1996 Sand Hills Sand Blast PRO Rally
MEDIA ALERT
Event: 1996 Sand Hills Sand Blast PRO Rally, round #1 and the opening
event for the 1996 SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series. Race cars from
all around the U.S. will compete at high speeds on the challenging
roads of the Sand Hills State Forest near, Patrick, South Carolina.
When: Saturday, March 16, 1996
Schedule
Friday, March 15, 1996
1:00 PM - 5:00 PM - Early Registration and Tech Inspection -
Inn Cheraw and Martin Pontiac, Cheraw, SC.
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM - Press demonstration rides and interviews -
Michelin Laurens Proving Grounds in
Mountville, South Carolina.
5:00 PM - Press demonstration rides and interviews - race cars
and media will leave from the Inn Cheraw.
Saturday, March 16, 1996
8:00 AM - 11:30 AM - Registration and Tech Inspection
Inn Cheraw, Cheraw, SC.
noon - 1:00 PM - Display of cars - Quincy Family Restaurant, Cheraw
1:01 PM - First car starts - Quincy Family Restaurant.
8:00 PM - First car finishes, Inn Cheraw.
Where: Rally headquarters will be at the Inn Cheraw, Cheraw, South
Carolina 1-800-535-8709, (803) 537-2011
Duration: 70 stage miles, 150 total miles, 11 stages
Rank: Co-efficient 3 PRO Rally, with 60 percent points awarded to National
drivers. The Sand Hills Sand Blast PRO Rally is presented by the
South Carolina Region of the Sports Car Club of America. The
National PRO Rally series is sponsored by Michelin Tire Corporation,
sactioned by the Sports Car Club of America, and administered by the
American Rally Association. The Sand Hills Sand Blast event is
sponsored locally by Jonathan Corey, Ltd., of Pageland, South
Carolina, makers of fine clothing for the imprinted sportswear
market.
Interviews: Drivers will be available by contacting the press room at the
Inn Cheraw starting Friday, March 15. Any needs before then
should be directed to Andy Schupack at the phone number listed
below.
Expected Top Entries: Paul Choiniere, from Shelburne, VT, five-time PRO
Rally champion and winner of the Cheraw event the last two years,
will debut his new 1996 Hyundai Elantra; Carl Merrill, from
Ogunquit, ME, winner of two of the last three rallies in '95, in a
410 h Ford Escort Cosworth; Bruno Kreibich, from Queens, NY, oldest
active rally driver (admitting to being "60 something"), in an Audi
Quattro; Tom Ottey, from Columbus, OH, second place finisher in
Cheraw last year, in an Open class Hyundai Elantra; Mike Hurst,
from Pendleton, IN, debuting a Group 5 Porsche 911S; Jim Anderson,
from Carrboro, NC, in a Production class Honda Prelude; Henry
Krolikowski, former U.S. divisional rally champion, in a Dodge
Charger; Kurt Thiel, from Rochester, NY, in a Group 2 VW GTI; Lesley
Suddard, from Wilmington, DE, only woman racer in the event.
Visuals: There will be maps to direct photographers and video crews onto
the course during the daylight part of the rally on Saturday.
Anyone requiring supplied photos or video should contact Andy
Schupack in the press room starting March 15.
Media Info: We will provide phone-ins on event information,
driver interviews, and results. We will fax
stories and agate Friday and Sunday. We have B-roll available
for TV. Press room will be located at Rally Headquarters at
the Inn Cheraw, Cheraw, South Carolina.
Contact: Andy Schupack - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series
media liaison:
(401) 739-5677 (Before March 15
and after March 17)
(800) 535-8709, Rally Headquarters (March 15 - 17)
E-mail - 76456,2652@compuserve.com
# # #
1996 Sand Hills Sand Blast PRO Rally - Cheraw, SC
Round #1 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series
Preliminary Entry List - 3/7/96
Car
Num. Driver/Home Town Navigator/Home Town Vehicle/Tires Class
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 Carl Merrill John Bellefleur Ford Escort Cosworth Open
Ogunquit, ME Thornhill, ONT Michelin
1 Paul Choiniere Jeff Becker Hyundai Elantra Open
Shelburne, VT Great Neck, NY Michelin
Bruno Kreibich Rod Hendricksen Audi Quattro Open
Queens, NY Clinton, NJ Michelin
Tom Ottey Pam McGarvey Hyundai Elantra Open
Columbus, OH Columbus, OH Bridgestone
96 Bruce Newey Charles Bradley Toyota All-trac Group 5
Atlanta, GA Ardmore, PA Michelin
Kurt Thiel George Anderson VW GTI Group 2
Rochester, NY Rochester, NY Michelin
Jim Anderson Martin Dapot Honda Prelude VTEC Prod.
