<========== Press Notes ==========>

By Andy Schupack


 Maine Forest Rally
Rumford, Maine
Round #6 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series
Press Notes #1
July 26, 1996, 10:00 AM

1.  Welcome to Rumford, Maine, site of the third annual Maine
    Forest Summer Rally, round #6 of the 1996 SCCA/Michelin
    PRO Rally series.  This is actually the eighth PRO rally
    running through the Boise Cascade, Seven Islands, and
    International Paper forest here in Western Maine, as
    there have been five Maine Forest Rallys in December.
    This year, however, in order to give the West Coast
    competitors a chance to host the final awards banquet,
    the final rally of the season will be November 8 - 10 in
    Olympia, Washington.  Rally fans and competitors will not
    be without a Maine winter event, however, as
    December 7 - 8 has been set for a coefficient 3
    divisional PRO Rally.  Northeast divisional steward
    and veteran competitor Bob Elliott will be the organizer
    of the event.

2.  Carl Merrill of nearby Ogunquit, ME will be here as
    defending champion, having won this event last July when
    the two favorites, Henry Joy IV and Paul Choiniere DNF'd.
    Joy had debuted his new Mitsubishi Lancer, but on the
    first stage, the car went off the road and suffered a
    punctured oil pan.  Choiniere burst a heater hose and
    overheated on an early stage, and despite being towed
    into service by Pat Ayers, was unable to repair the
    damage.  Both Joy and Choiniere went on to win events
    later in the year.

3.  Merrill will be back in his familiar lavendar Ford Escort
    Cosworth this weekend - his first US PRO rally with the
    car since rolling it at the Michelin Rocky Mountain Rally
    in Alberta, Canada.  The car sustained such damage that
    it was unavailable for the Susquehannock Trail PRO Rally,
    the last event in the SCCA Michelin PRO Rally series,
    held June 1-2, in Wellsboro, PA.  For STPR, Merrill kept
    up his points chase by entering the event in the ex-Paul
    Choiniere championship winning Audi Quattro S-2,
    finishing fourth overall, third in class.

                            # # #
Maine Forest Rally
Rumford, Maine
Round #6 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series
Press Notes #2
July 26, 1996, 10:30 AM

4.  Weather is always a factor in any PRO rally and this one
    should have plenty.  Predictions for tonight's stages
    call for rain until early evening, then slowly clearing
    with lows in the low 60s.  Tomorrow should be hazy and
    humid with highs in the mid 80s.  There's a slight chance
    of passing thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon.

5.  The saga of who will not be here is beginning to unfold.

    - In the Open class, Tom Ottey and co-driver Pam McGarvey
      will again be missing from the field.  At the Rim of
      the World PRO Rally, their ex-Rod Millen 4-wheel drive
      Hyundai Elantra overheated, probably related to engine
      problems suffered in the earlier Wild West PRO Rally
      in which they DNF'd.  A careful teardown of the engine
      revealed major mechanical troubles and the pair pulled
      out of the Susquehannock Trail PRO Rally.  They have
      since done their repairs, but are now chasing an
      elusive oil leak and have once again withdrawn from
      competition.

    - Bob Elliott and Mark Williams thought they would be
      here, but it turned out that Elliott's back-up
      Production class VW GTI was not as ready to race as he
      thought.  Elliott's primary car was damaged at Mount
      Washington's Climb to the Clouds.  On his first run up
      the mountain, Elliott suffered a slow roll!  The car
      was not so damaged that after being pushed back over
      onto its wheels, it couldn't run, and Elliott won his
      class there for the sixth straight year.  However, when
      he dusted off the back-up car, Elliott discovered that
      it, too, was not in shape to withstand a 118 mile run
      through the woods.

    - Also missing from the Production class will be the
      Honda Prelude entry of Greg and Sonia Trepetin who are
      staying at home this weekend to be with their family.
      Greg's mother is very ill, so they have chosen not to
      come to Maine.

                            # # #
Maine Forest Rally
Rumford, Maine
Round #6 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series
Press Notes #3
July 26, 1996, 12:30 PM

6.  A recent transfer from the divisional ranks to national
    is the former U2, now Production class Ford Escort entry
    of brothers Charlie and Hughie Langan, of Philadelphia,
    PA.  The pair had a good showing recently at STPR, moving
    up well into the competitive field.

