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Round 7 of the 2001 SCCA ProRally Championship Bemidji, Minnesota August 17-18, 2001 Ojibwe Forests Website * ProRally Results * ClubRally Results Press Notes
For immediate release 11 August, 2001 MEDIA ALERT SCCA ProRally Championship Round #7 - Ojibwe Forests DENVER, CO: Seventh round (of ten) for the 2001 season. A huge 85 car field, the third record breaking entry list in as many events, of SCCA and FIA Performance Rally cars are slated to start the Ojibwe Forests SCCA ProRally; competing on fast and smooth state Forestry roads in northwester Minnesota. This performance rally event is sanctioned by the Sport Car Club of America. When & Where: 17-18 August 2001; Bemidji, MN; approximately 180 miles (275 kilometers) northwest of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Headquarters Hotel - Friday/Saturday Press Room; Event and Media registration Northern Inn and Convention Center Adjacent to Bemidji-Beltrami Airport Bemidji, MN 56601 Hotel Main: 218.751.9500 Media & Fan Reception - Wednesday 15 August - Minnetonka, MN=20 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 will be the Subaru Rally Team USA (and current=20 overall points leaders) 2002 Impreza WRXs of Mark Lovell and Karl Scheible. Other Subaru rally cars on hand will include Paul Eklund's SCCA Open class 1995 Impreza; Lee Shadbolt's turbocharged 2.0 Litre 1998 Impreza, and Henry and Cindi Krolikowski's Prodrive built Impreza WRX-STi. A host of non-Subaru performance rally cars, including Michael Halley's famous VW 'Cute Car' New Beetle from the television commercials (now renamed the 'Stud Bug'), and Mark Utecht's class leading Mitsubishi Eclipse will be on display as well. Complete Event Schedule: (subject to change) Wednesday, 15 August, 2001 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM Subaru Media Reception - Morrie's Subaru - Minnetonka, MN * Thursday, 16 August, 2001 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM "Triple Caution" RallyCross - Bemidji Speedway - open to public Friday, 17 August, 2001 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM Entrant and Media registration at the Northern Inn - Bemidji 9:00 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 12:30 AM 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, 18 August, 2001 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM Press Room open, Late Press Registration 12:00 Noon Start of Ojibwe Forests ProRally Leg Two - Bemidji Speedway 3:45 PM - 8:00 PM Service Area Open - location of spectator stage* - NJK Ranch - Akeley 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. SCCA ProRally Championship Round #7 - Ojibwe Forests Selected entries (driver/co-driver): 2001 Sno*Drift overall winners and 7-time overall champion team of Paul Choiniere and Jeff Becker; SCCA Open Class 2000 Hyundai Tiburon. 1999 Overall Manufacturer, Driver and Co-Driver Champions Noel Lawler & Charles Bradley; SCCA Open Class 2000 Hyundai Tiburon . 2001 Overall points leader, Mark Lovell, with Steve Turvey, SCCA Open Class 2002 Subaru WRX. 6-time 2001 podium finisher and 2nd place overall point holder, Seamus Burke with 1st place overall co-driver points leader Frank Cunningham, 2000 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI. Overall winner of the 2000 Rim of the World and Susquehannock Trail events, 2001 Gr N points leaders, Karl Scheible with Brian Maxwell, FIA Gr N 2002 Subaru WRX. Additional news interest: The rally features two special spectator stages on Saturday, the first at start at the Bemidji Speedway, and the other combined with 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. Heat is expected to be a major factor at this year, with much of the mid-west USA under the siege of a fierce heat wave that has lasted several weeks. The SCCA's National Safety Steward, Dr. Floyd Shrader, has posted a health advisory and steps are being taken to ensure the well-being of the competitors. & Spectators and Press are advised to