Calgary, Alberta -- 25 cm of heavy wet snow followed by more snow, rain and deep mud all factored into the Rocky Mountain Rally in the Porcupine Hills SW of Calgary.

Seventeen teams from across Canada and one US Team started the 4th Round of the Subaru Canadian Rally Championship jointly sponsored by Yokohama Tires on Saturday May 29, 1999.

Tom and Trish McGeer in their Subaru Impreza WRX had an early lead overall and in the open class, followed by the Sprongl’s Audi S2 Quattro and the Quebec stars Jean-Marc Alcarez and Shirley Normandin in their Mazda 323 GTX.

Frank Sprongl, likely the most focused driver on the North American rally circuit, fought back, whittling away at the McGeers’ times to regain the lead by the half way mark. In full stride, Frank and Dan Sprongl were winning every special stage by small margins to complete the course in 1 hour 56 minutes 33 seconds for 1st overall. McGeers’ Subaru was second, a little more than 2 minutes off the pace on the 176 km of special stages.

The big battle of the 99 Rocky Mountain Rally shaped up between two Quebec teams. Jean-Marc Alcarez in a Mazda GTX mounted a strong challenge against Sylvain Vincent and Dominic Cyr in the Eagle Talon. At the finish when the snow stopped and the mud settled, Alcarez had edged out Vincent by a scant 33 seconds for 3rd overall. Vincent and Cyr finished fourth and claimed first in the Production GT class.

Top finishing Alberta driver was Jeff Smith from Edmonton, with Bob Burton of Regina in the co-driver’s seat. Smith and Burton placed 6th overall in a Subaru RX.

The Brooks, Alberta crew of Gord and Kathy Olsen had an early retirement with a blown head gasket on the 5th special stage. Olsen was running an outstanding race beating many of the all wheel drive cars in his 2 wheel drive Volkswagen GTI. Olsen was in 5th position overall when the car died.

Weather: Rain & SNOW
Road Conditions:  Mud, Snow, Water and Rocks
Starters:  17
Finishers: 14

      # TEAM                          CAR             HOMETOWN       CLASS  FINAL
      1 Frank/Dan Sprongl             Audi Quattro S2 Mississauga, ON Open 1:56:33
      2 Tom/Trish McGeer              Subaru WRX      Georgetown, ON  Open 1:58:46 
      3 J-M Alcaraz/Shirley Normandin Mazda 323 GTX   Quebec, QC      Open 2:08:42 
      4 Sylvain Vincent/Dominic Cyr   Eagle Talon     La Plaine, QC   GT   2:09:15 
      5 Barry/Sandra Latreille        Eagle Talon     Cornwall, ON    Open 2:12:08 
      6 Jeff Smith/Bob Burton         Subaru RX       Edmonton, Alta  GT   2:17:52 
      7 John/Clark Paynter            Subaru Legacy   Sackville, NS   GT   2:20:07 
      8 Eric Tremblay/J.F. Guité      Subaru RS       Quebec, QC      GT   2:21:08 
      9 Dave Sharp/Dwight Heck        Mazda RX 7      Edmonton, Alta  GT   2:28:36 
     10 Lee Shadbolt/Claire Chizma    Subaru Impreza  Tigard, Oregon  GT   2:28:41

Organizer/Rallymaster:            Shawn Bishop, Calgary Sports Car 
Club Co-organizer/Course Opening: Jonathan Gardiner, Calgary Sports Car Club 
Chief Marshal/Course Closing:     David Palmer, Calgary Sports Car Club 
Senior Steward:                   Don MacDougall, Edmonton


· 176 km of special stage racing in the Porcupine Hills.
· Heavy wet snow on rally.
· Snow and mud covered roads.
· Rally started on time; volunteer marshals leaving Calgary at 6 AM to man the course.
· Calgary Amateur Radio Association (CARA) provided radio net for rally communications and safety.
· President of Canadian Association of Rallysport (CARS), Sanctioning body for performance rallys,
  Terry Epp, Stouffville, ON present at rally.

For further information contact:
Shawn Bishop
Phone/Fax: (403) 277-6291
or Jonathan Gardiner
Phone: (403) 280-5464

Or visit the Rocky Mountain Rally website: http://www.bishop.ab.ca/CSCC/rocky