Contact: Michel Poirier-Defoy Tel: (450) 491-2480 E-mail: lpindfoy@sympatico.ca

Date: November 21, 1999

1999 Final Standings: 1- Frank Sprongl 2- Sylvain Vincent 3- Tom McGeer 4- John Paynter 5- Yves Barbe 6- Jon Nichols 7- Éric Tremblay, Marc Racine, 9 Chris Havas 10- Jeff Smith

Class Champions: Open : Frank Sprongl Production GT : Sylvain Vincent Group 2 : Jon Nichols Prod. Sport : Bruno Laverdière Prod. 1750 :Ilana Rosenshein

Champion Manufacturers: Open : Audi Production GT: Subaru Group 2 : Volkswagen Prod. Sport : Toyota Prod. 1750 : Suzuki

Co-Driver standings: 1- Dan Sprongl 2- Dominique Cyr 3- Trish McGeer 4- Clarke Paynter 5- Eric Tremblay 6- Mike Koch 7- Luc Piché 8- J-F Guité 9- Bob Burton

Best Novice Driver : Bruno Laverdière
Best Lady : Dominique Cyr

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bancroft, Ontario---Under overcast skies, with drizzle and rain coming down, Frank and Dan Sprongl managed to clinch their sixth Rally of the Tall Pines in a row, the final event of the Subaru Canadian Rally Championship, presented by Yokohama Tires. In front of largest crowd in Pines history, they delighted the fans in their Audi Quattro S2 with unbelievable speeds and raw driving talent on the treacherous road conditions. Two Subaru Impreza WRXs, those of Tom McGeer and Sylvain Vincent followed closely. 37 teams left the friendly East Ontario community for this late Fall Classic to be fought over 11 stages and 190 kilometres of pure speed.

Podium Pictures Season
Tom McGeer, driving the factory-sponsored Subaru WRX, started the day out slowly, but regained confidence and chipped away at Vincent's second place. Back in Bancroft late Saturday night, it was Sprongl, McGeer, Vincent on the podium, with McGeer operating a last minute sprint to overtake Vincent who still earns GT title and 1999 vice-champion status.

Yves Barbe, in his Eagle Talon, finished fourth, and an outstanding performance by US competitor Nick Robinson in a Group 2 Honda Civic rounded out the top five. Robinson hustled his Civic to finish well in front of many all-wheel drive competitors. With his new Golf GTi, Jon Nichols finished second in Group 2 and a distant 10th overall. But he had such a strong season that he again wins class championship.

Jean-Marc Alcaraz, after debuting his new 400 horsepower Mazda 323GTR at Charlevoix, had clutch problems. Until he was forced to bow out, Alcaraz was also a contender for a podium spot with a number of blazing runs through the first four stages. Look for some serious competition from the DCA Express Mazda next year.

All Titles Sewn-up
John and Clark Paynter's first place finish in GT class meant that Subaru took first place honours in the manufacturers championship for 1999. Newcomer Bruno Laverdiere was on a roll; not only did he end the season with a first place finish in Production Sport class, he was given an award for being top novice. Congratulations were also in order for Dominique Cyr, wife and co-driver of Sylvain Vincent. She was awarded the Joan McAlpine trophy for being the top lady in Canadian rallying for 1999. Ilana Rosenshein rounded out the roster of winners for 1999, clinching the championship in Production 1750 class with her Suzuki Swift.

The Subaru Canadian Rally Championship is presented eight times this year, between February and November. It is sanctioned by the Canadian Association of RallySport and supported by Subaru Canada and Yokohama Tire (Canada) Inc. The last rally of the season is Rally of the Tall Pines, in Bancroft, Ontario. Additional information is available from the CARS website at www3.sympatico.ca/rally.cars or the Tall Pines web site at www.mlrc.on.ca

INFORMATION:
CARS Mister Terry Epp (905) 640 6444
Michel Poirier-Defoy (450) 491 2480
lpindfoy@sympatico.ca

RESULTS
SUBARU CANADIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
Presented by
YOKOHAMA TIRES OF CANADA

EVENT :RALLY OF THE TALL PINES

  
                                           

#   TEAM                 		CAR                 	HOMETOWN 		CLASS	FINAL
 1  Frank Sprongl	Dan Sprongl     Audi Quattro S2   	Mississauga, On  	Open    134:28
 2  Tom McGeer		J. Bellefleur 	Subaru Impreza WRX     	Georgetown, On		Open 	137:46
 3  Sylvain Vincent	D. Cyr     	Subaru Impreza WRX  	La Plaine, Qc		Open    139:09
 4  Yves Barbe		P. Bazinet     	Eagle Talon     	Laval, Qc		Open    143:44
 5  N. Robinson		C. Lindquist    Honda Civic     	Plain City,OH        	Gr2     145:49
 6  John Paynter	Clarke Paynter  Subaru Legacy     	Halifax, NS             GT      147:39
 7  Tom Lawless		C. Hegarty     	Eagle Talon     	Maspeth, NY		Open    151:00
 8  G. Healy		K. Kreisler     Subaru Impreza     	Saugerties, NY		GT      151:02
 9  K. Scheible		G. McGuire 	Volks New Beetle S	penceport, NY		Sport   153:01
10  Jon Nichols		Mike Koch      	Volks Golf GTi     	Montreal / Ottawa	GR2     156:01

The high points:
- Sprongls motored on to sixth Tall Pines victory in a row.
- The two Subaru WRXs exchanged second place all day
- Nicolas Robinson put on show with his Group 2 win
- Largest crowd ever for this Fall Classic hosted by Bancroft
- Paynters gave Subaru the manufacturer title in the GT class
- Four American crews round Top Ten positions

The low points:
- Jean-Marc Alcaraz had clutch problem on his Mazda GT-R
- Numerous competitors were plagued with flat tires, unusual for Pines