7.  The Maine Forest Rally this year will feature two asphalt
    half-mile stages in downtown Rumford, mostly on property
    owned by the Boise Cascade Paper Company, but also
    hitting on the city streets.  "This will be really
    exciting for the spectators," said rally organizer John
    Buffum.  "It's something I've been working on for 3 or 4
    years, and finally we are going to be able to do it."
    Some of the special issues surrounding the holding of
    such a stage are the question of teams having to spend
    extra money to buy performance street tires, and the more
    important issues of traffic control and spectator safety.
    The former is being handling by preceding the stage with
    a Parc Ferme, where the cars will all be impounded and
    service is prohibited.  This means the cars will have to
    run on the same tires they used on the final stage in the
    woods.  And as for the traffic and spectator issues, that
    will be handled by the Rumford Police.  "I've been
    working closely with the Assistant Chief of Police,"
    explained Buffum.  "We walked the course and he was very
    pleased.  It will be up to him, for example, to make sure
    no one uses the drive-through at the Dunkin' Donuts."
    The rain this evening, though, could make this an even
    more exciting pair of stages!

8.  The big issue looming for tomorrow is the lake that has
    formed in the middle of special stages 9 and 11.  Really
    it's not a new body of water, but rather it's an
    extension of nearby Parmachenee Lake which has spilled
    over its banks and is flooding the road.  The section
    affecting the special stages is some 12-15 inches deep
    and extends for 100 yards.  "This makes the STPR water
    crossing look like a puddle," laughed John Buffum.
    Rallyists are being handed a bulletin which cautions,
    "The correct way to drive through it is to STOP before
    it, then procede at a constant 1-2 MPH (seriously this
    slowly) thru the water."

                            # # #

Maine Forest Rally
Rumford, Maine
Round #6 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series
Press Notes #4
July 26, 1996, 9:45 PM

       Maine Forest Rally - Results after Friday Night (4 Stages)

 CAR
 #    (DRIVER/CO-DRIVER)        CAR          SCORE      Class
                                           (min.1/100)

  1 Paul Choiniere/J Becker    Hyundai       13.85      Open
  3 Carl Merrill/J Bellefleur  Escort        14.09      Open
 15 Pat Ayer/Ray Cadieux       Quattro       14:56      Open
 18 Noel Lawler/C. Bradley     Galant        14.65      Open
 14 S Karamanoglu/Y Bitner     Eagle Talon   14.87      GT
  7 Cal Landau/Eric Marcus     Eclipse       15.23      GT
  8 Kreibich/Hendricksen       Quattro       15.27      Open
 22 Mike Whitman/Ben Bradley   Datsun 510    15:44      Group 2
 19 Krolikowski/Krolikowski    Dodge Shadow  15.62      Group 5
 11 J. Pizzagalli/Erick Hauge  VW GTI        15.68      Group 2
 21 Rick Davis/Ben Greisler    BMW M-3       15.86      Group 5
 23 G. Sweet/Stuart Spark      Saab 99EMS    15.98      Group 2
 31 Jim Anderson/Martin Depot  Honda Prelude 16.03      Prod.
 10 Mike Hurst/Rob Bohn        Porsche 911s  16.12      Group 5
 37 Jacek Kotowski/Dick Casey  Eagle Talon   16.13      GT
 24 Dave Peterson/John Golden  VW GTI        16.14      Group 2
 29 Kurt Thiel/George Anderson VW GTI        16.28      Group 2
 34 Leslie Suddard/Anne Thomas Dodge Charger 16.31      Group 5
 41 Chris Havas/Peter Watt     VW GTI        16.32      Group 2
 16 Ralph Kosmides/Joe Noyes   Supra         16:42      Group 5
 36 Pete Pollard/T.S. Pollard  VW GTI        16.43      Prod.
 28 Pete Lahm/Jimmy Brandt     Datsun 510    16.50      Group 2
 35 Dean Fry/Don Kennedy       Subaru Legacy 16.59      Open
 20 Frontinan/Cunningham       VW Corrado    16.64      Group 5
 30 Vanlandingham/Walden       Saab 96       16.64      Group 2
 96 Bruce Newey/Matt Chester   Toyota Celica 16.12      Group 5
 38 Curran/McGirl              Mustang       17.63      Group 5
 44 Langan/Langan              Ford Escort   18.44      Prod.
 40 Shirley/Russell            Triumph TR-8  18.94      Group 5
 42 Kreisler/Bonasera          Nissan 200SX  22.07      Group 2
 DNF
 39 Liebl/Binkley              Mazda RX-7  Rollover
 26 Hadjiminas/Burgess         Audi 90     Engine
 32 Healey/MacLeod             Dodge Ram   Engine
 DNS
  4 Sam Bryan/Rob Walden       Saab 900        Transmission
 43 Tim O'Neal                 Dodge Shadow    No co-driver
 33 Tom Ottey/Pam McGarvey     Hyundai Elant.  Engine
 25 Bob Elliott/Mark Williams  VW GTI          Repairs incomplete

