Ojibwe Forests 2000 ProRally
Bemidji, Minnesota
August 25-26, 2000
Complete Results w/leg times
Press Notes
For immediate release 14 August, 2000
MEDIA ALERT
SCCA ProRally Championship Round #6 - Ojibwe Forests
DENVER, CO: Sixth round (of nine) for the 2000 season. A record number SCCA
and FIA Performance Rally cars are slated to start the Ojibwe Forests SCCA
ProRally; competing on fast and smooth state Forestry roads in northwestern
Minnesota. This performance rally event is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club
of America.
When & Where:
25-26 August 2000; Bemidji, MN; approximately 180 miles (275 kilometers)
northwest of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Headquarters Hotel - Friday/Saturday Press Room; Event and Media registration
Northern Inn
2420 Paul Bunyan Dr NW Bemidji, MN 56601
Hotel Main: 218.751.9500
Media & Fan Reception - Wednesday 23 August - Minnetonka, MN
Morrie's Subaru, an authorized reseller of Subaru automobiles, will be
hosting a reception for the media and performance rally fans at their
dealership on Wednesday evening, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. This is an
excellent opportunity for the media to meet the lead drivers, co-drivers and
view the top running Subaru automobiles in the SCCA ProRally Championship.
Minnetonka is approximately 10 miles west of downtown Minneapolis.
Scheduled to be on-hand are Paul Eklund's custom built 1995 Impreza "USX"
which features a 2.2 litre turbocharged and intercooled motor; Lee Shadbolt's
turbocharged 2.0 Litre WRX FIA Group A 1998 Impreza, and Canadian and US
Performance Rally star Patrick Richard's Production GT normally aspirated
1998 Impreza 2.5RS.
For additional details, contact Jeff Burmeister at: info@vincentallen.com or
visit this URL on the web: www.Subaru.net
Complete Event Schedule: (subject to change)
Wednesday, 23 August, 2000
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM Subaru Media Reception - Morrie's Subaru - Minnetonka, MN
*
Thursday, 24 August, 2000
7:00 PM - 11:00 PM Charity RallyCross - Bemidji Speedway - open to public,
$25 participant donation - proceeds to Twin Cities Autism Society
Friday, 28 July, 2000
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM Entrant and Media registration at the Northern Inn -
Bemidji
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM Scrutineering - Chalet Center Car Wash - 703 Paul Bunyan
Dr.
5:30 PM Start of Ojibwe Forests SCCA ProRally Leg One - Northern Inn
12:00 midnight Approximate first car arrival - Finish of Leg One - Northern
Inn
12:30 AM - 2:00 AM Pizza Party - credentialed Press & VIPs invited -
Northern Inn *
Saturday, June 03, 2000
9:00 AM - 11:30 AM Press Room open, Late Press Registration
12:00 noon - 2:00 PM Parc Expose - Bemidji Speedway *
2:00 PM Start of Ojibwe Forests SCC ProRally Leg Two - Bemidji Speedway
3:15 PM - 7:30 PM Service Area Open - location of SS4 & SS8 RallyCross
spectator stages*
9:00 PM Approximate first car arrival - Finish of Leg Two - Northern Inn
10:00 PM - 2:00 AM Awards Banquet - Northern Inn - credentialed Press & VIPs
invited *
* Recommended time and location for media interviews.
----------
Selected entries (driver/co-driver):
ˇ 2000 Sno*Drift, Oregon Trail and Maine Forest ProRally overall winners
Paul Choiniere and Jeff Becker; SCCA Open Class 2000 Hyundai Tiburon
ˇ 1999 Overall Manufacturer, Driver and Co-Driver Champions Noel Lawler &
Charles Bradley; SCCA Open Class 2000 Hyundai Tiburon
ˇ 1999 Rim of the World overall winner Garen Shrader with 1998 overall
co-driver champion Michael Fennell; 1997 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV
ˇ SCCA ProRacing's Speedvision World Challenge road racing star Peter
Cunningham with James Gill, 1999 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI
ˇ American Performance Rally legend John Buffum, with Mark Williams, SCCA
Open Class 2000 Hyundai Elantra
ˇ Overall winners of the 2000 Rim of the World and Susquehannock Trail
events, Karl Scheible and Russ Hughes, FIA Gr N 1998 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V.
