Rim of the World Website * Entry List * ProRally Results * ClubRally Results
For immediate release
23 April 2000
MEDIA ALERT
SCCA ProRally Championship - Rim of the World
Fourth round (of ten) for the 2001 season. SCCA and FIA Performance Rally
cars from across North America and the globe will compete on demanding
ridgetop dirt and gravel fire control roads tracing the line of the infamous
San Andreas Fault in the Angeles National Forest in southern California.
Regarded as the toughest rally in the USA, it is often compared to the
Acropolis Rally in Greece for its relentless, car-pounding roads.
This event is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), and is
internationally listed by the FIA.
When & Where:
May 4-5, 2000; Palmdale, CA; approximately 50 miles (70 kilometers) north of
Los Angeles.
Headquarters Hotel & Friday/Saturday Press Room;
Event and Media registration (Friday afternoon):
Holiday Inn - Palmdale, 38630 5th Street West, Palmdale, CA 93551,
661.947.8055 main, press room direct: 661.266.1639
hotel located at junction of Hwy 14 and Palmdale Blvd
(press registration will be in the main entrant registration area near
the rear of the hotel.)
Schedule:
Friday, May 04, 2000
8:30 AM - 12:00 PM Media press event. See details below
1:00 PM - 6:00 PM Registration at Holiday Inn
1:00 PM - 5:30 PM Scrutineering - America's Tire Company, Hwy 14 & Avenue J, Lancaster
6:00 PM Competitor group photography session - poolside - Holiday Inn
6:30 PM - 7:00 PM Parade Lap - lot adjacent to Holiday Inn, Palmdale
7:00 PM sharp Official Rally Start with Spectator Stage - lot adjacent to Holiday Inn
11:55 PM approx First car finishes Day One of rally - Holiday Inn, Palmdale
Saturday, May 05, 2000
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Fund raising RallySprint event for local charity ($20US donation for rides)
Parc Expose runs concurrently with this activity
11:15 AM Prize giving for Friday ClubRally winners
12:00 PM sharp Official day two Rally Start - Holiday Inn - includes Spectator Stage
3:10 PM approx Short Service break - Lake Hughes Community Club
5:30 PM approx Service and dinner break, re-seeding - Lake Hughes Community Club
8:00 PM sharp Restart day two of rally - night stages - Lake Hughes Community Club
10:00 PM approx First car finishes day two of Rim of the World ProRally - Holiday Inn
12:00 PM approx Provisional ProRally scoring posted - Holiday Inn
2:00 AM approx Press room closed
Sunday, May 06, 2000
8:00 - 10:00 AM Awards Breakfast - Holiday Inn - no press activity scheduled
Friday Media Event Details
An excellent opportunity for members of the working press to meet and ride
with the stars of the SCCA ProRally Championship. This is an invitation only
event. A press caravan will depart from the Holiday Inn at 8:45AM Sharp for
the press stage location. Lunch is provided, courtesy of Subaru of America.
Credential requests are handled exclusively by the event organizer. Contact
Paula Gibeault at 760.375.8704 (voice) 760.384.2640 (fax) or via email at:
gibeault@ridgecrest.ca.us
SCCA ProRally Championship - Rim of the World
Selected entries (driver/co-driver):
Overall Drivers Championship points leaders Seamus Burke and Frank Cunningham, 2000 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI
2000 Overall Champions and 2001 Sno*Drift winners Paul Choiniere & Jeff Becker; 2000 Hyundai Tiburon
Two-Wheel drive specialists and crowd pleasers Carl Jardevall (Volvo 740) and Bill Malik (Volvo 240)
2000 SCCA Production GT Champion Patrick Richard with Ben Bradley; Open class Subaru Impreza
Additional news interest:
Both the Manufacturers Championship, and the Overall Drivers Championship
points races are the tightest they have been in years, making just surviving
this grueling event exceedingly important. Keeping good pace during Friday's
night stages, and seeing who is left in the morning will keep team plans in
constant flux throughout day one, and could result in a flat out sprint race
near the finish, as the survivors vie for maximum points.
This year's Rim of the World will mark the world competition debut of the
new-style Prodrive Subaru Group N Impreza WRX, driven by Karl Scheible, and
the US competition debut of a WRC class Subaru Impreza WRX driven by Fredrick
Dor. Mark Lovell's WRX is also all-new, marking a complete re-vamping of the
works Subaru team fleet. Overall, current bodystyle Subaru product makes up
nearly 1/3 of the Pro field.
