DETROIT, MICHIGAN -- The Burmeister Rallysport/Mazda ProRally Team fared well at the fifth round of the SCCA ProRally Championship this past weekend, the Susquehannock Trail ProRally in the hills of Pennsylvania.

The smooth clay roads for this rally are notoriously fast, but the combination of rain during the preceding week followed by a beautiful race weekend meant that the traction was excellent and the dust was less than previous years. It also meant that the famous water crossing at the end of the first stage was very high indeed.

The team of Eric Burmeister and Eric Adams were excited to come back east to more familiar terrain after Rim of the World in California. They were still getting accustomed to the new stage notes that provide extreme detail of the road ahead. Said Burmeister, "Its like learning our jobs all over again...it definitely requires a higher level of concentration than any racing I have done before."

The higher speeds on this rally meant that the instructions were coming at a very rapid pace. The team struggled a bit on the first four stages and were in sixth place in their Group 2 class following that leg.

Things started coming together for the team after the break. They put together competitive times and started moving up the field. "We are really getting our timing down with the notes," explained Burmeister. "Eric (Adams) is reading them at a good cadence, and I am able to process them a bit earlier than we could at Rim."

With one stage to go the team was in third. Burmeister walked up to 2nd place William Bacon's Acura Integra and asked for his scores. They would have to make up 24 seconds on the last stage to take second place points. The "Two Erics" drove hard, but could only make up 11.5 seconds on the Acura, forcing them to settle 12.5 seconds behind for third place.

Once again, the Group 2 class for 2-liter, 2WD cars provided very close competition and a close result. The Burmeister Rallysport/Mazda team is still in second for the Group 2 Championship behind the Mitsubishi Lancer of Lauchlin O'Sullivan. They are also second in line for the Woodner Cup, a trophy for the fastest 2WD team which pits Group 2, Production and Group 5 teams against each other.

The Susquehannock Trail ProRally will be televised on SPEED channel on August 8. Check local listings for times. Also, don't forget to check out the Rim of the World ProRally on July 11, also on SPEED.

The SCCA ProRally series is a "stage" or "performance" rally series that stretches across the nation. Sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America and televised on SPEED CHANNEL (formerly Speedvision), this form of motorsport is one of the fastest growing racing series in the United States. Competitors race flat out against the clock for hundreds of miles on a course of backroads closed to public usage. A co-driver or navigator tells the driver where every jump, dangerous turn or other obstacle is to the hundredth of a mile.

To look at info, scores, etc. on this year's Susquehannock Trail ProRally, check out: www.stpr.org

For information on the SCCA ProRally series, check: http://www.sccaprorally.org

• Burmeister Rallysport can be reached at: (313)792-2397 or e-mail Eric Burmeister at: lurch3@prodigy.net
• Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development can be reached at: http://www.mazdamotorsports.com
• Sachs Race Engineering can be reached at: http://www.sachsracing.com
• Eibach Springs can be reached at: http://www.eibach.com
• KC HiLites/P-sport can be reached at: http://www.p-sport.com/
• American Graffiti Graphics can be reached at: http://www.vinyl4all.com
• Racecraft Engineering can be reached at ckracecraft@softhouse.com
• Burmeister Engineering can be reached at apburm@sch-net.com
• DJT Motorsports can be reached at dstocker@ameritech.net
• North American Radiator can be reached at http://www.northamericanradiator.com
• Silverstone Tires are distributed in the US by Tabor Rally Team: http://taborrallyteam.com