Contact: Paul Westwick Tel:, (604) 682-3296 Email: paul@rallybc.com Ken Kwong Tel: (604) 808-0536 Email: ken@rallybc.com Website: www.rallybc.com		Date: September 24, 2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MERRITT, BC - Canada's fastest growing form of motorsport makes a return visit to Merritt when the Specialty Subaru Mountain Trials Rally rolls into town on October 5th. This event will be the fifth of six rallies in the Western Canadian Rally Championship presented by Yokohama and promises to firmly establish the thrill of rally in the heart of BC's interior.

Fierce competition is expected to develop between the talented local contenders and experienced visiting teams, all of whom will be here hoping to advance their standing in the Western Canadian Rally Championship. The championship has taken on a new look this year and the title chase is still wide open. Many of the teams that missed out on the last round, the Pacific Forest Rally, also held here in Merritt, will be making the trip hoping to gain a stronger foothold in the standings.

Last year's Western Canadian Champion, Janusz Komorowski, has had a rough season getting acquainted with a new car. After almost winning the opening round in Cochrane, Alberta, Komorowski has failed to finish the last four Canadian events. However, a strong performance at the recently held Wild West ProRally in Olympia, Washington reminded everyone just what he is capable of.

Among the local drivers sure to challenge for top honours is last year's Pacific Forest Rally winner, Scott Trinder. This year, while competing against some of the best driver's in North America, Trinder has impressed many observers in the sport with a couple of brilliant drives. He, too, recently competed at the Wild West ProRally, running as high as fourth place overall before ignition troubles dropped him to eighth on the very last stage.

Meanwhile, rally organizers in Merritt have reached an agreement with Active Mountain Entertainment Corporation (AME) to use a network of private roads on their property. AME hosts the famous Merritt Music Mountain Festival, which attracts over 140,000 people annually to the region. AME is also the guiding force behind the Active Mountain Raceway (AMR) project that has been in the works for the last few years. At the Mountain Trials Rally, a network of roads on the AMR site will be evaluated for potential use as a full "Super Special" Spectator Stage. The test run this year is in anticipation of the National Rally that will be coming here in 2003. This unique opportunity is a combined effort between the organizers and AMR towards building a future rally site as part of the AMR project. (For more details, check out www.activemountainraceway.com)

At the rally there will be plenty of opportunities to catch the teams in action, both on the mountain roads and right in downtown Merritt. It all begins at the Railyard Mall on October 5th when the rally officially starts there at 9:30am Saturday morning. Later, teams will return to the mall for service stops throughout the day, before heading back into the hills. Of course, the AMR site will surely give fans the best chance to see the rally cars racing on a seven kilometer long stage! Admission to the site is free.

For more information about this event, check out the BC rally website: www.rallybc.com or contact organizer Paul Westwick at (604) 682-3296, or via e-mail: paul@rallybc.com

For more information contact:
Paul Westwick (604) 682-3296, mailto:paul@rallybc.com or
Ken Kwong (604) 808-0536, mailto:ken@rallybc.com

Rally Head Quarters:
Best Western Nicola Inn
Merritt, BC

Media Liaison:
Mitch Kosterman (604) 880-2100, mailto:mkosterman@telus.net