bring plenty of drinking water. Mazda officially joins the Manufacturers Championship at Ojibwe Forests, with the debut of their new Protge MP3 rally car. Built by Burmeister Motorsports of Dearborn Heights, MI, the all-new car shares its appearance and several key performance components with the manufacturer's highly successful SCCA World Challenge series road-race cars. The car, built from the ground up for SCCA Group 2 (2 wheel drive, under 2.4 litre) competition, will re-establish the former championship winning automaker in SCCA rally competition. Mazda's last overall SCCA ProRally championship was earned by multi-time SCCA ProRally drivers champion Rod Millen, in 1989. Event Rank: This rally is a full points SCCA ProRally Championship event. Drivers earn points towards the national championship, and supporting manufacturers (Hyundai, Subaru, Mazda and Mitsubishi) earn points towards overall and class Manufacturers' Championships. Press Credentials: Event Press/Photo credentials will be available at registration on Friday and pre-event Saturday morning. Access to press-only photo areas, and to the post event activities 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 Service. 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 Director Pre-event: 303.967.9660 303.694.3654 Fax (USA CountryCode: 1) direct inquiry Email: kspitzner@scca.org Press Room phone: 218.751.9500 ask for Press Room. The operator will transfer call. Time zone at event: Central Daylight Time (GMT - 6 hours) SCCA ProRally: http://www.sccaprorally.org/ SCCA Ojibwe Forest ProRally: http://www.ojibweforestsrally.com The SCCA ProRally Championship is presented by Hyundai and Subaru For immediate release 16 August 2001 Start Order & Late Breaking News: SCCA ProRally Championship - Ojibwe Forests Bemidji, Minnesota: A record eighty-four cars are entered in the 18th running of the Ojibwe Forests SCCA ProRally Championship event. All Championship manufacturers (Hyundai, Subaru, Mitsubishi, and Mazda) are represented, featuring three of the reigning overall manufacturers championship Hyundais, 7 Mitsubishi Lancers, and an impressive armada of 14 Subaru Imprezas, including several new independently entered WRXs making their US rally debuts this weekend. The two-day event will be held on closed to the public forestry service roads in the area south and west of Bemidji. The Rally starts tomorrow afternoon, from the Northern Inn headquarters hotel adjacent to the Bemidji/Beltrami Airport at 5:00 PM, following a 1-hour open to the public Parc Expose. Selected late entries, news: The serious weather/health alert issued earlier this week may be - thankfully - unnecessary. A lucky, sudden, and dramatic change in weather patterns across the Midwest US has resulted in temperatures 20 or more degrees cooler than expected. The heat wave, responsible for several civilian deaths in Minnesota over the last 2 weeks has completely abated and has also brought some much needed rain to the region. US and Canadian Production GT Champion Patrick Richard will be debuting his new, independently entered SCCA Open class Subaru Impreza turbo at Ojibwe. Richard, who drives for Subaru Rally Team Canada in the CARS rally series, has been developing this new car on the side, and is ready to give it its first 'shakedown' rally this weekend. Expecting to have some teething problems, Richard wants to get the car buttoned down now, in preparation for a September podium shot at Round #8 - the Wild West SCCA ProRally, in Olympia, WA. Top question of the day: Will this be a repeat of Seamus Burke's and Frank Cunningham's Really Excellent Weekend? The only team to stand on the podium at every event of the season, the duo broke their 3rd place duck at Round #5 - Susquehannock Trail with a smart 2nd place drive, then snapped up a convincing 1st overall finish at Round #6 - Maine Forest. The team, and the car, appear unstoppable, and drew a favorable 3rd on the road starting position. With some of the best rally road