Round #1 - 1997 Michelin PRO Rally Championship
SNO*DRIFT PRO Rally - Atlanta, Michigan

# # #

For Immediate Release Contact: Andy Schupack - (401) 739-5677

MICHELIN PRO RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP OPENS IN A FOOT OF SNOW AND
SUB-ZERO TEMPS; "SNOW SHOES" SPRONGLS SCORE WIN IN AN AUDI
QUATTRO S-2 IN MICHIGAN EVENT

ATLANTA, Mich -- February 9 -- It was only seven degrees Fahrenheit as the
26 Michelin PRO Rally championship competitors headed into the upstate
Michigan night, but the Canadian Audi Quattro S-2 team of Frank Sprongl and
Dan Sprongl, from Mississauga, Ontario, swept to a five minute win in the
SNO*DRIFT PRO Rally - the opening event of the season.

The Sprongl brothers, who have won every American snow rally they have
entered since 1993, are making a concerted effort to unseat six-time PRO
Rally champion Paul Choiniere, who missed the inaugural 1997 event as
his new Hyundai Tiburon is not ready.

The Ford Escort Cosworth team of Carl Merrill/Lance Smith gave the Sprongls
a battle early, but dropped out of the event halfway through with engine
problems. Production GT class winners Steve Gingras/Bill Westrick were
second overall in their Mitsubishi Eclipse, while Cal Landau/Eric Marcus
finished second in Production GT and third overall, also in an Eclipse.

In the other classes, Tad Ohtake/Bob Martin were first in Production and
fourth overall in their Ford Escort GT; Mike Villamure/Rene Villamure were
winners in Group 5 in their VW Beetle; and Gerald Sweet/Stuart Spark won
the Group 2 class in their Saab 99EMS.

The 1997 Michelin PRO Rally Championship, an SCCA series, consists of
ten events, is sponsored by Michelin Tire Corporation, and sanctioned by
the Sports Car Club of America. The next event on the schedule is the Doo
Wops PRO Rally in Olympia, Washington, March 14 - 16.