ˇ Canadian and US Production GT Performance Rally star Patrick Richard,
with Nathalie Richard, 1998 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS
Additional news interest:
ˇ The Ojibwe Forests ProRally features three RallyCross stages on Saturday,
the first immediately following the Parc Expose at the Bemidji Speedway, and
the other two adjacent to the afternoon service area at a local area cattle
ranch. All will offer excellent viewing opportunities, and spectator
amenities including food service and comfort facilities.
ˇ The Manufacturers' Championship continues to be an exceedingly close
race, with the comeback victory of Paul Choiniere's Open Class 2000 Hyundai
Tiburon at July's Maine Forest event maintaining the company's slight points
edge over a hard-charging Mitsubishi effort. Subaru, by virtue of a huge
independent field of entries at Maine posted gains in several classes, with a
good showing here at Ojibwe essential for a year-end title bid.
Event Rank:
This rally is a full points SCCA ProRally Championship event. Drivers earn
points towards the national championship, and supporting manufacturers
(Hyundai, Toyota, Subaru and Mitsubishi) earn points towards overall and
class Manufacturers' Championships.
Press Credentials:
Event Press/Photo credentials will be available at registration on Friday and
on Saturday morning. Access to press-only photo areas, and to the post event
parties will require a press pass. Credentials are available only to members
of the working press. Identification and/or work assignment required.
Visuals, Interviews & Media information:
During the event, action photography will be possible from spectator and
select press-only viewing areas along the rally course. Drivers, co-drivers
and crew will be accessible throughout the event, including the Saturday
afternoon Parc Expose. Media relations will be able to provide driver and
co-driver interviews, event results and other information via telephone and
Email.
Contact: Kurt Spitzner - SCCA ProRally Championship Marketing and Media
Manager
Pre-event: 303.779.6622; 303.694.3654 Fax (USA Country
Code: 1)
direct inquiry Email: werace4u@aol.com
Press Room phone: call the Hotel Main: 218.751.9500 and ask for
the Press Room. The operator will transfer your call. August 25 - 26 only
Time zone at event: Central Daylight Time (GMT - 6 hours)
ˇ SCCA ProRally: http://www.sccaprorally.org/
ˇ SCCA Ojibwe Forest ProRally: http://www.scca-lol.org/rally/ojibwe/
For immediate release 24 August, 2000
Start Order & Late Breaking News:
SCCA ProRally Championship - Ojibwe Forests
A record seventy-nine cars are entered in the 16th running of the Ojibwe
Forests SCCA ProRally Championship event. All four Championship
manufacturers (Hyundai, Toyota, Subaru and Mitsubishi) are well represented,
featuring the hugely successful Hyundai Tiburons, 8 Mitsubishi Lancers, and
10 Subaru Imprezas, in both FIA Group N and several SCCA specification
categories. The two-day event will be held on Minnesota forest roads in the
area south and west of Bemidji. The Rally starts tomorrow afternoon, Friday
25 August from the Northern Inn headquarters hotel adjacent to the
Bemidji/Beltrami Airport at 5:30 PM CDT.
Selected late entries, news:
ˇ The controversial finish of last month's Maine Forest event was finalized
by the SCCA's National Court of Appeals yesterday afternoon following an
extensive investigation, with the court ruling in favor of the teams that
lodged the protest. The top five Overall Driver's Championship points going
into this weekend's event will now read as follows: Scheible - 77; Choiniere
- 63; Lawler - 34; Lahm - 33 and Shepherd - 27. The overall Manufacturers'
Championship points are: Hyundai - 82, Mitsubishi - 70; Subaru - 64; Toyota
- 47.
