Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 1, 2009
  Contact: Ananda Siverts
Marketing Director
Rally America
Phone: 206-302-8289
E-mail: ananda@rally-america.com
Website: www.rally-america.com

Production WRC Driver, Patrik Sandell, Contests STPR

Glen Cove, NY — Swedish World Rally drivers Patrik Sandell and Emil Axelsson will partner with NCRALLY and North Coast Subaru on June 5th and 6th for a title run in the highly competitive Susquehannock Trail Pro Rally (STPR)® in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. A top finish on the slick Susquehannock course, in a field including notables like Travis Pastrana, Ken Block, Andrew Comrie-Picard and Tanner Foust, would firmly establish them as among the best in World Rally.

NCRALLY’s manager, Otis Dimiters, predicts good things for the duo. "We’re fully confident that Sandell and Axelsson will place in the top of the pack. Sandell is a technical expert with an impressive record. He’s already won two consecutive Production World Rallies in 2009 and he was the Junior World Rally Champion in 2006. The STPR is an extremely demanding event and NCRALLY would only consider putting the most skillful drivers out there. We’re 100% behind these two."

Patrik Sandell follows fellow Production WRC driver Niall McShea in trying his hand at a Rally America sanctioned event. In July 2008, McShea won the New England Forest Rally and received an invitation to drive in X Games 14.

For Sandell to match McShea’s success, he will have to overcome the dominant Subaru Rally Team-USA of Travis Pastrana and Ken Block. The Rockstar Energy Drink Rally Team has also had a successful first half of the season with their Mitsubishi Evolution X and is expected to be fast at STPR. Patrik will face more international competition from Polish driver, Andi Mancin, who is quickly gaining speed in the Series and took third at the Oregon Trail Rally.

Andrew Comrie-Picard expects Sandell to be a force at STPR. "Patrick has shown the ability to adapt and should be instantly quick in the NCRally car," reports Andrew, "It will be exciting to see such a high-level driver here and test ourselves against him."

NCRALLY, the performance division of North Coast Subaru, builds and preps rally cars for its team drivers who compete annually in three major US Rally Championship series - Rally America, NASA and USRC. Graham Wilcock, formerly of Prodrive, and currently with Autosport Engineering and Ryan Lenger of Lenger Racing are credited with lending their support and innovative ideas to the NCRALLY team. "Forging these relationships," Mr. Dimiters says, "has given our drivers the competitive edge."

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