conditions of the season, and flawless car preparation, this dynamic duo is in an enviable position to let the rally come to them, while the rest of the pack slugs it out. Contact: Kurt Spitzner - SCCA Pro Rally Championship Director Time zone at-event: Central Time (GMT - 6 hours) Press room phone: call hotel main 218.751.9500 - operator willtransfer call. Web sites: SCCA ProRally: http://www.sccaprorally.org/ SCCA Ojibwe Forests ProRally: http://www.ojibweforestsrally.com 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 Group 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 normally aspirated cars; PGT - high horsepower all-wheel-drive production (stock) cars. The SCCA name and logo is a registered trademark of the Sports Car Club ofAmerica, Inc. ProRally, ClubRally and RallyCross are service marks of the SCCA. Ojibwe Forests SCCA ProRally Championship Round #7 17 August, 2001 Start Order -subject to revision (available at www.ojibweforestsrally.com) Pos Car Seed Class Driver Co-driver Year Car 1 1 F Open Paul Choiniere Jeff Becker 00 Hyundai Tiburon 2 14 0 Open Mark Lovell Steve Turvey 02 Subaru WRX 3 115 0 Open Seamus Burke Frank Cunningham 00 Mitsubishi Evo 6 4 3 0 Open Noel Lawler Charles Bradley 01 Hyundai Tiburon 5 2 0 N Karl Scheible Brian Maxwell 02 Subaru WRX 6 32 1 Open Paul Eklund Scott Huhn 97 Subaru Impreza 7 107 1 Open Tim Paterson Scott Ferguson 97 Mitsubishi Evo lV 8 50 1 Open Steve Gingras Bill Westrick 00 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS 9 33 1 Open Rhys Millen Josh Jacquot 00 Mitsubishi Evo 6.5 10 8 1 Open Patrick Richard Ben Bradley 00 Subaru Impreza 11 74 1 N Ramana Lagemann Russ Hughes 99 Subaru WRX STI 12 235 1 G2 David White James Brandt 86 VW Golf GTi 13 925 2 Open Sakis Hadjiminas Luis Figueiredo 95 Subaru Impreza 14 21 2 PGT Chris Czyzio Eric Carlson 93 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX 15 83 2 PGT Mark Utecht Brenda Lewis 92 Mitsubishi Eclipse 16 82 2 G5 Mike Hurst Rob Bohn 93 Ford Mustang LX 5.0 17 63 2 G5 Tad Ohtake Martin Dapot 98 Ford Escort ZX2 18 188 2 G5 Andrew Havas Melanie Kelley 79 Mazda RX7 19 35 3 Open Lee Shadbolt Robert Sherman 97 Subaru Impreza 20 110 3 Open Mark Nelson Alex Gelsomino 00 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 21 58 3 Open Alec Ellsworth Steve Kaczkowski 97 Mitsubishi Evo lV 22 49 3 Open Jonathan Ryther Janice Damitio 00 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS 23 527 3 Open Chris Gilligan Joe Petersen 94 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX 24 117 3 Open Ken Stewart Floyd Shrader 85 Chevrolet S-10 25 904 3 Open John Drislane Declan Hegarty 98 Mitsubishi Evo lV 26 76 3 PGT Gail Truess Jeff Secor 88 Mazda 323 GTX 27 950 3 PGT Shane Mitchell Paul Donnelly 93 Eagle Talon TSi 28 207 3 G5 Dave Hintz Rick Hintz 86 Mazda RX-7 Turbo 29 166 3 G5 John Daubenmier Stanley Rosen 85 Chevrolet S-10 30 98 3 G2 Robert Neilsen Ed Wahl 86 VW Golf GTi 31 42 3 G2 Eric Burmeister Eric Adams 01 Mazda MP3 Protég é' 32 61 3 P Michael Halley Ole Holter 99 VW New Beetle 33 301 3 P Tony Chavez Doug Robinson 87 VW Golf GTi 34 822 3 P Jeff Field David Weiman 94 Dodge Shadow 35 132 4 Open Robert Burtis James Burtis 85 Audi Coupe quattro 36 275 4 PGT Nat T-Stow Amity Trowbridge 02 Subaru WRX 37 518 5 Open Dennis Martin Kim Demotte 93 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX 38 78 5 Open Paul Dunn Rebecca Dunn 97 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV 39 559 5 Open John Rek Rob Dupree 92 Audi quattro S2 40 523 5 PGT Rodney Dean Nichole Dean 92 Plymouth Laser RS 41 324 5 PGT Peter Workum Claire Chizma 02 Subaru WRX 42 137 5 G2 Phillip Smith Dallas Smith 67 MG B-GT 43 72 5 G2 Jon Hamilton Ken Sabo 84 VW Rabbit 44 133 5 P Tom Young Jim LeBeau 97 Dodge Neon 45 967 5 P David Coleman Paula Gibeault 00 Hyundai Tiburon 46 94 5 P Craig Peeper Ian Bevan 01 Ford Focus ZX3 47 868 5 NA Jason Rivas NA NA NA 48 403 6 Open Wyeth Gublemann Therin Pace 02 Subaru WRX 49 470 6 N Geoffrey Maguire David Fiddyment 00 