Big Bend Bash
Round #1 - 1992 Subaru PRO Rally Championship
January 31 - February 2, 1992


Press Notes
by Andy Schupack

Final Results


PRESS NOTES #1 
Round #1 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship 
Big Bend Bash Rally - Terlingua, Texas 
January 31 - noon
 
Location:  Terlingua, Texas (look at your atlas where the
           bottom of Texas meets with Big Bend National Park,
           and then go slightly west) - Headquarters is
           Terlingua Ranch, resort and site of Willie
           Nelson's movie "Barbarosa."  Also, formerly
           owned by Carroll Shelby and site of Chili Cookoff.
 
Duration:  80.76 stage miles, 127.15 total miles, 6 stages
 
Rank:  Coefficient 3 divisional PRO Rally with national
       competitors earning 60% of normal points. 

Expected national entries:  Chad DiMarco - defending overall
      champion - Subaru Legacy;  Paul Choiniere - 1990
      overall champion - Audi Quattro; Carl Merrill - 1991
      fourth place overall - Mitsubishi Eclipse; Jim Wilson
      - second place - Production GT in 1991 - Mitsubishi
      Galant; Henry Joy - in former Carl Merrill Mazda
      323GTX; Gary Gooch - 1991 2nd place/Rallytruck -Toyota
      Pickup; Dave Thomas - Mazda RX-7 - top divisional
      competitors.
 
Notable no-shows:  Bruno Kreibich - 1991 Open class champion
      - semi-retired; Doug Sheppard - new Eagle Talon - "not
      finished;" Cal Landau - new Mitsubishi Eclipse for
      Production GT - "will debut in the summer;"  Tim
      O'Neil - new Mitsubishi Galant - "see you at Rim;"
      Michael Grieb - defending Production GT/Mazda 323GTX -
      "will run selecterhevents - lack of money;"
 
Terrain:  Spectacular mountain/desert area.  Stage roads
          mostly tight, twisty, and smooth.  Washes and
          creeks are frequent and sometimes rough. Elevation
          varies from 2,000 - 4,500 ft. above sea level.
 
Climate:  Sunny, clear, dry during day - high in the 70's;
          Clear and cool at night, lows in the 40's.


PRESS NOTES #2 
Round #1 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship 
Big Bend Bash Rally - Terlingua, Texas 
January 31 - noon 

                    ROUND #1 - SUBARU PRO RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
                BIG BEND BASH - TERLINGUA, TX - FEBRUARY 1, 1992

                          ENTRY LIST AS OF 1/31/92

  #  DRIVER/HOMETOWN              CO-DRIVER/HOMETOWN            CAR/CLASS
  1  CHAD DIMARCO/HUNT.BEACH CA   ERICK HAUGE/NAPA CA           SUBARU LEGACY/A
  2  PAUL CHOINIERE/WILLISTON VT  JEFF BECKER/GREAT NECK NY     AUDI QUATTRO/O
  4  CARL MERRILL/OGUNQUIT ME     JON WICKENS/BIRMINGHAM MI     MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE/O
 11  A. HADJIMINAS/FLORAL PK NY   HENRY NOGA/GLEN MEAD NY       MITSUBISHI GALANT/GT
 12  JIM WILSON/NORTHPORT NY      JAMES WILSON/NORTHPORT NY     MITSUBISHI GALANT/GT
 13  MARK MOLNAR/HILLIARD OH      YORGI BITTNER                 VW GOLF/PROD
 14  DICK CORLEY/COLCHESTER VT    LANCE SMITH/WILLISTON VT      MITSUBISHI GALANT/O
 15  DAVE THOMAS/ST CHAS MO       DAVE LAW/WICHITA KS           MAZDA RX-7/DIV
 16  KEN STEWART/GROVE OK         RALPH STARR/ALMAGORDO NM      CHEVY BLAZER/DIV
 17  JIM DALE/CONWAY AK           BILLY REBER/MEMPHIS TN        MAZDA/DIV 
 18  JOHN LANNOM/FT STOCKTON TX   JOHN SCHLAGEL/ODESSA TX       VW BUG/DIV
 19  GARY GOOCH/UNION CITY CA     JUDI GOOCH/UNION CITY CA      TOYOTA PICKUP/TRUCK
 20  ROGER HULL/PRESCOTT AZ       ROB CHERRY/PRESCOTT AZ        JEEP/TRUCK
 21  GREG HEALEY/HARTSVILE SC     JIM KLOOSTERMAN/HARTSVILLE SC DODGE PICKUP/TRUCK
 22  JEFF HENDRICKS/PRESCOTT AZ   NOBLE JONES/PRESCOTT AZ       JEEP/TRUCK 
 23  B J BEALE/DENVER CO          STUART BEALE/TULSA OK         MAZDA/GT
 24  FLOYD SHRADER/W MEMPHIS AK   RICHARD BEACH/JACKSON MS      EAGLE/DIV
 25  HENRY JOY/WILMETTE IL        SCOTT GILLMAN/POMONA CA       MAZDA 323GTX/GT
 26  DAVE HARDWICK/FT STOCKTON TX BILL BROOKS/ALPINE TX         VW BUG/DIV
 27  MAKARIOS SOURLIS/NEW YORK NY M KARAGEORGI/HUNTINGTON NY    MITSUBISHI GALANT/GT
 28  JAMES COOK/ALPINE TX         DOUG OTOUPAL/FT DAVIS TX      VW BUG/DIV
 29  PETER LAHM/PHOENIX AZ        BOB SMITH/TUCSON AZ           DATSUN/O
 30  SQUIRES
 31  KAREN BURROWS/MESA AZ        KEN CASSIDY/MESA AZ           MAZDA/DIV


