| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 18, 2006 |
Contact: Andy Schupack Phone: 401-739-5677 E-mail: as@kgpr.com Website: www.stpr.org |
--This year’s STPR event, set for June 2-3, 2006, will be the 30th running of this classic – a consecutive streak not matched by NASCAR, sprint car or any other type of racing in Pennsylvania. Highlights for this event include the second appearance of extreme motocross champion Travis Pastrana, fresh off his first rally win, series leader Ken Block, owner of DC Shoes, and a chance to qualify for ESPN’s X Games 12 – the first time motorsports has been part of the X Games.
WELLSBORO, PA -- A mixture of tradition and first-time experiences will greet the more than 60 race cars expected to enter next month’s Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally, round four of the 2006 Rally America Championship, scheduled for the first weekend in June in this historical north central Pennsylvania town.
For rally fans, this is the rally which has featured all the greats over its 30 years. John Buffum, America’s first world rally star and now a consultant to the Subaru Rally team, won this event six times. New Zealander Rod Millen, Buffum’s great rival who son Rhys is now a world-class drifting champion, won it four times. Last year’s winner, Paul Choiniere – Buffum’s step-son – has won STPR a record seven times.
Pastrana and ESPN
But for most fans, however, the big news for STPR and performance rally in 2006 is Travis Pastrana and ESPN X Games 12. Pastrana, the 22 year-old extreme motocross champion from Davidsonville, Maryland, has made the transition from bikes to rally cars quite successfully, winning his first professional rally in his Subaru WRX just three weeks ago in California.
The ESPN television network, as part of its 12th annual X Games, has decided to include performance rally in its program, and STPR will be an important event in choosing 12 competitors and three alternates for the Los Angeles event in August. After a board of rally experts chooses the top entries, several positions for the ESPN field will be determined by the finishing positions at STPR. Organizer Meridith Croucher thinks this is an important step for the sport.
“Although rally is the most popular form of racing in the world – with more fans than Formula One, NASCAR, or Indy car – the two largest boosts for this sport in the U.S. may well come from the video screen. The first was Sony Playstation’s realistic rally games which helped attract many of the young fans and participants we have today. The second will be the millions of exposures we will get later this summer in the ESPN X Games,” said Ms. Croucher, who is leading the rally for a second year.
What is Performance Rally?
The STPR Performance Rally is a form of auto racing in which the cars race against the clock, one at-a-time, on closed public roads of the Pennsylvania State Forest, at times bordering on the famous “Grand Canyon of the East” near Wellsboro. Each car has a driver, plus a co-driver, or navigator, who reads from a route book and barks out instructions while the driver is negotiating the course at high speed. The teams compete on ten different roads – or stages – covering 125 miles of racing over a 14 hour period, with the team having the fastest time over the whole course winning the event. The excitement of two and four-wheel-drive cars traveling on gravel roads at more than 100 miles-per-hour – especially on a blind course where no practice has been allowed – is exciting both for spectators and competitors.
The drivers meet their crew every couple of stages for service on the cars, and drivers must obey all local traffic regulations when their cars are not actually driving on the closed stage road. Unlike traditional racetrack driving, where repetition on the same course can lead to the “best line” or “best setup” for each corner, rally drivers must react to blind conditions at racetrack speed.
Sanctioning Body in Second Year
One of the most significant changes in last year’s STPR event was the change in sanctioning body – the national organization that enforces the rules and administrates the championship. The Sports Car Club of America, which founded the national rally series and had run it since 1972, decided to drop the series at the end of 2004, and two different race organizations have picked up the slack. The STPR organizing committee, Finger Lakes STPR Motorsports, LLC, based in both Rochester, NY and Wellsboro – formed last winter after the Finger Lakes Region of the SCCA could no longer lend support to the event, chose Rally America, a Minneapolis-based group which maintains a national championship, enforces the rules, and insures the rally. For 2006 Rally America has rolled out a nine-event series, with STPR being the fourth event.
Event Schedule
For 2006, STPR is Round #4 of the Rally America Championship, with festivities getting underway on Friday afternoon, June 3, with the 16th annual Wellsboro Charity Rally to benefit the local chapter of the American Cancer Society. This charity rally, which involves normal street cars going at legal speeds on public roads, is open to the public, and requires a driver and a navigator to participate. Those who can maintain a steady pace and follow directions closely can win prizes and help raise money to help cure cancer. For details, log onto www.stpr.org.