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS 50 876 6 N Tony Birbilis Jose Vicente 93 Ford Escort Cosworth 51 553 6 G5 Jerry Brownell Jim Windson Citation X-11 52 721 6 G5 Richard Miller Juanita Miller Saab 900T 53 543 6 G2 Chris Whiteman TBA VW GTI 54 538 6 G2 James Buchwitz Charles Rudstrom Ford Escort 55 539 6 P Ryan Brooks Randy Berdan Acura Integra GS-R ClubRally Only Pos Car Seed Class Driver Co-driver Car 56 501 2* Open Todd Jarvey Richard Faber Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 57 541 3* Open Dariusz Bosek Piotr Modrzejewski Mazda 323 GTX 58 609 3* G5 Scott Justus Sumit Panjabi Mazda RX-7 59 557 3* G2 Larry Warrington Damien Crane VW Jetta 60 507 3* G2 Micah Wiitala Jared Kemp Saturn SL-2 61 576 3* G2 Douglas Davenport Tim Herman VW Golf 62 550 3* G2 Aaron Hatz Brendon Higgins VW GTI 63 554 3* G2 Mark Buskirk Paul Fernandez VW GTI 64 546 3* G2 Phil Schmidt Steve Irwin Toytoa MR2 65 558 3* P Jim Cox Kaari Cox Chevy S-10 Pickup 66 560 3* P David Johnson Shannon Kirchoff Plymouth Neon 67 545 3* P Eric Seppanen Jake Himes Nissan Sentra SE-R 68 404 4* PGT JB Whorton Matt Deye Mazda 323 69 532 4* PGT David Lafavor Robert Lafavor Eagle Talon 70 432 4* G5 Ron Nelson E. Lucero+/B. Moody * Eagle Talon TSI (+1st ClubRally, *2nd ClubRally) 71 582 4* G5 Doug Dill Tyler Dill Mazda RX-7 72 563 4* G5 Gary Starr Bill Tift Dodge Omni 73 513 4* G2 Richard Pankratz TBA Saturn SL2M 74 546 4* G2 Steve Irwin Phil Schmidt Toytoa MR2 75 542 4* G2 Dan Moore John Hopponen Suzuki Swift GTI 76 528 4* G2 John Adleman James Bialas** VW GTI (**Switching Driver to Co-Driver 2nd Rally) 77 552 5* P Bruce Eddy TBA Dodge Neon 78 530 6* PGT Doug Havir Al Kintigh Subaru Impreza WRX 79 471 6* G5 Greg Pachman Ray Summers Ford Escape 80 604 6* G5 Bryan Ackerman Sean Figgins Mitsubishi Pickup 81 534 6* P Bob Olson Conrad Ketelsen Porsche 911S The SCCA ProRally Championship is presented by Hyundai and Subaru For immediate release 18 August, 2001 SCCA ProRally Championship - Round #7 - Ojibwe Forests Leg One Results, Key Notes Lovell, Burke and Choiniere Pull Ahead in Minnesota Mudslinger Bemidji, Minnesota - Fierce rain-storms, high-winds and hail made the starting stages of the Ojibwe Forests Rally a slippery, sliding challenge for the 160 performance rallyists (80 cars) entered. Burke and Lovell swapped leads all evening, nearly evenly splitting fastest overall stage times, Lovell winning three, Burke two and 2000 series champion Paul Choiniere one. Key Notes & Quotes: As the evening progressed, the skies cleared and became almost chilly - and the roads improved to some of the best conditions of the entire 2001 SCCA ProRally season. Stage times were fast - and the competition was very tight throughout the field It quickly became clear that no one is going to walk away with overall or class wins on Day One. Subaru is having a great rally, after the second 'character building' weekend of the season at Maine Forest. Showing top form in both Group N and Open class, the Prodrive directed Subaru Rally Team USA is leading the way, but several independents, including Group N star Ramana Lagemann, and Minnesota native and local favorite Steve Gingras are having very good results. The company occupies six of the top ten slots at the end of day one, and retired only two of the 13 entered cars, with both retirements incurred from road damage. Topping the utterly luckless list is Patrick Richard, who posted his first DNS (did not start) in his US rallying career with transmission gear selector woes discovered after the Thursday night shakedown: "We finally have a transmission that wont break" explained Richard - but now the part that connects me to the transmission failed." Hyundai's Noel Lawler came close to that level of frustration, retiring a mere 3 miles into SS1 with turbo failure, which evidently shuts the motors engine management system down - "we couldn't even move - it just sat there and idled pretty as can be." In the Mitsubishi camp, while independents Seamus