Columbus, Ohio -- Team RallyVW will be traveling to Chattanooga, Tennessee this week to compete in the FIA-listed Cherokee Trails International ProRally. RallyVW holds the distinction of being the only team in the SCCA ProRally series to campaign a diesel-powered car. Their 2000 Volkswagen Golf uses the revolutionary TDI engine, a direct-injection turbo diesel that generates amazing horsepower and torque while sipping fuel at well over 40mpg.

RallyVW finished the 2001 series with 2nd place for the season in Group2, competing in a 1982 Volkswagen Rabbit. Team owner Jon Hamilton then retired the twenty-year-old car, and made the move to the new Golf. The opening of the 2002 SCCA ProRally season saw the RallyVW TDI Golf taking 1st place in Production Class at the Snow-Drift ProRally, in Houghton, Michigan. The team hopes for similar results in Chattanooga.

This will be the third time Jon Hamilton has competed in the Cherokee Trails event. His past two efforts earned 2nd and 3rd place class finishes, so this year he's looking to cap those with a 1st. Co-Driver Ken Sabo will be traveling from Atlanta, Georgia to make his second appearance at the Southeast's premier rally. 2002 marks the return of the Cherokee Trails International Rally to the FIA and SCCA schedules. The rally will be run as a one-day event from dawn to dusk, making it a test of driver and vehicle endurance.

RallyVW is also receiving new sponsorship for the 2002 season. Hamilton's TDI Golf will debut the MotorsportVortex Livery during the upcoming Cherokee Trails International Pro Rally March 15th and 16th. As a direct result of this partnership, MotorsportVortex will be following RallyVW throughout the 2002 Rally season and reporting news, driver's perspectives and galleries. MotorsportVortex will also be providing Video clips and detailed features on team, car and events.

Another new sponsor, McWherter Petroleum is supplying them with an environmentally friendly Soylect Biodiesel blend, made from domestically grown soy beans that reduce both harmful emissions and dependency on foreign oil.

Based in Marysville, Ohio, RallyVW Racing consists of owner/driver Jon Hamilton, alternating co-drivers, Ken Sabo & Josh Westhoven, and the mechanical support staff of Jim Chenoweth, Brett Fairbanks, Jon Frush, Mike Jackson, Rich Lipstreu, and Tony "Riverdance" Huffman

Performance Rally takes place on real roads, usually dirt, gravel, or two-tracks in forested areas. The terrain can change quickly. The winding roads are peppered with washouts, large rocks, tight turns, and jumps. The driver relies heavily on the co-driver, who reads instructions and maintains mileage calculations while the driver is pushing the car to impossibly fast speeds through the woods and fields.

For more information, check the team website at http://www.rallyvw.com