Mebane, NC Reston, VA Michelin
Lesley Suddard Anne Thomas Dodge Charger Group 5
Wilmington, DE Nashua, NH Michelin
Gerald Sweet Stuart Spark Saab 99EMS Group 2
Oakridge, NJ Woodcliff Lake, NJ Colway
23 Greg Trepetin Sonia Trepetin Honda Prelude VTEC Prod.
N. Potomac, MD N. Potomac, MD Michelin
Dean Fry Donald Kennedy Subaru Legacy Open
Mohnton, PA Shillington, PA Colway
Keith Kreisler Chris Erney Mazda 323GTX Open
West Chester, PA Sterling, VA Michelin
S. Stepniewski Adam Pelc VW Scirocco U2 Div.
Keansburg, NJ Brooklyn, NY
Thomas Brann Matt Chester Subaru 4X4 O4 Div.
Mahopac, NY Atlanta, GA
Raymond Jannelli John Yue Ford Escort U2 Div.
Medford, NJ Philadelphia, PA
Henry Krolikowski Cindy Krolikowski Dodge Shadow Group 5
Wyandotte, MI Wyandotte, MI Michelin
Mike Hurst Rob Bohn Porsche 911S Group 2
Pendleton, IN Noblesville, IN Michelin
Serguei Beloussov TBD Mazda 626 Group 2
Philadelphia, PA
Reny Villemure Mike Villemure VW Beetle Group 2
Flat Rock, MI Westland, MI
Ed Mucklow Mark Bowers Mitsubishi Starion U2 Div.
St. Albans, WV Afton, VA
Eric Schroeder Jennifer Mynhier VW Jetta GLI Group 2
Indianapolis, IN Indianapolis, IN
Douglas Davenport Lynn Dillon VW GTI Group 2
Indianapolis, IN Newburgh, IN
Jeff Fithian Brett Silvius Mazda 323GTX 04 Div.
Atlanta, GA New York, NY
Peter Ford Kirsten Sachwitz Ford Escort U2 Div.
East Lansing, MI Durham, NC
Charles MaCrary, III Ron Lockhart Toyota Corolla U2 Div.
Atlanta, GA Mable, GA
Gary D'Abate Greg D'Abate Mazda GLC U2 Div.
Gainsville, GA Atlanta, GA
# # #
Sand Hills Sand Blast PRO Rally
Cheraw, South Carolina
Round #1 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally
March 16, 1996, 11:30 AM
1. Welcome to Cheraw, South Carolina, and the opening round
of the 1996 SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series. Unlike last
year's freezing rain, oatmeal road surfaces, and high 30
degree temperatures, the weather on Saturday morning has
broken sunny and warm, with the highs near 80 degrees F
by mid-afternoon. Also, instead of the five long stages
from past years, there are 11 shorter stages this year,
with the longest stage being 7 miles compared to the 13-
mile stage a year ago. Stages 3 and 4 are the same as
stages 1 and 2 last year, with stages 6 - 11 being parts
of stages which have been run in the past.
2. Yesterday, there was a press preview at the Michelin
Laurens (S.C.) Proving Grounds, where the series sponsor
treated drivers and local media to the motor racing
equivalent of a steeplechase. The six cars went through
a polished asphalt skid pad wetted down with sprinklers,
an off-road testing course, a road racing course, a mud-
slide area, and logging roads - a 3-mile stage which
rivaled a tough POR or Prescott stage. Facilities
manager Don Olsen and rally veteran Ken Payne set the
whole thing up, and local and national TV crews had a
ball filming for the local news and national racing TV
shows. Participating were the Villemure/Villemure
Beetle, Choiniere/Becker Hyundai, Merrill/Bellefleur
Escort Cosworth, Krolikowski/Krolikowski Dodge,
Thiel/Thompson VW GTI, and the Anderson/Dapot Honda.