ˇ 1999 Group 5 Champions Henry and Cindy Krolikowski are quickly learning
their ProDrive Gr N Subaru WRX-Sti, working closely with tech support from
Prodrive at the Maine Forest ProRally in July. Expect a good show from the
couple here, their "home" rally.
ˇ West Coast teams are making a strong showing for Ojibwe this year, in
many cases traveling nearly 2000 miles each way. Included in that list is
George Plsek; with new-to-the-team co-driver Alex Gelsomino. Gelsomino
brings European rally experience to the Tato Motorsports entry, having
participated in numerous tarmac rallys in Italy.
ˇ Also from the west coast is the debut of another new Subaru Impreza, a 99
model driven by fast rising west coast star, and former motocross champion
Eric Eaton. Previously, Eaton has been driving a Mazda 323 GTX.
ˇ This event has a good history for Hyundai and team boss John Buffum's
Libra Racing, winning the last three in a row for the manufacturer. Overall,
Libra Racing has won the event a total of nine times. Mitsubishi has one win
here, in 1996 with the team of Henry Joy and Michael Fennell in a Lancer Evo
II.
Contact: Kurt Spitzner - SCCA Pro Rally Championship Marketing and Media
Manager
Direct inquiry Email: werace4u@aol.com
Time zone at-event: Central Daylight Time (GMT - 6 hours)
Press room phone: 218.751.9500 (hotel operator will transfer call)
Web sites:
ˇ SCCA ProRally: http://www.sccaprorally.org/
ˇ SCCA Ojibwe Forests ProRally: http://www.scca-lol.org/rally/ojibwe/
Information regarding the start order list:
Car # = number on vehicle. Car # under 200 are ProRally entries. Car # over
200 are generally ClubRally (regional) entrants. Class = Open, FIA A & N -
fastest; are cars with considerable modifications; P (Production) - slowest;
are cars very near to showroom stock configuration. G5 - two wheel drive
high HP cars; G2 - two wheel drive lower horsepower cars; GT - high
horsepower production (stock) cars.
Ojibwe Forests SCCA ProRally Championship Round #6 25-26 August,
2000
Start Order (subject to revision)
Pos Car Seed Class Driver Co-driver Car
1 2 FIA Open Paul Choiniere Jeff Becker 00 Hyundai Tiburon
2 1 FIA Open Noel Lawler Charlie Bradley 00 Hyundai Tiburon
3 52 FIA Open John Buffum Mark Williams 00 Hyundai Elantra
4 61 FIA FIA-N Karl Scheible Russ Hughes 98 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V
5 4 1 Open Garen Shrader Michael Fennell 95 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV
6 52 1 Open Doug Shepherd Peter Gladysz 92 Mitsubishi Eclipse
7 44 1 Open Peter Cunningham Jim Gill 99 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI
8 10 1 Open Pete Lahm Matt Chester 95 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV
9 6 1 FIA-N Henry Krolikowski Cindy Krolikowski 95 Subaru WRX-STI
10 12 1 GT Steve Gingras Bill Westrick 91 Eagle Talon
11 5 1 Gr 5 Ralph Kosmides Ken Cassidy 96 Toyota Supra
12 32 2 Open Paul Eklund Scott Huhn 95 Subaru Impreza
13 160 2 Open Eric Eaton Kenny Almquist 99 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS
14 304 2 Open Lon Peterson Bill Gutzmann 00 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS
15 20 2 Open George Plsek Alex Gelsomino 90 Audi Quattro 90
16 35 2 FIA - A Lee Shadbolt Bob Sherman 97 Subaru Impreza
17 115 2 FIA-N Seamus Burke Frank Cunningham 97 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV
18 21 2 GT Chris Czyzio Eric Carlson 90 Mitsubishi Eclipse
