Event Description:
The Wild West Rally will use the normal stage format utilizing
FISA signs. The National rally will run fifteen stages, all of which
will be scored. The two Divisional rallies will include all National
stages. The event will have 145 stage miles and a total of 295 miles.
All stages will be on gravel.
Headquarters Hotel:
Tyee Hotel
500 Tyee Drive
Olympia, Washington 98512
(800) 648-6440 (Reservations)
(206) 352-0511 (Information)
The hotel is located at the Trosper Road exit from I-5 (Exit 102).
Discount rates for rallyists are available.
Registration and Scrutineering Location
Registration and Scrutineering will be at the South Puget
Sound Community College, 2001 Mottman Road SW, Olympia, WA
98512.
Schedule:
Thursday, April 20
1830 Close of Entry
1500 - 1830 Registration and Scrutineering
1900 Welcome Party (Brewster's)
Friday, April 21
1200 - 1500 Registration and Scrutineering
1700 - 1800 Parc Expose
1800 Start Day One
2400 Finish Day One
Saturday, April 22
0800 - 0900 Parc Expose
0900 Start Day Two
1800 Rally Finish
2000 Post Scores
2100 Awards
The post-rally festivities, scores, and awards will be at the
South Puget Sound Community College.
For More Information:
Bob Grass
Rally Co-Chairman
(206) 872-9696 (Days)
(206) 872-3458 (Fax)
John Forespring
Rally Co-Chairman
(206) 943-2191 (Days)
# # #
Press Notes #1
Wild West PRO Rally, Olympia, Washington
Round #4 - 1995 SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally Series
April 21, 1995 - 9:00 PM EST
1. Welcome to sunny (!!) Olympia, Washington, and the Wild West PRO Rally,
round #3 of the SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series. Although this event is
a regular stop on the PRO Rally national tour, the Northwest Region of
the SCCA runs eight or more rallies on these roads during the course of
the year, and the closely-knit workers make this a favorite of many of
the competitors. While rain is the norm this time of the year - and
most times of the year - in the Northwest, the forecast is for sunny
and warm weather, with the highs in the upper 60s and low 70s.
2. For those of you following the series stories, here is an update
from the Sunriser event:
--Official results are being mailed today. The hold-ups included
incomplete registration information (co-driver hometowns,
divisional/national designations, and car makes) and verification of
tire brand used.
--The organizer has asked SCCA/ARA to suspend the competition licenses
of those drivers/teams who received traffic citations and did not
turn themselves in to the organizer for disqualification per the
supplementary regulations. Both ARA and SCCA have initially denied
that request, but discussions are continuing about an alternative
punishment for those teams once the organizer verifies that
registration information provided by the police matches those of
competitors or service crews.
--The charge against the Jamaican service crew driver Henry Wanliss
was reduced from negligent vehicular homicide to driving left of
center. Mr. Wanliss paid his fine for this traffic misdemeanor, and
has returned to Jamaica.
3. Jamaican rally driver Chris Issa, who rented Bruno Kreibich's Audi
Quattro for the Lake Superior PRO Rally in Michigan last year (and
crashed it rather badly), will be back for STPR in a Group A or Open
class Mitsubishi Galant VR4. Fellow Jamaican Jeffrey Panton, who was
running fifth overall when his service crew was involved in the
accident mentioned above, has no firm plans at this time to run
additional U.S. rallies. Of course, defending Group A champion and
current Open class contender Peter Moodie and co-driver Michael
Fennell, also from Jamaica, will be running the whole series in their
Executive Motors-sponsored Mazda 323GTR.
4. Beverly Hills 90210 star Jason Priestley, with co-driver Kevin Caffrey,
has turned into a top five threat at recent California Rally Series
events in his Toyota Celica All-trac. Priestley, a late entry for this
rally, had bad luck his first two trips to Washington earlier this
year, with a crash in February and a fuel pump failure in March. He
also ran the Toyota Celebrity event run with the Long Beach Grand Prix
April 8, but an accident put him out while he was contending for the
lead.
5. Here is how the top ten in the point standings (after three events)
stand going into the event:
--Paul Choiniere/Jeff Becker - 34 points - Hyundai Elantra: have won
two of the three events so far this year with victories in South
Carolina and Ohio. His new Hyundai was particularly impressive two
weeks ago in Ohio in its first long gravel rally, meeting the
challenge when Choiniere took it to the limit to hold off Peter
Moodie and Doug Shepherd. Paul has not won here in Olympia since
1991, with a DNF last year due to a rollover.