The only mechanical problems were incurred by the new
Kurt Thiel/George Thompson Group 2 car, which had a
hose/radiator problem as well as a front control arm
bushing failure. A trip to the local VW dealer in
Greenville and a Cheraw hardware store cured both ills.
3. We do have some DNS (did not start) news that occurred
during the week. While testing their car in Columbus
on Tuesday, Tom Ottey lost a turbo on his Hyundai
Elantra. They had a similar problem last year at the
Lake Superior PRO Rally, and thought that replacing the
turbo was the solution. When they lost the turbo on
Tuesday, they realized that something else was wrong, and
Murray Thomas at TAD Motorsports will take a look at the
car next week. Meanwhile, they will not make the event
this weekend.
4. The other DNS is the Toyota Celica of Bruce Newey/Charles
Bradley. The team, which is building a Toyota Supra for
the new Group 5 class, was scheduled to run their
revamped All-trac (reconfigured to be 2WD) to get class
points before their new car is done. The new car is
scheduled to debut at STPR in Pennsylvania in June.
While Newey was driving the car down the street in
Atlanta on Friday, preparing to load it on the trailer,
he heard a "pop" on the transmission, and then was unable
to get the car in the upper gears. After checking the
clutch, which was in good shape, Newey discovered
problems in the XTRACT gearbox, and could not get parts
in time for the event.
5. By the way, the Group 5 class, which is for turbocharged,
2WD, 3.0-liter, Open-class-style rally cars, has
attracted several fast competitors this year, including
the Newey entry mentioned above. Another entry, which
will make its debut this weekend, is the 1976 Porsche
911S of Mike Hurst/Rob Bohn. Hurst, downplaying the
Porsche angle, claims his car is "slow," although he says
it is faster than his former mount, the Nissan 200-SX
Group 2 car.
Other Group 5 entries at this rally include the quick
Dodge Shadow of Henry and Cindy Krolikowski, who won the
Divisional PRO Rally runoffs here three years ago, and
another Dodge Shadow driven by the only all-woman rally
team of Lesley Suddard and Anne Thomas.
6. There was a question as to the legality of Newey's car
since the rules state that the car must be available in
2WD configuration. Some people thought that meant the
particular race car needed to be delivered originally as
a 2WD, making the Newey conversion illegal. This,
indeed, is not the case, as the Celica only needs to be
available in 2WD for Newey to run his converted All-trac
in Group 5.
7. This event marks the debut of defending Paul
Choiniere/Jeff Becker's 1996 Hyundai Elantra. Built by
John Buffum's Libra Racing group, the Elantra represents
the second year in a row the defending champs have
debuted a newly-built car for a rally season. Last year,
Choiniere hung on for a 29-second win here after a
cracked manifold slowed the team near the end of the
event. Choiniere won five events last year - all early
in the season - and then ran through a series of bad
luck and mechanical troubles which gave both Henry Joy
and Carl Merrill a chance to catch him at the end of the
season. A Merrill DNF at Lake Superior, plus a fine
second-place finish for Paul in Maine clinched the title
for Choiniere - his fifth in six years.
8. Merrill's 400 hp Ford Escort Cosworth, now in its fourth
years of development, has already won a Canadian rally
this year, and is poised to challenge Choiniere for the
title. Recently, Weegee Smith, Merrill's crew chief,
spent some time in England and learned some of the
European rally secrets to enhance an already well-
prepared effort.
9. Henry Joy will be running an abbreviated schedule for
1996, opting to spend more time with his recently-born
son, Henry Bourne Joy V. Although he has not set his
schedule yet, he will probably run three or four national
events in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution II.
