Atlanta, MICHIGAN -- The 1968 MGBGT of the Team Paradox RallyRhybuddRacing program became the first car to compete under the SCCA’s new Historic Class rules at the 2001 Sno*Drift ClubRallies on January’s last weekend. Simultaneously entered in both the national-level ProRally event and both supporting ClubRallies, the car and Team Paradox successfully completed this mid-winter rally on the ice and snow of northern Michigan backroads.

Starting 41st on the road of 61 starters, the Team finished 27th of 34 finishers in the national-level event, placing 5th in Group 2. In both ClubRallies, Team Paradox finished 2nd in Group 2, close behind Tom and Brenden Lawless in their Civic. The backroads of Montmorency County, surrounding Atlanta MI, were largely glare ice under a thin film of packed snow, quickly removed by the powerful all-wheel-drive cars earlier on the road. This left a very treacherous surface for racing, and Team Paradox quickly adjusted their goals for this rally, concentrating on finishing the rally without incident. Finishing as well as they did, the Team commented, "This is a surprise". By keeping our cornering speeds down, we managed to avoid many of the snowbanks that caught and delayed our competitors. Our strategy, intended initially for mere rally survival, proved itself in the results. Team Paradox turned in the best performance of the rear-drive cars, there being only two others competing in the ClubRallies and ProRally dominated by the superior traction capabilities of the AWD cars.

Sno*Drift is the opening event of the 2001 SCCA ProRally series, the national series of Performance Rallies. Performance Rallying involves racing modified, but street-legal, automobiles against the clock over back-country public roads, closed for the event. All Performance Rally cars are equipped with safety devices such as roll-cages and safety harnesses, and are classified according to the degree of modification and engine power. Group 2 classification is for modified small-displacement non-turbo, two-wheel drive cars, and has been the classification for the vintage MGB of the RallyRhybuddRacing program. Beginning this year, the SCCA has added an Historic Class for the divisional ClubRally program, allowing limited modifications to pre-1973 rally cars. Cars eligible for Historic Class are marked with an "H" in addition to the regular classification marks. The team’s MGBGT was initially constructed with period modifications, and was readily prepared to meet the Historic Class rules for the Sno*Drift event. As no other Historic Class cars competed in the ClubRallies at Sno*Drift, Team Paradox competed directly in their usual Group 2 classification in both Pro- and Club- rallies.

The RallyRhybuddRacing program was launched in 1997 by dedicated MG enthusiasts Phil and Dallas Smith, aka Team Paradox, to campaign an MG in the SCCA Performance Rally series. Two years were required to find and prepare a 1968 BGT for the rigors of Performance Rally. After obtaining their rally licenses at the Ski Sawmill Performance Rally school, Team Paradox made their ProRally debut at the Susquehannock Trails ProRally in 1999. As the Team’s rally skills and car preparation knowledge increases, a more aggressive rally schedule has been pursued each year, and participation in most of the eastern ProRally events is planned for 2001.

For further information about RallyRhybuddRacing, Team Paradox, and the rally MGBGT, check out their website at www.rhybudd.com. Information about the SCCA Performance Rally series can be found at www.scca.com.