--Peter Moodie/Michael Fennell - 26 points - Mazda 323GTR: won the Doo
Wop event here last month and ran strong against Choiniere and
Shepherd in Ohio, finishing third only after an ignition problem
slowed them down late in the event. Have moved to Open class for '95
so he can run a 40 mm intake restrictor rather than the 34 mm templet
now mandated by the FIA for Group A.
--Carl Merrill/John Bellefleur - 19 points - Ford Escort Cosworth:
coming off a disappointing fifth place finish in Ohio, where his
crew had to replace a turbo during the event. At the Doo Wops here
last month, Merrill and Moodie had a good battle, but Moodie won by
44 seconds after Merrill lost fourth gear early in the rally.
--Doug Shepherd/Pete Gladysz - 17 points - Eagle Talon: finished second
in Ohio. Not here this weekend.
--Henry Joy/Chris Griffin - 16.8 points - Mitsubishi Eclipse: had fine
fourth-place finish in Ohio, beating Carl Merrill by three seconds.
His new right-hand-drive Mitsubishi Lancer will not be ready until
STPR in June. Finished a disappointing seventh at Doo Wops here last
month. Needs a good finish here to keep up with the points leader.
--Bruno Kreibich/Rod Hendricksen - 15.2 points - Audi Quattro: nation's
oldest national PRO Rally driver (we understand that Ray Damitio and
Ken White might be even older!), finished third in South Carolina and
sixth in Ohio - not here this weekend.
--Tom Ottey/Pam McGarvey - 15.0 points - Mazda 323GTX: finsihed second
to Choiniere in South Carolina and seventh overall in Ohio.
Production GT champion in 1990; running Open class this in
anticipation of delivery of a Hyundai Elantra later in the season -not
here this weekend, but plans to enter Rim of the Wheel in May.
--Tad Ohtake/Bob Martin - 8.0 points - Ford Escort GT: finished fourth
overall and won class in South Carolina; would have won class again in
Ohio by for a 10 minute penalty for time card error. Is only one of
the top Production class competitors to make the Wild West/Rim of the
World trip.
--Jim Anderson/Ben Greisler - 7.8 points - Honda Prelude V-Tech:
currently leading Production class with two second place finishes.
Not here this weekend, although Greisler is here co-driving in Dave
White's Group 2 VW GTI.
--Rui Brasil/John Elkin - 7.2 points - Audi Quattro; was third overall
behind Moodie and Merrill at Doo Wops; has new cylinder head and
reports 312 horsepower after Motech Electronics came up yesterday to
tune the car. If Rui does well here and at Rim, he might go back East
to run STPR.
# # #
Press Notes #2
Wild West PRO Rally, Olympia, Washington
Round #4 - 1995 SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally Series
April 21, 1995 - 10:00 PM EST
6. Although headquartered at the Tyee Hotel in Olympia, most of this
year's rally is centered around the city of Shelton, with the start of
both day's festivities being in downtown Shelton. 48 cars took the
countdown Friday at 6:00 PM local time to head into the woods for the
first of six stages tonight. The four overall favorites - Merrill,
Joy, Moodie and Choiniere - were all optimistic that their cars were in
top running form, and they expected a close rally.
7. During the morning press stage, the Ford Escort of Ralph Kosmides/Joe
Noyes went off the road and into a ditch, damaging the front left
bodywork and much of the suspension underneath. Ralph's also injured
his wrist, which was wrapped and packed in ice, but reports from the
service area indicate that he will continue despite the pain. Six
hours of hard work repaired everything before the start of the event
for the Ruby's Diner entry from Newport Beach, Calif. Kosmides, EVP
and CFO for the Ruby's Diner chain, started racing in high school with
Toyota Off-Road and Indy car owner Cal Wells.