# # #
1996 Sand Hills Sand Blast PRO Rally - Cheraw, SC
Round #1 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series
Start List - 3/15/96
Car
Num. Driver/Home Town Navigator/Home Town Vehicle/Tires Class
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Paul Choiniere Jeff Becker Hyundai Elantra Open
Shelburne, VT Great Neck, NY Michelin
3 Carl Merrill John Bellefleur Ford Escort Cosworth Open
Ogunquit, ME Thornhill, ONT Michelin
8 Bruno Kreibich Rod Hendricksen Audi Quattro Open
Ridgewood, NY Clinton, NJ Michelin
117 Ken Stewart Jim Hurley Chevy S-10 Pick-Up 04 Div.
Grove, OK Knoxville, TN Cooper
10 Mike Hurst Rob Bohn Porsche 911S Group 5
Pendleton, IN Noblesville, IN Michelin
2 Henry Krolikowski Cindy Krolikowski Dodge Shadow Group 5
Wyandotte, MI Wyandotte, MI Michelin
4 Gerald Sweet Stuart Spark Saab 99EMS Group 2
Oakridge, NJ Woodcliff Lake, NJ Colway
9 Reny Villemure Mike Villemure VW Beetle Open
Flat Rock, MI Westland, MI Michelin
11 Dean Fry Donald Kennedy Subaru Legacy Open
Mohnton, PA Shillington, PA Colway
7 Kurt Thiel George Anderson VW GTI Group 2
Rochester, NY Rochester, NY Michelin
23 Greg Trepetin Sonia Trepetin Honda Prelude VTEC Prod.
N. Potomac, MD N. Potomac, MD Michelin
5 Jim Anderson Martin Dapot Honda Prelude VTEC Prod.
Mebane, NC Reston, VA Michelin
21 Thomas Brann Matt Chester Subaru 4X4 O4 Div.
Mahopac, NY Atlanta, GA
13 Constantine Barry Berg Audi Quattro Open
Mantopolous Apple Valley, MN
Staten Island, NY
12 Lesley Suddard Anne Thomas Dodge Charger Group 5
Wilmington, DE Nashua, NH Michelin
6 Charles MaCrary, III Ron Lockhart Toyota Corolla U2 Div.
Atlanta, GA Mable, GA
14 Keith Kreisler Chris Erney Mazda 323GTX Open
West Chester, PA Sterling, VA Michelin
16 John Shirley Kendall Russell Triumph TR-8 O2 Div
Knoxville, TN Knoxville, TN
22 Ed Mucklow Mark Bowers Mitsubishi Starion O2 Div.
St. Albans, WV Afton, VA
25 Eric Schroeder Jennifer Mynhier VW Jetta GLI Group 2
Indianapolis, IN Indianapolis, IN
18 S. Stepniewski Adam Pelc VW Scirocco U2 Div.
Keansburg, NJ Brooklyn, NY
26 Jeff Fithian Brett Silvius Mazda 323GTX 04 Div.
Atlanta, GA New York, NY
24 Douglas Davenport Lynn Dillon VW GTI Group 2
Indianapolis, IN Newburgh, IN
77 Jay Kowalik Jeff Wheeler Acura Integra GS-R 02 Div.
London, Ohio E. Liberty, Ohio
17 Serguei Beloussov Steve Rourke Mazda 626 Group 2
Philadelphia, PA Tolland, CT
20 Gary D'Abate Greg D'Abate Mazda GLC U2 Div.
Gainsville, GA Atlanta, GA
19 Raymond Jannelli John Yue Ford Escort U2 Div.
Medford, NJ Philadelphia, PA
66 Peter Ford Kirsten Sachwitz Ford Escort U2 Div.
East Lansing, MI Durham, NC
# # #
Sand Hills Sand Blast PRO Rally
Cheraw, South Carolina
Round #2 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally
March 16, 1996, 3:00 PM
10. 28 cars took the starter's countdown in front of Quincy's
Family Restaurant in Cheraw starting at 1:01 PM on
Saturday afternoon. This is the largest field for this
event since it became a 60 percent national rally
(national license-holders get 60 percent of points
available at a full national event) in 1994. The good
weather has pulled in a record number of workers as well,
in addition to a large number of spectators at the
daytime spectator area. With the spectator area in
walking distance from the first service, service crews
will actually be able to see their cars run during the
rally. Temperature at start time was 77 degrees F, with
little wind and no humidity.
11. Although all the cars made it through stage #1 without
incident, the rally has fallen behind as the organizers
inadvertently had the cars at three-minute intervals.
Organizer Greg Healey might shorten a service later in
the event, and do away with stage #7 - the rally's
shortest stage - to make up the difference.