                                 # # #
Maine Forest Rally
Rumford, Maine
Round #6 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series
Press Notes #5
July 26, 1996, 9:00 PM

9.  Tim O'Neal was entered in the national but without a co-
    driver.  The hours before the close of registration were
    spent interviewing and searching, but at the last minute
    he pulled out of the rally.  Expectations, though, are
    that when registration for the Boise Cascade Divisional
    opens tomorrow, O'Neal will be first in line with Walt
    Stone as his co-driver.

10. The SAAB 900 Turbo of Sam Bryan/Rob Walden will not start
    the rally.  During the afternoon, it became apparent that
    there was trouble in the gearbox.  A closer investigation
    revealed that a tooth had broken off the final drive gear
    in the X-Trac gearbox.  The car was brought to Parc
    Expose in downtown Rumford to be shown off to the fans,
    but it did not leave at its appointed minute.

11. 33 cars left the downtown area headed for the logging
    roads just north of town.  The withdrawal of Sam Bryan's
    SAAB 900 left Rob Walden available to act as co-driver
    for John Vanlandingham in his 1969 SAAB 96.  Up until
    then, it had looked as if Vanlandingham would spend
    another rally on the sidelines (he had gone to STPR in
    June without a co-driver and unfortunately, the rally
    started without him.)  Bryan, although disappointed for
    himself, was at least philosophical about his co-driver's
    contribution to allowing another SAAB to run.

12. Out of the rally on the first stage were the Mazda RX-7
    of David Liebl and L. Ed Binkley which went off the
    course and rolled.  Also left on the sidelines was the
    Audi 90 Quattro of Sakis Hadjiminas and Tom Burgess who
    lost their engine.

13. Already a second engine has let go.  Greg Healey and John
    MacLeod finished the first two stages in their Dodge Ram
    50 Pick-up, but Healey claimed he was low on power during
    the first and almost dead in the water on the second, and
    by the time they got back to town, the engine was gone.
                            # # #
Maine Forest Rally
Rumford, Maine
Round #6 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series
Press Notes #6
July 26, 1996, 9:00 PM

14. The remaining 30 cars appeared in Parc Ferme back in
    downtown Rumford to prepare for the two asphalt stages.
    Most competitors commented on how slippery the first two
    stages had been.  The rain which ended during the
    afternoon had left the roads damp, but not muddy.
    However, each car that went through tossed more dirt off
    to the side and more and bigger rocks and even boulders
    were being exposed as the stages went on.  Several of the
    competitors were seen checking under the cars for damage.

15. Carl Merrill pulled into Parc Ferme and immediately
    lifted the hood.  What he found was a huge smear of oil
    on the underside of the hood, all over the engine, and
    dripping down the front bumper.  What he didn't find was
    an oil cap!  Paper towels took care of most of the
    overflow, but this was Parc Ferme and he could not do
    repairs.  According to co-driver, John Bellefleur, they
    had been smelling burning oil since the end of the second
    stage.  Neither knew how much oil had been lost or if
    there was any damage to the engine.

16. Bruce Newey came into Parc Ferme quite late.  Reports
    from other drivers were that he was overheating and that
    he had gone off and hit something.  When he finally
    arrived, he admitted that he had broken a strut.  But
    again, it was Parc Ferme.  Newey drove the last two
    asphalt stages with broken equipment, but still posted
    some mid-field times.  Overnight, the car will be
    repaired.