19 162 2 GT Patrick Richard Nathalie Richard 98 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS
20 168 2 GT Celsus Donnelly Mark McAllister 90 Eagle Talon Tsi
21 83 2 Gr 5 Mark Utecht Brenda Corneliusen 86 Dodge Omni turbo
22 63 2 Gr 5 Tad Ohtake Bob Martin 98 Ford Escort ZX2
23 39 2 Gr 5 Carl Jardevall Amity Trowbridge 83 Volvo 740 turbo
24 71 2 Gr 5 Bryan Hourt Tom Tighe 97 Honda Civic
25 107 3 Open Tim Paterson Scott Ferguson 95 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV
26 398 3 Open Kurosh Jahromi Tony Lumino 93 Ford Escort Cosworth
27 175 3 Open Alex Erisoty Ben Greisler 89 Audi Quattro
28 565 3 FIA-N Russell Hodges Jimmy Brandt 95 Subaru WRX-STI
29 51 3 Gr 2 Jay Streets Mark Tabor 85 Toyota Corolla
30 73 3 Gr 2 Nicholas Robinson Carl Lindquist 97 Honda Civic
31 165 3 P Dennis Chizma Claire Chizma 73 Porsche 911
32 55 3 P Brian Vinson Richard Beels 88 VW Golf GTI
33 501 4 Open Todd Jarvey Richard Faber 92 Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
34 132 4 Open Robert Burtis James Burtis 85 Audi quattro Coupe
35 589 6 Open Alec Ellsworth Steve Kaczkowski 97 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV
36 86 4 GT Mark Larson Kelly Cox 96 Eagle Talon
37 97 4 GT Paul Dubinsky Yvon Dubinsky 92 Eagle Talon
38 601 4 P Michael Halley Emily Burton-Weinman 87 Dodge Ram 50
39 187 4 G5 John Shirley James Hurley 79 Triumph TR7/V8
40 98 4 Gr 2 Bob Nielsen Brett Corneliusen 87 VW Golf
41 42 4 Gr 2 Eric Burmeister Mark Buskirk 86 VW Golf
42 540 5 Open Scott Carlborn Dale Dewald 92 Jeep Comanche
43 59 5 Open John Rek Jeff Secor 95 Audi S2
44 6 Open Harry Anderson Mark Anderson 90 Eagle Talon TSi
45 110 5 FIA-N Mark Nelson John Dillon 97 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV
46 19 5 GT Rod Dean Nichole Dean 92 Plymouth Laser RS
47 70 5 GT Kendall Russell Dave Weiman 94 Dodge Shadow
48 913 5 GT Janus Jastrzebski Tomasz Zaremba 96 Subaru Impreza
49 56 5 Gr 2 Douglas Davenport Lea Davenport 85 VW Golf
50 932 5 P Dmitri Kishkarev Dave Shindle 90 VW Golf
51 131 5 P Jon Tabor Kevin Poirier 92 Nissan Sentra SE-R
52 74 6 Open Ramana Lagemann 91 Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
53 379 6 Open Jonathan Ryther Nicholas Taylor 00 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS
54 511 6 Open Mark Sarnecki Rick Hansen 98 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS
55 84 6 Gr 2 J.B. Niday Al Kintigh 86 VW Golf GTi
56 512 6 P Jouni Pohjolainen John Matikainen 91 Nissan NX 2000
57 533 6 P Tom Young Jim LeBeau 95 Dodge Neon ACR
58 967 6 P Larry Webster J. Jon Wickens 00 Hyundai Tiburon
Start Order ClubRally support event (subject to revision)
Pos Car# Seed Class Driver Co-driver Car
59 117 2 Open Ken Stewart Floyd Shrader 86 Chevrolet S-10
60 527 3 Open Christopher Gilligan Joe Peterson 92 Mitsubishi Eclipse
61 522 3 G2 Jonathan Butts Gary Butts 85 Dodge Omni GLH
62 545 3 P Eric Seppanen Jake Himes 92 Nissan Sentra SE-R
63 537 4 GT Paul Peters Robert Anderson 86 Subaru GL
64 531 4 GT Steve Nielsen Doug McCready 92 Plymouth Laser
65 553 3 G5 Jerry Brownell Jim Windsor 83 Chevrolet Citation
66 582 4 G5 Doug Dill Tyler Dill 84 Mazda RX-7
67 546 4 G2 Steve Irwin Phil Schmidt 87 Toyota MR2
68 535 4 G2 Jason Anderson Jared Kemp 86 Dodge Omni GLH
69 550 4 G2 Aaron Hatz Brendan Higgins 89 VW Golf Gti 16V
70 528 4 G2 Jason Lajon John Adleman 85 VW Golf
71 557 4 G2 Damien Crane John Adams-Graf 90 VW Jetta
72 597 4 G2 Paul Moorman Diane Sargent 69 SAAB Sonnett