In the Hyundai camp, damage to Noel Lawler's Tiburon was so severe from
his huge off at Oregon Trail, the car wont be ready until Susquehannock Trail
in June. Lawler will be driving the team's back-up Elantra, last seen in
action at the 2000 Ojibwe Forest event, where the Hyundai team made its first
ever 1-2-3 podium sweep.
Event Rank:
This rally is a full points SCCA ProRally Championship event, and has long
been a fixture of the championship, the 2001 event marks its 18th running.
Drivers at this event earn points towards the national championship, and
supporting manufacturers (Hyundai, Subaru and Mitsubishi) earn points towards
overall and class MFG Championships.
Media information; Credentials, Visuals & Interviews:
Event Press/Photo credentials will be available at registration on Friday
afternoon and Saturday morning. During the event, credentialed press will be
able to shoot action photography from restricted areas along the rally
course. Credentials are available only to members of the working press.
Per California National Forest regulations, an 'adventure pass' is required
to gain access to certain areas. The organizer will have a limited supply
available for a nominal fee.
Drivers, co-drivers and crew will be accessible throughout the event,
including the Friday morning press event, Friday afternoon's Parade Lap, and
Saturday morning's charity event and 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 Pro Rally Championship Director
Pre-event: 303.967.9660; 303.694-3654 Fax (USA Country Code: 1)
direct inquiry Email: kspitzner@scca.org
Time zone at event: Pacific Time (GMT - 8 hours)
SCCA ProRally: http://www.sccaprorally.org/
SCCA Rim of the World ProRally: http://www.rimoftheworldrally.com
For immediate release
03 May, 2001
Start Order & Late Breaking News:
SCCA ProRally Championship - Rim of the World
Palmdale, CA A record field of 59 Performance Rally cars from North America
and abroad are entered in the 18th running of the Rim of the World SCCA
ProRally Championship event. The two-day international rally will be held in
the Angeles National Forest, on narrow fire control trails that follow the
mountain peaks along the San Andreas Fault. The Rally, which starts
tomorrow, is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America, Inc., and is
internationally listed by the FIA.
Selected late entries, news (driver/co-driver):
Rim of the World is known as a true grinder of men and machines, and last
years running was no exception - with a mere 15 Pro cars running at the
finish out of over 50 starters. This year's event is likely to be no
different. Finding the right pace, and not taking chances, is what finishing
well - or just finishing, is all about at 'The Rim.'
1999 SCCA Production Class and 2000 SCCA/FIA Gr N Champion Karl Scheible
with co-driver Brian Maxwell; FIA Group N 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX - Karl has
had a well-paced season thus far, barring his unfortunate mechanical DNF at
Cherokee Trails in March. This event marks the world competition debut of
the 'new body' Subaru WRX in Gr. N trim, and should be quite the proving
ground of the cars mettle. Karl did well here last year, taking the overall
win, and marking the first time a Gr N car won overall at an SCCA ProRally
Championship event.
2000 Overall Driver and Co-Driver Champions Paul Choiniere and Jeff
Becker; SCCA Open Class 2000 Hyundai Tiburon - while leading the MFG
championship, Choiniere and Becker haven't had a commanding year thus far.
Their convincing overall win at the season-opening Sno*Drift failed to set
the stage for the season, Choiniere was sidelined at Cherokee with a
persistent ear infection, and mechanical woes set them far back in the field
at Oregon. Nevertheless, Rim has traditionally been a good event for
Hyundai, and these champions' years of experience at this event is the teams
trump card - except for Scheible's limited, but successful history, none of
the MFG championship teams has any background at Rim at all.
2001 Oregon Trail overall winner Mark Lovell, with Steve Turvey - Lovell
has shown smooth pace all season, finishing on the podium at Sno*Drift and
taking a hard-earned win at Oregon Trail. Now driving a brand-new World
Rally based Open class Impreza WRX, Lovell will have a significant horsepower
and handling leap forward compared to the Gr N based car that he drove in the
first 3 events of the season.
