Portland, OR -- Paul Eklund, co-driver for the Hairpin Racing Subaru Impreza has won the Production GT Co-Driver's Championship in the 1998 Michelin SCCA PRO Rally Series. This series consisted of 8 events held across the US in Maine, California, Minnesota, Michigan, Washington, Pennsylvania, and Arizona. Lee Shadbolt finished second in the Championship for Production GT (PGT) Drivers. The team competed in a 1997 Subaru Impreza Brighton Coupe specially prepared for the rigors of rallying. They maintained the points lead for the entire season until the final event which they did not enter. This allowed Steve Gingras to pass Shadbolt for the Driver's Championship. The PGT class features showroom stock cars enhanced with safety features and rally suspensions. The engines are virtually stock, with most competitors favoring high-horsepower turbocharged all-wheel-drive (AWD) cars. The Hairpin Racing Impreza features AWD, but has a normally aspirated 2.2 liter 4 cylinder engine.

For co-driver Paul Eklund, this was his second SCCA National Championship this year. In September he competed in the Tire Rack SCCA Solo II Championship in Topeka, Kansas. This event featured slalom courses set upon a paved surface with pylons depicting the path. It was Paul's fourth attempt to capture the E-Stock title, which he did this year in the Primitive Racing Toyota Celica GT Coupe.

Televised coverage of the last two 1998 Michelin PRO Rally events will take place on espn2 at the following times (Eastern):