Burke and Frank Cunningham are having yet another brilliant weekend in their Lancer, Rhys Millen, in his championship bid for Mitsubishi, is having more overheating problems, and retired at service with what appears to be a blown head gasket. The debut of the independently entered 2002 Subaru WRX of Washington state's Nat T-Stow, with veteran co-driver Amity Trowbridge, has built a minute and a half lead over PGT class favorite Mark Utecht, who suffered a mangled front suspension late in the nights going. "Three rallys - three bent control arms" remarked a frustrated Utecht "but we're getting really good at swapping them out - so tomorrow is looking good." The Minnesotan is maintaining a comfortable three and a half minute lead over 3rd place Gail Truess. The Two-Wheel Drive category is very tight, and is being lead by a Production class car - a works Hyundai Tiburon, driven by Sport Compact Car magazine technical editor David Coleman, with the independently entered Group 5 Mustang 5.0 of Michael Hurst and the Group 2 VW Golf GTi of Robert Nielsen all in the same minute. The debut of the new Mazda team Protégé MP3 is doing well, less than 3 minutes down from the Group 2 leader. Day Two of the Ojibwe Forests SCCA ProRally starts at Noon, with a crowd pleasing and unique-to-the-series spectator stage at Bemidji Speedway, a high-banked clay oval that usually sees NASCAR type Late Model Sportsman action. The rally cars will start in reverse order, and then head into the woods for the balance of the afternoon and evening. SCCA® Ojibwe Forests ProRally Championship Round #7 18 August, 2001 Leg One Top 25 Finishing Order St Fin Car# Time Class Driver Co-driver Car 2 1 14 1:00.20 Open Mark Lovell Steve Turvey 02 Subaru WRX 4 2 115 1:00.97 Open Seamus Burke Frank Cunningham 00 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 1 3 1 1:01.97 Open Paul Choiniere Jeff Becker 00 Hyundai Tiburon 11 4 74 1:01.56 N Ramana Lagemann Russ Hughes 00 Subaru Impreza 5 5 2 1:04.26 N Karl Scheible Brian Maxwell 02 Subaru WRX 8 6 50 1:06.23 Open Steve Gingras Bill Westrick 00 Subaru Impreza 23 7 49 1:07.63 Open Jonathan Ryther Janice Damitio 00 Subaru Impreza 7 8 107 1:08.42 Open Tim Paterson Scott Ferguson 97 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV 22 9 58 1:08.57 Open Alec Ellsworth Steve Kackowski 97 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV 6 10 32 1:08.71 Open Paul Eklund Scott Huhn 95 Subaru Impreza 36 11 275 1:09.73 PGT Nat T-Stow Amity Trowbridge 02 Subaru WRX 21 12 110 1:10.12 Open Mark Nelson Alex Gelsomino 00 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 16 13 83 1:11.22 PGT Mark Utecht Brenda Lewis 92 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX 39 14 78 1:11.32 Open Paul Dunn Rebecca Dunn 97 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV 44 15 967 1:12.11 P Dave Coleman Paula Gibeault 00 Hyundai Tiburon 17 16 82 1:12.13 G5 Michael Hurst Robert Bohn 93 Ford Mustang LX 5.0 30 17 98 1:12.65 G2 Robert Nielsen Ed Wahl VW Golf GTi 19 18 188 1:12.82 G5 Andrew Havas Melanie Kelly 79 Mazda RX7 20 19 35 1:13.40 Open Lee Shadbolt Robert Sherman 97 Subaru Impreza 12 20 235 1:13.60 G2 David White James Brandt VW Golf GTi 26 21 76 1:14.40 PGT Gail Truess Jeff Secor 88 Mazda 323GTX 28 22 207 1:14.51 G5 David Hintz Rick Hintz Mazda RX-7 35 23 132 1:14.99 Open Robert Burtis James Burtis Audi Coupe Quattro 31 24 42 1:15.16 G2 Eric Burmeister Eric Adams 02 Mazda Protégé MP3 25 25 117 1:15.49 Open Ken Stewart Floyd Shrader 85 Chevrolet S-10 *complete results will be posted on the Ojibwe Forests website:http://www.ojibweforestsrally.com SCCA® Ojibwe Forests ProRallysm Championship Round #7 18 August, 2001 Leg One Pro Retirements (offical) Car# Driver Co-Driver Class Year Make Stage Retirement cause (unofficial) 3 Noel Lawler Charles Bradley Open 00 Hyundai SS1 Turbo 470 Geoff Maguire David Fiddyment N 00 Subaru SS3 Suspension 925 Sakis Hadjiminas Luis Figueiredo Open 95 Subaru SS3 Undisclosed mechanical from road damage 33 Rhys