Chattanooga, Tenneessee -- After many trials and tribulations, the duo of Andrew Havas and supersub Rod Hendrickson have successfully finished the inaugural running of the Cherokee Trails ProRally. Starting in only his sixth U.S. ProRally, Andrew finished a remarkable 5th overall and first in Group 5!

It was an amazing finish considering the odds. Andrew had only just completed the assembly of a new experimental engine that was started for the first time the Sunday morning he and crew chief Frank de Kat were to leave for the rally. It was then learned that Eric "T", scheduled to co-drive, had fallen sick and would not make it to Tennessee.

A decision was made to make the drive to Tennessee regardless, in hopes of finding a suitable replacement. That supersub was found in Rod Hendrickson, the regular co-driver of ace Audi pilots Bruno Kreibech and John Kemp.

"Myself, my brother-in-law Peter, and Frank had pulled an all-nighter to get the car ready so Frank and I decided to go anyway. I was lucky to find Rod on such short notice, and as it turns out, we went well together. We suffered a myriad of setbacks that included a spin on the first stage, a broken shock, but worst of all, a ruptured oil cooler. We finished the last two miles of SS8 with no oil pressure. I nursed the car out of the timing control, and was able to re-route the oil lines and bypass the cooler, add oil and continue. In the panic, Rod lost his glasses so we struggled a little on the remaining two stages Friday. This was a heck of a way to spend a birthday! It all came good today though, and I am pleased to have finished so well."

Team Havspeed wishes Eric "T" a full recovery, and to thank all of the people who helped out, including Fred from Orange Auto Electric, the organisers and all the fans who showed their support.

Check http://www.havspeed.com soon for a full event report and official results.
Andrew Havas
Havspeed International Racing
http://www.havspeed.com