17. The crowd in the downtown area stood through heavy
    downpours to watch the PRO rally cars finish up their
    final stages of the Friday portion of the rally.  Just
    before the flying finish the cars had to pass through a
    90 degree right hand turn followed immediately by a 90
    degree left hand turn.  Many of the competitors thrilled
    the spectators by sliding sideways on the city streets.

                            # # #
Maine Forest Rally
Rumford, Maine
Round #6 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series
Press Notes #7
July 26, 1996, 11:30 PM

18. Quickest on the two special asphalt stages tonight was
    Noel Lawlor and Charles Bradley in a Mitsubishi Galant.
    Lawlor has abundant road racing experience, having
    competed last year in IMSA's Supercar series.  He also
    credits his early rally experience in Ireland, where
    rallying is done on pavement, with teaching him the fast
    way around on asphalt.

19. 24 hundredths seems to be the number of the evening, as
    the leaders are separated by that amount in three of the
    five classes.  Paul Choiniere/Jeff Becker's 1996 Open
    class Hyundai Elantra is leading the rally overall,
    having won the first two stages and posting second and
    third fastest times through the downtown stages.  Carl
    Merrill and John Bellefleur are just 24 hundredths behind
    going into the long stages tomorrow.  In the Production
    GT class, Selcuk Karamanoglu/Yorgi Bitner lead Cal
    Landau/Eric Marcus by 0.36 seconds.  Group 2 has Mike
    Whitman and Ben Bradley besting John Pizzigalli and Erick
    Hauge by 0.24 seconds, and Group 5 leaders Henry and
    Cindy Krolikowski are 0.24 seconds faster than Rick Davis
    and Ben Greisler.  And in the sparsely entered Production
    class Jim Anderson and Martin Depot are ahead of Pete
    Pollard and Tracey Smith-Pollard.  Their margin is 0.4
    seconds, but within that small gap are 8 other
    competitors.
Maine Forest Rally
Rumford, Maine
Round #6 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series
Press Notes #8
July 27, 1996, 10:00 AM

21.  More details on the Sakis Hajiminas DNF.  The car, which
     had a new Audi V-6 twin turbo motor which was rated at
     more than 350 horsepower, did not lose its engine, but
     hit a piece of wood on stage #1.  The oil cooler bent,
     severing the oil return line and draining the engine.
     Sakis doesn't think there is any engine damage, however.

22.  Carl Meriill's Ford Escort Cosworth seems to have
     suffered no damage from the "oil cap" incident on
     Friday, with the crew finding the cap wedged on top of
     the skid plate.  Merrill was so focused on getting good
     times that he even forgot the place on stage #2 where he
     stuffed his car two years ago, claiming he "didn't even
     remember where it was until I was through it."

23.  Tim O'Neal, entering the divisional rally this morning
     with co-driver Walter Stone, still has his sights set on
     running FIA World Championship rally some day.  O'Neal
     said he has marketing people working on a sponsorship
     package that will hopefully put him in a seat in the
     next year or two.

24.  The Vinnie Frontinan/Frank Cunningham VW Corrado
     completed its first day of rallying, but Vinnie will be
     wheeling the car around today with a bent rear axle as
     the result of a rock in the apex of a turn on stage #1.
     He said he thinks the car has enough power to be
     competitive in Group 5, but the fact that it is so light
     in the rear requires a different driving technique than
     Vinnie's old Toyota Celica.

25.  The Cal Landau/Eric Marcus Domino's Pizza Mitsubishi
     Eclipse is running well despite the fact that the turbo
     boost was set on the "low" position by mistake.  Also,
     Landau reported that last night after stage #4, series
     steward Tom Grimshaw checked all three leading
     Production GT Eclipse/Talon gearboxes, and found all
     three to be "identical," so all three competitors were
     ruled legal.  At a recent Canadian event, Selcuk
     Karamanoglu's engine was ruled illegal for Production GT
     as the mass flow sensor on the intake - used as part of
     the HKS Turbo system - had to be modified.

26.  The Group 2 leaders Mike Whitman/Ben Bradley in a Datsun
     510, looking for their second straight win on Eastern
     soil, took over the points lead last month at STPR, and
     looking for a victory here to vault them into a
     championship position.  Whitman would like to run with
     the overall leaders in a 4WD turbo if he can work out
     the money arrangements for 1997.