If Subaru's story is one of smooth persistence, and Hyundai's story is
one of gritty determination, then Mitsubishi's story is a combination of both
- and more. With two independents earning all of the company's championship
points thus far, Rhys Millen's works backed championship bid has been under
whelming, with two DNFs for two rallys entered. Still, the new Zealander has
shown good pace while running, and cant be factored out. Championship points
leader Seamus Burke is clearly the Mitsubishi driver to watch, and is the
only driver to stand on the podium at all three SCCA ProRally events in 2001.
His drive at Oregon Trail was a sight to behold, and his determination is
evidenced by the sheer number of cars he has gone through thus far: Burke
starts Rim in his third different Evo in 4 events. Also high on Mitsubishi's
favorites list is Richard Tuthill, the young British sensation that snagged
his first US win at his US debut at Cherokee Trails, and stood on the podium
at Oregon Trail as well.
The rally starts at the Holiday Inn headquarters hotel In Palmdale, CA,
at 6:30 PM, with a Parade Lap of all the cars entered. At the 7:00PM, each
car will negotiate a special spectator stage at speed in a lot adjacent to
the hotel giving everyone a chance to see the cars in action up close, before
the cars head off into the night.
Contact: Kurt Spitzner - SCCA Pro Rally Championship Director
direct inquiry Email: kspitzner@scca.org
Web sites:
SCCA ProRally: http://www.sccaprorally.org/
SCCA Rim of the World ProRally: http://www.rimoftheworldrally.com/
Information regarding this list:
Car # = number on vehicle. Car # under 200 are ProRally entries. Car # over
200 are generally ClubRally (regional) entrants.
Class = Open, FIA 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 HP cars; PGT
- high HP production (stock) cars.
Rim of the World SCCA ProRally Championship Round #4
May 4-5, 2001
Start Order (subject to revision)
Start Car # Seed Class Driver / Co-Driver year Car - year mfg model
1 14 0 Open Mark Lovell/Steve Turvey 02 Subaru WRX-Sti
2 13 0 Open Richard Tuthill/John Bennie 98 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI
3 1 FIA Open Paul Choiniere / Jeff Becker 00 Hyundai Tiburon
4 3 FIA Open Noel Lawler / Michael Fennell 99 Hyundai Elantra
5 16 FIA Open Fredrick Dor/Tony Sircombe 00 Subaru WRX-Sti
6 2 1 Gr N Karl Scheible / Brian Maxwell 02 Subaru Impreza WRX-STi
7 115 1 Open Seamus Burke/Frank Cunningham 00 Mitsubishi Lancer EvoVI
8 33 1 Open Rhys Millen/Ken Cassidy 00 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI
9 50 1 Open Steve Gingras/Bill Westrick 00 Subaru Impreza
10 32 1 Open Paul Eklund / Scott Huhn 95 Subaru Impreza
11 6 1 Open Peter Lahm / Rod Hendricksen 95 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV
12 8 1 Open Patrick Richard / Ben Bradley 00 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS
13 39 1 Gr 5 Carl Jardevall / Amity Trowbridge 83 Volvo 740
14 28 1 Gr 2 Bill Malik / Eric Tremblay 79 Volvo 240
15 22 1 Gr N Ralph Kosmides / Joe Noyes 00 Subaru Impreza WRX-STi
16 48 2 Open Lon Peterson/Bill Gutzmann 00 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS
17 107 2 Open Tim Paterson/Scott Ferguson 97 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV
18 90 2 PGT Lauchlin O'Sullivan /John Dillon 94 Mitsubishi Eclipse
19 74 3 Gr N Ramana Lagemann/Russ Hughes 00 Subaru Impreza WRX-STi
20 7 2 Open George Plsek / Alex Gelsomino 90 Audi quattro S2
21 235 1 Gr 2 David White/Jim Brandt 86 VW Golf GTi
22 51 2 Gr 2 Jay Streets / Bill Feyling 85 Toyota Corolla
23 301 2 P Tony Chavez / Doug Robinson 87 VW Golf GTi
24 49 3 Open Jonathan Ryther/Janice Damitio 00 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS
25 110 3 Open Mark Nelson / Christian Edstrom 00 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI
26 43 3 Open Kurosh Jahromi/Tony Lumino 93 Ford Escort Cosworth
27 904 3 Open John Drislane/Declan Hegarty 97 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV
28 35 3 Open Lee Shadbolt/Bob Sherman 95 Subaru Impreza
29 85 0 P John Buffum/Cindy Krolikowski 00 Hyundai Tiburon
30 165 3 P Dennis Chizma / Ole Holter 73 Porsche 911
31 118 3 PGT Ivor Wigham/John Allen 99 Acura Integra GS-R
32 374 4 Open Leon Styles/Larry Scott 91 Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
33 207 4 Gr 5 David Hintz/Rick Hintz 86 Mazda RX-7
34 318 4 Gr 2 Vartan Samuelian/Charlie Aoun 00 Ford Focus ZX3
35 61 4 P Michael Halley/Joshua Bressem 99 VW New Beetle
36 331 5 Open David Turner/Michael McComas 90 Jeep Cherokee
37 232 5 P Mark Tabor/Kevin Poirier 91 Nissan Sentra SE-R
38 94 5 P Craig Peeper/Ian Bevan 00 Ford Focus ZX3
39 325 6 PGT Bruce Brown / Bob Moe 95 Subaru Impreza
40 370 6 Gr 5 William Yates / Julie Yates 89 Toyota MR-2
41 367 6 Gr 2 Richard Byford / Fran Olson 70 BMW 2002
Rim of the World SCCA ClubRally Support Event Start Order
Start Car # Seed* Class Driver / Co-Driver year Car - year mfg
model
42 Tba 3 P Terry Stonecipher/Jeff Bruett 85 Toyota Pick-up
43 322 3 Open Bob Pendergrass / Jon Weigley 72 Chevy Blazer
44 371 3 Gr 5 John Shults / Doug Mitchell 73 Mazda RX-3
45 380 3 Gr 2 Mark Peterson / Scott Peterson 78 Dodge Colt
46 336 3 P Ricky DelaCuesta/Ricky Mendiola 85 Toyota Corolla GT-S
47 393 4 Open Julius Vasari/Stuart Gater 92 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX
48 285 4 Open Craig Bishop/Richard Thomson 88 Mazda 323 GTX
49 363 4 P Patrick Rodi / Jonathan Schiller 84 Mazda RX-7
50 386 4 Gr 5 Chris Acker/Peter Morris 94 Ford Mustang GT
51 372 4 P Sean Otto / Jason Lane 79 Mazda GLC
52 395 4 P Keith Wheeler / Ken Lazarus 68 MGB-GT
53 338 5 P Tim Sardelich/TBA 79 Plymouth Arrow
54 351 6 PGT Scott Clark/Tamara Clark 85 Subaru RX
55 404 6 PGT JB Whorton/Matt Deye 88 Mazda 323 GTX
56 353 6 Gr 5 Jorge Sousa/Eva Sousa 82 Mazda RX-7
57 282 6 Gr 2 Jon Oxford/Damian Delezene 86 VW Golf Gti
58 357 6 P Chris Burns/Bill Barfoot 92 Mitsubishi Eclipse
59 350 6 P Don Shreyer/Ken Tooker 79 Mazda RX-7
*ClubRally seed
The SCCA ProRally Championship is presented by: Hyundai Motor America, Inc.,
and Subaru of America, Inc.
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.
For immediate release
4 May 2001
SCCA ProRally Championship - Round #4 - Rim of the World
Day One Preliminary Results and Key Notes
Applying a fitting testament to the new world order in US performance rally
competition, Mark Lovell wheeled his all new 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX to a
commanding 3-minute lead over nearest challenger Richard Tuthill's Mitsubishi
Evo VI in tonight's opening rounds of America's toughest rally. Frenchman
Fredrick Dor, in his first-ever visit to the SCCA ProRally Championship, has
a comfortable grasp of third place in his ex-World Rally Subaru Impreza WRX.
Mitsubishi drivers Rhys Millen and SCCA ProRally Drivers Championship points
leader Seamus Burke round out the top five.
Key Notes:
The Subaru Rally Team USA, based here in the United States but using the
vast technical and preparation skills of the UK's legendary Prodrive
operation, re-launched their SCCA ProRally Championship bid this weekend with
an all new line-up of Subaru Imprezas, complete with all new service vehicles
and crew uniforms. Even the pop-up tents and the tarps the crews lie on to
service the cars are fresh. The impression is absolutely first-class, and
Lovell and Scheible backed it up with class leading performances.
