain Vincent, 67; Tom McGeer, 40; John Paynter, 23; Yves Barbe, 20; Éric Tremblay, 17; Jeff Smith, 16; Besner, Alcaraz, Racine,12

Class Leaders: Open: Sprongl; Production GT: Vincent; Group 2: Dave Sharp; Prod. Sport: Lévesque; Prod. 1750: Rosenshein

Leading Marques: Open: Audi; Group 2: Volkswagen; Production GT: Eagle; Prod. Sport: Toyota, Nissan; Prod. 1750: Suzuki, Subaru


1999 SUBARU CANADIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
July 2 - 3Rallye Baie des ChaleursNew Richmond, QC
Sept. 10 - 12Rally of the VoyageursParry Sound, ON
Oct. 29 - 31Rallye Auto CharlevoixPointe-au-Pic, QC
Nov. 20 - 21Rally of the Tall PinesBancroft, ON
Feb. 2000Rallye de QuebecQuebec, QC
Feb. 2000Rallye Perce-NeigePembroke, ON
May 2000Bighorn RallyHinton, Alberta, AB
May 2000Rocky Mountain RallyCalgary, AB


NEXT RELEASE: Tuesday, September 7th
Rally of the Voyageurs


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sprongl, Vincent and Racine get top honours

New Richmond, Quebec--- The fifth stop of the Subaru Canadian Rally Championship, presented by Yokohama Tire - the Rallye Baie de Chaleurs - turned out to be the ultimate test for all of the members of the 32 teams involved in the two-day, 254 kilometre rally. Only 13 teams managed to finish the 14 stages that comprised this exhausting rally, as several co-drivers suffered from dehydration, and several cars broke.

A number of less-powerful cars avoided the pitfall of breaking driveline and suspension components over the torturous forest roads. Aside from the winning Open-class Audi, the eight official finishers were production class vehicles.

Record attendance was once again the order of the day for the 22nd running of this event in the Gaspé region. More than 15,000 people came out to see the national level competitors, and cheer on their local favourites too. While John and Clark Paynter of Halifax finished fourth, locals Sylvain Saint-Pierre, Christian Miousse and Eric Pratte finished fifth, sixth, and seventh respectively. Bruno Laverdiere of Laval, Que., and Ilana Rosenshein of Waterloo, Ont., plus four other teams managed to cross the finish line.
Because of rain, hard packed roads left mechanics working overtime and co-drivers weary and exhausted. One of them, Gabriel Lemieux was transported to the hospital because of severe dehydration.

With the Rallye Baie de Chaleurs completed, not only have the Sprongls solidified their lead in the national points, but also look to be heading toward another national title. With his second place finish at the Baie, Sylvain Vincent, already leading class GT, puts an even larger lead on the McGeer's;  battle for second in the national championship will be right down to the wire with only three more rallies to go this season.

The next event will be mid-September in the Parry Sound area with the Rallye of the Voyageurs. The Subaru Canadian Rally Championship is presented eight times in 1999, between February and November. It is sanctioned by the Canadian Association of RallySport and is supported by Subaru Canada and Yokohama Tire (Canada) Inc. Additional information is available from the CARS website at www3.sympatico.ca/rally.cars

INFORMATION:
CARS (905) 640 6444
Stephan Mostad smostad@hotmail.ca
Michel Poirier-Defoy (450) 491 2480
lpindfoy@sympatico.ca


SUBARU CANADIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
YOKOHAMA TIRES OF CANADA

EVENT
RALLYE BAIE DES CHALEURS
2 –3 July 1999

  
  TEAM 			 		MARQUE		 HOMETOWN	CLASS	FINAL
1 Frank / Dan Sprongl 	 		Audi Quattro 	 Mississauga,ON	Open	178:22
2 Sylvain Vincent/D. Cyr Eagle 		Talon 		 Laplaine, QC	GT	194:38
3 Marc Racine / Luc Piché		Honda Civic 	 Joliette, QC 	Gr 2 	203:26
4 John / Clark Paynter 			Subaru Legacy 	 Sackville, NS 	GT 	205:15
5 Sylvain St-Pierre 			Nissan NX 2000 	 Fermont, QC 	Gr 2	213:58
6 Christian. Miousse / R. Dube 		Toyota Corolla   St-Alphonse,QC Gr 2 	217:43
7 Eric Pratte / Robert Leblanc 		Subaru Impreza 	 Miquelon, QC 	Sport 	221:23
8 Bruno Laverdiere/ M. Duval 		Toyota Corolla 	 Laval, QC 	Sport; 	227:03
9 Ilana Rosehshein / J. Cote		Suzuki Swift GTi Waterloo, ON 	1750 	239:52
 Only national finishers

The high points :
* The Sprongls extend their winning streak to five
* Sylvain Vincent is still the only driver in contention for overall title
* Local drivers put on quite a show
* Very large crowds attend the event throughout the weekend

 
 The low points :
* Some roads were tough on cars
* Many co-drivers suffered from dehydration
* Attrition for Open class cars was high


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