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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 15, 2002 |
Contact: Eric Burmeister Burmeister Rallysport Phone: 313-792-2397 E-mail: lurch3@prodigy.net |
DETROIT, MICHIGAN -- The Burmeister Rallysport/Mazda ProRally Team recently competed in the Rim of the World ProRally in Palmdale, CA. It was the team's first visit to the famed rally run in the high desert and mountains northeast of Los Angeles.
After some suspension adjustments following the testing stage prior to the rally, the Mazda Protigi was ready for battle in this, known as the most punishing of North American rallies. The testing stage was so rough that driver Eric Burmeister and co-driver Eric Adams agreed, this would be a rally of survival. In the first six mile run, the team suffered a flat tire, separated rear brake pads, and bottomed the suspension several times. The crew worked diligently to get the changes done and make the car suitable to the punishment it was going to witness.
The rally started on Friday with an exhibition stage for the fans before moving to the outlying areas around Palmdale. The speed was conservative from the start as the team came to grips with the water bars, ditches running across the roads in the mountains to provide for drainage in flash flood conditions. It was obvious that the suspension was still not quite dialed in for the very rough terrain, so the team kept repeating the mantra, "save the car, save the car."
Stages 8 and 9 on Saturday afternoon proved to be the worst for the team. With huge rocks and dozens of waterbars that they had to slow down for, the team lost a minute and a half on each stage, damaging the exhaust system near the end of 9. They came back with a fast one on the smooth beach sand of stage 10, but all hopes of any better than third in Group 2 were dashed.
The team brought the car home with a solid 3rd place finish in the Group 2 class for 2-liter, 2 wheel drive, cars. The result leaves Mazda in 2nd place in the Group 2 Manufacturer's Championship and it takes Eric Burmeister to 2nd in the G2 Driver's Championship. Congratulations also to Eric Adams who leads the G2 Co-Driver's Championship by 4 points!
The Rim of the World ProRally will be televised on SPEED channel on July 11. Check local listings for times.
Other ProRally events on SPEED channel where the Mazda team has run will be televised as follows:
The SCCA ProRally series is a "stage" or "performance" rally series that stretches across the nation. Sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America and televised on SPEED CHANNEL (formerly Speedvision), this form of motorsport is one of the fastest growing racing series in the United States. Competitors race flat out against the clock for hundreds of miles on a course of backroads closed to public usage. A co-driver or navigator tells the driver where every jump, dangerous turn or other obstacle is to the hundredth of a mile.
For information on the SCCA ProRally series, check: http://www.sccaprorally.org
Burmeister Rallysport can be reached at: (313)792-2397 or e-mail Eric Burmeister at: lurch3@prodigy.net