PRESS NOTES #3
Round #1 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship 
Big Bend Bash Rally - Terlingua, Texas 
January 31 - 11:00 PM
 
1. Friday was arrival and "unofficial" practice day for most of the
   national PRO rally teams.  As of this writing, there are 24 entries
   (up from last year's 16 entries - 13 starters), and this is the first
   time since 1982 that the Big Bend Bash can be run for national points.
   Although the national competitors will only get credit for 60 percent
   of their usual points, Big Bend promoter Roger Gibson hopes to add some
   miles to his event for '93 and apply for a full national rally date.

2. Practice news today revolved around broken struts and flat tires, with
   Dick Corley's new Mitsubishi Galant falling victim to both.  Defending
   champion Chad DiMarco, whose Subaru Legacy is "ready for replacement"
   after the beating it took last season, thinks the hard, well-graded roads
   should produce "very fast" times, but cautioned that drivers will have to
   watch out for changes in the color of dirt - signaling the rough washes
   and creeks.

3. Paul Choiniere, whose Libra Racing-prepared Audi Quattro won the
   last two national rallies in 1991, is expected to arrive just in time
   for the start on Saturday at 11:00 AM.  A death in the family delayed
   Paul's departure from Maine.  If last-minute plane arrangements do
   not work out, John Buffum might step into that car with co-driver
   Jeff Becker.

4. Speaking of Becker, who co-drove with Bruno Kreibich's Open class
   championship Audi in 1991, he is entered with Choiniere for this rally,
   but is unsure about the rest of the season.  Bruno does not plan to
   run either of the first two rallies (Big Bend and Prescott), but
   could run some rallies during the '92 season depending on family
   and business situations.

5. Although the divisional class of drivers will be a separate competition,
   expect at least three of the divisional competitors to finish in the
   top ten overall.  Even though divisional cars cannot get credit for
   national overall points, a good finish above a national driver is a
   prestigious and the divisional points count towards a divisional PRO Rally
   championship.

6. The fastest divisional driver is likely to be Dave Thomas, from St.
   Charles, MO, and co-driver Dave Law, in a Mazda RX-7.  Ken Stewart,
   from Grove, OK, in his Chevy Blazer; Jim Dale, from Conway, AK; and
   John Lannom, a local driver from Ft. Stockton, TX in a VW Baja Bug
   are all expected to contend for the divisional title and top ten
   overall standings.  Although the divisional class was designed to
   get drivers experience before they move up to national classes, many
   experienced drivers stay in the divisional class because of money.  Many
   experienced drivers cannot afford the travel or time out of work to
   run the national series, but their cars can be very competitive at
   any given event.

7. Both Tom Ottey, a Production GT competitor who is not here this weekend,
   and Gary and Judi Gooch, the Toyota Pickup competitor who are here,
   participated in a rally in Jamaica in December.  The Gooch's said
   that, while they got their truck to go 110 MPH - the fastest it has
   ever run - they also tore up the suspension there.  They barely had
   time to fix the vehicle before coming to Texas.
 