Millen Josh Jacquot Open 00 Mitsu Service Withdrawn at service - head gasket 61 Michael Halley Ole Holter P 99 VW SS4 Engine management 527 Chris Gilligan Joe Peterson Open 92 Mitsu SS4 950 Shane Mitchell Paul Donnelly PGT 92 Eagle SS4 166 John Daubenmier Stanley Rosen Gr 5 88 Chev SS6 Engine -crankshaft 904 John Drislane Declan Hegarty Open 97 Mitsu SS6 Mechanical 876 Tony Birbillis Jose Vicente N 92 Ford SS1 Mechanical The SCCA name and logo is a registered trademark of the Sports Car Club of America, Inc. ProRally, ClubRally and RallyCross are service marks of the SCCA. The SCCA ProRally Championship is presented by Hyundai and Subaru For immediate release 18 August, 2001 SCCA ProRally Championship - Round #7 - Ojibwe Forests Leg Two/Final Results, Key Notes Choiniere Crashes Out - Lovell Snaps Up Win Number 4 Bemidji, Minnesota - A cool August summer day, perfect for rallying, was made that much more so for a lucky Mark Lovell and Steve Turvey, who's Subaru WRX proved an equal match to Burke's Lancer Evo VI - the margin of victory was a mere 56 seconds after two hard days and nights of rallying. Paul Choiniere, driving one of the best rallys in his career, and was in the hunt for the overall, committed a very rare mis-cue and landed on his roof mid-way through the days running, opening the door for another lucky Subaru driver - Karl Scheible, to snap up a third place podium and the Group N win. Key Notes & Quotes: A protest was filed against Lovell and Turvey post-event by Burke and Cunningham, and centered on the use of maps rather than the organizers provided route-book instructions. The stakes were the highest imaginable: the penalty for use of Pacenotes is disqualification from the event in question, plus a 60-day suspension of competition license. At this point in the season, this would essentially eliminate Lovell and Turvey from the championship - and while not handing the series crown to Burke, it would certainly tilt it in their, and Choiniere's, favor. In the end, the protest was rejected by the SCCA ProRally Protest Committee. Said Choiniere regarding his SS11 roll-over: "Fortunately, the roll wasn't that hard; the car is certainly fixable - the way we are all running now, the competition is just at another level. We knew we were taking some chances; and that's part of the game. Wild West should be really something." Ramana Lagemann's terrific run to the front came to a slowdown on the penultimate stage, when the fuel pump shorted out. Resourceful co-driver Russ Hughes was thinking fast, rewired the trunks domelight directly to the fuel pump. Regardless, doing so does take time, and while able to salvage a finish, all hopes of a class win were dashed. With the retirement of both Open class Hyundais, it was the Production class Tiburon driven by David Coleman that brought home the Manufacturers Championship bacon for the Korean automaker. With Mazda now officially in the Manufacturers Championship, finishing ahead of that car became mission critical. "It wasn't until 2 stages from the finish that we were able to ease off just a bit - it was a race all the way" said Coleman. "It Works!" exclaimed an exhausted but very pleased Eric Burmeister, team owner and driver of the all new SCCA Group 2 Mazda Protege MP3 that made its ProRally debut this weekend. "The build-up process of the car took longer than expected, but the results have certainly been worthwhile - there is no question we have a competitive ride in Group 2, right out of the box." Burmeister admitted that he was taking it easy on this first shakedown event, and that there is still plenty of development room left in the car as well, allowing the team to continually improve the car as the class develops. Group 5 had the tightest run of the weekend, with class victor Michael Hurst winning the class by a mere 6 seconds over a hard charging Andrew Havas. Havas made up significant time in the final stages of the event, besting Hurst's stage times on six of Day Two's eight stages. With