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Round #5 - 1993 Subaru PRO Rally Championship August 27-29, 1993
Press Notes by Andy Schupack |
MEDIA ALERT
Event: Ojibwe Forests PRO Rally - Round #5 of the 1993 Subaru PRO Rally
Championship. Race cars from around the world will compete at high
speeds through the White Earth State Forest and Paul Bunyan State
Forest in northern Minnesota.
When: Friday - Sunday, August 27 - 29, 1993
Schedule - Friday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM - Registration - Holiday Inn, Bemidji
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM - Tech inspection - Chalet Car Wash, Bemidji
6:30 PM - ParcExpose for the United Way - Display of cars
Holiday Inn, Bemidji
7:30 PM - First car starts - Leg #1 of Ojibwe Forests Rally
1:00 AM - First car finishes Friday Section - Holiday Inn, Bemidji
Schedule - Saturday
9:30 AM - 12:30 PM - Divisional Registration - Holiday Inn, Bemidji
Noon - 3:00 - Parc Expose for the United Way - Display of cars
Holiday Inn, Bemidji
3:45 PM - First car starts - Leg #2 of Ojibwe Forests Rally and
Paul Bunyan's Ride Divisional event
1:00 AM - First car finishes Ojibwe Forests Rally
Holiday Inn, Bemidji
Where: Rally Headquarters will be at the Holiday Inn, Highway #2,
Bemidji, Minnesota 56601 (218) 751-9500
Duration: 180 stage miles, 400 total miles, 17 stages
Rank: Full National Rally, sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America
and sponsored by Subaru of America, Inc. Presented by the Land
O'Lakes Region of the Sports Car Club of America.
Interviews: Drivers will be available by contacting the press room at the
Holiday Inn starting August 26th. All drivers will be at the
Parc Expose sessions listed above. Series spokes-people are
also available through the press room including Series Manager
Rusty Campbell, former 11-time national Champion and current
team manager John Buffum, event organizer Beryl Ann Burton, and
Duluth resident and driver Steve Gingras.
Expected Top Entries: Chad DiMarco - '91 Group A National Champion,
in his Subaru Legacy; Paul Choiniere - '92 winner at Ojibwe and
defending Overall National Champion - current points leader - in
his new Audi Quattro S-2 Coupe; Carl Merrill - crashed his new 400 HP
Ford Escort Cosworth at Pikes Peak July 4 - will debut new Escort at
Ojibwe; Jeff Zwart - 1990 Open Class Champion - in his all-wheel
drive Porsche Carrera 4 - recently finished 19th at New Zealand
world rally; Henry Joy - four strong finishes in his first year of
Open class competition, including third at Prescott - in a
Mitsubishi Eclipse; T. Takaori - third U.S. rally ever - was fourth
overall and first in Group A at Prescott - in a Mitsubishi Galant;
Frank Cunningham - very fast during early '93 - took Prescott off to
do development on his Production GT Mitsubishi Galant; Peter
Cunningham - Acura Integra - finished 2nd in Production Class in '92
- won three of four rallies in class for '93 - Wisconsin resident who
has done lots of ice racing in Minnesota; Steve Gingras - Duluth
resident who finished third in class last year despite a limited
schedule - in a Mazda 323GTX; Vinnie Frontinan, leading Production
GT, in his Toyota Celica GT4; Roger Hull, '90 Truck champion,
shooting for win in the Truck class in his new Mitsubishi; Gary Gooch
- 1992 Rally Truck class champion - in a new Mitsubishi pick-up; Guy
Light, '91 Truck champion and winner of two '93 events, in his GMC
Sonoma Pick-up; Chad Dykes - newcomer in truck class who won the most
recent rally in Prescott - in a Mitsubishi pickup.
Visuals: There will be escorts to take photographers and
video crews onto the course during the daylight part
of the rally on Friday and Saturday. Anyone requiring
supplied photos or video should contact Andy Schupack in the
press room starting August 26. Rally cars going through mud,
over yumps and rough terrain, and sliding at high speed through
tight turns provide exciting visuals.
Media Info: We will provide phone-ins on event information,
driver interviews, and results. We will fax
stories and agate Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
We have B-roll available for TV.
The press room will be located in the Holiday Inn, Bemidji.
Contact: Andy Schupack - Subaru PRO Rally Championship Media Liaison:
(218) 751-9500 Ext 300 (direct line - August 26 - 29)
(401) 739-5677 (before August 26; after August 29)
HOW A PRO RALLY WORKS:
Each team consists of a driver and a co-driver (or navigator), and the exact course is
kept secret until just before the event - different from World Rally, where practice is
allowed. The cars start at one-minute intervals and race against the clock over 10-18
stages which range in length from 4 to 25 miles. Most of the rallies include night
stages, making it necessary for competitors to adjust their driving style. Speeds of more
than 120 miles-per-hour could be reached on long straight-aways, with the team achieving
the fastest combined times winning the event.
Press Notes #1
Ojibwe Forests PRO Rally, Bemidji, Minn.