73 539 4 P Ryan Brooks Shanti Traskowski 95 Acura Integra GS-R
74 518 5 Open Dennis Martin Kathy Freund 92 Eagle Talon
75 507 5 G2 Micah Wiitala Josh Prusi 92 Saturn SC 2
76 542 5 G2 Daniel Moore John Hopponen 89 Suzuki Swift Gti
77 563 6 G5 Gary Starr Bill Tifft 86 Dodge Omni GLH Turbo
78 831 6 G2 Brian Pilczuk Richard Pilczuk 87 VW Golf Gti
79 6 Jeff Hayford Heidi Hayford 91 Ford Escort
For immediate release 25 August, 2000
SCCA ProRally Championship - Round #6 - Ojibwe Forests
Leg One Results, Key Notes
Hyundai sweeps top 3, Mitsubishi, Subaru & Toyota up the pressure
Bemidji, Minnesota; -- A final tally of 77 cars - still the largest-ever
field for this event by a wide margin - started the Ojibwe Forests SCCA
ProRally this evening, for five quick stages in the dense forest some 40
miles south of the host city. Hard rains soaked much of the area this
morning, but rapidly clearing skies and temps in the high 80's gave the
rallyist's hot and humid air, but relatively dry and dust-free roads to work
with well into the evening.
A near three-way tie for first-night top-overall position has built
amongst the three Hyundai entries, with no team orders to hold any of the
drivers as reserve in evidence. National champion drivers all, and with the
manufacturers championship race the tightest in years, this risky strategy
could pay off in distancing themselves from the 6-car Mitsubishi armada
immediately behind them.
Subaru is staying in striking distance however, with a massive Impreza fleet
led by the WRX-Sti of the Krolikowskis in 10th, followed closely by the Open
class turbo of Eklund, Richard's PGT 2.5 RS, and five more in the top 30 .
There may be some trouble on the horizon for one Hyundai - Noel Lawler's
Tiburon is experiencing its 6th mechanical gremlin in as many events - this
time with turbo woes. An intermittent problem believed to be centered around
the electronic boost controller, Noel was still able to set fastest stage
times in SS1 and SS2, in a tie with team boss Buffum and running mate
Choiniere respectively. If the quirk is fixed overnight, Noel could walk
away from the field.
Peter Cunningham, fresh from last week's GT class victory in Canada at
the SCCA World Challenge race meeting at St Croix, is revisiting the Ojibwe
Forests event for the first time since 1993. Driving his brilliant
grape-hued 1999 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI, Cunningham is finding out how well
the car runs on all 4 cylinders, finishing day one in a solid 7th place
overall. In June, at his first and only other SCCA ProRally event in many
years, the accomplished driver managed to keep his Evo in the top 5 all
weekend on just 3 working cylinders.
Ralph Kosmides, in the lone Toyota manufacturers championship entry is
once again in a tight Group 5 contest with local favorite and increasingly
serious national contender Mark Utecht, finishing the first night a mere 10
seconds (unofficial) ahead of the hard-driving Dodge pilot. Fighting turbo
problems all day, Kosmides crew will be working through the night to get the
Supra back up to speed.
The highly anticipated debut of Eric Eaton's SCCA Open Class Subaru
Impreza turbo failed to materialize, with teething problems keeping the team
back in Tacoma WA. Also on the entered but failed-to-start list are a trio
of Audi's, including longtime series favorite John Kemp, and Central USA
series regulars John Rek and Bob Pierce.