PRESS NOTES #8 
Round #1 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship 
Big Bend Bash Rally - Terlingua, Texas 
February 1 - 4:00 PM

11.  After several service vehicles, including SCCA PRO Rally series
     manager John Buffum, got stuck setting up for the first stage
     of the 1992 Big Bend Bash, a decision was made to cancel the
     initial stages of the rally due to heavy thunderstorms making the
     roads inaccessible.  Organizers Roger Gibson and Bob Logue have
     have called a drivers' meeting for 4:30 PM (1/2 hr. from now) to
     announce the rally will now commence on an "alternative course
     which is a back-up that has been laid out for future rallies."
     These stages, which are being marked at this time, are also on the
     Terlingua Ranch property.  More details within the hour.


PRESS NOTES #9 
Round #1 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship 
Big Bend Bash Rally -  Terlingua, Texas 
February 1 - 8:00 PM

12.  Three drivers' meetings later and 4-1/2 hours after the
     initial rally stages were cancelled, the 1992 Big Bend Bash
     has still not started.  The following bizarre events have
     occurred:

     --Series manager John Buffum ran off the road trying to test the
       original course, and was stuck for more than four hours.  Several
       service and worker vehicles also got stuck, including Gary
       Gooch's service vehicle.  Several other vehicles got stuck trying
       to pull the initial cars out of the mud/slick clay.

     --The tow truck sent to pull out the cars caught fire and could not
       get to the scene.  The majority of cars were pulled out by a local
       fire truck and a 4WD ambulance.  Many of the course workers
       spent five hours in the mud and rain helping those who were stuck.

     --An alternative rally, consisting of back-up roads planned for a
       future event, has been set up with arrows, and the rally route is
       being run and written as we speak.  The drivers will be given route
       books (probably about three pages) to run a couple of roads enough
       times to make the 60-mile divisional minimum.

     --The weather is now 40 degrees, heavy fog, and the threat of more
       rain.  The new course is characterized as muddy.

     --Many of the drivers, who have been on-again/off-again since 1:00 PM,
       are debating whether to run this last-minute course, or just to go
       home.

     --A planned 8:30 PM start (30 minutes away) seems unlikely.

     --More later. 


PRESS NOTES #10 
Round #1 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship 
Big Bend Bash Rally -  Terlingua, Texas 
February 1 - 10:00 PM
 
13.  The 1992 Big Bend Bash has been re-configured as a two-stage
     event, with each stage to be run four times, for a total of
     64 miles.  The 7-page route book includes no penalties for transit
     times, service every two stages, and six double or triple
     cautions.  John Buffum characterized the course as muddy and
     foggy, but passable as he drove the stages just before the start.

14.  Drivers lined up at the start had various reactions after waiting
     almost 9 hours to start the rally:
     "This is like racing at Candlestick Park."
     "They should have sent us home at 3:00 PM"
     "Participants don't deserve national points for just two stages."
     "The organizer should have been more up front about the situation"
     "That's racing."
     Despite driver concerns, an informal poll confirmed that most
     were in favor of running the rally.

15.  First car - Chad DiMarco of Huntington Beach, CA in his Subaru
     Legacy - was flagged off from rally headquarters at 10:14 PM,
     and started stage one at 10:28 PM. 20 cars took the starting flag.

16.  As the first cars finished stage one, Choiniere, who started
     second, finished ahead of DiMarco, who finished first.  The
     interval was one minute, so DiMarco lost one minute on the stage.
     Reason unknown.  Also the Doc Schrader/Richard Beach Eagle
     stalled at the beginning of stage one and is out of the rally.


PRESS NOTES #11 
Round #1 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship 
Big Bend Bash Rally -  Terlingua, Texas 
February 2 - 12:50 AM

17. It has started raining on the course again, with the rally cars
    headed for the service after the completion of stage #2.  A
    decision will be made at the end of stage #2 as to how many
    more stages will be run.  At this time, organizer Gibson and
    national series manager Buffum are leaning towards running one
    more "loop" (two more stages) and calling it a rally.  Although the
    total miles would only be 30, the fact that it was announced as
    a 64-mile rally means that everyone who finishes get the normal
    amount of points.

18. Karen Burrows/Ken Cassidy Mazda RX-7 did not start the event.

19.  On stage #1, the DiMarco/Hauge Subaru Legacy lost that minute to
     Choiniere because the Subaru sucked water into the motor after
     going through a large puddle.

20.  The rain on the course is getting harder, and, shortly after the
     start of stage three, Buffum and the organizers decided that it
     would be unsafe to continue the rally, and it should end after
     stage four.  We will post stage time and scores for all as soon
     as the rally ends.