8. After three stages, here are the times for the top competitors:
Driver/Co-driver Car Class Total
Choiniere/Becker Hyundai Elantra Open 29:32*
Joy/Griffin Mitsui. Eclipse Open 29:42
Moodie/Fennell Mazda 323GTR Open 30:04
Brasil/Elkin Audi Quattro Open 30:21
Karamanoglu/Manto. Eagle Talon PGT 30:54*
Ostlund/Baker Saab 99 Group 2 31:42*
Bryan/Walden Saab 900 Group 2 32:11
Malik/Andersson Volvo 240 Group 2 32:17
Beard/Simmons Mazda 323GTX PGT 32:35
White/Greisler VW GTI Group 2 32:43
Weleff/Paul Toyota All-trac Group A 32:49
Beson/Bradley Mazda Protege Open 32:54
Ohtake/Martin Ford Escort GT Prod. 33:18*
Kosmides/Noyes Ford Escort Open 33:49
Damitio/Berg Toyota Celica GTS PGT 33:56
Merrill/Bellefleur Ford Escort Cosw. Open 34:01
Priestley/Caffrey Toyota All-trac PGT 35:00
*class leaders
9. Stage #3's rough surfaces shook up the top competitors, including:
--Moodie/Fennell - drove the last six miles on two rear flat tires,
with the shredded belts ripping the body work around the wheel wells.
--Merrill/Bellefleur - stopped to change a flat tire; lost five
minutes to the field.
--Joy/Griffin - hit a rock in the apex of stage #3 and bent a wheel,
but, luckily, no flat tire.
--Choiniere/Becker Hyundai Elantra spent service after stage #3 trying
to align the front wheels to point in the same direction.
10. Some early rally DNF's included:
--Steve Walker/David Lowe Mazda 323GTX (ex-Greg Lund car) - was
towed out of stage #1)
--Dave LaTourette/Dave Carroll VW Beetle
--Scott Fuller/Peter Yeeles VW Golf - broken turbo belt and damaged
pulley - will get replacement part overnight and enter Sat.
divisional.
--Brian Cooper/Cam Jackson Datsun 210 - transmission problems - only
had one gear - will try to fix overnight.
--Jack Broadhead/Jack McCarter Datsun 510 - DNF after stage #5
--Zeitho Dekodic/Dave Snyder Toyota Starlet broke an axle
on stage #5 and DNFed.
11. Peter Moodie/Michael Fennell Mazda 323GTR - one of the favorites and
third overall after three stages - is out of the rally after the front
end of the car collapsed on stage #5. They broke an axle driver,
ruining the input shaft and breaking the transmission and losing the
bearings. The Executive Motors crew could fix the car overnight, but
the car would be slow enough that Peter opted not to continue.
12. Kirk Simons/Joel Wright Datsun GLH rolled at the end of stage #1, and
then had electrical problems by stage #2, and DNFed after stage #4.
13. Rui Brasil/John Elkin Audi Quattro - top of the strut broke and went
through the wheel well, slowing him down through stages five and six.
The crew will work on the car overnight, and hope to effect repairs.
Rui won the Friday night divisional anyway, and should still be in the
top five in the national.
14. The Dave White/Ben Greisler VW GTI broke an alternator belt, which
caused overheating as they drove stage #2 and #3 without knowing it
was broken. Car builder and crew chief Guy Light fixed the car in
service after #3, and the car was on its way.
# # #
Press Notes #3
Wild West PRO Rally, Olympia, Washington
Round #4 - 1995 SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally Series
April 22, 1995 - 8:00 AM EST
15. The Dale Beard/Richard Simmons Mazda 323GTX ran the entire evening
with no turbo boost, and finally retired for the evening with a blown
turbo. Beard, the fastest local competitor, from Elma, Wash., is
usually competing head-to-head with the national Production GT
competitors.
16. Speaking of Production GT, defending class champion Selcuk
Karamanoglu, who destroyed his Mitsubishi Eclipse last year in Canada,
started '95 with an Eagle Talon (the Jeep Eagle version of the
Eclipse), but ruined his transmission early in the Sunriser 400 rally
in Ohio two weeks ago. Selcuk found a rear-ended '95 Eclipse in a
junk yard in Ohio after the event, bought the engine and transmission
from the wreck, and is currently leading the class and running fourth
overall in the event. Selcuk used Tom Ottey's Columbus, Ohio-based
race shop to install the new drivetrain.
17. Another entry in the "junk yard" class is the Saab 900 of Sam
Bryan/Rob Walden. Bryan blew his engine in Ohio, and found a stock
900 motor in a junk yard as well. The engine lacks the power of his
normal Scandia Autosport powerplant, but the team is doing just fine,
seventh overall and second in Group 2.
18. The other Scandia Autosport entry is the Saab 99 of Goran
Ostlund/Steve Baker, the national defending champions in the Group 2
class. Ostlund, whose employer - Boeing - has transferred him El
Salvador to Estonia, will not be able to run most of the events this
year, but has a lock on first place so far at this event, leading
Bryan by 55 seconds after six stages.
