Rutland, Vermont -- Elizabeth C. Campbell, Production class record holder and class winner for ten consecutive years, will be competing for the overall title in this year's Mt. Washington "Climb to the Clouds" auto race on June 25. Campbell, lead driver for ECC Racing, will be driving a BF Goodrich-sponsored Vermont SportsCar 2000 Subaru Impreza WRX in Class 5, challenging last year's overall winner, Frank Sprongl, for the title.

Campbell's class record is just 57 seconds behind the overall course record. In 1999, driving her Production class 136 hp VW Golf GTI, Campbell finished almost 40 seconds ahead of the second-place car in her class. "It's time to move out," said Campbell, "I've been driving the Golf at its max for the past ten years, having beaten my own class record for eight of those years. I want to win the overall event." Campbell currently holds the Class 7 record of 7 minutes, 40 seconds to ascend the narrow, twisty, 7.4-mile mountain road to the 6,288-foot peak. Campbell's teammate, Karen Houghton, will race this event for the first time this year in the Golf.

Campbell is the only person to have completed the 'Mt. Washington Triple', having competed in the auto race, the bicycle race, and the foot race to the summit in the same year. She and her five-member coed team also competed in last year's '24 Hours of Great Glen' mountain bike endurance race at the mountain, finishing in second place. "I love this mountain," says Campbell, "it's a very spiritual place for me." Semi-retired from the SCCA National ProRally and Canadian CARS rally circuits, she has not lost a race since 1992. "Anything we've entered, we've won," said Campbell. "It's time for new challenges."

New this year to the Vermont SportsCar lineup, the 280hp Subaru Impreza WRX is a state-of-the art rally car and a proven winner in World Rally Championship competition. Vermont SportsCar is one of North America's premier automobile preparation facilities, renowned for its cars for rallying -- arguably the most demanding auto racing in the world.

Campbell's tires, the BF Goodrich Comp T/A G-Force, were chosen because they're very sticky on pavement and hard-packed gravel -- ideal for the Mt. Washington Hillclimb.

Information:
Karen Houghton
ECC, Inc.
15 E. Washington Street
Rutland, VT 05701
802-773-4030
karen@rallyCPA.com