27.  Running his first U.S. rally since 1992, Noel Lawler
     has found that the hardest part of shaking off the
     layoff is concentration and commitment to the course for
     every moment he is driving.  The Mitsubishi Galant he is
     driving has been prepared by Vermont Sports Car and
     features a Group A-style transmission, but the motor is
     stock, so Noel is a little down on horsepower to run
     with the other Open class cars.

28.  Group 5 leaders Henry and Cindy Krolikowski said the
     Maine course - it's their first time here - reminds them
     of the Lake Superior PRO Rally in Michgan, rough and
     challenging.  They are looking for their third Group 5
     win, having swept the field at STPR and South Carolina.

29.  Leslie Suddard/Anne Thomas in their Dodge Charge
     suffered exhaust problems yesterday, separating the
     exhaust from the header pipe during the early part of
     stage #1.  Right near the end of stage #2, the pipe fell
     off the car, and Leslie had to run (on foot) back up the
     stage to recover the part.

30.  The John Shirley/Kendall Russell Triumph TR-8, a winner
     in the 1978 Canadian national rally championship, is
     running much better than its debut in South Carolina in
     March, where the car overheated almost before it got a
     chance to run.

                            # # #
Maine Forest Rally
Rumford, Maine
Round #6 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series
Press Notes #9
July 26, 1996, 2:45 PM

       Maine Forest Rally - Results after Sat./2nd Service (8 stages)

 CAR
 #    (DRIVER/CO-DRIVER)        CAR          SCORE      Class
                                           (min.1/100)

  1 Paul Choiniere/J Becker    Hyundai       44.74      Open
  3 Carl Merrill/J Bellefleur  Escort        45.26      Open
 18 Noel Lawler/C. Bradley     Galant        47.11      Open
 14 S Karamanoglu/Y Bitner     Eagle Talon   47.80      GT
  8 Kreibich/Hendricksen       Quattro       48.56      Open
  7 Cal Landau/Eric Marcus     Eclipse       49.21      GT
 19 Krolikowski/Krolikowski    Dodge Shadow  49.93      Group 5
 22 Mike Whitman/Ben Bradley   Datsun 510    50.21      Group 2
 10 Mike Hurst/Rob Bohn        Porsche 911s  51.23      Group 5
 11 J. Pizzagalli/Erick Hauge  VW GTI        51.33      Group 2
 36 Pete Pollard/T.S. Pollard  VW GTI        51.53      Prod.
 31 Jim Anderson/Martin Depot  Honda Prelude 51.53      Prod.
 37 Jacek Kotowski/Dick Casey  Eagle Talon   51.62      GT
 23 G. Sweet/Stuart Spark      Saab 99EMS    51.62      Group 2
 41 Chris Havas/Peter Watt     VW GTI        51.74      Group 2
 28 Pete Lahm/Jimmy Brandt     Datsun 510    51.83      Group 2
 21 Rick Davis/Ben Greisler    BMW M-3       51.86      Group 5
 24 Dave Peterson/John Golden  VW GTI        51.89      Group 2
 16 Ralph Kosmides/Joe Noyes   Supra         51.90      Group 5
 29 Kurt Thiel/George Anderson VW GTI        51.99      Group 2
 34 Leslie Suddard/Anne Thomas Dodge Charger 52.25      Group 5
 30 Vanlandingham/Walden       Saab 96       53.33      Group 2
 35 Dean Fry/Don Kennedy       Subaru Legacy 53.99      Open
 20 Frontinan/Cunningham       VW Corrado    54.35      Group 5
 38 Curran/McGirl              Mustang       56.46      Group 5
 44 Langan/Langan              Ford Escort   57.16      Prod.
 96 Bruce Newey/Matt Chester   Toyota Celica 57.24      Group 5
 42 Kreisler/Bonasera          Nissan 200SX  61.94      Group 2
 DNF
 39 Liebl/Binkley              Mazda RX-7  Rollover
 26 Hadjiminas/Burgess         Audi 90     Engine
 32 Healey/MacLeod             Dodge Ram   Engine
 15 Pat Ayer/Ray Cadieux       Quattro     Crash
 40 Shirley/Russell            Triumph TR8 Radiator cap/cooling