             ROUND #1 - SUBARU PRO RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
         BIG BEND BASH - TERLINGUA, TX - FEBRUARY 1, 1992

                          FINAL RESULTS

  DRIVER/HOMETOWN               CO-DRIVER        CAR/CLASS          TIME (min:sec)
  PAUL CHOINIERE/WILLISTON VT   JEFF BECKER      AUDI QUATTRO/O*        37:24
  CHAD DIMARCO/HUNT.BEACH CA    ERICK HAUGE      SUBARU LEGACY/A*       38:51
  JIM WILSON/NORTHPORT NY       JAMES WILSON     MITSUBISHI GALANT/GT*  39:58
  CARL MERRILL/OGUNQUIT ME      JON WICKENS      MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE/O   40:26
  DAVE THOMAS/ST CHAS MO        DAVE LAW         MAZDA RX-7/DIV*        40:50
  ROGER HULL/PRESCOTT AZ        ROB CHERRY       JEEP/TRUCK*            41:08
  A. HADJIMINAS/FLORAL PK NY    HENRY NOGA       MITSUBISHI GALANT/GT   41:20
  DICK CORLEY/COLCHESTER VT     LANCE SMITH      MITSUBISHI GALANT/O    41:58
  B J BEALE/DENVER CO           STUART BEALE     MAZDA/GT               42:07
  JOHN LANNOM/FT STOCKTON TX    JOHN SCHLAGEL    VW BUG/DIV             43:00
  GARY GOOCH/UNION CITY CA      JUDI GOOCH       TOYOTA PICKUP/TRUCK    43:02
  GREG HEALEY/HARTSVILE SC      JIM KLOOSTERMAN  DODGE PICKUP/TRUCK     43:15
  JEFF HENDRICKS/PRESCOTT AZ    NOBLE JONES      JEEP/TRUCK             43:31
  KEN STEWART/GROVE OK          RALPH STARR      CHEVY BLAZER/DIV       44:12
  HENRY JOY/WILMETTE, IL        SCOTT GILLMAN    MAZDA 323GTX/GT        44:48
  JIM DALE/CONWAY AK            BILLY REBER      MAZDA/DIV              46:24
  MAKARIOS SOURLIS/NEW YORK NY  M KARAGEORGI     MITSUBISHI GALANT/GT   47:48
  JAMES COOK/ALPINE TX          DOUG OTOUPAL     VW BUG/DIV             49:42
  PETER LAHM/PHOENIX AZ         BOB SMITH        DATSUN/0      did not finish
  FLOYD SHRADER/W MEMPHIS AK    RICHARD BEACH    EAGLE/DIV     did not finish
  KAREN BURROWS/MESA AZ         KEN CASSIDY      MAZDA RX-7/DIV did not start

 * denotes class winner


    Round #1 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship - Big Bend Bash
    Terlingua, TX - Final results and stage times - 2/2/92

 FINISH  DRIVERS                 STAGE 1 STAGE 2 STAGE 3 STAGE 4  TOTAL
    1-0  Choiniere / Becker      13:02    6:22   12:35    5:25    37:24
    2-A  DiMarco / Hague         14:14    6:01   12:54    5:42    38:51
    3-GT Wilson / Wilson         13:44    6:24   13:43    6:07    39:58
    4    Merrill / Wickens       15:25    5:55   13:26    5:40    40:26
    5-D  Thomas / Law            15:33    6:02   13:33    5:42    40:50
    6-T  Hull / Cherry           15:09    6:09   13:34    6:16    41:08
    7    Hadjiminas / Hoga       14:47    6:53   13:22    6:18    41:20
    8    Corley / Smith          16:21    6:19   13:36    5:42    41:58
    9    Beale / Beale           15:20    6:41   13:57    6:09    42:07
   10    Lannom / Schlagel       15:35    6:36   14:48    6:01    43:00
   11    Gooch / Gooch           15:25    6:38   14:34    6:25    43:02
   12    Healey / Kloosterman    16:36    6:29   14:12    5:58    43:15
   13    Hendricks / Jones       15:55    7:00   14:04    6:32    43:31
   14    Stewart / Starr         17:23    6:13   14:50    5:46    44:12
   15    Joy / Gillman           16:35    6:08   15:56    6:09    44:48
   16    Dale / Reber            17:19    6:57   15:46    6:22    46:24
   17    Sourlis / Karageorgi    18:38    7:07   15:29    6:34    47:48
   18    Cook / Otoupal          17:56    7:27   16:28    7:51    49:42
   19    Lahm / Smith            17:27    7:17                    D.N.F.
   20    Shrader / Beach                  D.N.F.                  D.N.F.
   21    Burrows/ Cassidy                 D.N.S                   D.N.S.

