BOISE, IDAHO — This July the Idaho Rally continues its tradition of creating an excellent racing environment and this year adds to it with a unique opportunity for spectators to view the rally cars in side by side action. On Thursday, July 15 the rally will commence with a Super Special Stage at Expo Idaho and then follow up with stages on backcountry roads Friday and Saturday. The rally will conclude with another Super Special Stage at Expo Idaho on Saturday night.

A Super Special Stage is a special relatively short stage of a rally that is run in an arena setting or in this case in a special built race area in the parking lot of Expo Idaho. The super special stage at Idaho Rally 2010 will be two separate lanes and will be approximately 1.4 miles long. Cars will start side by side and then run through separate left and right hand turns until the cross over bridge where they will switch lanes and continue one more lap and ultimately end the stage side by side (or nearly so). The super special stage lap times will be added to the team's overall stage times to determine the winner of the rally. There will be seating for 3000 spectators at the Super Special Stage. In addition to the super special stage there will be spectator areas on some of the other stages on Friday, around Pine and Prairie and some unofficial spectator areas on Saturday, near Idaho City and Centerville.

This year the Idaho Rally will total about 144 stage miles over two and a half days of racing. The mountain roads in Elmore County where the rally has been held in 2008 and 2009 have been deemed by rally teams as the best in North America and this year the Idaho Rally is the longest Dirt stage rally to be held in the U.S. and Canada. In addition the Idaho Rally is the only stage rally event in the U.S. and Canada to include a Super Special Stage with cars racing side by side. Rallydrift Inc. the promoter of the Idaho Rally continues its tradition of innovation and providing high quality racing.

The Idaho Rally is a National Auto Sport Association sanctioned motorsports event that will be attracting drivers and teams from across North America. The race is a host to the United States Rally Championship, Pacific Northwest Rally Championship, and the California Rally Series. By competing in the Idaho Rally teams accrue points for theses championships and can collect out of region points for Rally America Regional Championship. The Idaho Rally has become one of the biggest rally events in the U.S.

Stage rallies are timed events where the cars race on closed off sections of public roads and start about 2 minutes apart to avoid side by side racing. However stage rallies include high speeds of 100 miles per hour or more and often only about seven out of ten teams finish the rally. Some crash out and some others don't finish due to mechanical breakdowns.

All rally events require a large amount of volunteers in order to keep the competitors safe and the roads clear. This rally is no exception. Volunteers are needed to help along various stages of the event. All volunteers will receive an official rally hat, a goodie bag, a lunch and admission to the banquet after the rally. Roast pork will be served. For more information regarding being a volunteer for the rally go to www.idahorally.com.

This year members of the media are invited to get a ride in a rally car on Thursday afternoon. The Rally Media Center is located at the Fairgrounds. Here the media has access to results and can follow the event.

Tickets to watch the rally racing at the Super Special Stage at Expo Idaho are $15 for adults (12 and over) with $4 off for senior, military and children 6 and over.

For more information and for advance tickets for the super special stage at Expo Idaho go to www.idahorally.com