Round #5 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship
8/26/93 - 8:00 PM
1. Welcome to the Ojibwe Forests PRO Rally, Round #5 of the
1993 Subaru PRO Rally Championship. Although the start
of the rally - covering 400 miles, 180 stage miles, and
17 stages - is more than 24 hours away, there is plenty
of news "off the field." First, however, we need to
cover some of the administrative details. You can reach
us all weekend in the University Room of the Holiday Inn
in Bemidji, Minnesota by calling (218) 751-2024. If
that's busy, try (218) 751-9500, ext. 300. Andy Schupack
and Sarah Lenz will answer any questions you might have.
Also, all these press notes will be filed on Section 9 of
the Motorsports forum on CompuServe as they are
generated.
2. The weather will be hot and humid for this weekend's
event, with temperatures and humidity both in the '90s.
Although series manager Rusty Campbell reports the course
is solid even after today's rain, any precipitation on
Friday or Saturday could affect an already rain-soaked
course. The forecast for Friday is cloudy and hot with a
chance of showers, but no rain on Saturday.
3. The entry list shows 44 entries - the largest in the
history of the rally - with 32 nationals and 17
divisionals (and five cars running both). All the top
contenders in all the classes are here, and, with the
points battle close in most of the classes, this rally
should go a long way towards determining national
champions.
4. As you can imagine, the months of rain in the Midwest
has left much standing water in the woods, and standing
water in the woods mean mosquitos. To combat this -
especially for the workers - the organizer has procured
sponsorship from Deep Woods Off, who will contribute
product for their protection.
5. The Pride in Professionalism award - $100 each to the
best prepared cars in both the divisional and national -
will be voted on by the citizenry of Bemidji during the
Parc Exposes on both Friday night and Saturday. Fans can
drop one dollar into a bucket in front of their favorite
car, with the proceeds going to the United Way of
Bemidji. The car that collects the most money for the
United Way wins the award.
6. The Carl Merrill/Jon Wickens Ford Escort Cosworth is
making its "debut" at this event. Merrill had debuted
his initial Escort Cosworth effort at the Wild West Rally
in Olympia in April, but crashed the car and destroyed it
in July at Pike's Peak. Car builder Libra Racing bought
a new chassis from Europe - the Ford Escort Cosworth that
Miki Biasion won the Acroplis Rally with - and has
prepared it for the rest of the season. Merrill and car
builder John Buffum took the Escort to Highlands in
Canada last weekend for a "test" and, with both driving
the car, they won the event.
7. As those who follow PRO Rally know, the Paul
Choiniere/Jeff Becker Audi S-2 won the Prescott Forest
Rally earlier this month with a turbocharger from a
street car bought on rally morning from a junk yard.
With that turbo now relegated to "spare" status, the
undefeated S-2 (three Choiniere/Becker wins, one John
Buffum win, and one Paul Choiniere/Mount Washington win)
is now outfitted with its proper racing turbo.
8. The Doug Shepherd/Pete Gladysz Eagle Talon - registered
originally as a Mitsubishi Eclipse - has been changed
back to an Eagle Talon. In its two rallies since it was
built, Shepherd has finished fourth ('93 STPR) and DNF
(while running a close second late in the rally in the
car's debut at the '92 POR). The word is that Doug
entered the car as an Eclipse in order to get in on the
Mitsubishi contingency money, but the indications were
that Mitsubishi wouldn't pay contingency just because he
changed the name on the side of the car. More on this
item later as we get additional details.
9. Jeff Zwart is coming off two of the best drives of his
life as he strives for his first win of the season in his
Open class Valvoline Porsche Carrera 4. Zwart and co-
driver Tony Sircombe finished second at the very rough
Prescott Forest Rally, and then went to New Zealand to
run the three-day, 36-stage FIA World Rally. Running a
Mitsubishi, Zwart/Sircombe finished 19th overall -
turning times in the top 15 late in the rally.
Press Notes #2
Ojibwe Forests PRO Rally, Bemidji, Minn.
Round #5 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship
8/27/93 - 8:45 PM
10. The Cal Landau/Eric Marcus Mitsubishi Eclipse hopes to be
competitive after almost two years of disappointment.
Landau, the 1991 Production Class champion, bought the
car in early 1992, but registration complications and a
dispute with the builder kept the car off the road until
this June, when the car DNF at STPR. A subsequent run at
Thunder Ridge Divisional in Ohio revealed a crack
cylinder head and a thermostat problem which has now been
repaired, and Landau should be in the hunt for the
Production GT title.
11. Tony Takaori, who finished fourth overall and first in
Group A at the most recent event in Prescott in his
right-hand drive Mitsubishi Galant, drove his rally car
on the road from Los Angeles to Bemidji. In Minneapolis,
however, the timing belt broke on the car, and Takaori
spent yesterday rebuilding the cylinder head. The
Japanese rally driver, who is living in Little Rock, AK
during his three-year visit to the U.S., finally arrived
in Bemidji this morning and is ready to race. By the
way, the team would like to thank the Bruce Newey/Ken
Rymer RX-7 crew which helped Tony out with transportation
during his ordeal yesterday.
12. Speaking of Newey, his car is the first one built to the
new Group 2 specifications - a new class for 1994. The
class, created to give a platform to small displacement,
two wheel drive cars, should attract a large group of
cars which used to run the Open class, but weren't
competitive against the all-wheel-drive entries.
