Thousand Oaks, California -- With the Oregon Trail Rally looming on the horizon, the Widget Rally Team is finalizing its preparations. The engine has been refreshed while the bodywork is set to receive new graphics for the team's newest sponsors, the Inn of Lancaster and the Townhouse Motel. Meanwhile, plans are underway to once again secure the use of satellite phones from WCC, headquartered near Phoenix.

At last year's event, a couple of Perforce Software team members joined the Widgets to see how rallies are run and how the team represented the company. This year Perforce will return to the woods with the crew. "I'm looking forward to checking out the action up close this time," said Sheri Aguirre, the company's Marketing Director. "A year ago we had a chance to actually go for a ride in the team's Evo--man, what a thrill! The car represents what Perforce Software is all about: speed and reliability in a team environment."

"We're excited about returning to Oregon," said driver Leon Styles, "but it's also going to be difficult getting started." Styles refers to the tragic loss of Mark Lovell and Roger Freeman on the opening stage of the 2003 event. "We've got to keep going--that's what they would do, after all--but we'll be thinking of them until it's time to focus on the stages themselves."

Codriver John Dillon prepared for Oregon by racing recently at the Desert Storm Rally, a brand new event in Quartzsite, Arizona. "Bill Hofmann offered me a chance to codrive for him in his Mazda RX7. We faced a few challenges along the way, but we had fun, which is what sport is really all about, and we still managed to take home second place trophies in the Group 5 category."

Dillon also used Desert Storm to test out a HANS device, a safety collar designed to reduce neck injuries in the event of violent crashes. "Bill promised we wouldn't test the functionality!" laughed Dillon. "The only tests we were willing to try were to see how comfortable it was and how easily it could be attached to the helmet. My recent experience was positive so the HANS has become a permanent part of my safety gear."

Perforce Software (www.perforce.com) provides financial support to the Widget Rally Team. (Interestingly, many of the Desert Storm competitors still wore Perforce Software stickers on the car.)

The team is also supported by 7-24 AirX (www.7-24airx.com), a domestic and international trucking and air cargo company; Tombstone Paintball Park (www.tombstonepaintball.com); and Worr Games (www.worr.com), manufacturers of tournament-quality paintball guns. The team insists on brakes by Porterfield Enterprises (www.porterfield-brakes.com) and utilizes the web services of Shults Dot Com (www.shults.com) for its internet needs. Hotel rooms for the Rim of the World Rally (the next rally after Oregon Trail) are provided by the Inn of Lancaster.

With ten points already "in the bank" towards the 2004 championship, and events now moving to the west coast where Styles and Dillon have plenty of experience, chances are good for the Widget team to do well in Oregon and California. Stay tuned!