 DNS
  4 Sam Bryan/Rob Walden       Saab 900        Transmission
 43 Tim O'Neal                 Dodge Shadow    No co-driver
 33 Tom Ottey/Pam McGarvey     Hyundai Elant.  Engine
 25 Bob Elliott/Mark Williams  VW GTI          Repairs incomplete

                                 # # #
Maine Forest Rally
Rumford, Maine
Round #6 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series
Press Notes #10
July 27, 1996, 3:00 PM

31.  At the stage #8 service in Oquossoc, the Carl
     Merrill/John Bellefleur Ford Escort Cosworth found
     itself 29 seconds behind the Paul Choiniere/Jeff Becker
     Hyundai, but Carl was enthusiastic about how the car was
     running.  He felt he could catch Paul if he did a little
     better job driving the car.

32.  Production GT leader Selcuk Karamanoglu feels that his
     car is slower after the change in the HKS system.

33.  The Sam Bryan Saab team might be non-competitors after
     the DNS yesterday, but that doesn't mean the team is not
     involved in the event.  Sam is driving the service van
     for Group 2 competitor Dave Peterson, while Rob Walden
     stepped in to co-drive for John Vanlandingham in the
     Group 2 Saab 96.  The two service crew members are also
     helping out with other cars.  Bryan's Saab 900 turbo
     will go to T.A.D. Motorsports in Chicago for its X-trac
     transmission repair before the next rally in Minnesota.

34.  The Gerry Sweet/Stuart Spark Saab 99EMS is running here
     this weekend with a new transmission - a close ratio
     five-speed dogbox which was used by Sam Bryan in last
     year's Group 2 championship run.  Sweet said that close
     ratios require more shifting, but the 20 year-old
     transmission seems to be doing its job.  The team is
     about one minute off the Group 2 lead.

35.  The Bruno Kreibich/Rod Hendricksen Audi Quattro is
     Bruno's hillclimb car which he rolled three weeks ago at
     the Mt. Washington event (his regular 1983 Audi Quattro
     is for sale).  The hillclimb car has more horsepower at
     5,000 RPM, but Bruno has had to adjust his driving style
     to make sure he is in the right gear when the horsepower
     kicks in.  Bruno is fifth after 8 stages.

36.  More exhaust problems for the Leslie Suddard/Anne Thomas
     Dodge Charger.  Rock hammered the repair system shut on
     the very first stage on Saturday, leaving the only woman
     driver in the event with no turbo boost.  Finally, the
     pipe was dragging after Leslie loosened the clamp, but
     couldn't get the pipe off, but the road surface did the
     rest, and the team lost the pipe in the woods.

37.  Paul Choiniere, with a 29-second lead, has been putting
     a couple of seconds on Merrill on each stages, and feels
     that - all things remaining the same - that he will
     continue to drive conservatively rather than taking
     chances to try to build a big lead.  Choiniere said he
     is now comfortable with the '96 chassis as it is a
     little stiffer than last year's car.  He said the big
     adjustment was from the Audi Quattro - which he had
     driven since 1989 - and any car he would have switched
     to.  Everything was instinctive on the Audi, while he
     has had to learn how the Hyundai reacts in different
     situations.  According to Choiniere, you can learn 90
     percent of what a car can do fairly easily, but it's the
     last 10 percent that requires time and experience.

38.  Former national champion co-driver Erick Hauge - now co-
     driving for Jon Pizzagalli in the Group 2 VW GTI - is
     back on the circuit after a couple of years away, and
     points out that the co-driver has to take some time to
     regain his skills just like an idle driver might.  He
     said that he and Jon are still learning to communicate
     well, but they feel increasingly comfortable with each
     other.  Pizzagalli was second in class after stage #8.

39.  The Kurt Thiel/George Thompson VW GTI hit a rock on
     stage five and bent an axle, but was replacing it at
     service after stage #8.

40.  The Vinnie Frontinan/Frank Cunningham VW Corrado lost
     a wheel on stage #5 after loose lug nuts caused the
     wheel to rip off the hub.  The team affected repairs,
     but lost four minutes to the field on the stage.

41.  The Rick Davis/Ben Greisler BMW M-3 was running stage
     for stage with the Group 5 leaders before a flat tire on
     stage #7 set them back several minutes.

