NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- Eurosport Manhattan Rallying will be heading south this week for the Sand Hills ClubRally taking place on Saturday, May 19. The event is being sanctioned by the Southeast Region of the SCCA and run completely on roads located in the Sandhills State Forest. There will be two coefficient 2 events run, totaling 218 miles. There will be no less than 50 cars entered at this event and will feature many Pro level drivers, as well as Club level drivers.

Representing Eurosport Manhattan Rallying will be Andrew Hadjiminas/Luis Figueiredo in an Open class Subaru Impreza Turbo and Tony Birbilis/Jose Vicente in a Group N Ford Escort Cosworth. Both crews compete on the Eurosport Manhattan Juniors Team. This will be the first gravel event of the year for both crews. They both participated in an all-tarmac event earlier in the spring to familiarize themselves with their new cars for 2001.

In addition to gaining experience and valuable seat time, Andrew will also be doing the final shakedown on the Subaru before STPR. Team Manager and head driver, Sakis Hadjiminas will pilot the Subaru at STPR against what looks to be the strongest field ever. The car will feature many new components which will be tested this weekend. "I am looking forward to this event, the car felt great last time I drove it and with the improvements we made, it should be even better now," says Andrew. "We plan on running a steady race, without taking too many risks. We need to build up our experience, as well as familiarity with the car, before we can push for overall positions."

The second Eurosport entry of Tony Birbilis/Jose Vicente will be competing in their second event together. Tony competed in his first event last month at the Rallye de Sanair. This will be the first running of the car on gravel since being brought over from the Icelandic Rally Championship late last year. "I am very excited to finally be competing a gravel event," says Tony, "I can't wait!" Jose Vicente, who regularly drives on the Juniors team, has been called in to assist Tony and guide him through the woods.

Eurosport Manhattan Rallying is thrilled to announce their new sponsors for the 2001 rally season. Corona Extra has agreed to sponsor the team for selected events. You can visit them on their corporate site, www.corona.com. Additional sponsors include Per Annum, Inc. and KOLO Albums. Per Annum is a women-owned research and custom publishing firm that designs and distributes exclusive information-filled diaries. They are also a distributor for the fine line of KOLO Photo Albums. You can see the variety of products that they offer at www.perannum.com. Also joining the team is M.B.F., a clearing and trading company located in downtown Manhattan. Eurosport Manhattan Rallying would like to thank all of their sponsors for their excellent support.