After three wet events in a row, dust was a factor for the first time
this season, giving a clear advantage to the first car on the road - Mark
Lovell. Fortunately, there has been a steady breeze throughout the night,
giving teams occasional glimpses of clear road between bouts with Rim's
famously choking dust. Electrical failures were rampant, as the fine silty
matter sifted its way into relays and motors, with several cars overheating
due to shorted-out cooling fans, and Lon Peterson's Impreza suffering the
first of this years token Rim of the World alternator failure early into the
evenings stages. A 'really good battery' has kept the California native, and
Rim veteran in the hunt. Lauchlin O'Sullivan's Mitsubishi would befall the
same fate later in the evening, but alas, without the battery reserves
Peterson had.
As is so typical of Rim, retirements started immediately, with Lee
Shadbolts' Subaru Impreza shattering its rear differential on the spectator
stage, and Declan Hegarty's Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV rolling over just before
the finish line of the same stage. The car landed on all-fours, and motored
under its own power to the finish line, but enough windows were missing for
the event steward to end their day. Both driver and co-driver emerged
completely unharmed. Overall, Day one at Rim claimed 11 retirements.
Subaru is retaining its firm hold on the FIA Gr N championship points
chase, with the debut of Karl Scheible's all-new 2002 WRX maintaining a one
and a half minute lead over fellow Subaru driver Ramana Lagemann.
Production class, showing a nice revival of interest with six entries, is
providing good competition for a wide variety of cars, with Dennis Chizma's
vintage 1973 Porsche 911 a mere 6 seconds ahead of Tony Chavez' 1987 VW Golf
Gti. Barely a minute behind is John Buffum's Hyundai Tiburon, the multi-time
champion doing his part to assure Hyundai remains in the overall MFG
championship points hunt, while also giving the production class entries a
rare treat - being able to compete directly with a true rally legend.
SCCA. Rim of the World ProRallysm Championship Round #4 May
4-5, 2001
Day One Preliminary (unofficial) Finishing Order (subject to revision prior
to re-start tomorrow)
Start Finish Car # Seed Class Driver / Co-Driver year Car -
year mfg model Time
1 1 14 0 Open Mark Lovell / Steve Turvey 02 Subaru WRX-Sti 44:03
2 2 13 0 Open Richard Tuthill /John Bennie 98 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 47:19
5 3 16 FIA Open Fredrick Dor / Tony Sircombe 00 Subaru WRX-Sti 47:38
8 4 33 1 Open Rhys Millen / Ken Cassidy 00 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 48:17
7 5 115 1 Open Seamus Burke/Frank Cunningham 00 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 48:19
6 6 2 1 Gr N Karl Scheible / Brian Maxwell 02 Subaru Impreza WRX-STi 48:54
3 7 1 FIA Open Paul Choiniere / Jeff Becker 00 Hyundai Tiburon 49:07
10 8 32 1 Open Paul Eklund / Scott Huhn 95 Subaru Impreza 49:36
11 9 6 1 Open Peter Lahm / Rod Hendricksen 95 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV 49:55
19 10 74 3 Gr N Ramana Lagemann/ Russ Hughes 00 Subaru Impreza WRX-STi 50:26
13 11 39 1 Gr 5 Carl Jardevall / Amity Trowbridge 83 Volvo 740 50:31
20 12 7 2 Open George Plsek / Alex Gelsomino 90 Audi quattro S2 50:48
17 13 107 2 Open Tim Paterson / Scott Ferguson 97 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV 51:03
16 14 48 2 Open Lon Peterson / Bill Gutzmann 00 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS 51:16
21 15 235 1 Gr 2 David White / Jim Brandt 86 VW Golf Gti 51:19
32 16 374 4 Open Leon Styles / Larry Scott 91 Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 51:29
15 17 22 1 Gr N Ralph Kosmides / Joe Noyes 00 Subaru Impreza WRX-STi 51:32