By the way, for those who follow the series closely, you might notice
that the Saabs used to be prepared by "Scania" Auto Sport, but is now
prepared by "Scandia" Autosport. The team was forced to change its
name after Saab-Scania's legal beagles thought that people might
mistake them for an authorized dealer. Now, if they can avoid the
lawyers from the furniture company...
19. Here are the national scores after six stages (Friday night finish):
Driver/Co-driver Car Class Total
Choiniere/Becker Hyundai Elantra Open 52:10*
Joy/Griffin Mitsui. Eclipse Open 52:22
Brasil/Elkin Audi Quattro Open 54:41
Karamanoglu/Manto. Eagle Talon PGT 54:48*
Ostlund/Baker Saab 99 Group 2 55:50*
Merrill/Bellefleur Ford Escort Cosw. Open 56:34
Bryan/Walden Saab 900 Group 2 56:45
White/Greisler VW GTI Group 2 56:47
Weleff/Paul Toyota All-trac Group A 58:08*
Beson/Bradley Mazda Protege Open 58:32
Kosmides/Noyes Ford Escort Open 59:21
Damitio/Berg Toyota Celica GTS PGT 59:48
Ohtake/Martin Ford Escort GT Prod. 59:50*
Priestley/Caffrey Toyota All-trac PGT 1:01:25
Malik/Andersson Volvo 240 Group 2 1:02:29
Peterson/Chaloupka VW GTI Group 2 1:04:36
Forespring/Forespring Saab 99 Group 2 1:04:45
Strub/Sweeney Toyota Pickup Open 1:07:12
Dykes/Hanson Toyota Pickup Group 2 1:29:00 (includes 25
road points)
Moodie/Fennell Mazda 323GTR Open DNF
Beard/Simmons Mazda 323GTX PGT DNF
Walker/Lowe Mazda 323GTX Open DNF
*class leaders
20. As you can see, the Choiniere/Becker Hyundai has the narrowest of
leads - 12 seconds - over the Joy/Griffin Mitsubishi, with those two
car have a minimum of problems Friday night. All alignment and broken
wheels have been fixed, and it should be a good race to the finish.
Although the Brasil/Elkin Audi is third and only two minutes behind,
Rui plans to run a conservative race today in light of the major
repairs needed when his shock tower pushed through the wheel well
during the early part of the event ("I don't remember hitting anything
out of the ordinary, but I guess we must have done something...").
The Karamanoglu/Mantopoulos Eagle Talon is only 7 seconds behind
Brasil, and leads Production GT by a wide margin over the Damitio/Berg
and Priestley/Caffrey Toyota All-tracs.
In the other class races, the Weleff/Paul Toyota All-trac is running
alone in Group A, as is the Ford Escort GT of Ohtake/Martin.
Besides the fight for the overall lead, the best battle is for the
Group 2 title, with the Saab 99 of defending champions Ostlund/Baker
leading the Saab 900 of Bryan/Walden by 55 seconds. Third, only two
seconds back, is the VW GTI of White/Greisler. White, who finished
second in Group 2 at Doo Wop last month by only 11 seconds, is looking
to build a points lead in class with West Coast wins here and at Rim
of the World before the series heads East in June.
21. Of the 48 cars which started the event Friday afternoon, 36 finished
the event on Friday night.
22. As mentioned before, despite their strut problems, Brasil/Elkin won
the Sou'Wester Divisional PRO Rally (the Friday stages counted as a
co-efficient 3 divisional) by two minutes over the Mazda RX-7 of Tim
and Penny Paterson (who captured the over 2-liter class). Richey and
Howard Wantanabe in a Nissan 210 won the under 2-liter class.
# # #
Press Notes #4
Wild West PRO Rally, Olympia, Washington
Round #4 - 1995 SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally Series
April 22, 1995 - noon EST
23. The Steve Walker/David Lowe Mazda 323GTX, the ex-Greg Lund Production
GT/Group A racer, was melting turbo hoses to the point where the team
had to retire after stage 2.
24. The Lucinda Strub/Matt Sweeney propane-powered Toyota Pickup lost a
lot of time to the field on stage five when they spun several times
during the stage.
25. The other woman running the national rally - Janice Damitio in a
Toyota All-trac - said she seems to run well at night because she
can't see well enough to be scared. Co-driver Barry Berg, however,
didn't feel well after the rough Friday night stages, and hopes some
medicine and a good night sleep would help. Janice and Barry are
running second in Production GT, about 1-1/2 minutes ahead of the
Jason Priestley and Kevin Caffrey is a similar All-trac.