The main performance rally, sponsored by Citizens & Northern Bank, Mid-Atlantic Subaru, the Wellsboro Chamber of Commerce, the citizens of Wellsboro, and in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry, gets underway at 10:15 AM on Saturday, June 3, from the Wellsboro town Green. The cars will proceed to the first stage, and then, later that morning, to the most famous part of the STPR event, known as the Stony Fork creek crossing, where the finish line is in the middle of a creek where the cars enter at high speed. More than 3,000 spectators are expected to gather there. Traditionally the first stage of the event, the water crossing has been moved to 2:00 PM – details will be released when the stage schedule is made public at the event.
The cars come back to the town green mid-afternoon for service, with fans getting a close-up view of everything from emergency bodywork to an engine or transmission change.
Other spectator areas around the course will be included along with spectator directions made available during rally week in Wellsboro, with information headquarters being the Wellsboro Chamber of Commerce. Admission to all areas of STPR activity is free to the public.
This year, all tech inspection and the competitor parties will be held at the Wellsboro Johnston Airport just outside of town. The after-event breakfast will be catered by the Grand Canyon Pilot’s Association.
All the rally events, including the pre- and post-rally parties at the Wellsboro Johnston Airport, will be alcohol-free to help encourage the local “don’t drink and drive” campaign. As always, there is no alcohol allowed at the spectator areas or anywhere in the Pennsylvania State Forest.
Also, within the STPR main event, there will be two shorter rallies – known as Regional Rally events – for those less experienced or those not seeking national points. The first one, which runs only during the daylight hours with stages 1 – 4, is called the Sherwood Forest Regional Rally, named in honor of the former Pennsylvania State Forest area District forester, Jack Sherwood. The second regional rally, which incorporates stages 5 – 10, is the Finger Lakes Regional Rally.
The Wellsboro Chamber of Commerce, reports STPR provides a significant infusion of visitors to the area, and event sponsor Citizens & Northern bank estimates the event puts more than $2.5 million into the local economy.
Late-breaking rally information can be heard on KC101 FM in the Wellsboro area.
The Competitors
Although the entry list will not be complete for several weeks, Subaru’s factory-supported drivers Block and Pastrana (mentioned above) will have stiff competition, including leading Mitsubishi Evo 8 competitor Seamus Burke and last month’s Oregon Trail winner Andrew Pinker from Perth, Australia in a Subaru.
For those who have followed rally from the beginning of the sport in the U.S., be heartened by the fact that Doug Shepherd, a Daimler-Chrysler engineer who has won national championships both as a driver and co-driver, is back for 2006 in a Dodge Neon SRT4 with follow engineer and long-time co-driver Pete Gladysz.
The latest entry list is available at http://www.rally-america.com/event.susquehannock2006.php?section=entry_list/
For more information:
| Thursday, June 1, 2006 | |
| 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM | Registration for competitors, officials, service crews, and Scrutineers - The Wellsboro Johnston Airport in Wellsboro (west of town on Rt. 302). |
| Friday, June 2, 2006 | |
| 9:00 AM - Noon; 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM |
Competitor Registration (at least one of the team must register by Noon) - Grand Canyon Airport |
| 9:00 AM - Noon; 3:00 PM - 8:00 PM |
Service Crew and Volunteer Registration (Note: No Registration on Saturday) - Grand Canyon Airport |
| 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM | Media Registration - the Green Room at the Penn Wells Hotel in Wellsboro |
| 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM; 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM |
Scrutineering for all cars - Wellsboro Johnston Airport Rt. 660 West/4 miles (by appointment from Registration only) |
| Noon - 2:30 PM | Charity TSD Rally Registration by the American Cancer Society - Wellsboro Johnston Airport |
| 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM | Practice Stage - Competitors only/tech must be completed (no spectators) |
| 3:00 PM - 6:30 PM | Rally for American Cancer Society - Wellsboro Chamber of Commerce, 114 Main Street (on the Green) |
| 9:00 PM - 11:00 PM | Wellsboro Welcome Party - Wellsboro Johnston Airport Rt. 660 West/4 miles (no alcohol; no smoking) |
| Saturday, June 3, 2006 | |
| 9:00 AM | Parc Exposé (lineup of cars) around the Wellsboro Green |
| 10:00 AM | Parc Fermé (all cars must be in place) around the Green - Mandatory Rally America drivers meeting |
| 10:16 AM | Start of STPR and Sherwood Forest Regional Rally from the Green |
| 2:00 PM | First car arrives at Stoney Fork Water Crossing Spectator Area |
| 2:45 PM | First rally car returns to the Green for service/dinner break - cars on display; tech for second regional rally behind court house starting at 2:15 PM |
| 5:01 PM | Start of evening section of STPR and Finger Lakes Regional Rally from the Green |
| 11:45 PM | First car finishes STPR - Wellsboro Johnston Airport |
| Sunday, June 4, 2006 | |
| 2:00 AM | Awards Presentation and Breakfast - Wellsboro Johnston Airport |