42.  The Production class leaders Jim Anderson/Martin Depot
     lost their left front shock as it collapsed completed
     during stage #7.  The team, with help from Greg Healey
     and Sam Bryan's crew, put stock shocks on the front to
     replace the aftermarket ones that broke, but the car
     DNFed on the transit going to stage 9.

43.  The Triumph TR-8 is a DNF, having lost its radiator cap
     on stage 5 and lost all its coolant.

44.  The Ralph Kosmides/Joe Noyes Toyota Supra Group 5 team
     has shaken off the effects of the off-road shunt that
     caused its DNF last month in Pennsylvania, and is headed
     for a top four finish in Group 5.  The had to replace a
     leakly oil cooler which was struck by a rock, but seem
     to be running on target.  Kosmides currently leads the
     Group 5 points over rally leader Henry Krolikowski.

                            # # #
Maine Forest Rally
Rumford, Maine
Round #6 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series
Press Notes #11
July 27, 1996, 8:00 PM

45.  The last two stages of the Maine Forest PRO Rally and
     the surprise finish are some of the most bizarre turn of
     events this reporter has seen in the six years he has
     covered the PRO Rally series.  Here is the sequence of
     events involving the top five competitors from the end
     of stage #10 until the end of the rally on stage #12:

46.  Third place-runners Noel Lawler/Charles Bradley in their
     Open class Mitsubishi Galant were running third when
     their turbo let go on stage #9, causing a DNF.

47.  The Choiniere/Becker Hyundai Elantra came into service
     after stage #10 with a broken transmission case - with
     all four bolts stripped.  The car started making noise
     on stage #9, and wouldn't get into gear after stage #10.
     After pushing the car out of the control zone after
     stage #10, Choiniere got a tow from Selcuk into service.

     The Libra Racing crew removed the stripped bolts - no
     easy task - and got one bolt in to hold the case
     together when the car left service to go to stage #11 -
     dripping fluid and coughing all the way.  The crew was
     not optimistic about the car finishing the rally, and
     Choiniere thought - if he drove conservatively - he
     could salvage a second or third place if he could limp
     to the finish.

     After 10 stages, Choiniere had a 1:04 lead over
     Merrill/Bellefleur.

48.  On stage #11, Merrill blew by Choiniere on the early
     part of the stage (thus making up a full minute on him),
     and was on his way to victory over the ailing Hyundai
     when Merrill's turbo let go four miles from the end of
     the stage.  Carl lost all his power, and some of the
     lead he had built up on Paul.  On stage #12, Choiniere
     decided that, if could push just a bit, he could
     catch the wounded Escort and win the event - although
     pushing it could cause a DNF.

     The gamble paid off as the two failing Open class cars
     came down the mountain.  Choiniere passed Merrill midway
     through #12, regaining the lead, and then third-place
     finisher Karamanoglu passed both Paul and Carl to close
     the gap.  Even Bruno Kreibich - the fourth place car,
     caught Paul and Carl at the end.

50.  With his victory, Choiniere now has 90 points in the
     overall championship battle, with Merrill earning 74
     points and Karamanoglu 72 - after six of 11 events
     completed.

51.  Other class winners included Karamanoglu and Bittner in
     Production GT; Krolikowski/Krolikowski in Group 5;
     Whitman/Bradley in Group 2; and Pollard/Pollard in
     Production.  More details to come.

                            # # #
Maine Forest Rally
Rumford, Maine
Round #6 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series
Press Notes #12
July 27, 1996, 11:45 PM

       Maine Forest Rally - Preliminary National Results

 CAR
 #    (DRIVER/CO-DRIVER)        CAR          SCORE      Class
                                          (min.1/100)

