FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | April 20, 1981 |
OLYMPIA, Washington -- Rod Millen, teamed with navigator Bob Kraushaar, topped possibly the strongest SCCA PRO Rally field ever by three minutes to take the Olympus round of the Sports Car Club of America's PRO Rally Series. Millen's Mazda came in ahead of two other FIA drivers and five "Seed One" drivers, who were piloting a variety of factory-backed Toyotas, Audis, Peugeots, Mazdas and Datsuns. Millen used 30 tires on the dry fast, super abrasive Washington State gravel roads to stay ahead of the competition.
Taisto Heinonen, who won the Nor'Wester PRO Rally two weeks ago, was second in a Toyota Corolla with Tom Burgess co-driving. Heinonen led the first third of the rally before Millen took command. The third FIA driver in the top three was perennial SCCA PRO Rally champion John Buffum, who, with navigator Doug Shepherd, was 30 seconds behind Heinonen in their debut of the front-wheel drive Audi 80,
Buffum started the weekend by proving the crash-worthiness of the aluminum roll cage in his Audi 80 while on a practice stage. His team beat the Audi back into some semblance of its original pristline condition and Buffum came back from a poor start to finish a half minute behind after 13 hours and 365 miles of competition. In 1976 at this same PRO Rally, again on a Good Friday, Buffum rolled his Ford Escort. Maybe somebody is trying to tell John something.
Jean-Paul Perusse, with John Grimshaw, finished fourth in the Peugeot 504, who was followed closely by the John Woolf/Grant Whittaker Mazda RX-7. Jon Woodner and Clark Bond successfully debuted their new Datsun 510, which is powered by a Formula Atlantic Cosworth BDA engine. Woodner brought the hybrid home sixth, followed by the IH Scout of Dick Turner and Tom Grimshaw.
1980 PRO Rally Production Class Champion Jon Davis, with navigator Harry Ward, took another '81 Production win in his Saab 99, finishing eighth overall.
Olympus was blessed with excellent weather, unusual for PRO Rally and exceptional for the Pacific Northwest. The perfect conditions contributed to the fast time and Lo the low attrition rate as 29 of 43 starters completed tho distance and all the top runners were still battlinq at the finish.
Millen opened up a strong lead in the '81 PRO Rally standings with the victory. He now leads Buffum by a win, 67 points to 47. Heinonen is third with 35 and Turner is fourth with 26. Kraushaar leads the Co-Drivers' championship, but only five points over Shepherd, 67 to 62.
Millen's win also put Mazda into the lead of the Manufacturers' Chdmpiunship. Mazda leads Peugeot by seven points, 67 to 60, with Toyota third with 35.
The PRO Rally circus now takes off almost a month before heading to Hougton Lake, Michigan for the may 9-10 Northern Lights.
SCCA CONTACT: Tim Cline (203) 453-1742, T. Michael Moreland (303) 770-1044
EVENT: Olympus EVENT CONDUCTED BY: Northwest Region, SCCA LOCATION: Olympia, Washington in cooperation with the Puget Sound Sports Car Club DATE: April 18-19, 1981 LENGTH: 365 miles,16 stages ENTRANTA; 43 FINISHERS; 29 WEATHER: Warm, dry TERRAIN: Forests, low mountains FIN. CHAMP MFG POS. DRIVER/CO-DRIVER/HOMETOWN CAR SCORE POINTS POINTS 1. Rod Millen, Santa Ana, Calif. Mazda RX-7 2.58.90 20 20 Bob Kraushaar, Tigard, Ore. 20 2. Taisto Heinonen, Surrey, B.C. Toyota Corolla 3:02.22 15 15 Tom Burgess, Burnaby, B.C. 15 3. John Buffum, S. Burlington, VT Audi 80 3:02.61 12 12 Doug Shepherd, Livonia, Mich. 12 4. Jean-Paul Perusse, Montreal, Que. Peugeot 504 3:03.97 10 10 John Grimshaw, The Colony, Tex. 10 5. John Woolf, Santa Ana, Calif. Mazda RX-7 3:06.35 8 Grant Whittaker, Santa Ana, Calif. 8 6. Jon Woodner, Washington, D.C. Datsun 510 3:09.00 6 6 Clark Bond, Saginaw Valley, Mich. 6 7. Dick Turner, Lancdster, Texas IH Scout 3:17.35 4 Tom Grimshaw, Aubrey, Texas 4 8.(1P) Jon Davis, Houghton, Mich. Saab 99 3:2O.62 3 Harry Ward, Toiedo, Ohio 3 9. Jeff Vanderwall, Surrey, B.C. Datsun 510 3:22.90 2 Doug Wall, Surrey, B.C. 2 10. Steve Roberts, Bellevue, Wash. Mazda RX-2 3:23.66 1 Don Cibson, Seattle, Wash. 1 PRODUCTION CLASS WINNERS 1 Jon Davis, Houghton, Mich. Saab 99 3:2O.62 20 20 Harry Ward, Toledo, Ohio 20 2. Gary Eaton, Ann Arbor, Mich. Peugeot 505 3:25.07 15 15 Caroiyn Eaton, Ann Arbor, Micl-I 15 3. John Crawford, Belleview, Mich. Dodge Colt 3:35.43 12 12 Craig R. Marr, Oroville, Calif. 12 UNITED STATES RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER FOUR EVENTS DRIVER PRODUCTION DRIVER 1. Rod Millen 67 1. Jon Davis 75 2. John Buffum 47 2. Garv Eaton 57 3. Taisto Heinonen 35 3. Ray Hocker 30 4. Dickk Turner 26 5. Larry Schmidt 20 CO-DRIVER PRODUCTION CO-DRIVER 1. Bob Kraushaar 67 1. Harry Ward 75 2. Doug Shepherd 62 2. Carolyn Eaton 57 3. Tom Grimshaw 26 3. Damon Trimble 30 4. Joe Andreini 20 MANUFACTURER PRODUCTION MANUFACTURER 1. Mazda 67 1. Saab 75 2. Peugeot 60 2. Peuaeot 57 3. Toyota 35 3. Dodge 54 4. IH Scout 22 5. Dodge 20