Subaru Rally Team USA Finishes Fourth Overall At SCCA Wild West ProRally
Subaru Rally Team USA Finishes Fourth Overall At SCCA Wild West ProRally
Subaru Rally Cars Take Six of Top Ten Finishing Positions SHELTON, Wash., Sept. 10 Subaru Rally Team USA's Group N team of Karl Scheible and Brian Maxwell battled choking dust to steer their 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX home fourth overall, second in class, at this weekend's Wild West round of the SCCA ProRally championship. Scheible and Maxwell drove a smart rally to essentially clinch the Group N championship, finishing closely behind the Subaru team of Ramana Lagemann and Russ Hughes in their Vermont Sports Car Impreza WRX STi. As a result, Subaru retains its lead in the SCCA ProRally Manufacturer's Championship. The Open class Impreza WRX of Mark Lovell and Steve Turvey were the team to beat during Leg 1, with the British duo posting faster times than eventual race winner Richard Tuthill and John Bennie in a Mitsubishi Mirage. However, Lovell and Turvey's hopes were quickly dashed when a delaminated tire also claimed the wiring harness, effectively cutting power to the engine and ending their rally on the long 28.5-mile stage. Stage 9 also claimed the Hyundai Tiburon of Paul Choiniere and Jeff Becker, forcing the team to retire with terminal turbocharger failure at the next service. Irishmen Seamus Burke and Frank Cunningham continued their occupation of the podium, finishing second overall in their Mitsubishi EVO VI. Other notable Subaru finishers included the fifth overall Production GT class Subaru WRX of Nat T-Stow and Jamie "Subie Gal" Thomas, the sixth overall Open class Impreza of Paul Eklund and Scott Huhn and the eighth overall Impreza of Lon Peterson and Bill Gutzman. Subaru Rally Team USA will head to Arizona for the Prescott Forest round of the SCCA ProRally Championship, October 5-7. Consult your local Speedvision listings for SCCA ProRally event coverage and follow Subaru Rally Team USA news and results on http://www.rally.Subaru.com. About Subaru Rally Team USA A truly world class effort, Subaru Rally Team USA is a collaboration between Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STi) and Subaru World Rally Team Representative, Prodrive. Subaru Rally Team USA's drivers include reining SCCA ProRally Group N Champion Karl Scheible and British National Rally Champion Mark Lovell. Scheible, along with co-driver Brian Maxwell, will pilot a 2002 Impreza WRX in the Group N class, while Lovell and co-driver Steve Turvey will compete for top honors in the Open class. About Subaru of America, Inc. Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Subaru pioneered the concept of the passenger car/sport-utility vehicle with the introduction of the Subaru Outback, the "World's First Sport Utility Wagon." The Subaru Legacy is the best selling All-Wheel Drive car sold in America, based on the Polk Company retail registration statistics as of 12/31/00. Headquartered near Philadelphia, the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of 582 dealers across the United States. All Legacy and Outback models sold in the United States are produced at the Subaru-Isuzu Automotive Inc. manufacturing plant near Lafayette, Ind. Over the past eight years, the company has achieved year-over-year retail sales increases thanks to its popular line of car-based sport utility vehicles, and is among the fastest growing brands in the automobile industry. CONTACT: Rob Moran of Subaru of America, +1-856-488-3326 or rmoran@subaru.com.
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