13. The Saab 900 of Sam Bryan/Rick Delamere - here from
Washington state - has been finishing well in the
national rallies they have entered so far, and won both
ends of the divisional which ran in Prescott in
conjunction with the national rally earlier this month.
Although Bryan's car is 2WD, it would not be eligible for
Group 2 because it is turbocharged.
14. The weather forecast as recounted in press note #2 is
completely wrong. The hot, humid front passed through
the area more quickly than expected, leaving dry, cool
weather in store for Friday and Saturday, highs in the
mid-70s and lows in the low 50's.
15. The Chad DiMarco/Erick Hauge Subaru Legacy, which debuted
here a year ago and crashed, ran the best five stages of
the year to lead the Prescott event at the halfway point,
but a flat tire, wheel, and then engine problems dropped
the car into an eighth place overall finish.
17. Almost everyone had to perform major repairs after the
rough Prescott rally. The Acura Integra of Peter
Cunningham/Joe Andreini - leaders in the Production
class - spent many hours at their Red Line Oil/No Fear
Racing shop in Wisconsin repairing suspension and
exhaust parts in preparation for this rally. Cunningham
slid off the road here last year, DNF in the national,
but came back to finish third in the Paul Bunyon
divisional event. He says the Paul Bunyon Forest roads
are his "very favorite."
18. Henry Joy/Jimmy Brandt Mitsubishi Eclipse finished third
overall at the Prescott, earning enough points to move
Joy up to Seed 1 - giving him a sixth overall starting
position. Joy's stage times consistantly put him in the
top five, and he is in position to contend for the
overall victory.
19. The Frontinan/Arruda Toyota Celia GT4 has gone through a
complete rebuild including driveshaft in preparation for
this event. Frontinan currently leads the Production GT
class.
20. A late entry is Tim Maskas from Marquette, Mich. and co-
driver Doug Trott from Medeira Beach, Florida, in an
Open class Dodge Conquest in car #37.
21. Other late registration news:
--Antonio Menendez/Juan Goya, orginally listed as car
#36, is now car #14 (his permanent number), and Doug
Shepherd, formerly assigned #14, will now be #13.
--Janice Damitio, wife of former Coachman Stages
organizer Ray Damitio and top divisional driver in the
Northwest in a Datsun 510, will be co-driving for
Goran Ostlund in a Saab 99.
--The Craig Sobczak/Kevin DeLoughary Mazda 323GTX,
originally registered for the divisional, will now run
the national instead.
Press Notes #3
Ojibwe Forests PRO Rally, Bemidji, Minn.
Round #5 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship
8/27/93 - 6:00 PM
22. The Mitsubishi Eclipse of Todd Bawden/Martin Headland
is here due to last minute sponsorship of Roger Miller
Mitsubishi in Huntington Beach, California. Bawden, who
currently sits in second place in Production GT despite
his status as a series rookie, hopes to gain ground on
class leader Vinnie Frontinan with a top finish.
23. The fastest local competitor has to be Steve Gingras
from Duluth, Minnesota. Gingras, who finished third in
Production GT last year despite running a limited
schedule, is a threat to the Production GT class field
even though his Mazda 323GTX is several years old. He
will be running with friend and long-time co-driver Bill
Westrick.
24. Last year's Production class winners at Ojibwe - Barry
and Sandra Latreille from Williamstown, Ontario, Canada -
are back to contest the class again in their Ford Escort
GT. Besides Peter Cunningham's Acura Integra, the
Latreille's will be competing against Dave Turner and
Bill Gutzmann from Southern California. Turner, an off-
road racing veteran and crew chief for Dave Wolin's Team
Mitsubishi group, is running his first rally in the Tony
Shumaker/Liz Shumaker Mitsubishi Eclipse 2WD. The
Shumakers, who won the Production class at Prescott when
Cunningham had a flat tire and suspension damage, could
not make it for this event. Teammate Lon Peterson - who
runs a Production GT Eclipse - also couldn't make it to
Ojibwe, but Peterson's co-driver Bill Gutzmann is here to
navigate for Turner.
25. The Rick Davis/Ben Greisler BMW M-3 is one of the more
exotic-looking rally cars in the Ojibwe field, looking
more like a road racer than a rally car. But Davis, who
is best known for his paint-spattered BMW 2002, claims
that this new car is stronger than the older Bimmer, and
a whole lot faster.
26. We mentioned that Todd Bawden had secured sponsorship
from a dealer in his area, but the Toyota Celica GT4 of
Vinnie Frontinan and Frank Arruda has support this
weekend from Chester Berg Toyota, the area's local Toyota
dealer. The car was on display before the rally, and the
dealer is interested in participating again next year.
Frontinan also gets support from A to Z Systems, supplier
of competition brake and suspension parts, Bemidji
Rental, a local company which provided a generator for
the service van, and Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., which
provides parts and technical support. More and more PRO
Rally teams are securing both national and local sponsors
and running promotional activities to support those
sponsors. Jeanne Long at SCCA (303) 779-6622 and Andy
Schupack (401) 739-5677 have information to help PRO
Rally teams and sponsors market their products and
services.
27. Makio Yamanaka from Tokyo, who led the three-car Japanese
team at Rim of the World rally in May which included Tony
Takaori, is back with his right-hand drive Mazda 323GTX.
This time, however, Yamanaka is the co-driver for Taizo
Shiina - another Japanese rally driver from Tokyo.