26. The Bill Malik/Roine Andersson Volvo 240 was running in the top ten
until stage #5, where they lost five minutes to the field changing a
flat tire.
27. Other divisional incidents last night:
--Jim Breazeale/Cristy Breazeale VW GTI - broken headlights
--Todd Hartmann/Kirk Knestis VW GTI - broken motor mounts - DNF
28. 40 cars took the countdown in downtown Shelton on Saturday morning to
start leg #2 of the Wild West PRO Rally and the Wild West Divisional
PRO Rally.
29. Although we don't have any reports from stage #7 - the first stage of
the day - we have times and DNFs for stage #8, and the standings have
been affected greatly. We don't have complete senarios yet, but it
seems that the third and fourth cars overall have exited the event.
The Rui Brasil/John Elkin Audi Quattro, after repairing a broken strut
tower, is off the course on stage #8. Also, Selcuk
Karamanoglu/Contantine Mantopoulus' Eagle Talon is off the course, and
his service crew has been called. Also reported out on stage #8:
--Strub/Sweeney Toyota Pickup
--Jardevall/Karlsson Saab 99
--Caffroy/Dolan Mazda Mazda RX-3
--Schrenk/Homann Saab 99
30. Scores are coming in from stages #7 - #9, and Henry Joy and Paul
Choiniere are having a great battle for the overall lead. Choiniere
and Joy tied on both stages #7 and #8, with Carl Merrill winning both
stages, but then Choiniere turned up the heat, capturing stage #9 by
22 seconds over Merrill and 36 seconds over Joy. So after nine
stages, the Choiniere/Becker Hyundai has a 48-second lead over the
Joy/Griffin Mitsubishi.
# # #
Press Notes #5
Wild West PRO Rally, Olympia, Washington
Round #4 - 1995 SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally Series
April 22, 1995 - 2:00 PM
31. Here are the standings after nine stages for the national
event (three Saturday stages complete):
Driver/Co-driver Car Class Total
Choiniere/Becker Hyundai Elantra Open 1:25:30*
Joy/Griffin Mitsui. Eclipse Open 1:26:18
Merrill/Bellefleur Ford Escort Cosw. Open 1:30:12
Bryan/Walden Saab 900 Group 2 1:34:07
White/Greisler VW GTI Group 2 1:34:19
Weleff/Paul Toyota All-trac Group A 1:35:03
Beson/Bradley Mazda Protege Open 1:36:07
Kosmides/Noyes Ford Escort Open 1:36:20
Damitio/Berg Toyota Celica GTS PGT 1:37:09
Ohtake/Martin Ford Escort GT Prod. 1:37:49
Priestley/Caffrey Toyota All-trac PGT 1:39:29
Peterson/Chaloupka VW GTI Group 2 1:44:37
Malik/Andersson Volvo 240 Group 2 1:44:54
Forespring/Forespring Saab 99 Group 2 1:46:07
Ostlund/Baker Saab 99 Group 2 1:47:58
Dykes/Hanson Toyota Pickup Group 2 1:55:34 (includes 25
road points)
Moodie/Fennell Mazda 323GTR Open DNF
Beard/Simmons Mazda 323GTX PGT DNF
Walker/Lowe Mazda 323GTX Open DNF
Brasil/Elkin Audi Quattro Open DNF
Karamanoglu/Manto. Eagle Talon PGT DNF
Strub/Sweeney Toyota Pickup Open DNF
32. In the divisional event, four cars are on the same minute, and quite a
battle is developing since Rui Brasil dropped out of the event.
White/Greisler VW GTI 02L 36:33
Sparks/Schroeder Toyota Starlet U2L 36:40
Weleff/Paul Toyota All-trac 4WD 36:55
Kosmides/Noyes Ford Escort O2L 36:59
# # #
Press Notes #6
Wild West PRO Rally, Olympia, Washington
Round #4 - 1995 SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally Series
April 22, 1995 - 4:00 PM
33. The Goran Ostlund/Steve Baker Saab 99 DNFed (almost twice)
during stages 12 and 13. First, they broke the throttle linkage,
but rigged up a wire through the dashboard to get the car back to
service. They then had ignition problems, thought they had fixed it
at service, but got stuck on stage 13 three miles in.