Subaru's win, and Hyundai's misfortune, the Manufacturers Championship is beginning to stretch out - unofficial overall standings are: Subaru 119, Mitsubishi 107, and Hyundai 103. With Scheibles Group N victory, the automaker has a firm lock on that championship over its global Gr N rally nemesis, Mitsubishi, 120 to 50. The SCCA ProRally Championship begins its final west coast tour of the season, heading to Olympia, WA for the Wild West rally on September 7-8. SCCA Ojibwe Forests ProRally Championship Round #7 17-18 August, 2001 Final Top 25 Finishing Order St Fin Car# Time Class Driver Co-driver Year Car 2 1 14 1:47:02 Open Mark Lovell Steve Turvey 02 Subaru WRX 4 2 115 1:47:58 Open Seamus Burke Frank Cunningham 00 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 5 3 2 1:55:01 N Karl Scheible Brian Maxwell 02 Subaru WRX 8 4 50 1:57:35 Open Steve Gingras Bill Westrick 00 Subaru Impreza 7 5 107 1:59:23 Open Tim Paterson Scott Ferguson 97 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV 22 6 58 2:00:03 Open Alec Ellsworth Steve Kackowski 97 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV 21 7 110 2:01:02 Open Mark Nelson Alex Gelsomino 00 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 6 8 32 2:01:52 Open Paul Eklund Scott Huhn 95 Subaru Impreza 36 9 275 2:04:05 PGT Nat T-Stow Amity Trowbridge 02 Subaru WRX 16 10 83 2:05:59 PGT Mark Utecht Brenda Lewis 92 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX 17 11 82 2:06:32 G5 Michael Hurst Robert Bohn 93 Ford Mustang LX 5.0 19 12 188 2:06:38 G5 Andrew Havas Melanie Kelly 9 Mazda RX7 39 13 78 2:06:43 Open Paul Dunn Rebecca Dunn 97 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV 44 14 967 2:09:26 P Dave Coleman Paula Gibeault 00 Hyundai Tiburon 30 15 98 2:09:35 G2 Robert Nielsen Ed Wahl 86 VW Golf GTi 12 16 235 2:10:35 G2 David White James Brandt 88 VW Golf GTi 20 17 35 2:11:05 Open Lee Shadbolt Robert Sherman 97 Subaru Impreza 28 18 207 2:12:25 G5 David Hintz Rick Hintz 87 Mazda RX-7 turbo 17 19 63 2:12:28 Open Tad Ohtake Martin Dapot 98 Ford Escort ZX2 31 20 42 2:12:40 G2 Eric Burmeister Eric Adams 02 Mazda Protege MP3 26 21 76 2:12:44 PGT Gail Truess Jeff Secor 88 Mazda 323GTX 44 22 133 2:15:20 P Tom Young Jim LeBeau 97 Dodge Neon ACR 43 23 72 2:15:35 G2 Jon Hamilton Ken Sabo 81 VW Rabbit 14 24 21 2:16:11 PGT Chris Czyzio Eric Carlson 93 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX 25 25 117 2:16:20 Open Ken Stewart Floyd Shrader 85 Chevrolet S-10 *complete results will be posted on the Ojibwe Forests website: http://www.ojibweforestsrally.com Leg One Pro Retirements (offical) 17 August, 2001 Car# Driver Co-Driver Class Year Make Stage Retirement cause (unofficial) 3 Noel Lawler Charles Bradley Open 00 Hyundai SS1 Turbo 470 Geoff Maguire David Fiddyment N 00 Subaru SS3 Suspension 925 Sakis Hadjiminas Luis Figueiredo Open 95 Subaru SS3 Undisclosed mechanical road damage 33 Rhys Millen Josh Jacquot Open 00 Mitsu Service Withdrawn at service - head gasket 61 Michael Halley Ole Holter P 99 VW SS4 Engine management 527 Chris Gilligan Joe Peterson Open 92 Mitsu SS4 High-centered on berm - time barred 950 Shane Mitchell Paul Donnelly PGT 92 Eagle SS6 Accident 166 John Daubenmier Stanley Rosen Gr 5 88 Chev SS6 Engine -crankshaft 904 John Drislane Declan Hegarty Open 97 Mitsu SS6 Driveshaft 876 Tony Birbillis Jose Vicente N 92 Ford SS1 Mechanical Leg Two Pro Retirements (offical) 18 August, 2001 Car# Driver Co-Driver Class Year Make Stage Retirement cause (unofficial) 868 Jason Rivas C. Mantopoulos PGT 02 Subaru SS10 Stuck in ditch - time barred 1 Paul Choiniere Jeff Becker Open 00 Hyundai SS11 Roll-over 518 Dennis Martin Kim Demotte Open 91 Mitsu SS12 Engine 132 Robert Burtis James Burtis Open 85 Audi SS10 Distributor, electrical 543 Chris Whiteman David Hackett G2 85 VW SS13 Roll-over The SCCA name and logo is a registered trademark of the Sports Car Club of America, Inc. ProRally, ClubRally and RallyCross are service marks of the SCCA.
2001 ProRally Index RRN Index |