28. 34 national entries took the start count-down for the
12th annual Ojibwe Forests Rally. Another 11 cars (16
entries in all as five cars are running both the national
and divisional events) will take the count-down tomorrow
for the Paul Bunyan's Ride divisional event. The field
will run six stages - 79.9 stage miles tonight.
Ojibwe Forests National PRO Rally
Round #5 - 1993 Subaru PRO Rally Championship
August 27 - 29, 1993
Bemidji, Minn.
Final entry/start list
(8/27/93 - 7:30 PM)
Pos Car# Driver/Codriver Hometowns Car Make/Model Class
1 1 Paul Choiniere Williston VT Audi S-2 Open
Jeff Becker Great Neck NY
2 4 Chad DiMarco Huntington Bch, CA Subaru Legacy Group A
Erick Hauge Napa, CA
3 6 Carl Merrill Ogunquit ME Ford Cosworth Open
J Jon Wickens Bloomfield MI Escort
4 11 Jeff Zwart Woody Creek CO Porsche Carrera Open
Tony Sircombe Corona Del Mar CA
5 13 Doug Shepherd Plymouth MI Eagle Talon Open
Pete Gladysz Troy MI
6 12 Henry Joy IV Wilmette IL Mitsubishi Open
Jimmy Brandt Lake Odessa MI Eclipse
7 10 Vinnie Frontinan Somerville MA Toyota Prod. GT
Frank Arruda Johnston RI Celica GT4
8 9 Peter Cunningham Whitefish Bay, WI Acura Integra Prod.
Joe Andreini Grosse Point, MI
9 15 Tony Takaori Little Rock AR Mitsubishi Group A
Ken Cassidy Mesa AZ Galant VR4
10 32 Todd Bawden Anaheim CA Mitsubishi Prod. GT
Martin Headland Calgary, ALB Eclipse
11 16 Cal Landau Corapolis PA Mitsubishi Prod. GT
Eric Marcus Beaver Creek OH Eclipse
12 18 Steve Gingras Duluth MN Mazda 323 GTX Prod. GT
Bill Westrick Rochester MI
13 19 Russ Hughes Avon NY Mazda 323 GTX Prod. GT
John McArthur Honeoye Falls NY
14 31 Frank Cunningham Boston MA Mitsubishi Prod. GT
Charles Bradley Ardmore PA Galant
15 35 Barry Latreille Williamstown, ONT Ford Escort GT Prod.
Sandra Latreille Williamstown, ONT
16 20 Guy Light Carson City, NV GMC Sonoma Rally truck
David White Benicia CA
17 7 Roger Hull Prescott AZ Mitsubishi Rally truck
John Elkin Lytle Creek CA Pickup
18 21 Gary Gooch Union City CA Mitsubishi Rally truck
Judi Gooch Union City CA Pickup
19 22 Bruce Newey Atlanta GA Mazda RX7 Open
Kennon Rymer II Knoxville TN
20 14 Antonio Menendez Mexico City, MX Mitsubishi Prod. GT
Juan Goya Queretaro, MX Eclipse
21 23 Chris Czyzio Flushing MI Plymouth Arrow Open
Eric Carlson Stoughton WI
22 26 Jon Kemp Attica NY Audi 4000 Open
Gail McGuire Avon NY
23 27 Rick Davis West Chester PA BMW M3 Group A
Ben Greisler Philadelphia PA
24 88 Sakis Hajiminas Floral Park, NY Mitsubishi Open
Tom Burgess Vancouver, BC Galant
25 24 Goran Ostlund San Salvador Saab 99 Open
Janice Damatio Olympia, WA
26 77 Ivan Orisek White Plains NY Mitsubishi Prod. GT
Olga Orisek White Plains NY Eclipse Turbo
27 17 Chad Dykes Escondido CA Mitsubishi Rally truck
Pat Hanson Escondido CA Pickup
28 28 Taizo Shiina Tokyo JAPAN Mazda 323 GTX Group A
Makio Yamanaka Tokyo JAPAN
29 33 Sam Bryan Kent WA Saab 900 Open
Rick Delamare Everett WA
30 37 Tim Maskus Marquette, MI Audi Quattro Open
Doug Trott Medeira Beach, FL
31 36 Craig Sobczak Marquette MI Mazda 323 Prod. GT
Kevin DeLoughary Marquette MI GTX
32 30 Bryan Pepp Marquette, MI Mazda RX7 Open
Dean Rushford Ishpeming, MI
33 34 Tom Gillespie Cedar Rapids, IA Mazda 323GTX Prod. GT
Rick Beson Portland, OR
34 93 Dave Turner Hemet, CA Mitsubishi Prod.