Pro series newcomer Ramana Lagemann of Connecticut posted the strongest
gains of the first night, with a 51st starting position, and mid-evening
re-seed in 18th, Lagemann is driving an immaculately prepared 1991
Mitsubishi Galant VR-4.
Attrition remained low throughout the night, with the vast majority of
the field ready to rejoin the rally on day two. Mechanical troubles topped
the causes, with several out with suspension and engine problems.
Leg two of the Ojibwe Forests ProRally begins at 12:00 noon, with a
2-hour Parc Expose and opening RallyCross spectator stage at Bemidji
Speedway; a clay .25 mile oval on the southeast side of town. The RallyCross
will run concurrently with the Parc Expose, starting the cars in reverse
order. After each run, the cars will return to their Parc Expose slot. This
will allow spectators and the media to see all the cars in action, and have
plenty of time for interviews and autographs.
SCCAŽ Ojibwe Forests ProRallysm Championship Round #6 25 August, 2000
Leg One Top 25 Finishing Order - unofficial
St Fin Car Time Class Driver Co-driver Car
2 1 2 47:59 Open Paul Choiniere Jeff Becker 00 Hyundai Tiburon
1 2 1 48:19 Open Noel Lawler Charles Bradley 00 Hyundai Tiburon
3 3 7 48:91 Open John Buffum Mark Williams 00 Hyundai Elantra
5 4 4 50:46 Open Garen Shrader Michael Fennell 95 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV
6 5 52 50:88 Open Doug Shepherd Peter Gladysz 92 Mitsubishi Eclipse
4 6 61 51:32 FIA-N Karl Scheible Russ Hughes 98 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V
7 7 44 51:33 Open Peter Cunningham Jim Gill 99 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI
14 8 115 51:92 FIA-N Seamus Burke Frank Cunningham 98 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V
25 9 107 52:27 Open Tim Paterson Scott Ferguson 95 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV
9 10 6 52:51 FIA-N Henry Krolikowski Cindy Krolikowski 95 Subaru Impreza WRX-STI
11 11 5 53:34 Gr 5 Ralph Kosmides Ken Cassidy 96 Toyota Supra Turbo
22 12 83 53:44 Gr 5 Mark Utecht Brenda Corneliusen 86 Dodge Omni GLH turbo
19 13 162 53:71 GT Patrick Richard Nathalie Richard 98 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS
10 14 12 54:12 GT Steve Gingras Bill Westrick 94 Eagle Talon
23 15 63 54:80 Gr 5 Tad Ohtake Bob Martin 98 Ford Escort ZX2
24 16 71 54:82 Gr 5 Bryan Hourt Tom Tighe 97 Honda Civic
12 17 32 55:25 Open Paul Eklund Scott Huhn 95 Subaru Impreza turbo
17 18 20 55:57 Open George Plsek Alex Gelsomino 90 Audi quattro 90
31 19 165 56:14 P Dennis Chizma Claire Chizma 73 Porsche 911
30 20 565 57:18 FIA-N Russell Hodges Jimmy Brandt 95 Subaru Impreza WRX-STI
16 21 304 57:33 Open Lon Peterson Bill Gutzmann 00 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS
18 22 35 57:51 FIA-A Lee Shadbolt Bob Sherman 97 Subaru Impreza
21 23 21 57:77 GT Chris Czyzio Eric Carlson 90 Mitsubishi Eclipse
8 24 10 63:42 Open Peter Lahm Matt Chester 95 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV
51 25 74 65:38 Open Ramana Lagemann Bill Washburn 91 Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
*complete results will be posted on the Ojibwe Forests website:
http://www.scca-lol.org/rally/ojibwe/
SCCAŽ Ojibwe Forests ProRallysm Championship Round #6 25
August, 2000
Leg One Retirements - unofficial
Car # Drivers Name Co-Drivers Name Class Year Make stage