34. Lucinda Strub/Matt Sweeney Toyota Pick-up is a DNF after running off
the road and breaking a front control arm.
35. The Chris Weleff/Brian Paul Toyota All-trac - the only Group A entry -
hit a large, embedded rock on the right side of stage #11, then
bounced to the left side of the road, ripping out both sides of the
front end. For the fourth event in the row, we have no Group A
finishers.
36. The Jason Priestley/Kevin Caffrey Toyota Celcia All-trac went off
the road on stage #12 and lost about 20 minutes. He got back on the
road, however, and is still running. With the other attrition
in Production GT, however, he is still second to Janice Damitio in
class.
37. Here are the standings for the national rally after 14 of 16
stages:
Driver/Co-driver Car Class Total
Choiniere/Becker Hyundai Elantra Open 2:17:38*
Joy/Griffin Mitsui. Eclipse Open 2:19:23
Merrill/Bellefleur Ford Escort Cosw. Open 2:22:52
White/Greisler VW GTI Group 2 2:29:51
Bryan/Walden Saab 900 Group 2 2:30:21
Beson/Bradley Mazda Protege Open 2:33:47
Kosmides/Noyes Ford Escort Open 2:33:50
Ohtake/Martin Ford Escort GT Prod. 2:36:20
Damitio/Berg Toyota Celica GTS PGT 2:36:20
Malik/Andersson Volvo 240 Group 2 2:43:46
Peterson/Chaloupka VW GTI Group 2 2:45:07
Priestley/Caffrey Toyota All-trac PGT 3:01:42
Dykes/Hanson Toyota Pickup Group 2 3:23:50 (includes 25
road points)
Moodie/Fennell Mazda 323GTR Open DNF
Beard/Simmons Mazda 323GTX PGT DNF
Walker/Lowe Mazda 323GTX Open DNF
Brasil/Elkin Audi Quattro Open DNF
Karamanoglu/Manto. Eagle Talon PGT DNF
Strub/Sweeney Toyota Pickup Open DNF
Weleff/Paul Toyota All-trac Group A DNF
Ostlund/Baker Saab 99 Group 2 DNF
Forespring/Forespring Saab 99 Group 2 DNF
# # #
Press Notes #7
Wild West PRO Rally, Olympia, Washington
Round #4 - 1995 SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally Series
April 22, 1995 - 8:00 PM
37. The 1995 Wild West PRO Rally, round #4 of the SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally
series, is now over, and the Libra Racing Team of Paul Choiniere and
Jeff Becker have won another nail-biter in their Hyundai Elantra.
Once the owner of a four-minute lead over the Mitsubishi Eclipse of
Henry Joy/Chris Griffin, Choiniere had his lead evaporate to the point
where he almost let the lead get away. Going into the last stage,
Paul had a 49-second lead over Henry when Joy turned up the wick,
putting 24 seconds on Paul and almost stealing the win. But Choiniere
hung on for the win - his third of the season -with Joy finishing
second.
"We had a cracked manifold over the last third of the rally, but it
really didn't effect our time," said Choiniere, who won his first
Wild West rally since 1991.
The Carl Merrill/John Bellefleur Ford Escort Cosworth, which lost five
minutes early in the rally because of a flat tire, was third overall.
During the day, Merrill, Joy and Choiniere all won stages, and
every indication was that Moodie would have been right there as
well if he had not broken.
We don't have official times yet, but we believe the following
competitors also won their class:
Driver/Co-driver Car Class
Bryan/Walden Saab 900 Group 2
Ohtake/Martin Ford Escort GT Prod.
Damitio/Berg Toyota Celica GTS PGT
# # #
Press Notes #8
Wild West PRO Rally, Olympia, Washington
Round #4 - 1995 SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally Series
April 23, 1995 - 11:00 AM
38. The "big four" continue to show the new parity that has come to the
SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series. Carl Merrill, Paul Choiniere, Henry
Joy, and Peter Moodie all seem capable of winning any stage at any
time, although Choiniere has had the beat of it so far with three
wins. National stage wins looked like this:
Choiniere/Becker - 5 stages won
Moodie/Fennell - 2 stages won (retired after 5 stages)
Merrill/Bellefleur - 6 stages won
Joy/Griffin - 2 stages won
There were several ties on stage times, and other stages where the top
three or four were only 10 seconds apart.
39. The Karamanoglu/Mantopoulos Eagle Talon broke a control arm after
hitting a ditch at the edge of the road, and DNFed while running
fourth overall and first in Production GT on stage #7.