Bill Gutzmann Ontario, CA Eclipse
Paul Bunyan's Ride Divisional PRO Rally Entry List - As of 8/27/93 - 1:45 PM
Pos Car# Driver/Codriver Hometowns Car Make/Model
* 22 Bruce Newey Atlanta GA Mazda RX7
Kennon Rymer II Knoxville TN
* 23 Chris Czyzio Flushing MI Plymouth Arrow
Eric Carlson Stoughton Wi
* 30 Bryan Pepp Marquette MI Mazda RX7
Dean Rushford Ishpeming MI
* 31 Frank Cunningham Boston MA Mitsubishi
Charles Bradley Ardmore PA Galant
* 77 Ivan Orisek White Plains NY Mitsubishi
Olga Orisek White Plains NY Eclipse Turbo
35 51 Mike Hurst Pendleton IN Nissan 200SX
Brent Cary Indianapolis IN
36 117 Ken Stewart** Grove OK Chevy S-10
J.R. "Rick" Burtis Morrison, CO
36 55 Jim Dale Conway AR Mazda RX7
Scott Justus Fayetteville, AR
37 61 "Doc" Schrader W Memphis AR Eagle 8x4
Don Gage W Memphis AR
38 56 Mark Larson Blaine MN Dodge Charger
Jason Terwisscha Fridley MN
39 58 Todd Jarvey Maple Grove MN Dodge Charger
Richard Faber Blaine MN
40 57 Jim VanDamme Rock MI VW Rabbit
Lori VanDamme Rock MI
41 59 Jeff Harty Ft Wayne IN Toyota MR2
Rob Bohn Noblesville IN
42 63 Garen Schrader Memphis, AK Dodge Daytona
Steve Scott Memphis, AK
43 60 Heikke Nielsen St Paul MN VW Rabbit GTI
Bob Nielsen St Paul MN
44 62 John Moore Jacksonville AR Mazda RX3
Mike McAdoo Little Rock, AR
* Running in Nat'l
** Will be scored as car #52 on all paperwork - 117 is on side of car
Press Notes #4
Ojibwe Forests PRO Rally, Bemidji, Minn.
Round #5 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship
8/27/93 - 11:30 PM
29. The first report from the field brings bad news for the
Porsche fans. The Jeff Zwart/Tony Sircombe Porsche
Carrera 4 went off the course two miles into stage #2.
Although both drivers are okay, the car was badly hurt
and unable to continue. Zwart reported that the course
was very fast, and he just lost control of the car and
went off. While not totalled, the car cannot be fixed
in time to run tomorrow's stages - an option for Friday
DNFs who want to run, but not for points.
30. Other reports from the service area after stage #3:
--The Steve Gingras/Bill Westrick Mazda 323GTX is out
of the rally - report to follow.
--Henry Joy/Jimmy Brandt Mitsubishi Eclipse broke a turbo
hose, and went off the course several times, putting
them more than 10 minutes behind the field.
--Frank Cunningham/Charles Bradley Mitsubishi Eclipse
1/2 rolled and is a DNF. Cunningham said the wheel
hit a drain in a ditch on stage #2 and ended up on its
side. Sakis Hajiminas stopped his Mitsubishi Galant
to try to help, but they could not get the car back on
its wheels. Cunningham/Bradley hope to run the
divisional on Saturday.
--Vinnie Frontinan/Frank Arruda came into service with a
wacked right rear quarter panel, but their Toyota
Celica GT4 will continue.
--Cal Landau/Eric Marcus Mitsubishi Eclipse hit an
embankment, tearing off part of the front end, but they
are repairing the car and plan to continue.
--Peter Cunningham/Joe Andreini have no brake boost
pressure in their Acura Integra, but the crew is
working on it.
Everyone reports that the course is very fast.
31. Although the Pride and Professionalism Awards - the
prizes for the best-prepared national and divisional
cars - will not be handed out until tomorrow, the
competition has already raised $220.00 for the Bemidji
area United Way. The competition will continue Saturday
at the Parc Expose.
Ojibwe Forests Rally - Friday Night Results
CAR CLASS DRIVER / CO-DRIVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total
1 OPEN CHOINIERE / BECKER 9.30 17.83 13.55 12.52 17.15 9.85 01:20:12
6 OPEN MERRILL / WICKENS 9.60 17.43 12.83 12.96 17.61 10.23 01:20:40
4 A DIMARCO / HAUGE 9.93 17.87 13.49 13.12 19.03 11.04 01:24:29
32 GT BAWDEN / HEADLAND 10.50 18.55 13.68 13.43 18.53 10.67 01:25:22
10 GT FRONTINAN / ARRUDA 10.54 18.85 13.70 13.30 19.08 10.63 01:26:06
15 A TAKAORI / CASSIDY 10.67 18.88 14.58 13.85 19.26 10.59 01:27:50
17 TRUCK DYKES / HANSON 11.22 19.47 14.19 14.05 19.52 11.00 01:29:27
20 TRUCK LIGHT / WHITE 11.24 19.90 14.60 14.03 19.71 11.08 01:30:34
9 P CUNNINGHAM / ANDREINI 11.47 19.97 15.17 14.16 19.31 11.36 01:31:26
22 OPEN NEWEY / RYMER 11.48 19.45 14.45 14.41 20.23 11.52 01:31:32
14 GT MENENDEZ / GOYA 10.58 19.82 14.95 14.61 19.83 11.84 01:31:38
35 P LATREILLE / LATREILLE 11.59 19.92 14.71 14.93 19.87 11.20 01:32:13
21 TRUCK GOOCH / GOOCH 11.90 20.22 14.91 14.96 20.63 11.39 01:34:01
36 GT SOBCZAK / DELOUGHARY 11.28 20.13 15.24 14.92 20.84 11.78 01:34:11
23 OPEN CZYZIO / CARLSON 12.14 20.76 15.32 14.87 20.61 12.03 01:35:44