Retirement cause (unofficial)
531 Steve Nielsen Jeff Secor GT 92 Plymouth SS1 Engine - head gasket
51 Jay Streets Mark Tabor G2 85 Toyota SS2 Engine - block
518 Dennis Martin Kathy Freund O 92 Eagle SS2 Accident - roll-over
586 Mark Larsen Kelly Cox GT 96 Eagle SS2 Accident - roll over
589 Alec Ellsworth Steve KaczkowskiO 97 Mitsubishi SS3 Unknown
825 Harry Anderson Mark Anderson O 90 Eagle SS3 mechanical
545 Eric Seppanen Jake Himes P 92 Nissan SS3 Time barred
168 Celsus Donnelly Mark McAllister GT 90 Eagle SS3 Accident - roll over
For immediate release 26 August, 2000
SCCAŽ ProRallysm Championship - Round #6 - Ojibwe Forests
Hyundai makes US rally history - finishing 1,2,3
Bemidji, Minnesota: The SCCA Ojibwe Forests ProRally came to an exciting and
historically significant conclusion this evening, with Hyundai making up for
its slow season start with a stunning sweep of the top three positions - the
first in the manufacturers' history. Paul Choiniere, the 7-time SCCA Overall
Champion, assumed the lead early in the event from teammate Noel Lawler, who
remained in the hunt for the top spot the entire event. Team boss John
Buffum, drove an Elantra, and maintained a solid third position throughout.
Key Notes & Quotes:
Patrick Richard; #162 Subaru: "These are the best stage roads I've ever
driven. The roads are so smooth and the conditions and turns were so
consistent, you almost didn't need the route instructions!" Richard had a
brilliant drive all day, loosing out to a resurgent Steven Gingras by only 12
hundredths of a minute.
The Mitsubishi and Subaru armada that hounded the Hyundai team ran into
troubles late in the day, with several leading entries falling by the
wayside. Included in that list are Peter Cunningham, Seamus Burke and Mark
Nelson, each of their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo's suffering completely different
yet terminal mechanical maladies. Paul Eklund's and Lon Peterson's Impreza
turbos both ran into mechanical ills, (although Eklund did manage to finish
the event) and Russell Hodges Prodrive WRX-Sti wound up on its roof.
Nevertheless, Mitsubishi still managed to claim the next three positions,
with Shepard, Shrader and Scheible.
Garen Shrader; #4 Mitsubishi: "I definitely get pumped up by the people
- the spectator stages were full of fans, and that definitely helped me keep
my pace." Shrader confirmed the successful partnership with 1998 co-driver
overall champion Michael Fennell announced last month in Maine at with a
solid 5th place overall finish, just 32 seconds behind the Mitsubishi of
Shepherd and Gladysz.
Close battles were fought in several classes, with Production GT and
Group 5 being particularly tight. Mark Utecht, working hard to back up his
decisive win over Ralph Kosmides at Maine Forest lost by a mere 10 seconds
(unofficial) to Brian Hourt, himself making up for a mechanical DNF at Maine.
The widest margin of victory today was in Group 2, with the Bob
Nielsen/Brett Corneliusen VW Golf Gti winning the popular class by nearly 6
minutes over the VW Golf of Eric Burmeister/Mark Buskirk.
With Hyundai's strong finish, the manufacturer has finally managed to
edge ahead of the Mitsubishi and Subaru independents, with the unofficial
overall standings now at: Hyundai 102, Mitsubshi 85, Subaru 76 and Toyota 57.
