VANCOUVER, BC -- British Columbia-based Rocket Rally Racing left today to cross the continent for the next event in the 2000 SCCA ProRally Championship Series: the Maine Forest Rally, held in Rumford, Maine.

While it's currently leading its class in the SCCA ProRally Championship, the Subaru Canadian Rally Championship and the North American Rally Cup, Rocket Rally Racing will be hard-pressed to retain that leading form this weekend at Maine.

"We are facing one of the largest fields in ProRally history - over 110 entries," explained Ben Bradley, Rocket Rally Navigator, "so it will be impossible to finish like we did at Rim." At Rim of the World ProRally, the team's last event in the series, it placed fourth overall.

"We are ranked at about the middle of the pack overall, in terms of horsepower, so we're adopting a different strategy for this event," stressed Patrick Richard, Rocket Rally Driver. "We're going to ignore the 30 cars that are 'untouchable' and just do our best."

Richard, tied for fourth overall in the Subaru Canadian Rally Championship and sitting sixth overall in the SCCA ProRally Championship points standings, has recently had a string of top 10 and top 5 finishes on both sides of the North American border, despite running a 165hp 'showroom stock' Subaru Impreza in the Production GT class. "At Maine, I would need to push very, very hard just to finish in the top 20, especially because of my car's horsepower disadvantage, and I've never been to this event before, so I'm just looking for a good strong performance. I expect to be really challenged."

Rocket Rally Racing is supported by Specialty Subaru of North Vancouver, DMS Shock Absorbers, SPD Tuning Service and Dragon Eyewear.

The Maine Forest Rally is an annual event catering to thousands of spectators lining the streets and back roads of Rumford, Maine. The Maine Forest Rally, fifth of nine rounds in the SCCA ProRally Championship Series, takes place this weekend, July 28 and 29.

For more information contact:
(East Coast)
Nathalie Richard, Rocket Rally Boss
media@rocketrally.com
Phone 416-922-9222

(West Coast)
Patrick Richard, Rocket Rally Driver
info@rocketrally.com
1409 Pendrell Street
Vancouver, BC V6G1S3
Phone 604-803-6095
Fax 604-803-6095