16 GT LANDAU / MARCUS 10.95 27.34 13.84 13.82 19.23 10.71 01:35:53
24 OPEN OSTLUND / DAMATIO 11.32 19.79 15.43 14.05 19.51 11.44 01:36:32
12 OPEN JOY / BRANDT 17.50 19.56 16.28 14.02 19.26 10.97 01:37:35
93 P TURNER / GUTZMANN 12.60 22.77 16.87 14.82 21.38 12.20 01:40:38
37 OPEN MASKUS / TROTT 12.39 22.77 16.45 15.24 21.45 12.59 01:40:53
28 A SHIINA / YAMANAKA 12.65 27.42 16.27 15.24 20.97 11.66 01:44:13
30 OPEN PEPP / RUSHFORD 12.31 20.80 24.09 15.98 21.33 12.37 01:46:53
77 GT ORISEK / ORISEK 12.37 22.30 20.11 15.66 23.24 13.57 01:47:15
27 A DAVIS / GREISLER 18.70 22.22 16.18 14.33 23.24 13.01 01:47:41
DNF 13 OPEN SHEPHERD / GLADYSZ 10.26 17.75 13.23
19 GT HUGHES / MCARTHUR 11.59 20.06 14.51
7 TRUCK HULL / ELKIN 11.47 19.82 14.92
26 OPEN KEMP / MCGUIRE 10.61 25.66 15.76
18 GT GINGRAS / WESTRICK 10.48 33.60 16.17
88 OPEN HADJIMINAS / BURGESS 10.72 43.10 19.59
34 GT GILLESPIE / BESON
11 OPEN ZWART / SIRCOMBE
33 OPEN BRYAN / DELEMARE
31 GT CUNNINGHAM / BRADLEY
Press Notes #6
Ojibwe Forests PRO Rally, Bemidji, Minn.
Round #5 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship
8/28/93 - 11:30 AM
32. The overnight tales of woe from the first night of the
rally - those not already recounted - include:
--The Chad DiMarco/Erick Hauge Subaru Legacy turbo
suffered a fuel pump failure during stage #2, but the
Legacy has dual fuel pumps, so a throw of a switch
kept the car going. But then the boost actuator on
the turbocharger broke on stage #5, leaving DiMarco
with no boost on the rest of #5 and all of #6. Both
problems have been fixed and DiMarco is ready for days
#2 in third place overall, almost four minutes behind
second-place Carl Merrill. He lead Group A by more
than three minutes over Tony Takaori's Mitsubishi
Eclipse.
--Rally leaders Paul Choiniere/Jeff Becker broke a half-
shaft in their Audi S-2 on stage #2, and the Libra
Racing crew replaced it at service.
--Doug Shepherd/Pete Gladysz Eagle Talon, which won
stage #3 and was running third in the event going into
stage #5, went off the course on five and crashed into
a ditch 20 feet below, turning upside down and putting
them out of the rally.
--Sakis Hajiminas/Tom Burgess Mitsubishi Galant withdrew
from the rally at service after stage #3 as they had
ignition problems. Sakis also lost time when he
stopped to try to help the Cunningham/Bradley car
which had tipped on its side. His car incurred damage
to the exhaust system during that activity, and he was
down on power, so he decided to call it quits. The
team is deciding now whether to run the divisional
today.
--Speaking of Cunningham/Bradley, we have confirmed that
they will enter the divisional today in their
Mitsubishi Galant after finding a vendor in Bemidji
who custom-fit their car with a windshield after
theirs cracked last night in the roll-over.
--Jon Kemp/Gail McGuire Audi Quattro 4000 broke a right
front strut and is out of the rally.
--Russ Hughes/John McArthur's Mazda 323GTX suffered
vapor lock and is out of the rally.
--Steve Gingras/Bill Westrick misjudged a 90-degree
right-hand turn on stage #3 and hit a stump after
skidding off the course, and their Mazda 323GTX is
out of the event.
--Ivan and Olga Orisek continued to have vision problems
at PRO Rally events. Olga lost her glasses in a
Pennsylvania stream after an off-road excursion at
STPR, and Ivan lost a contact lens during last night's
Ojibwe rally. Also, Ivan had motion sickness last
night, and the team is deciding now whether to
continue.
--The Roger Hull/John Elkin Mitsubishi Pick-up had
transmission problems and dropped out of the rally.
--The Sam Bryan/Rick Delemare Saab 900 also had
transmission problems, and ran out of gas on stage
#1 - a DNF.
--The Tom Gillespie/Rick Beson Mazda 323GTX rolled on
stage #2 and is out of the event.
Press Notes #7
Ojibwe Forests PRO Rally, Bemidji, Minn.
Round #5 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship
8/28/93 - 8:00 PM
33. All the top competitors in the national event seem to be
holding position as the Ojibwe Forests Rally winds through
its final evening. Paul Choiniere has widened his lead over
Carl Merrill to more than a minute, and Merrill now leads
DiMarco by almost four minutes. In Group A, DiMarco has increased
his lead over Tony Takaori to five minutes, while Todd Bowden
is leading Vinnie Frontinan by 1:46 in Production GT. Peter Cunning-
ham has increased his Production class lead over Barry Latreille
to two minutes, while Chad Dykes continues to fend off Guy Light
in the truck class, maintaining a 1:14 second lead.
