NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- First and foremost, all of us at Eurosport Manhattan would like to express our deepest sympathies to those affected by the tragic events that took place in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. Eurosport Manhattan headquarters is located 7 blocks from the World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan. The team has been considerably affected by the events, but we are happy to announce that no physical damage was sustained by any team members or facilities.

On the week end of October 12th and 13th Eurosport Manhattan heads for the Scenic Catskill mountains of lower upstate New York to contest the inaugural 2001 Rally New York. The Rally New York is a coefficient three performance stage rally counting towards the North East Divisional Championship and sanctioned by the SCCA. The event is composed of sixteen timed special stages in which competitors race against the clock at one minute intervals. Rally New York will be especially interesting because it will consist of a combination of asphalt and gravel stages, something that has not been done in the North East for several years.

Three cars will fly the Eurosport Manhattan flag:

Andrew Hadjiminas and co-driver Luis Figueiredo will pilot their usual Subaru Impreza RS Turbo in the Open Class category. After an encouraging run at the 2001 Black River Stages they will be looking to once again improve on their previous finishes. Andrew's confidence continues to grow with seat time, and the progress is clear. Andrew and Luis are looking forward to mixing it up with the more experienced and very fast regular North East runners.

Tony Birbilis and Mario Socratous also head for Rally New York with high hopes. Their trusty Group N Ford Escort Cosworth is at full song and Tony's driving has also improved considerably over the past few months. This will be the second outing for the Tony-Mario driver/co-driver combination and should benefit them as they now what to expect from each other. Tony currently holds an impressive 8th position overall in the North East drivers championship in only his first year rallying.

The third car will be the Open class Volkswagen Fox V6 driven by Jose Vicente. Jose will be co-driven for the first time by brother and long time Eurosport Manhattan crew member Luis Vicente. This will be Luis' first time in a rally car under the pressures of competition but the team is confident he has what it takes to get the job done. Jose's last outing with the car was at the 2001 Maine Forest Rally where luck was not on his side and was ultimately sidelined by mechanical problems. The team will be looking forward to Jose and Luis mixing it up with the regular top runners.

Eurosport Manhattan is sponsored by Corona Extra, Harry Krantz Corporation, Kolo Albums, Manhattan Diary Inc. and MBF Risk Management. Thank you for all your support!

For more information please visit: www.eurosportrally.com

Rally New York: www.nyr-scca.com/rally_new_york.htm

Official entry list: www.rallyracingnews.com/scca/rny01-entry.html