  1 Paul Choiniere/J Becker    Hyundai       115.53     Open
  3 Carl Merrill/J Bellefleur  Escort        116.89     Open
 14 S Karamanoglu/Y Bitner     Eagle Talon   117.24     GT
  8 Kreibich/Hendricksen       Quattro       199.50     Open
  7 Cal Landau/Eric Marcus     Eclipse       120.59     GT
 19 Krolikowski/Krolikowski    Dodge Shadow  122.82     Group 5
 22 Mike Whitman/Ben Bradley   Datsun 510    123.50     Group 2
 11 J. Pizzagalli/Erick Hauge  VW GTI        125.35     Group 2
 24 Dave Peterson/John Golden  VW GTI        126.37     Group 2
 10 Mike Hurst/Rob Bohn        Porsche 911s  126.72     Group 5
 23 G. Sweet/Stuart Spark      Saab 99EMS    126.95     Group 2
 36 Pete Pollard/T.S. Pollard  VW GTI        127.04     Prod.
 16 Ralph Kosmides/Joe Noyes   Supra         127.08     Group 5
 21 Rick Davis/Ben Greisler    BMW M-3       127.11     Group 5
 41 Chris Havas/Peter Watt     VW GTI        127.14     Group 2
 29 Kurt Thiel/George Anderson VW GTI        127.48     Group 2
 28 Pete Lahm/Jimmy Brandt     Datsun 510    127.90     Group 2
 30 Vanlandingham/Walden       Saab 96       129.31     Group 2
 20 Frontinan/Cunningham       VW Corrado    130.64     Group 5
 35 Dean Fry/Don Kennedy       Subaru Legacy 134.05     Open
 38 Curran/McGirl              Mustang       135:31     Group 5
 44 Langan/Langan              Ford Escort   138.34     Prod.
 42 Kreisler/Bonasera          Nissan 200SX  148.97     Group 2

 DNF
 39 Liebl/Binkley              Mazda RX-7  Rollover
 26 Hadjiminas/Burgess         Audi 90     Engine
 32 Healey/MacLeod             Dodge Ram   Engine
 15 Pat Ayer/Ray Cadieux       Quattro     Flat tire/crash
 40 Shirley/Russell            Triumph TR8 Radiator cap/cooling
 18 Noel Lawler/C. Bradley     Galant      Turbo
 31 Jim Anderson/Martin Depot  Honda Prelude Strut
 96 Bruce Newey/Matt Chester   Toyota Celica Overheated
 37 Jacek Kotowski/Dick Casey  Eagle Talon
 34 Leslie Suddard/Anne Thomas Dodge Charger

 DNS
  4 Sam Bryan/Rob Walden       Saab 900        Transmission
 43 Tim O'Neal                 Dodge Shadow    No co-driver
 33 Tom Ottey/Pam McGarvey     Hyundai Elant.  Engine
 25 Bob Elliott/Mark Williams  VW GTI          Repairs incomplete
Maine Forest Rally
Rumford, Maine
Round #6 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series
Press Notes #13
July 30, 1996, 10:00 AM

52.  Some post-event items:

     --For those of you who collect a whole set of press
       notes, there is no note #20.

     --The Lesley Suddard/Anne Thomas Dodge Charger, after
       its exhaust problems, had to retire after a faulty
       fuse disabled the cooling fan and caused the car to
       overheat.  Suddard thinks the fuse box got wet during
       the "portage" through the lake.

     --Two of the finishing Group 5 cars limped to the end,
       with the Davis/Greisler BMW M-3 suffering fuel pump
       problems and the Hurst/Bohn Porsche 911S losing its
       clutch cable.

     --The Jacek Katowksi/Dick Casey Eagle Talon lost a wheel
       on stage #9, and was a DNF.

53.  The Choiniere/Becker Hyundai transmission was in such
     bad shape that the crew had to push the car onto the
     trailer after the rally - it would not go into first
     gear.

54.  This was the first time since Press On Regardless/1994
     that the rally lead has changed on the last stage.  At
     that POR event, John Buffum was driving Choiniere's car
     when a wheel came off on the next-to-last stage,
     allowing the Eagle Talon of Doug Shepherd to take the
     lead with one stage remaining.  Shepherd then lost his
     transmission, and Buffum passed him for the win.

55.  The Maine Forest Rally TV show, 30 minutes in length, is
     being produced by Replica Productions, of Cambridge,
     Mass.  The producer's name is Doug Plumer, and his phone
     number is (617) 492-7444.  The show will run first on
     SportsChannel New England on the following dates:

     August 8,  11:00 PM
     August 10, 11:30 PM
     August 17,  8:30 PM
     August 27,  noon

     Call your local cable operator to find out when the
     SportsChannel affiliate in your area will run the show.


Maine Forest 1996