25 18 110 3 Open Mark Nelson / Christian Edstrom 00 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 51:51
26 19 43 3 Open Kurosh Jahromi / Tony Lumino 93 Ford Escort Cosworth 52:13
30 20 165 3 P Dennis Chizma / Ole Holter 73 Porsche 911 52:49
23 21 301 2 P Tony Chavez / Doug Robinson 87 VW Golf Gti 52:55
22 22 51 2 Gr 2 Jay Streets / Bill Feyling 85 Toyota Corolla 53:23
29 23 85 0 P John Buffum/Cindy Krolikowski 00 Hyundai Tiburon 53:47
14 24 28 1 Gr 2 Bill Malik / Eric Tremblay 79 Volvo 240 54:01
33 25 207 4 Gr 5 David Hintz/Rick Hintz 86 Mazda RX-7 54:46
36 26 331 5 Open David Turner/Michael McComas 90 Jeep Cherokee 56:00
40 27 370 6 Gr 5 William Yates / Julie Yates 89 Toyota MR-2 56:48
31 28 118 3 PGT Peter Workum/John Allen 99 Acura Integra GS-R 56:55
38 29 94 5 P Craig Peeper/Ian Bevan 00 Ford Focus ZX3 57:12
37 30 232 5 P Mark Tabor/Kevin Poirier 91 Nissan Sentra SE-R 57:21
24 31 49 3 Open Jonathan Ryther/Janice Damitio 00 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS 57:22
34 32 318 4 Gr 2 Vartan Samuelian/Charlie Aoun 00 Ford Focus ZX3 57:24
41 33 367 6 Gr 2 Richard Byford / Fran Olson 70 BMW 2002 58:21
39 34 325 6 PGT Bruce Brown / Bob Moe 95 Subaru Impreza 1:00:02
SCCA. Rim of the World ProRallysm Championship Round #4 May 4-5, 2001
Day One Retirements - ProRally
Car # Drivers Name Co-Drivers Name Class Year Make stage
Retirement cause (unofficial)
160 Eric Eaton Kenny Almquist Open 00 Subaru DNS Engine
904* John Drislane Declan Hegarty Open 97 Mitsubishi SS1 Accident
32 Lee Shadbolt Bob Sherman Open 97 Subaru SS1 Rear differential
8 Patrick Richard Ben Bradley Open 98 Subaru SS2 Overheating
61* Michael Halley Joshua Bressem P 98 VW SS2 Mechanical
50 Steve Gingras Bill Westrick Open 00 Subaru SS3 Transmission
1 Noel Lawler Charles Bradley Open 00 Hyundai SS3 Halfshaft
90* Lauchlin O'Sullivan John Dillon PGT 94 Mitsubishi SS4 Alternator
6 Peter Lahm Rod Hendricksen Open 97 Mitsubishi SS6 Engine
Day One Retirements - ClubRally
392* Dave Coleman Paul Timmerman Gr 2 70 Datsun SS2 Rear differential
320* Josh Jacquot Ola Lysenstoen Gr 5 00 Ford SS2 unknown
*cars marked with * are allowed to restart rally on day two, (if mechanically able)
but will not earn ProRally points.
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.
SCCA ProRally is presented by Subaru and Hyundai
For immediate release
5 May 2001
SCCA ProRally Championship - Round #4; Day 2 - Rim of the World
Preliminary Results and Key Notes
Lovell earns 2nd win, Millen finally gets his podium, Burke is 4 for 4
Palmdale, CA The 18th running of this legendary Southern California event
came to a close tonight with a clearly international flavor that is becoming
more and more a hallmark of SCCA ProRally competition in the new millennium.
Key Notes:
For a second day, the weather turned out to be flawless, making for great
spectating, and setting the stage for some fierce driving conditions - the
Rim's choking dust was still a major factor, but the clear skies an
comfortable temperatures allowed the drivers to direct full attention to the
job at hand. While this brutally rough event had a lower attrition rate than
is customary thanks to a good job of road grading courtesy of the Angeles
National Forest's caretakers, suspension failures were still a common
retirement cause, and kept service crews scrambling throughout the day and
night.
Seamus Burke and co-driver Frank Cunningham have been this season's most
consistent performers, finishing on the podium of every event this season,
despite changing cars for 3 of the 4 rallys this year. Now in his own car,
the Altanta, GA based Irishman put in yet another exceptional drive, keeping
pressure on Tuthill and Millen, and securing a well-earned fourth 3rd place
podium of the season, nearly 5 minutes ahead of the reigning champion, Paul
Choiniere.