Ojibwe Forests Rally - Round #5 of the Subaru PRO Rally championship
Results after 9 of 17 stages completed
CAR CLASS DRIVER / CO-DRIVER CAR MODEL Total
1 OPEN CHOINIERE / BECKER Audi S-2 Quattro 01:36:34
6 OPEN MERRILL / WICKENS Ford Escort Cosworth 01:37:47
4 A DIMARCO / HAUGE Subaru Legacy 01:41:44
32 GT BAWDEN / HEADLAND Mitsubishi Eclipse 01:43:13
10 GT FRONTINAN / ARRUDA Toyota Celica GT4 01:44:59
15 A TAKAORI / CASSIDY Mitsubishi Galant 01:46:42
17 TRUCK DYKES / HANSON Mitsubishi Pickup 01:48:39
20 TRUCK LIGHT / WHITE GMC Sonoma Pickup 01:49:53
9 P CUNNINGHAM / ANDREINI Acura Integra 01:50:11
14 GT MENENDEZ / GOYA Mitsubishi Eclipse 01:50:20
22 OPEN NEWEY / RYMER Mazda RX-7 01:50:49
35 P LATREILLE / LATREILLE Ford Escort GT 01:52:04
21 TRUCK GOOCH / GOOCH Mitsubishi Pickup 01:54:23
12 OPEN JOY / BRANDT Mitsubishi Eclipse 01:55:20
34. In the Paul Bunyan's Ride divisional event, we don't have firm
times, but the Mitsubishi Galant of Frank Cunningham/Charles
Bradley has jumped into an early lead.
Press Notes #8
Ojibwe Forests PRO Rally, Bemidji, Minn.
Round #5 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship
8/28/93 - 10:00 PM
35. The United Way of Bemidji reports that the Subaru PRO Rally
Championship teams helped raise $480 over the two-day period
with the Pride in Professionalism Award contest. Winners for
the divisional and national awards will be announced at the
banquet later this evening.
36. Bad news for you Ford Escort Cosworth fans. Carl Merrill/Jon
Wickens, trying for their second 2nd place finish of the season,
had the center differential split from the inside out on
stage #5 and found themselves with only rear-wheel drive. Because the
center diff goes through the oil pan, Merrill did not want to take a
chance on engine damage that could result if they tried to finish the
rally with 2WD. Production class competitor Barry Lattreille, whose
service crew brings their trailer to the service areas, get Merrill's
car back to rally headquarters. Merrill is encouraged, however, that
the car ran so well in its maiden voyage, consistently turning
competitive times with veterans like Choiniere and DiMarco.
37. All the other top national competitors remain in the rally and in
position with five stages to go (Saturday stage #11 has been
cancelled by the organizer due to lack of staffers for that stage).
38. The Orisek/Orisek Mitsubishi Eclipse has been unable to run above
2000 RPM, and, while working on that problem at service, they
found out that teammates Hajiminas/Burgess had gone off into the
woods. They abandon their service efforts to go help Sakis, so
their evening might be over.
39. Another top runner - the Mitsubishi Eclipse of Todd Bawden/
Martin Headland - is out of the rally. Bawden, who was running
third overall and more than two minutes ahead of Vinnie Frontinan
in the chase for the Production GT title, hit a tree 4-1/2 miles
into stage #6. Although the Roger Miller Mitsubishi Eclipse won't
score any points at this rally, both drivers are okay, and you can
be sure Todd will be back for another run soon.
Press Notes #9
Ojibwe Forests PRO Rally, Bemidji, Minn.
Round #5 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship
8/29/93 - 12:30 AM
40. Chad Dykes/Pat Hanson Mitsubishi Pickup, which has been
leading the truck class and holding off favored Guy Light
and Dave White in a 6-cylinder GMC Sonoma, has crashed on stage
#9 and is out of the rally. Light was never able to catch up
with the inexperienced, but talented Dykes, but now it appears
that Guy will win the class.
41. Here are some assorted times - note that we don't have complete
standings, but you get the idea. Unless something changes
drastically - with only two stages left.
Ojibwe Forests Rally - Round #5 of the Subaru PRO Rally championship
Results after 14 of 16 stages completed (17th stage cancelled)
CAR CLASS DRIVER / CO-DRIVER CAR MODEL Total
1 OPEN CHOINIERE / BECKER Audi S-2 Quattro 02:27:04
4 A DIMARCO / HAUGE Subaru Legacy 02:33:44
10 GT FRONTINAN / ARRUDA Toyota Celica GT4 02:42:34
20 TRUCK LIGHT / WHITE GMC Sonoma Pickup 02:46:10
9 P CUNNINGHAM / ANDREINI Acura Integra 02:45:21
35 P LATREILLE / LATREILLE Ford Escort GT 02:50:11
Press Notes #10
Ojibwe Forests PRO Rally, Bemidji, Minn.