SCCAŽ Ojibwe Forests ProRallysm Championship Round #6 26 August,
2000
Official Finishing Order - Top 25 (full results available at event website)
start Finish Car# Seed Class Driver Co-driver Car Time (Mn:Sec)
2 1 2 FIA Open Paul Choiniere Jeff Becker 00 Hyundai Tiburon 116.22
1 2 1 FIA Open Noel Lawler Charles Bradley 00 Hyundai Tiburon 117:85
3 3 7 FIA Open John Buffum Mark Williams 00 Hyundai Elantra 120:31
6 4 52 1 Open Doug Shepherd Ralph Beckman 92 Mitsubishi Eclipse 121:32
5 5 4 1 Open Garen Shrader Michael Fennell 97 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 121.87
4 6 61 FIA FIA-N Karl Scheible Russ Hughes 98 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V 124:26
9 7 6 1 FIA-N Henry Krolikowski Cindy Krolikowski 95 Subaru WRX Sti 125.54
10 8 12 1 GT Steve Gingras Bill Westrick 94 Eagle Talon 127:47
19 9 162 2 GT Patrick Richard Nathalie Richard 98 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS 127:59
24 10 71 2 Gr 5 Brian Hourt Tom Tighe 97 Honda Civic 127:68
22 11 83 2 Gr 5 Mark Utecht Brenda Corneliusen 86 Dodge Omni turbo 127:86
26 12 398 3 Open Kurosh Jahromi Tony Lumino 89 Ford Escort Cosworth 128:12
33 13 501 4 Open Todd Jarvey Richard Faber 92 Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 132:27
17 14 20 2 Open George Plsek Alex Gelsomino 90 Audi 90 quattro 133:24
55 15 512 6 P Jouni Pohjolainen John Matikainen 91 Nissan NX 2000 135:99
21 16 21 2 GT Chris Czyzio Eric Carlson 90 Mitsubishi Eclipse 136:14
40 17 98 4 Gr 2 Bob Nielsen Brett Corneliusen 87 VW Golf Gti 16V 136:48
31 18 165 3 P Dennis Chizma Claire Chizma 73 Porsche 911 136:56
53 19 511 6 Open Mark Sarnecki Rick Kopecky 98 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS 138:77
46 20 70 5 GT Kendall Russell Dave Weiman 94 Dodge Shadow 140:20
36 21 97 4 PGT Paul Dubinsky Yvon Dubinsky 92 Eagle Talon 140:43
8 22 10 1 Open Peter Lahm Matt Chester 97 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV 141:10
41 23 42 4 Gr 2 Eric Burmeister Mark Buskirk 86 VW Golf Gti 16V 142:65
23 24 63 2 Gr 5 Tad Ohtake Bob Martin 98 Ford Escort ZX2 143:11
44 25 132 4 Open Robert Burtis Burtis 83 Audi quattro coupe 143:23
Leg One Retirements - unofficial
Car # Drivers Name Co-Drivers Name Class Year Make stage
Retirement cause (unofficial)
531 Steve Nielsen Jeff Secor GT 92 Plymouth SS1 Engine - head gasket
51 Jay Streets Mark Tabor G2 85 Toyota SS2 Engine - block
518 Dennis Martin Kathy Freund Open 92 Eagle SS2 Accident - roll-over
586 Mark Larsen Kelly Cox GT 96 Eagle SS2 Accident - roll over
589 Alec Ellsworth Steve Kaczkowski Open 97 Mitsubishi SS3 Unknown
825 Harry Anderson Mark Anderson Open 90 Eagle SS3 mechanical
545 Eric Seppanen Jake Himes P 92 Nissan SS3 Time barred
168 Celsus Donnelly Mark McAllister GT 90 Eagle SS3 Accident - roll over
Leg Two Retirements - unofficial (partial listing)
Car # Drivers Name Co-Drivers Name Class Year Make stage
Retirement cause (unofficial)
304 Lon Peterson Bill Gutzmann Open 00 Subaru SS1 Fuel contamination/fuel pump
175 Alex Erisoty Ben Greisler Open 90 Audi SS6 mechanical
110 Mark Nelson John Dillon FIA-N 97 Mitsubshi SS5 Axle hub
115 Seamus Burke Frank Cunningham FIA-N 97 Mitsubshi SS7 Engine
107 Tim Paterson Scott Ferguson Open 95 Mitsubshi SS7 Accident
44 Peter Cunningham Doug Gill Open 99 Mitsubshi SS7 Stalled
565 Russell Hodges Jimmy Brandt FIA-N 95 Subaru SS7 Accident - roll-over
139 Janusz Jastrzebski Tomasz Zaremba GT 95 Subaru N/A Time-barred
Results 2000
RRN Index