Choiniere had a difficult weekend, still fighting with transmission and
driveline problems that plagued him at Oregon Trail. Regardless, the 8-time
champion used his decade of experience at this torturous event to keep as
game a pace with the front runners as his Tiburon would allow, finishing a
solid 4th overall, and securing 3rd place Manufacturer points for the Korean
automaker.
"Waterbars" are a unique Southwestern US road feature, and Richard
Tuthill, who was secure in 2nd place all through the rally, ran his
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI into one hard early into SS12, instantly collapsing
both sides of his front suspension completely, ending what could have been
his 3rd podium finish in as many events. He was not alone in his waterbar
agony - several retirements amongst the seasoned Pros and the newer Club
entrants were brought on either by impacts with these difficult features, or
the after-effects of mangled suspensions, bent frames and shattered cooling
systems.
The Group N race was the tightest in the event, even though the class was
only 3 cars deep - and populated solely with Subaru Imprezas. Karl
Scheible's world competition debut of Prodrive's new 2002 Impreza included an
awe-inspiring 17-minute removal and replacement of the car's transmission in
front of a large contingent of Subaru rally fans at the Lake Hughes service
following SS10. Ramana Lagemann showed excellent speed all day, and Ralph
Kosmides, in only his second outing with his WRX-STi showed that he is
quickly getting acclimated to all-wheel drive, pacing himself and gaining
position steadily throughout the event.
Rhys Millen, who's season has been less than stellar thus far, had a
excellent drive all weekend, securing a 3rd position slot early in yesterdays
stages and effectively keeping the heat on Richard Tuthill, and inheriting
2nd place when the Briton folded up the front of his Evo in SS12. That 2nd
podium slot nearly eluded Millen on the final stage - when 2nd gear failed,
and the transmission became stuck in 3rd gear, Rhys had no alternative but to
dial back and conserve, but maintaining enough speed to ensure that Seamus
Burke couldn't overtake him.
Millen's long-awaited and strong finish, and Tuthill's DNF have
substantially changed the face of the Overall Driver's points race, with the
unofficial standings now: Lovell 63, Burke 56, Tuthill 41, Choiniere 37, and
Scheible 36. Millen has lept from 15th overall, and is now in 7th position
with 21 points.
With this 2nd overall win in a row for Subaru, the Manufacturers points
race has finally swung to the Fuji Heavy Industries camp - but just barely.
The unofficial points are now: Subaru 67, Hyundai 64, and Mitsubishi 57. In
the Group N Manufacturers race, Subaru now holds a virtually un-surmountable
lead over Mitsubishi, 80 points to 15.
Quotes:
Rhys Millen: "Coming in 2nd means so much to me - I found myself hoping for
Lovell to finish - to be here with the Evo, right behind Prodrive's latest
and greatest is a huge honor."
Mark Lovell: "Uggh! Welcome to American Waterbars! That's what I was saying
as we came crashing down on these huge lumps in the road - here I am in this
incredible new car that Prodrive has given me, and I'm realizing that there
is no way I can pay for the damage these roads are trying so hard to inflict.
I'm really amazed that the car still looks as good as it does - there were
several times I really thought we were done for."
