STACY, MINNESOTA -- Mayhem Racing’s points lead in the Sports Car Club of America’s ProRally Production GT class is such that they may need to place in the top three on only one more event to take the championship. The team of Mark Utecht and Brenda Lewis took second place in the PGT class at the Ojibwe Forests ProRally (in Bemidji, Minnesota) this past weekend in their 1992 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX. That effort extended driver Utecht’s lead over second place driver Gail Truess to 30, and moves Lewis into a commanding 61 point lead in the co-driver’s championship over Pattie Hughes-Mayer.

"We ran a steady event because these are the roads where I have run the most rallies," said Utecht, who placed first overall at the Headwaters ClubRally held in the same area this past May. "We slowed a little on Stage 1 because the nature of the roads was giving Brenda motion sickness, a common malady for co-drivers on that stage. Our HID (High-Intensity Discharge) driving lights didn’t work on one of the first night stages on Friday, but that was quickly repaired by replacing a fuse.

"Our biggest problem came on Stage 6, the final Friday stage, when the car hit something, bent a right front control arm, and the tire began to rub the inside of the fender. We made it back to Bemidji and the crew made repairs prior to the Saturday stages. We had an alternator failure on Saturday, but were coming into service when it happened so it did not affect our stage times."

The PGT win went to Nat Stow and Amity Trowbridge of Washington, in the ProRally debut of Stow’s Subaru Impreza WRX. Gail Truess finished 3rd in the class, with Jeff Secor as co-driver. Utecht and Lewis finished 10th overall in the final results.

Utecht and Lewis have two wins and three seconds in five ProRally starts this season, and lead the Production GT class in the SCCA ProRally Championship with 95 points apiece. Gail Truess holds second in Drivers points with 65, while Pattie Hughes-Mayer is second in Co-drivers points with 34. No other drivers or co-drivers have sufficient points to win this year’s PGT title.

Mayhem Racing will skip the next rally on the schedule, Wild West in Washington, and will decide whether to run the Prescott Forest Rally in Arizona based on the points situation after Wild West. Production GT is considered a "stock" class, allowing few modifications other than for safety.

Utecht and Lewis won the SCCA ProRally Group 5 driver and co-driver titles in 2000 aboard a Dodge Omni GLH. In addition, they were awarded the Jon Woodner Cup, presented to the most successful two-wheel drive competitors in the ProRally series.

Sponsors of the 2001 Mayhem Racing ProRally effort include: Morrie’s Subaru - Minnetonka, Minnesota
FirstCom - business telephone communications
ProGraphics - custom vinyl lettering for business and racing
SpecialStage.com - on-line newsletter covering the sport of Performance Rallying.
Warranty Solutions - warranty claims processing and consulting for automobile dealerships.

Mayhem Racing is based in Stacy, Minnesota, just north of the Twin Cities. Team manager is Mark's wife, Mary Utecht. J. B. Lewis is Chief Mechanic on the team's 1992 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX.

Mayhem Racing’s 2001 ProRally and ClubRally Results
Date    	Event   				PGT     Overall
1/29    	Sno*Drift, Atlanta, Michigan    	1st     6th 
        	Sno ClubRally   			1st     1st 
        	Drift ClubRally 			1st     1st 
3/15-17 	Cherokee Trails, Chatanooga, Tennessee  Did not enter
4/7-8   	Oregon Trail, Tillamook, Oregon 	2nd     13th 
5/4-5   	Rim of the World, Lancaster, Calif.     Did not enter
5/12    	Headwaters ClubRally, Park Rapids, MN   1st     1st 
6/2     	Susquehannock Trail, Wellsboro, PA      1st     12th 
7/27-28 	Maine Forest, Rumford, Maine    	2nd     16th
        	7 Islands ClubRally     		2nd     5th 
        	Mead Paper ClubRally    		1st     5th 
8/17-18 	Ojibwe Forests, Bemidji, Minnesota      2nd     10th 
        	10,000 Lakes ClubRally  		2nd     2nd 
        	Paul Bunyan’s Ride ClubRally    	1st     2nd 
9/7-8   	Wild West, Olympia, Washington  
10/5-7  	Prescott Forest, Prescott, Arizona      
10/19-20        Lake Superior, Houghton, Michigan               

2000 SCCA ProRally Season results:
Mark Utecht:            Jon Woodner Cup Driver
                SCCA ProRally Group 5 Driver Champion
                Central Division ClubRally Group 5 Driver Champion
                Land O’ Lakes Region Rally Driver of the Year

Brenda Corneliusen (Lewis)      Jon Woodner Cup Co-driver
                SCCA ProRally Group 5 Co-driver Champion
                Central Division ClubRally Group 5 Co-driver Champion
                Land O’ Lakes Region Rally Co-driver of the Year