Redmond, Washington -- Cascade Autosport will join forces with the Widget Rally Team for the Colorado Cog Rally in Steamboat Springs, 16-18 September 2005, preparing a Mitsubishi Evolution VII for driver Lauchlin O'Sullivan (San Francisco, CA) and codriver John Dillon (Thousand Oaks, CA). It will be the first time for the three-way partnership, however O'Sullivan and Dillon have raced together before. O'Sullivan is the 2002 Woodner Cup driving champion and Dillon is the defending 2004 national Open codriving champion.

Lauchlin thanked Peter Van Bogart of Cascade for the chance to race in Colorado. "Cascade Autosport has earned a reputation of providing some of the finest rally cars available in North America for purchase or rent, so when they offered me a chance to drive one of their cars, I jumped at it. I know the Evo will be solid, reliable, and quick. You can't ask for more than that in a race car! I'm really grateful that Peter has given us this opportunity."

"We've worked very hard over the past five years to earn a place at the 'sharp end of the field,'" explained VanBogart. "With Lauchlin's talent behind the wheel, John's exceptional navigating skills and experience, we can demonstrate the quality of our event package to the fullest.

Widget won the Cog Rally in 2004 with Leon Styles behind the wheel and John Dillon codriving, together clinching their first national championship. Though it will be O'Sullivan's first trip to Cog, he has a couple of years experience racing at the Pike's Peak Hillclimb and the Ramada Express International Rally, so he's familiar with high altitudes and fast roads.

As in 2004, team manager Denise McMahon secured accomodations for the entire crew. The Cascade/Widget team will once again stay at the Holiday Inn Steamboat Springs, which is offering substantial discounts to fans. Simply call the hotel toll-free at 800.654.3944 and ask for "the Widget Rally Team rate."

"I'm looking forward to racing with Lauchlin again," noted the codriver. "In our last race together [December 2001], we won in our class and finished third overall. I'm optimistic that we'll re-sync quickly and get our rhythm back."

Though Lauchlin's last national rally was over a year ago when he won the Ojibwe Forest Rally in Bemidji, MN, he expects the Cascade Autosport Evo to prove its strength and speed. With a bit of luck and a lot of effort, the Cascade/Widget team hopes to return to the winner's circle at Colorado Cog. Said the codriver, "It'll be hard work to finish on top, but you have to goal set to win, otherwise you're setting yourself up for failure."

About the Sport
Rallying is the ultimate team motorsport where street-licensed cars are raced at high speed on dirt trails with two people in the car, a driver behind the wheel and a codriver describing every bend in the road. Competitors are not allowed to pre-run the roads so they are racing "blind," navigating from a route book provided just hours prior to the event. Cars can easily reach speeds above 100 MPH as they snake between trees and along the edges of cliffs in this sport of strength and stamina.

About the Team
The Widget Rally Team, that "serious team with a whimsical name," is also supported by Perforce Software (www.perforce.com), makers of high performance software for computer professionals. 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. Satellite phones are provided by WCC Global Satellite Communications (www.wcclp.com).