12. In the time-warp department, the Open class 1983 Audi
Quattro of Bruno Kreibich/Rod Hendricksen continues to be
a show-stopper at Parc Expose, and looks better than it
did when it came from the factory. Bruno wants to let
everyone know that, in the scene from the SportsChannel
show in December showing Pat Ayer passing him, that he
pulled over to let Pat by - he did not stuff it in the
snowbank. Hendricksen pointed out the that he and Bruno
had 49 years combined PRO Rally experience, not the 50
years mentioned in the February issue of SPORTSCAR. The
season has begun!
13. We've talked about Open and Group 5 classes, but there
are several other battles of note. Both the Kurt
Thiel/George Anderson VW GTI and the Gerry Sweet/Stuart
Spark Saab 99EMS won Group 2 events last year, and should
wage quite of battle for the 12 points awarded for first
place in this event. The big "two" in the Production
class are the two Honda Prelude VTEC's of Greg
Trepetin/Sonia Trepetin and Jim Anderson/Martin Dapot.
Perhaps the fastest Production class vehicle, the #66
Ford Escort GT of Peter Ford/Kirsten Sachwitz, is last in
the field because this is Mr. Ford's first event, and he
is running the divisional class only. The car, owned by
Production class champion Tad Ohtake, is being rented to
Peter Ford this weekend, and Ohtake is crewing for the
team.
14. The Audi Quattro of Constantine Mantopoulus/Barry Berg,
which won the now-defunct Group A class at the last
event in 1995, expected to run Production GT this year,
but their 1987 vehicle is too old (must be 8 years old
or newer to qualify). The now-Open class Quattro, which
has already won its season debut at the divisional event
at Bridgehampton (NY) in February, has beefed up its
suspension this year after fixing a broken suspension
member from the Maine event. There are no other
Production GT vehicles running the event.
15. After three stages, we have the following reports from
the field:
--The Jay Kowalik/Jeff Wheeler Acura Integra GS-R - yes,
it's the former Peter Cunningham championship car -
ran of the course on stage #3, as did the VW GTI of
Doug Davenport/Lynn Dillion but both were pulled out
by sweep in time to finish the stage without being
time-barred (30 min. after the last car finishes).
--The Porsche of Mike Hurst/Rob Bohn went off the
course at the end of stage #3, and were reported to be
stuck in a ditch. The sweep busy vehicle pulled them
out, however, and the duo is still in the event.
--The Ford Escort GT of Peter Ford/Kirsten Sachwitz is
of the event at the end of stage #1 with mechanical
problems, possibly a fuel pump failure.
--The Triumph TR-8 of John Shirley/Kendall Russell also
failed to answer the bell for stage #2 - cause
unknown.
--The Audi Quattro of Constantine Mantopoulus/Barry Berg
lost its bumper on stage #3, but the rest of the field
managed to avoid it on the course, and the sweep
vehicle picked it up.
# # #
Sand Hills Sand Blast PRO Rally
Cheraw, South Carolina
Round #3 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally
March 16, 1996, 5:00 PM
16. The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch
for North and South Carolina, including Chesterfield
County (where is the rally is currently underway).
Reports from the course have it raining hard - with
lightning - on stage #4. The watch is in effect until
11:00 PM tonight, about one hour after the scheduled
finish of the rally.
17. The Bruno Kreibich/Rod Hendricksen Audi Quattro is out
of the event with an oil-starvation problem at the end
of stage #2.
18. The John Shirley/Kendall Russell Triumph TR-8 is out of
the rally with an overheating problem.
19. The Constantine Mantopoulus/Barry Berg Audi Quattro spun
and went off the course at the spectator area.
Spectators are trying to help them back on the course.
20. Although they were able to complete stage #3 with the
help of a sweep tow, the Porsche of Mike Hurst/Rob Bohn
did not make it to the start of stage #4 and is a DNF.
We're not sure if they were time-barred, or retired due
to damage from their off on stage #3.
21. The Gerry Sweet/Stuart Spark Saab 99EMS is out of the
event with a blown engine on stage #4.
22. Henry Krolikowski reports that the roads are a lot
softer than he remembered them when he won the
Divisional PRO Rally runoffs here three years ago.
The impending rain storm will certainly not help that
condition.
