Merritt, BC -- Despite a deluge of rain, Scott Trinder of Vancouver won the Specialty Subaru Mountain Trials Rally this past weekend. Trinder displayed confidence and car control in keeping his bright yellow Subaru WRX on the road and ahead of all other competitors at the closely fought race. He and co-driver Bill Westhead won eight of the event's ten stages, taking the lead at the start and maintaining it throughout the entire rally. They finished with a time of 01:15:34 and a twenty-four second margin of victory over the next nearest competitor.

Heavy rain made for extremely slippery driving conditions for the large field of twenty-five entries, featuring some of the best rally drivers from around the Pacific Northwest. However, as the rally encompassed all-new roads, local competitors were left without a home town advantage at this, the third round of the 2005 Western Canadian Rally Championship.

The closest challenger to Trinder was Washington's Peter Van Bogart, with Alan Perry co-driving, in their Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VII RS. The pair won two stages and appeared to be pushing hard to try and catch the leader, but came up just short at the finish with a time of 01:15:58.

Meanwhile, third overall, and first in Production class, was Terry Christensen in a Subaru 2.5 RS, with co-driver Terry Woltman. The Washington-based duo put in an impressive performance, keeping their car on the road and moving along quicker than many of the more powerful machines present.

Unfortunately, an early challenge by Washington native, Gary Cavett, with co-driver John Dillon of California, began to fizzle when their Subaru Impreza experienced turbo failure. However the two continued undeterred and wound up fourth overall at the finish.

Quickest of all the two-wheel drive machines was Colin Armstrong of Alberta, with Teresa Walker co-driving, in a Production class Volkswagen Golf. Their stunning performance earned them first in class and fifth overall, ahead of quite a few more powerful, all-wheel drive vehicles.

Thanks to support from PIAA Corporation, competitors were supplied with high performance silicone wiper blades to help maintain visibility in the wet conditions.

"When it rains, the roads around Merritt get very slippery and challenging," winner Scott Trinder commented. "I have to thank PIAA for supplying our team, and every team, with a set of their performance wiper blades - the visibility we had in the rain was simply amazing."

The event was a tremendous success on all fronts thanks to a dedicated team volunteers who braved the uncharacteristically cool, wet weather.

"We are blessed with a talented group of supporters who come out to help rain or shine," said event coordinator Paul Westwick. "Without their commitment to the sport, rallying would not be possible."

Another contribution by Active Mountain Resorts (AMR), developers of the Active Mountain Raceway and resort project in Merritt, provided the Mountain Trials Rally with access to a challenging spectator stage road right near town. Competitors began the day with a short run before gathered spectators at the site of the Merritt Mountain Music Festival, to be held later this summer.

Meanwhile, there will be a short break in the action from the Western Canadian Rally Championship during summer season. The next event in the championship will be the Bighorn Rally in Edson, Alberta this September.

For more information about this event and to view the complete results, check out http://www.rallybc.com

2005 Mountain Trials Rally: Official Final Results

Pos. Driver (place), Co-Driver (place), Vehicle, Total Time

1. Scott Trinder (BC), Bill Westhead (BC), 95 Subaru WRX-RA, 1:15:34
2. Peter Van Bogart (WA), Alan Perry (WA), 02 Mitsubishi Evo VII,1:15:58
3. Terry Christensen (WA), Terry Woltman (WA), 00 Subaru 2.5 RS,1:17:35
4. Gary Cavett (WA), John Dillon (WA), 95 Subaru Impreza, 1:20:27
5. Colin Armstrong (AB), Teresa Walker (AB), 91 VW Golf, 1:21:55
6. Warren Currie (AB), Robin Chapelsky (AB), 91 Eagle Talon, 1:22:50
7. Aaron Neumann (BC), Graham Coates (BC), 93 Honda Civic, 1:23:23
8. Mark Jennings-Bates (BC), Wynne Jenkins (BC),90 Eagle Talon,1:24:28
9. Rick Schmeling (WA), Richard Kasten (WA), 87 Mazda RX-7, 1:27:10
10. Martin Chung (BC), Christa Monasch (BC), 95 Subaru Impreza,1:30:24

Ken Kwong, Event Spokesperson (604) 808-0536; e-mail: ken@rallybc.com

Additional Resources: Canadian Association of Rallysport http://www.carsrally.ca West Coast Rally Association http://www.rallybc.com Cascade Cup http://www.cascadeautosport.com/cascadecup Merritt Chamber of Commerce http://www.merritt-chamber.bc.ca

2005 BC Rally Supporters: Specialty Subaru http://www.specialty.subarudealer.ca Rocket Rally http://www.rocketrally.com Driver's Edge Autosport http://www.driversedgeautosport.com Helius Rally Odometers http://www.heliusdesigns.com Wilkinson's Automobilia http://www.eautomobilia.com

Bill Westhead Communications & Media Relations 2005 Mountain Trials Rally http://www.rallybc.com