Round #5 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship
8/29/93 - 2:30 PM
42. The 12th running of the Ojibwe Forest Rally is now history,
and Paul Choiniere and Jeff Becker have won their fourth
Subaru PRO Rally Championship of the season in their Audi S-2,
and ten of the last 12 rallies he has entered dating back to Coachman
Stages in 1991. After replacing a half-shaft early in the rally,
Choiniere and Becker ran a flawless event, winning by more than
eight minutes over the Subaru Legacy of Chad DiMarco and Erick
Hauge, who won Group A.
Third overall and second in Group A was the right-hand-drive
Mitsubishi Galant of Tony Takaori/Ken Cassidy - another fine
finish after his fourth overall at Prescott earlier in the month.
Takaori, who is visiting the U.S. for three years from his native
Japan, makes his American home in Little Rock, Arkansas.
43. Other class winners included Vinnie Frontinan/Frank Arruda
Toyota Celica GT4, fourth overall and first in Production GT;
Peter Cunningham/Joe Andreini Acura Integra, fifth overall and
first in Production; and Guy Light/Dave White, GMC Sonoma Pick-up,
seventh overall and first in the Rally Truck class.
Here are the final results:
FIN CAR DRIVER / CO-DRIVER TIME CLASS
POS #
1 1 CHOINIERE / BECKER 02:59:21 OPEN
2 4 DIMARCO / HAUGE 03:07:25 A
3 15 TAKAORI / CASSIDY 03:15:49 A
4 10 FRONTINAN / ARRUDA 03:16:14 GT
5 9 CUNNINGHAM / ANDREINI 03:19:19 P
6 16 LANDAU / MARCUS 03:21:02 GT
7 20 LIGHT / WHITE 03:21:28 TRUCK
8 14 MENENDEZ / GOYA 03:22:02 GT
9 12 JOY / BRANDT 03:23:17 OPEN
10 35 LATREILLE / LATREILLE 03:25:48 P
11 36 SOBCZAK / DELOUGHARY 03:26:03 GT
12 24 OSTLUND / DAMATIO 03:28:32 OPEN
13 23 CZYZIO / CARLSON 03:32:50 OPEN
14 93 TURNER / GUTZMANN 03:36:35 P
15 21 GOOCH / GOOCH 03:38:30 TRUCK
16 37 MASKUS / TROTT 03:40:33 OPEN
17 30 PEPP / RUSHFORD 03:49:52 OPEN
18 27 DAVIS / GREISLER 03:57:09 A
19 28 SHIINA / YAMANAKA 04:06:21 A
Thus, the national rally had 34 starters and 19 finishers.
44. DNF's in the national rally included:
17 DYKES / HANSON DNF TRUCK
22 NEWEY / RYMER DNF OPEN
6 MERRILL / WICKENS DNF OPEN
32 BAWDEN / HEADLAND DNF GT
77 ORISEK / ORISEK DNF GT
13 SHEPHERD / GLADYSZ DNF OPEN
19 HUGHES / MCARTHUR DNF GT
7 HULL / ELKIN DNF TRUCK
26 KEMP / MCGUIRE DNF OPEN
18 GINGRAS / WESTRICK DNF GT
34 GILLESPIE / BESON DNF GT
11 ZWART / SIRCOMBE DNF OPEN
33 BRYAN / DELEMARE DNF OPEN
88 HADJIMINAS / BURGESS DNF OPEN
31 CUNNINGHAM / BRADLEY DNF GT
45. There was some question as to the Frontinan/Arruda overall
finishing time as the pair checked in late to Parc Expose,
but the organizer decided not to assess penalty points, and
no one contested that decision.
46. The Frank Cunningham/Charles Bradley Mitsubishi Galant, which
dropped out of the national on Friday after an accident, was
a DNF in the divisional after a hole in the oil cooler line
resulted in a turbo fire. Also a victim of a fire - this one
a glychol/coolant fire - was Sakis Hajiminas, who did not go off
the course as reported previously.
Press Notes #11
Ojibwe Forests PRO Rally, Bemidji, Minn.
Round #5 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship
8/29/93 - 11:00 AM
46. The Chad DiMarco/Erick Hauge Subaru Legacy turbo had its problems
despite the fine second place finish. Besides the turbo and
fuel pump problems from Friday night, the Sube Sports team suffered
a broken half shaft, a broken brake pad, and loss of first gear
as well as limited performance from an engine that was built from
two damaged powerplants. Still, DiMarco was running stage times
comparable to Merrill and Choiniere during some points of the rally.
47. Jeff Becker, the Open class co-driver champion for 1991 and '92,
has clinched that title again for '93, as well as the overall co-
driver championship for the second straight year. Becker has yet to
finish anyplace but first when driving with Choiniere in a national
rally.
48. Dave Turner, a veteran off-road racer who works for Team Mitsubishi,
made his rally debut in the Tony/Liz Shumaker Mitsubishi Eclipse
Production car, and Turner finished a respectable 14th overall and
third in Production. His biggest problem in his first rally?
Handling dicey situations with front wheel drive.
49. The pretty BMW M-3 driven by Rick Davis finished the rally,
but not in any competitive position. Davis hopes to work on the car
and make it more competitive for subsequent rallies.
50. The Gooch/Gooch Mitsubishi Pickup ran most of the rally on
Saturday without an odometer, significantly slowing down their
effort.
51. We will post the latest point totals on CompuServe sometime during
the coming week. If you have a particular question, please let us
know on line.
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