Munising, Michigan -- Team Yo! Rallysport completed its final pre-season goal this past weekend at the Magnum Opus ClubRally, held in the Hiawatha National Forests in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, finishing 9th overall out of 32 cars that started the event. "Our goals for the year were (1) to finish our first race, (2) to not finish our first race last, (3) to finish in the top = of the field, and (4) our stretch goal of finishing in the top 10," said Jerry Brownell, driver for Team YO! "We're working great as a team. I'm really learning to get the most out of this car, and Jim is keeping us on track. We haven't made any costly mistakes all season."

The team, consisting of Brownell of Grand Rapids, MI, and co-driver Jim Windsor of Ft. Wayne, IN, pushed hard through the wide, fast roads, then put three to four minutes on most of the field during two particularly rough stages later in the evening. "Our car isn't well suited for the fast stages, so we were happy to still be in contention," continued Brownell. "We just blasted through the two rough stages where most people had to take it easy to save their cars. Our car is a tank."

Jim Windsor agrees. "The 'Airport' stage was so rough and narrow, we were a little concerned we missed a turn and were going the wrong way. But we knew our car could handle the rough stuff, so Jerry just put his foot down, and when we caught up to the car ahead of us, we knew we had made up a lot of time on the field." Indeed, the team had posted the 5th fastest time through the stage.

The top 10 finish, and 3rd in Group 5, moves Team YO! to within 2 points of 2nd place in the Central Division class championship race. With 5 teams still mathematically in the chase for 2nd, the championship could come down to the final stages of the Keweenaw Challenge ClubRally, held in conjunction with the Lake Superior ProRally October 20th and 21st in Houghton, MI. The 1st and 2nd place teams will be invited to Paris, Texas to compete for the 2000 SCCA ClubRally National Championship in March 2001. The top 10 finish also moves the team into Seed 3, allowing them a higher starting position in the next rally.

Team YO! is sponsored by Benteler Automotive Corp., a supplier of impact, chassis, and exhaust products to the automotive industry. They compete in a specially prepared 1983 Chevrolet Citation X-11, one of the most unique cars on the ClubRally circuit. The car, though not the quickest, gets much attention from spectators, competitors and the media. It is one of only a handful of American cars to compete in the series, which is run mainly with European and Asian cars.

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).

To find out more about ProRally/ClubRally, visit the SCCA website at www.sccaprorally.org. To find out more about the Ottawa and Keweenaw Challenge, visit http://up-plaza.com/lsregion/pages/pro_rally.htm. To find out more about Benteler Automotive Corporation, visit http://www.benteler.de/engl/index.htm.

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