Portland, OREGON -- The west coast based, privateer team of Paul Eklund (Seed 1 driver) and Scott Huhn (co-driver) have made plans to attend the FIA listed rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee. "This is a 6,000 mile round trip for our racing team, but we feel that that this [Cherokee Trails] is a significant event and important for some Championship points early in the season," says team owner Eklund. "The logistics for moving the car and service van are large, and we will need to rely on some volunteer help to assist in service, but we feel that we can run with the big boys."

Eklund and Huhn will be racing the screaming yellow Subaru Impreza USX, with a big thunderlizard on the side, a fresh 265hp turbocharged motor, DMS 50mm suspension, and a host of performance upgrades from Primitive Enterprises. "We are coming off of two top-five finishes at the end of last season," co-driver Huhn says, "and we hope to pick up right where we left off." "This rally allows pace noting, so things should get interesting."

Primitive Racing is sponsored by Royal Moore Subaru, DMS USA, Driving Force Racewear, T-Scandia Motors, Silverstone Tires, Taylor Made Labels, and www.subaru.net The rally will be televised on SpeedVision in April.

The team has spent a busy winter building a new motor featuring ceramic coated, low compression, turbo pistons, Pauter racing rods, Total Seal rings, an Extrudehone intake manifold, enlarged throttle body, and reworked TEC II engine management. The transmission sports a new 2nd gear cluster to help survive the increased engine output. "We are still loosing a few horsepower to the other Open class cars," laments Eklund, "but we currently don't have the resources to mount a major engine development program."

Also over the winter, the service van and race trailer were rebuilt to make the long tows easier. "We shed about 1000lbs and things should be a little cleaner and more organized for our service crews," commented crew chief Karen Price.

While driver Eklund flew to Europe for testing and training, the yellow USX made the car show circuit, going on display at the LA Autoshow, the Portland Autoshow and the Oregon Sportsman Show. In the meantime, plans were being put into place to campaign a new 2002 WRX later in the season. "All-in-all, we have been busy campers getting exposure for our sponsors and paving the way to take the next step towards becoming a top rally team. "I won the Co-driver's Championship in PGT in 1998 and several other SCCA driving Championships, but I really would like to take a shot at the overall driver's Championship in ProRally," said Eklund in a recent interview.

Read the latest team developments at: www.get-primitive.com

For more information, contact Paul Eklund at: (503) 624-2139

Press Release Index
Teams Index
RRN Index