NEWRY, ME -- Fans expect a fast and fiercely competitive Round 5 of the Rally America Championship this weekend, as top drivers vie for a last-chance invitation to this summer’s X Games rally in Los Angeles.

The rocky Maine Forest Rally serves as a qualifier for the two remaining X Games starting spots. Among the 60 drivers taking to the start are several contenders, including Thomas Lawless and Andrew Comrie-Picard -- who finished in the one-two position in 2004. Also expected to challenge for a qualifying position are Canadian Antoine L’Estage and Seamus Burke.

Now in its 12th year, the rally offers plenty of technical demands for competitors as they howl through the picturesque forest. It covers a range of medium-fast two-lane gravel logging roads to narrow and twisty one and a half lane trails.

In a move that is expected to increase speeds in the contest, organizers have taken the unusual step of including reconnaissance for 2006. Teams will make a single pass of the course ahead of the race to refine their route notes.

Although he is no longer a series regular, eight-time U.S. champion Paul Choiniere is always considered a favorite for the win at this, his home event. He was leading last year when mechanical trouble forced him out of the race. He is among those drivers already selected to compete at the X Games.

Although Rally America had originally expected that only one driver would qualify into the games at this rally, the selection committee opted to open another spot. Two other X Games drivers – Andrew Pinker and Lauchlin O’Sullivan – qualified at the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally last month.

The X Games Rally in Los Angeles will see a host of top talent including WRC veteran Colin McRae, motocross superstar turned Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana, and 2005 Rally America champion Pat Richard.

The annual X Games is the premier action sports event in the world, featuring athletes from across the globe competing for medals and prize money in sports including BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard, Surfing and Rally. X Games 12 will be telecast live on ESPN and ABC.

The Rally America national championship is a challenging, all-season series comprised of nine events across the country, beginning with Sno*Drift in January and wrapping up 12 months later with the Reno Rally in Reno, Nevada.

Rally America, a Minneapolis, MN, based corporation, holds the sanctioning and marketing rights to the Rally America Championship. The company was founded in 2002 by rally driver and CPD Rally Team owner Doug Havir.