40. Besides the overall battle between Choiniere and Joy, the Dave
White/Ben Greisler and Sam Bryan/Rob Walden chase for the Group 2
crown was the best of the weekend. White had blasted to a 20-second
lead on the 17 mile Cranberry Still stage with three stages left, but
Bryan came back to score a three-second win.
41. The Rui Brasil/John Elkin incident in their Audi Quattro was easily
the most spectacular of the weekend, with Rui going off the road at
top speed, bouncing off some rocks, hitting a stump and coming to a
stop embedded in a ditch. Rui was a little sore this morning, but vos
both car and driver will be ready for Rim of the World. Co-driver
Elkin was at a loss for words to describe the feeling he had as he saw
the stump headed for the windshield.
42. Despite a severely-sprained wrist from an injury suffered from the
"off" he had at the press stage, restauranteur Ralph Kosmides, with
co-driver Joe Noyes, finished a fine sixth overall in their Ford
Escort GT. After the event, Ralph went to hospital and a cast was put
on the wrist. He hopes to be ready for the Rim of the World event in
May.
43. With only 13 of the 22 national cars finishing the event, the ones
that did survived the roads that were rougher than those usually
encountered at Wild West.
--The Janice Damitio/Barry Berg Toyota All-trac, which scored its
first national class victory by winning the Production GT class,
was in a good tussle with the similar All-trac driven by Jason
Priestley and Kevin Caffrey. When the Hollywood pair ran off the
road and lost 28 minutes, Janice realized she could win the class if
she could just finish, so she and Barry slowed down. Although they
did win their class, the "slow down" cost them a chance to contest
Kosmides, Beson and Ohtake for sixth, seventh and eighth place.
# # #
Round #4 - 1995 SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally Series
Wild West PRO Rally - Olympia, Washington
Final Results - National Rally
Finish Car Driver/ Co-Driver/ Make/Model/Class/
Pos. No. Hometown Hometown Time (Min:sec)
----- ---- ------------------ ----------------- -------------------
1 1 Paul Choiniere Jeff Becker Hyundai Elantra/Open
Shelburne, VT Great Neck, NY 2:37:57
2 4 Henry Joy Chris Griffin Mitsuibshi Eclipse/Open
Atlanta, MI Burbank, CA 2:38:22
3 3 Carl Merrill John Bellefleur Ford Escort Cosworth/Open
Ogunquit, ME Toronto, ONT 2:41:55
4 10 Sam Bryan Rob Walden Saab 900/Group 2
Kent, WA Seattle, WA 2:50:03
5 18 Dave White Ben Greisler VW GTI/Group 2
Benicia, CA Philadelphia, PA 2:50:06
6 31 Ralph Kosmides Joe Noyes Ford Escort/Open
Newport Beach, CA Seattle, WA 2:55:15
7 118 Rick Beson Ben Bradley Mazda Protege/Open
Portland, OR Portland, OR 2:55:23
8 66 Tad Ohtake Bob Martin Ford Escort GT/Prod.
Dearborn, MI Goodrich, MI 2:57:15
9 71 Janice Damitio Barry Berg Toyota Celica GTS/PGT
Montesano, WA Apple Valley, MN 2:58:27
10 27 Bill Malik Roine Andresson Volvo 240/Group 2
Burbank, CA Santa Clarita, CA 3:04:58
11 39 Dave Peterson Greg Chaloupka VW GTI/Group 2
Aspen, CO Aspen, CO 3:07:19
12 21 Chad Dykes Pat Hanson Toyota Pick-up/Group 2
Escondido, CA Escondido, CA 3:54:24
13 26 Jason Priestley Kevin Caffrey Toyota Celica Alltrac/PGT
Lake Hollywood, CA Van Nuys, CA 3:55:01
Did_Not_Finish
38 John Forespring Chris Forespring Saab 99/Group 2
Olympia, WA Olympia, WA
6 Peter Moodie Michael Fennell Mazda 323GTR/Open
Kingston, Jamaica Kingston, Jamaica
5 Selcuk Karamanoglu Constantine Mantopolus Eagle Talon/PGT
Bath, ME Staten Island, NY
7 Goran Ostlund Steve Baker Saab 99/Group 2
El Salvador Snohomish, WA
22 Rui Brasil John Elkin Audi Quattro/Open
San Jose, CA Lytle Creek, CA
120 Chris Weleff Brian Paul Toyota Alltrac/Group A
Riverside, CA Anaheim, CA
41 Dale Beard Richard Simmons Mazda 323GTX/PGT
Elma, WA Bonney Lake, WA
57 Lucinda Strub Matt Sweeney Toyota Pick-up/Group 2
Van Nuys, CA Van Nuys, CA
20 Steve Walker David Lowe Mazda 323GTX/Open
Issaquah, WA Bainbridge Island, WA
# # #
For Immediate Release Contact: Andy Schupack
CHOINIERE HANGS ON FOR THIRD MICHELIN PRO RALLY VICTORY AT WILD WEST
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- April 23 -- Defending SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally champion
Paul Choiniere, from Shelburne, Vermont, and co-driver Jeff Becker are used
to comfortable five minute wins in their 350 horsepower, all-wheel-drive
Hyundai Elantra racer, but had to hold on for a 30-second victory at the
Wild West PRO Rally here this weekend.