   O - Open class winner
   A - Group A winner
   G - Production GT winner
   D - Divisional winner
   T - Rally Truck winner


PRESS NOTES #12 
Round #1 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship 
Big Bend Bash Rally -  Terlingua, Texas 
February 2 - 6:30 AM

21.  A couple of final notes on this event:

     --The Carl Merrill/Jon Wickins car finished third - not fourth
       as shown in the agate posted on CompuServe - as the result
       of a protest which moved Jim and James Wilson down to fifth
       place, Dave Thomas/Dave Law to fourth overall and Sakis
       Hadjiminas all the way to tenth.  Confused?

     --Jim Wilson still wins the Production GT class.


PRESS NOTES #12 
Round #1 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship 
Big Bend Bash Rally -  Terlingua, Texas 
February 2 - 2:50 AM


For Immediate Release                    Contact:  Andy Schupack
                                                   (915) 371-2486
                                                   until 2/2 - 6 AM
                                                         or
                                                    (401) 739-5677

                   RAIN-SHORTENED BIG BEND BASH TO CHOINIERE

TERLINGUA, TX - February 2 - Paul Choiniere of Williston, Vermont, along with new co-driver
Jeff Becker, from Great Neck, NY, fought a nine-hour rain delay and unusual muddy conditions in
the Texas desert to win the 35th annual Big Bend Bash PRO Rally.

Choiniere, who won the last two Subaru PRO Rally Championship events in '91 in his Audi
Quattro, made it three in a row in a rally which was shortened to four stages and 34 miles due to
bad weather.  Co-driver Becker, who co-drove for Audi rival Bruno Kreibich last year, competed
with Choiniere for the first time.

Second overall and first in Group A was the Subaru Legacy of Chad DiMarco from Huntington
Beach, CA and Erick Hauge from Napa, CA.  DiMarco, the defending overall PRO Rally champion,
took water through the intake after going through a large puddle and lost one minute to Choiniere.

Third overall and second in the Open class was Carl Merrill from Ogonquit, Maine, and his co-
driver Jon Wickens from Birmingham, Mich. in their Mitsubishi Eclipse.


                                 Big Bend Bash
                         SCCA PRO Rallye, February 1-2
 
Here are the updated official overall results from the Bash.  Changes from the
preliminaries that were posted from the event are: (1) Wilson/Wilson and
Hadjiminas/Noga moved down overall when a time-recording error was resolved;
and (2) Shrader/Beach are listed as DNS instead of DNF.
 
Driver            Co-driver         Car         Class                     Time
Choiniere (VT)    Becker (NY)       Audi        O*                       37:24
DiMarco (CA)      Hauge (CA)        Subaru      A*                       38:51
Merrill (ME)      Wickens (MI)      Mitsub.     O                        40:26
Thomas (MO)       Law (KS)          Mazda       Div*                     40:50
Wilson (NY)       Wilson (NY)       Mitsub.     GT*                      40:58
Hull (AZ)         Cherry (AZ)       Jeep        Truck*                   41:08
Corley (VT)       Smith (VT)        Mitsub.     O                        41:58
Beal (CO)         Beal (OK)         Mazda       GT                       42:07
Hadjiminas (NY)   Noga (NY)         Mitsub.     GT                       42:20
Lannom (TX)       Schlagel (TX)     VW          Div                      43:00
Gooch (CA)        Gooch (CA)        Toyota      Truck                    43:02
Healey (SC)       Kloosterman (SC)  Dodge       Truck                    43:15
Hendricks (AZ)    Jones (AZ)        Jeep        Truck                    43:31
Stewart (OK)      Starr (NM)        Chevy       Div                      44:12
Joy (IL)          Gillman (CA)      Mazda       GT                       44:48
Dale (AK)         Reber (TN)        Mazda       Div                      46:24
Sourlis (NY)      Karageorgi (NY)   Mitsub.     GT                       47:48
Cook (TX)         Otoupal (TX)      VW          Div                      49:42
Lahm (AZ)         Smith (AZ)        Datsun      O                          DNF
Shrader (AK)      Beach (MS)        Eagle       Div                        DNS
Burrows (AZ)      Cassidy (AZ)      Mazda       Div                        DNS

 * denotes class winner


Results 92 Index
RRN Index