Grand Rapids, Michigan -- Team Yo! Rallysport chose the twisty, rocky mountain roads of Cleveland, Tennessee's Cherokee National Forest for its debut performance in the SCCA ClubRally racing series this past weekend. The venue was the perfect setting to show off one of the most unique and recognizable rally cars of the past 15 years, the Light Performance Works-built 1983 Chevy Citation, 'Oskar'.

The car was built in 1988 for Gail Hoult (Truess), the 1999 Production GT class champion and first ever female National class champion in ProRally (the national version of ClubRally), and was last raced in 1997. Gail drove the car to a runner-up finish in the Central Division ClubRally Championship, and won the Jamaican National Rally with it. The car has proven to be durable, and has finished nearly 90% of the races entered. Only 50% to 70% of the cars entered in a race typically finish. It was acquired by Team Yo! Rallysport in January, 2000.

"It was a great feeling to see how well this car stacked up against the newer, more expensive cars," says driver Jerry Brownell. Co-driver Jim Windsor agrees. "Oskar ran without a hitch. At the top of the mountain on Stage 6, the road was all rocks and washouts. We just flew through it. It's amazing how strong the car was." In fact, 8 of the 23 cars entered in the Cherokee Trails ClubRally were not able to handle the 57 competition miles over the grueling rural Tennessee roads.

Despite a spin off the road and flat tire which cost the team 15 minutes on the third stage, Team Yo! Rallysport was able to score a 14th place overall finish and 4th in Group 5 Class. "We just came into that corner way too hot, and before we knew it, we were backing into the woods at about 30mph," says Brownell. "We weren't alone, though. At least one car had gone off there before us, and two more spun while we were getting ourselves free."

Rally racing is currently the second largest spectator sport in Europe and is gaining popularity in North America. Technically, it is called "performance rally". Quite simply, it is a flat-out race over closed sections of rural roads by modified production cars. Competitors race one car at a time against the clock, usually at one-minute intervals. Flat-out racing is done primarily on dirt roads and two-tracks blocked off from civilian traffic, rather than on prepared tracks. Events are usually several hundred miles long, often lasting for two days. Each car has a driver and a co-driver (or navigator).

Team Yo! Rallysport will next compete in the Headwaters ClubRally in Park Rapids, Minnesota on May 13th. Plans for the remainder of 2000 include two more Minnesota ClubRallys, one in Munising, Michigan, and two in Houghton, Michigan.

To find out more about ProRally/ClubRally, visit the SCCA website at http://www.sccaprorally.org. For more on the Cherokee Trails ClubRally, visit http://usrally.com/sediv/cherokee.cfm. To find out more about the Headwaters ClubRally, visit http://www.scca-lol.org/rally/headwaters.

Information:
Team Yo! Rallysport
1567 Coit N.E.
Grand Rapids, MI 49505
Phone 616-361-2516
E-mail: brownell@benteler.com
Visit our web page at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/teamyo