Choiniere, who had not won the Olympia since 1991 despite winning the
championship with relative ease over the past four years, has had his hands
full in 1995 with margins of victory in his three wins of only 39 seconds,
44 seconds, and now 30 seconds.
"We had a four-minute lead over the Mitsubishi Eclipse of Henry Joy/Chris
Griffin, and we almost let it get away," said Choiniere, whose car had a
cracked manifold, but still was still going fast late in the event.
Paul had a 49-second lead over Henry when Joy turned up the wick,
putting 24 seconds on Paul on the final racing stage and almost stealing
the win. But Choiniere hung on for the win - his third of the season -
with Joy, from Atlanta, MI, finishing second.
The Carl Merrill/John Bellefleur Ford Escort Cosworth, from Ogunquit,
Maine, which lost five minutes early in the rally because of a flat tire,
was third overall.
Other class winners included the Sam Bryan/Rob Walden Saab 900, from Kent,
WA (Group 2 class); the Tad Ohtake/Bob Martin Ford Escort GT, from
Dearborn, Mich. (Production class), and the Janice Damitio/Barry Berg
Toyota Celica GTS, from Montesano, Wash. (Production GT class).
Actor Jason Priestley, from Lake Hollywood, Calif., finished 13th overall
and second in the Production GT class after his Toyota Celica All-trac went
off the road and into a ditch early on Saturday afternoon. He lost more
than 28 minutes to the field - time which could have put him in the top
ten.
Only 26 of the original 50 starters finished the 350-mile event, which was
run on Simpson Timber Company roads south and west of Olympia. Many of the
cars fell victim to the rocks and ditches of the forest roads, while the
high-speed competition brought mechanical woes to the others.
Significant DNFs (cars that Did Not Finish) included:
--Peter Moodie/Michael Fennell, Kingston, Jamaica, Mazda 323GTR,
won the event here last month (broken transmission Friday night).
--Selcuk Karamanoglu/Constantine Mantopoulos, Bath Maine, Eagle Talon,
was running fourth overall (into a ditch and bent a control arm).
--Rui Brasil/John Elkin, San Jose, Calif., Audi Quattro, was running third
overall (flew off the road at 100 mph, rolled, and crashed).
Besides the overall battle between Choiniere and Joy, the best racing of
the day took place between Group 2 winner Sam Bryan and the VW GTI of Dave
White/Ben Greisler, from Benicia, Calif. The pair were in a virtually tie
with three stages to go when White blasted into a 20-second lead on the
long 17-mile Cranberry Still stage. But Bryan, who was running a stock
motor plucked from a junkyard Saab after blowing his race engine two weeks
ago in Ohio, picked himself off the floor to score a three-second win.
In a PRO Rally, each team consists of a driver and a co-driver (or
navigator), and the exact course is kept secret until just before the
event - different from World Rally, where practice is allowed. The cars
start at one-minute intervals and race against the clock over 6 - 24
stages which range in length from four to 25 miles. Most of the rallies
include night stages, making it necessary for competitors to adjust their
driving style. Speeds of more than 120 miles-per-hour could be reached on
long straight-aways, with the team achieving the fastest combined times
winning the event.
The 1995 SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally Series is sponsored by Michelin Tire
Corporation, with field administration by the American Rally Association,
and series sanction by the Sports Car Club of America. The 1995 Wild West
PRO Rally was presented by the Northwest Region of the Sports Car Club
of America. The next event is the Rim of the World PRO Rally in Palmdale,
California, May 6 - 7, 1995.
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