VANCOUVER, BC -- Vancouver-based Rocket Rally Racing is eager to race its new Open class rally car at this weekend's Ojibwe Forests ProRally in Bemidji, Minnesota. This rally will be the team's second event running in the Open class, which is the top-tier class in North American rallying and allows virtually unlimited modifications to the team's rally car, a Subaru Impreza RS.

Rocket Rally Driver Patrick Richard will be reunited with co-driver Ben Bradley for this event. As a team, Richard and Bradley were able to capture the SCCA Production GT driver's and manufacturer's titles in 2000, in a production-specification Subaru Impreza RS. Having just graduated to the Open class, the team has set realistic goals for this event. "We want to complete a full shakedown prior to our home event, the Wild West ProRally in September," explained Bradley, "and hopefully we can set some competitive stage times in the process."

The team has been working hard to prepare the new Subaru for this latest challenge. "We have tuned the car to produce slightly more power than Patrick is used to and have added a dog-engagement transmission to handle the extra power," explained crew chief Dave Clark, who, with the assistance of John Lane from Pacific Rim Automotive in Seattle, has been gradually upgrading the car to enable it to reach its full potential later this year. "This way, Patrick can gradually move up the ladder in terms of car specification, and at the same time we can learn about the car. We have another step left before we are equal in power to the top runners in the series."

Last month, at the last SCCA ProRally Championship event, Richard was driving a Production GT class (production-based with very few modifications permitted) 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX, prepared by Subaru Canada, as part of the Subaru Canada Rally Team. "Although I'm very excited about the possibility of now running near the top of the field," explained Richard, "I have only ever completed four rallies in a turbo car, and we can expect to have a few 'teething' problems, as you normally would expect when you make any major upgrades to a car. Hopefully, we'll have a clean run."

Rocket Rally Racing is sponsored by SPD Tuning Service, DMS Shock Absorbers, OMP and Specialty Subaru. As with all events in the SCCA ProRally Championship, the Ojibwe Forests ProRally will be televised several times on Speedvision.

Patrick Richard, Rocket Rally Driver
info@rocketrally.com
www.rocketrally.com
p. (604) 803-6095