Grand Rapids, Michigan -- Team Yo! Rallysport returned to the fast roads of northern Minnesota August 25th and 26th for the Paul Bunyan's Ride and 10,000 Lakes ClubRallys, run in conjunction with the Ojibwe Forests ProRally. The results were all the upstart team could have wished for, taking 5th in Group 5 in the Paul Bunyan's Ride ClubRally on Friday and then picking up the pace for a 2nd place in class in the 10,000 Lakes Rally on Saturday.

"I think we actually pushed harder on Friday. I was finishing stages with weeds in my lap (the team was running with window nets instead of windows because of the heat), and we knocked off a side marker somewhere," says Jerry Brownell, driver for Team YO! "But Saturday I was really getting a feel for what the car was going to do under different conditions. I think we ran much cleaner and the result was faster times." The two strong finishes move the team up three positions to 3rd place in the race for the Group 5 Central Division Championship.

The events were also the first time for the team running new Silverstone S525 tires. Brownell exclaimed, "I love these tires!" several times as the team took on the first stages Friday night. "I could just flick the steering wheel, point the car, and go!" said Brownell. The tires also held up the entire weekend, which had been a problem in previous events. The team plans to continue running on Silverstones for the remainder of the season. Team YO! has shown steady improvement over their first four events, finishing all of them, which is nearly unheard of for beginning rallyists. They finished near the back of the pack in their first race at the Cherokee Trails ClubRally after some costly miscues, ran a clean but comparatively slow race at the Headwaters ClubRally, and have now turned in a pair of clean, but competitive, performances. "I think this weekend validates that we really can do this," says Jim Windsor, Team YO! co-driver. "We weren't quite sure after our first two rallies, but now we're looking forward to putting in some real competition for the other teams."

Performance rallying is currently the second largest spectator sport in Europe and is gaining popularity in North America. It is a flat-out race over closed sections of rural roads by modified production cars. Competitors race one car at a time against the clock, usually at one-minute intervals. Flat-out racing is done primarily on dirt roads and two-tracks blocked off from civilian traffic, rather than on prepared tracks. Each car has a driver and a co-driver (or navigator).

Team YO! Rallysport will next take on the trails of Michigan's Upper Peninsula at the Magnum Opus ClubRally in Munising, Michigan, and plans to conclude its season with two ClubRallys in Houghton, Michigan in October.

To find out more about ProRally/ClubRally, visit the SCCA website at www.sccaprorally.org. To find out more about the Paul Bunyan's Ride and 10,000 Lakes ClubRallys, visit www.scca-lol.org/rally/ojibwe. To find our more about Benteler Automotive Corporation, visit http://www.benteler.de/engl/index.htm. Visit the Team YO! Rallysport website at http:/ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/teamyo.

Visit the Team YO! Rallysport website at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/webpages/teamyo.

Information:
Team Yo! Rallysport
1567 Coit N.E.
Grand Rapids, MI 49505
Phone 616-361-2516
E-mail: brownell@benteler.com