Munising, Michigan -- Team YO! Rallysport returns next week to the scene of their first ever performance rally which took place only one year ago, the International Cherokee Trails Rally, based out of Chattanooga, TN, March 15th - 17th. A year ago, both the team and the rally were making their debut, with Team YO! testing their skills for the first time, and rally organizer Kendall Russell testing her organizing skills by putting on a small performance rally in the hills of Eastern Tennessee. Both were successful a year ago. Team YO! came away with a memorable finish and Russell & Co. coming away with SCCA ClubRally of the year honors.

Things are new for both Team YO! and the organizers of Cherokee Trails this year. Team YO! has taken the big step of transitioning from competing on the regional level to taking on the national ProRally field, and Russell & Co., now known as Rally Promotions, has taken the Cherokee Trails rally to unforeseen levels, bringing it to the international level in only one year.

"We're probably moving forward faster than most would recommend", says Team YO! driver Jerry Brownell. "But we accomplished a lot in our first year for a low budget team driving an '83 Citation. We finished 5 ClubRallys, had a top 10 finish, and gained ClubRally seed 3 status, in addition to gaining a decent amount of respect in our first year. We want to build on that in 2001, which means we have to do something extraordinary. Competing on the ClubRally level won't do it."

"We're hoping to get a jump on the competition by competing at Cherokee Trails. Most teams skipped Sno*Drift in January because it is a snow rally. Some teams will skip this one because of the level of competition. By doing both, we could be one of the top 2 teams in our class nationally after this race." Team YO! finished 4th in Group 5 (medium displacement two-wheel-drive) at Sno* Drift late January.

The Cherokee Trails International Rally will be the first rally in over a decade to be run under international FIA rules. Under International rules, teams are allowed to pre-drive the course, making notes as they go. Under North American rules, pre-running of the course is strictly forbidden. Teams are given a route book with only the absolute essential instructions, and teams race over the competition stages full out without having ever seen the course before.

"I plan on being quite busy," says co-driver and navigator Jim Windsor. "With international rules allowing reconnaissance and pace-notes, I'm going to have to convey a constant flow of information to Jerry, and do it at top speeds. Even without notes, a rally is a test of driver/co-driver teamwork and communication, but I'm looking forward to the challenge of bringing that up to international levels." Indeed, the use of pace notes is new to the majority of the competitors in this rally.

The SCCA ProRally series is a "stage" or "performance" rally series that stretches across the nation. It is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America and televised on SPEEDVISION. This form of motorsport is experiencing incredible growth in the United States and is the 2nd most popular spectator sport in Europe. Competitors race flat out against the clock on a course of back roads closed to public use. The team is given a route book prior to the start, and the co-driver (or navigator) tells the driver where every jump, dangerous turn or other obstacle is to the hundredth of a mile. There is no practice and the pair has not even seen the road prior to competition.

To find out more about SCCA ProRally, visit the SCCA website at www.sccaprorally.org.
To find out more about the Cherokee Trails International Rally, visit www.cherokeetrailsrally.com.

Visit the Team YO! Rallysport website at http:/ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/teamyo.

Information:
Team YO! Rallysport, 1567 Coit N.E. Grand Rapids, MI 49505
Phone 616-361-2516
E-Mail: brownell@benteler.com