SCCA. Rim of the World ProRallysm Championship Round #4
May 4-5, 2001
Day Two Preliminary Finishing Order (unofficial - subject to revision)
Start Finish Car # Seed Class Driver / Co-Driver year mfg model Time
1 1 14 0 Open Mark Lovell / Steve Turvey 02 Subaru WRX-Sti 2:24.26
8 2 33 1 Open Rhys Millen / Ken Cassidy 00 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 2:32.30
7 3 115 1 Open Seamus Burke/Frank Cunningham 00 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 2:34.40
3 4 1 FIA Open Paul Choiniere / Jeff Becker 00 Hyundai Tiburon 2:39.02
6 5 2 1 Gr N Karl Scheible / Brian Maxwell 02 Subaru Impreza WRX-STi 2:39.35
19 6 74 3 Gr N Ramana Lagemann/ Russ Hughes 00 Subaru Impreza WRX-STi 2:40.09
5 7 16 FIA Open Fredrick Dor / Tony Sircombe 00 Subaru WRX-Sti 2:41.15
15 8 22 1 Gr N Ralph Kosmides / Joe Noyes 00 Subaru Impreza WRX-STi 2:41.16
17 9 107 2 Open Tim Paterson / Scott Ferguson 97 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV 2:42.05
25 10 110 3 Open Mark Nelson / Christian Edstrom 00 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI 2:42.07
10 11 32 1 Open Paul Eklund / Scott Huhn 95 Subaru Impreza 2:42.48
21 12 235 1 Gr 2 David White / Jim Brandt 86 VW Golf Gti 2:44.30
32 13 374 4 Open Leon Styles / Larry Scott 91 Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 2:48.37
23 14 301 2 P Tony Chavez / Doug Robinson 87 VW Golf Gti 2:52.03
20 15 7 2 Open George Plsek / Alex Gelsomino 90 Audi quattro S2 2:52.54
33 16 207 4 Gr 5 David Hintz / Rick Hintz 86 Mazda RX-7 2:54.57
36 17 331 5 Open David Turner / Michael McComas 90 Jeep Cherokee 2:56.19
38 18 94 5 P Craig Peeper / Ian Bevan 00 Ford Focus ZX3 3:03.16
40 19 370 6 Gr 5 William Yates / Julie Yates 89 Toyota MR-2 3:05.01
31 20 118 3 PGT Peter Workum / John Allen 99 Acura Integra GS-R 3:05.32
29 21 85 0 P John Buffum / Cindy Krolikowski 00 Hyundai Tiburon 3:05.39
34 22 318 4 Gr 2 Vartan Samuelian / Charlie Aoun 00 Ford Focus ZX3 3:09.14
39 23 325 6 PGT Bruce Brown / Bob Moe 95 Subaru Impreza 3:12.31
22 24 51 2 Gr 2 Jay Streets / Bill Feyling 85 Toyota Corolla 3:40.16
SCCA. Rim of the World ProRallysm Championship Round #4 May 4-5, 2001
Day One Retirements - ProRally
Car # Drivers Name Co-Drivers Name Class Year Make stage
Retirement cause (unofficial)
160 Eric Eaton Kenny Almquist Open 00 Subaru DNS Engine
904* John Drislane Declan Hegarty Open 97 Mitsubishi SS1 Accident
32 Lee Shadbolt Bob Sherman Open 97 Subaru SS1 Rear differential
8 Patrick Richard Ben Bradley Open 98 Subaru SS2 Overheating
61* Michael Halley Joshua Bressem P 98 VW SS2 Fuel pump
50 Steve Gingras Bill Westrick Open 00 Subaru SS3 Transmission
1 Noel Lawler Charles Bradley Open 00 Hyundai SS3 Halfshaft
90* Lauchlin O'Sullivan John Dillon PGT 94 Mitsubishi SS4 Alternator
6 Peter Lahm Rod Hendricksen Open 97 Mitsubishi SS6 Engine
Day One Retirements - ClubRally
392* Dave Coleman Paul Timmerman Gr 2 70 Datsun SS2 Rear differential
320* Josh Jacquot Ola Lysenstoen Gr 5 00 Ford SS2 unknown
*cars marked with * are allowed to restart rally on day two, (if mechanically
able) but will not earn ProRally points.
Day Two Retirements - ProRally
Car # Drivers Name Co-Drivers Name Class Year Make stage
Retirement cause (unofficial)
49 Jonathan Ryther Janice Damitio Open 00 Subaru SS8 Starter
39 Carl Jardevall Amity Trowbridge Gr 5 84 Volvo SS9 Suspension
165 Dennis Chizma Ole Holter P 73 Porsche SS9 Mechanical
48 Lon Peterson Bill Gutzmann Open 00 Subaru SS9 Electrical/Overheating
28 Bill Malik Eric Tremblay Gr 2 79 Volvo SS10 Transmission
320 Josh Jacquot Ola Lysenstoen Gr 5 00 Ford SS10 Unknown
13 Richard Tuthill John Bennie Open 00 Mitsubishi SS12 Suspension
232 Mark Tabor Kevin Poirier P 91 Nissan SS12 Engine
43 Kurosh Jahromi Tony Lumino Open 93 Ford
36 Richard Byford Fran Olson Gr 2 70 BMW
Day Two Retirements - ClubRally
353 Jorge Sousa Eva Sousa Gr 5 79 Mazda
363 Patrick Rodi Jonathan Schiller Gr 5 79 Mazda SS9 Overheating
371 John Shults Doug Mitchell Gr 5 73 Mazda
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.