# # #
Sand Hills Sand Blast PRO Rally
Cheraw, South Carolina
Round #4 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally
March 16, 1996, 7:00 PM
23. Here are the scores after three stages - cars will be
reseeded in a new starting order after stage #5 based on
these times:
National points entries
Driver/Co-driver Car Class Time
(min:sec)
Choiniere/Becker Hyundai Elantra Open 16:30
Merrill/Bellefleur Escort Cosworth Open 16:48
Villemure/Villemure VW Beetle Open 18:12
Mantopoulus/Berg* Audi Quattro Open 19:25
Krolikowski/Krolikowski Dodge Charger Group 5 19:27
Stewart/Hurley Chevy S-10 O4 Div. 19:39
Anderson/Dapot Honda Prelude Production 19:46
Brann/Chester Subaru 4X4 Hatch 04 Div. 19:57
Kreisler/Erney Mazda 323GTX Open 19:59
Sweet/Spark* Saab 99EMS Group 2 20:07
Fry/Kennedy Subaru Legacy Open 20:08
McCrary/Lockhart Toyota Corolla U2 Div. 20:18
Mucklow/Bowers Mitsu. Starion 02 Div. 20:32
Trepetin/Trepetin Honda Prelude Production 20:37
Stepniewski/Pelc VW Scirocco U2 Div. 20:44
Suddard/Thomas Dodge Charger Group 5 20:52
Thiel/Thompson VW GTI Group 2 21:34
Schroeder/Mynhier VW Getti GLI U2 Div. 24:06
Fithian/Silvius* Mazda 323GTX 04 Div. 28:42
Still Running after #3, no times (don't know why)
Beloussov/Rourke Mazda 626 04 Div.
D'Abate/D'Abate Mazda GLC U2 Div.
Kowalik/Wheeler Acura Integra 02 Div.
Janelli/Yue Ford Escort U2 Div.
Davenport/Dillon VW GTI U2 Div.
*DNF after times - will not start on reseed
24. The Mantopoulus/Berg Audi Quattro was high-centered on
a sand mound after spinning near the spectator area as
previously reported, and is now a DNF.
25. The Fithian/Silvius Mazda 323GTX is also a DNF, after
being time-barred on stage #4, although the car made it
out of the stage on its own power.
26. Both the D'Abate/D'Abate Mazda and the Jannelli/Yue Ford
spun of the course and got stuck on stage #5, but both
vehicles are underway after sweep tows, and will stay
in the rally.
27. It has been raining hard for two stages now, and
organizer Greg Healey is poised to make some changes to
move the rally along. He will cancel stage #7 as
previously reported, and might cancel the last two
stages, 10 and 11, if the bad weather persists. Carl
Merrill reports that the conditions are get slick and
soupy, and that 2WD and less powerful cars are likely to
get stuck.
# # #
Sand Hills Sand Blast PRO Rally
Cheraw, South Carolina
Round #5 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally
March 16, 1996, 9:00 PM
28. Rod Hendricksen, co-driver for Bruno Kreibich's Audi
Quattro, reported the source of the car's DNF is still
not clear. Hendricksen said the car sputtered, then
stopped, and wouldn't turn over. As the Audi guru,
Bruno can usually figure out what is wrong, even if he
can't do anything about it.
29. The rally has now completed six stages, and we offer the
following times totals:
Driver/Co-driver Car Class Time (min:sec)
Choiniere/Becker Hyundai Elantra Open 30:17
Merrill/Bellefleur Escort Cosworth Open 30:43
Villemure/Villemure VW Beetle Open 34:10
Krolikowski/Krolikowski Dodge Charger Group 5 35:30
Stewart/Hurley Chevy S-10 O4 Div. 35:32
Fry/Kennedy Subaru Legacy Open 36:46
Brann/Chester Subaru 4X4 Hatch 04 Div. 36:47
Kreisler/Erney Mazda 323GTX Open 37:25
Anderson/Dapot Honda Prelude Production 37:53
McCrary/Lockhart Toyota Corolla U2 Div. 38:19
Thiel/Thompson VW GTI Group 2 39:00
Stepniewski/Pelc VW Scirocco U2 Div. 39:09
Trepetin/Trepetin Honda Prelude Production 40:04
Suddard/Thomas Dodge Charger Group 5 40:10
Mucklow/Bowers Mitsu. Starion 02 Div. 40:12
Schroeder/Mynhier VW Getti GLI U2 Div. 44:42
Beloussov/Rourke Mazda 626 04 Div. 50:16
Kowalik/Wheeler Acura Integra 02 Div 63:03
Davenport/Dillon VW GTI U2 Div. 64:19
D'Abate/D'Abate Mazda GLC U2 Div. 79:43
Janelli/Yue Ford Escort U2 Div. 85:24
30. Although Carl Merrill won stage #6, beating Paul
Choiniere by 12 seconds, Choiniere still leads Carl's
Escort Cosworth by 26 second with four stages remaining.
