Team Artex Motorsport begins the 1999 Pro Rally season with a new motor, a rookie co-driver, a class win, and a solid lead in the NEDIV Open Class Championship.

Team Artex Motorsport is veteran Pro Rally driver Arthur Wojcik and rookie co-driver Chuck Cox, competing in an Open class Mitsubishi Galant GSX Turbo. They just completed their first event together, the prestigious Susquehannock Trail ProRally. Changes to the team this season include a new 270 hp turbocharged motor in the Galant and a new co-driver in the right seat.

The Susquehannock Trail ProRally (STPR), including the Sherwood Forest and Finger Lakes ClubRallies, is one of the most popular events in the Michelin SCCA ProRally Championship series. It was run on June 5th on the smooth forest roads near Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. This year's STPR was fast and dusty, with 158 stage miles, a combination that would prevent half of the field from finishing. The morning stages were uneventful for Team Artex Motorsport. Arthur took it easy as he got used to the more powerful motor and Chuck got used to navigating. In the afternoon the team started to turn up the heat, but was frustrated by mechanical problems. The fast roads combined with the more powerful motor caused the brakes to wear out by stage 7, costing about one minute. A mysterious oil leak caused a loss of oil pressure on stage 11, resulting in a one-minute road penalty while the team found more oil. The oil pressure problem persisted throughout the day, but was resolved by carrying extra oil and topping up between stages. Although the brake pads were replaced at the third service, the new pads wore out by stage 11. With no more service before the end of the rally, Arthur had to complete the last three stages with no brakes. Despite heroic efforts with the brake proportioning valve and hand brake, he lost another 20 minutes before reaching the finish. Arthur summarized: "It was a great event despite some minor flaws from our side. The brake pads I chose to use gave us amazing stopping power but they wore out too quickly. This year STPR was amazingly fast, our stage times were about 1.5 minutes faster then last year. I would like to thank all the organizers for all the great work they did." STPR will be broadcast on Speedvision at the following times (EDT): 6/25 2:00 pm, 6/26 8:00 pm, and 6/28 1:00 pm. The STPR website is www.flr-scca.com/stpr.

Results:
Event / Championship
Open Class
Overall
Total

Sherwood Forest ClubRally:
1st
14th
98.95 minutes

Finger Lakes ClubRally:
3rd
18th
117.68 minutes

Susquehannock Trail ProRally:
7th
40th
3:35:38

NEDIV ClubRally Championship:
1st
108 points

Michelin SCCA ProRally Championship:
18th / 20th
6 points

The next event for Team Artex Motorsport is the Maine Forest Rally. This event runs from 2 pm Friday July 30th until about 10 pm Saturday July 31st, on the logging roads near Rumford, Maine. The rally includes 127 stage miles with exciting in-town stages. The Maine Forest Rally is one of the premier Pro Rallies in the United States. It counts toward the Michelin SCCA ProRally Championship, The North American Rally Cup, and the NEDIV ClubRally Championship. The Galant will benefit from upgraded brakes thanks to the newest sponsor, KVR Performance. Arthur says, "The Maine Forest Rally is one of the toughest events on the East Coast but also my favorite. The reason behind this is Maine forest was my first rally. Hope to see you there." The Maine Forest Rally will be broadcast on Speedvision at the following times (EDT): 8/23 8:00 pm and 8/24 12:00 am. The Maine Forest website is www.RallyRacingNews.com/maine/.

Background Information
In ProRally, each team consists of a driver and co-driver. The exact course is kept secret until just before the event. The rally consists of "stages" and "transits". Stages are competition sections where the cars start at one-minute intervals and race against the clock over a closed course that is up to 26 miles long. Transits are road sections where the teams are required to obey all local traffic laws. The team with the fastest combined stage times wins. Rallies run for over 100 miles, for one or two days, day and night, through any weather. Rallying is an extreme endurance and speed sport. It has the largest spectator following of any sport in the world. In the United States, the major Pro Rally sanctioning body is the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) which runs the Michelin SCCA ProRally and Northeast Division (NEDIV) ClubRally Championships. In Canada, the major sanctioning body is the Canadian Association of Rallysport (CARS) which runs the Subaru Canadian Rally Series. The North American Rally Cup combines the two national series. All events in the national series are broadcast on Speedvision or TSN/RDS.

Team Artex Motorsport consists of 4-year veteran driver/owner Arthur Wojcik and rookie co-driver/manager Chuck Cox, competing in an Open class Mitsubishi Galant GSX (#126). The team will enter at least eight SCCA and CARS events this season, competing in the Michelin SCCA ProRally Championship, the SCCA NEDIV ClubRally Championship, the Subaru Canadian Rally Championship, and the North American Rally Cup. More information can be found on their website at artex.cjb.net. According to Arthur, "Our main goal for the 99 season is to capture a Northeast ClubRally championship title. So far we have a good chance since we're leading our class in the points standings." Arthur started driving rally cars in 1995 when he built a U2 class Ford Escort GT which he drove in 10 events over two seasons, taking 5th the 1996 SCCA Super Divisional and Northeast Division U2 Class Championships. In 1997 he built an Open class Mitsubishi Galant GSX which he drove for two seasons, competing in 5 events and taking 11th in the 1997 SCCA ProRally Open Class Championship. For this season, Arthur upgraded the Galant with a 270 hp turbocharged motor. Arthur lives in Middle Village, New York, with his wife and two daughters. Chuck has been driving in autocrosses, TSD rallies, and ice trials since 1988. This is his first year co-driving in Pro Rallies and driving his Miata in Rallycrosses. Chuck lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he is an engineer and student. His website is www.synchro.com/racing/ and his email address is chuck@synchro.com.

Sponsors:
Artex Motorsport specializes in building Diamond Star Motors (DSM) rally cars including the Mitsubishi Galant, Mitsubishi Eclipse, Plymouth Laser and Eagle Talon. Their services range from simple bolt-on installation of aftermarket parts to full rally/race car preparation and include custom-built roll cages, brake upgrades, suspension modifications, fuel management systems, engine rebuilds, and custom gauge displays. Established in 1997, Artex Motorsport is owned and operated by veteran rally racer and car builder Arthur Wojcik. For more information visit the their website at http://artex.cjb.net, call (917) 602-1690, or e-mail artex@iname.com.

KVR Performance designs and engineers the highest quality in brake systems. Fast becoming the premier supplier of performance brakes to North America and around the world. For more information visit their website at www.kvrperformance.com, call (800) 636-0854, or email info@kvrperformance.com.

SynchroSystems has been developing embedded computers for intelligent products since 1984. Over 99% of all computers are special-purpose systems embedded in intelligent products. SynchroSystems can help you create a new product or improve an existing product. With their experience developing a variety of embedded computer systems, they are uniquely qualified to help you make your products smarter. For more information visit their website at www.synchro.com, call (617) 547-5113, or email info@synchro.com. Would you like to sponsor a racecar? Sponsorships are available for the Artex Motorsport Mitsubishi Galant. It is estimated that last year's Michelin SCCA ProRally series alone generated over 77 million media exposures. In addition to competition events, the Galant will be appearing at major automotive and cultural events in the New York City area. If you would like to receive a sponsorship proposal, please contact Arthur Wojcik at Artex Motorsport.