Bangor, Maine, USA -- Last Ditch Racing, a Maine based ProRally team comprised of driver John Cassidy and co-driver Dave Getchell, is poised to begin the 2004 Canadian Association of RallySport Championship in Maniwaki, Ontario at the Rallye Perce-Neige-Maniwaki February 6-8. The first event in the Canadian Rally Championship, Perce-Neige is a snow/ice event and will see the team covering 212 kilometers of special stages and 409 kilometers overall in their turbocharged Subaru Impreza WRX.

The team is anxious to get back on the stages, after a poor tire choice led to an, "off," in November at The Rally of the Tall Pines. Said LDR drive John Cassidy, "We went out on hard compound gravel tires in the cold weather and it's a lesson we won't soon forget!" The team was not injured in the incident and the car has been repaired for the 2004 season.

The team is pleased to announce the addition of Carbotech Engineering, a performance brake component company, to their list of team partners for 2004. Said Cassidy, "We're very excited to have Carbotech on board. We're looking forward to working with them and give them feedback on their products in a rally environment." Carbotech joins Mainehost.com, Team O'Neil rally school and Triple Caution, New England distributor for MOTUL lubricants as team partners for the 2004 season. "We've been fortunate to develop relationships with these companies that allow us to promote and showcase their products while they support our program," said Cassidy.

The team, in conjunction with team partner Triple Caution, Inc., will continue to award the Last Ditch Racing/Triple Caution Thong Award at all 2004 events in which they are entered. The award is designed to give teams further down the start order a trophy to shoot for. Said Cassidy, "Since its introduction as a rally award, the Last Ditch Racing/Triple Caution Thong has become a coveted award, and we wouldn't want to deny competitors in 2004 their chance at taking it home!"

Last Ditch Racing wishes to thank their 2004 partners:

• www.mainehost.com
• www.teamoneil.com
• www.carbotecheng.com/main.htm
• www.triplecaution.us

For more information on Last Ditch Racing, please visit:

• www.lastditchracing.net or e-mail John@lastditchracing.net
• For Last Ditch Racing merchandise, please visit: www.cafeshops.com/lastditchracing
• For more information on the Rallye Perce-Neige-Maniwaki, please see www.lino.com/~rallyperceneige/