Carl's ALS engine controls, which haven't been working
during the first part of the rally, are back thanks to a
replacement of a burnt out probe, however, and these two
will fight for the lead to the finish.
# # #
Sand Hills Sand Blast PRO Rally
Cheraw, South Carolina
Round #6 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally
March 16, 1996, 10:00 PM
31. The rally, which is running almost two hours late,
will finish on time because the organizer indeed
cancelled the last two stages, and stage #9 will be the
last stage.
32. Paul Choiniere and Jeff Becker are off to another good
start for a SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally season with a win at
the Sand Hills Sand Blast PRO Rally in Cheraw, South
Carolina. Although the margin of victory has not been
calculated yet, it looks like the Libra Racing Hyundai
Elantra won the event by at least 20 seconds over the
Ford Escort Cosworth of Carl Merrill and John
Bellefleur. Although everyone agrees that the roads
were rutted and conditions were poor, Merrill was the
big loser when the organizer cancelled the last two
stages, as he thought he could catch Paul.
All indications are that the VW Beetle of Reny and Mike
Villemure was third, followed by the Dodge Charger of
Henry and Cindy Krolikowski, who also were the inaugural
winners in the Group 5 class.
Other class winners of national classes included Jim
Anderson/Martin Dapot in a Honda Prelude (Production)
and Kurt Thiel/George Thompson in their VW GTI
(Group 2).
The rest of the winners, times, divisional results, and
other details to follow.
# # #
Subject: Sand Hills Notes #7
Sand Hills Sand Blast PRO Rally
Cheraw, South Carolina
Round #1 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally
March 16, 1996, 10:00 PM
33. A couple of corrections for those of you who are keeping score.
--The co-driver for the winning Group 2 entry piloted by
Kurt Thiel is George Thompson, not George Anderson as indicated
on the entry list.
--The winning Group 5 entry driven by the Krolikowskis
is a Dodge Shadow, not a Dodge Charger.
--Gerry Sweet broke the transmission, not the engine on his Saab
99EMS.
34. Here are the final results:
Driver/Co-driver Car Class Time
(min:sec)
Choiniere/Becker Hyundai Elantra Open 51:41
Merrill/Bellefleur Escort Cosworth Open 51:54
Villemure/Villemure VW Beetle Open 58:31
Krolikowski/Krolikowski Dodge Shadow Group 5 59:44
Stewart/Hurley Chevy S-10 O4 Div. 59:50
Brann/Chester Subaru 4X4 Hatch 04 Div. 60:45
Kreisler/Erney Mazda 323GTX Open 62:02
Fry/Kennedy Subaru Legacy Open 62:58
Stepniewski/Pelc VW Scirocco U2 Div. 64:31
Anderson/Dapot Honda Prelude Production 64:39
Thiel/Thompson VW GTI Group 2 65:21
McCrary/Lockhart Toyota Corolla U2 Div. 65:23
Suddard/Thomas Dodge Charger Group 5 66:27
Mucklow/Bowers Mitsu. Starion 02 Div. 69:08
Beloussov/Rourke Mazda 626 04 Div. 79:52
Schroeder/Mynhier VW Getti GLI U2 Div. 80:08
Davenport/Dillon VW GTI U2 Div. 92:50
Trepetin/Trepetin Honda Prelude Production 104:19
Kowalik/Wheeler Acura Integra 02 Div 104:52
D'Abate/D'Abate Mazda GLC U2 Div. 127:38
Janelli/Yue Ford Escort U2 Div. 143.20
Results 96 Index
RRN Index