SCCA ProRally - MEDIA ALERT - Oregon Trail
The press release text included below is also available in a formatted Word97-Word2000 document. If you would prefer to receive our press releases in that format, please send your request to: sccaprorally@aol.com. For immediate release 15 April, 2002 MEDIA ALERT SCCA ProRally Championship Round 3 - Oregon Trail DENVER, Colorado. Third round of ten for the 2002 season. Over 75 SCCA and FIA Performance Rally cars from across North America and the world will compete on demanding gravel and mud roads along the mountainous terrain of the northwestern Oregon shoreline. Teams can expect the coastal weather to fluctuate between sunshine, rain, sleet, snow, and everything in between as they race from sea level up to 3000 feet elevation and back again. This rally event is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America, Inc., (SCCA) through its Northwest and Oregon Regions. When & Where: · April 20-21, 2002; starting from Hillsboro, Oregon; approx. 20 miles west of downtown Portland, Oregon. Rally crosses the high country of the Coastal Ranges, with a service at the famous Blimp Hanger Air Museum at Oregon's coast - in Tillamook. · Time zone at event: Pacific Time (same as Los Angeles). Headquarters Hotel; Friday Event and Media registration: · The West Coast Hotel Hillsboro, 3500 NE Cornell Rd., Hillsboro, OR 97124 main: 800.325.4000 fax: 503.640.2789 Schedule: Friday, 19 April 11:00 AM Media Rendezvous - West Coast Hotel 11:30AM - 1:00 PM Press Stage - Washington County Fairgrounds 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM Media & VIP Registration - West Coast Hotel - Cascade Ball Room 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM Scrutineering - Royal Moore Subaru, Hillsboro Saturday, 20 April 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Parc Expose - Hillsboro Stadium 11:00 AM First car starts Day 1 of Oregon Trail ProRally - Hillsboro Stadium 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM Tillamook Air Museum Service 9:30 PM approx First car finishes Day 1 of Oregon Trail ProRally - West Coast Hotel Sunday, 21 April 8:00 AM First car starts Day 2 of Oregon Trail ProRally - Hillsboro Stadium 1:45 PM approx First car finishes Oregon Trail ProRally - West Coast Hotel 3:00 PM approx Lunch - Tuality Health Education Center Auditorium 4:00 PM approx Awards Presentation - Tuality Health Center Auditorium Event Rank: · Drivers and Co-Drivers earn points towards the national championship, and supporting manufacturers (Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Subaru and Mazda) earn points towards overall and class Championships. · There will also be two SCCA ClubRally events for regionally based teams. Selected entries (driver/co-driver): · 2002 Cherokee Trails overall winner David Higgins and Calvin Cooledge, Open Class 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX prepared by AV Sport. · Overall Driver points leader (31 pts), Mark Lovell, along with Co-Driver, Nick Beech in a 2002 Prodrive prepared Subaru Impreza WRX. In 2001, this event was Mark Lovell's first top podium finish on his way to claiming the 2001 Overall Driver's Championship. · Oregon Trail marks the second event for the all-new 2003 Open Class Hyundai Tiburons. The Vermont based team was able to hold onto the Manufacturer's Championship lead following Cherokee Trails despite some expected new car teething problems at Round #2 in Chattanooga, thanks to an inspired drive by Mark Higgins, and heroic efforts by the Libra Racing crew. · Rhys Millen may be retiring his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6.5 at the conclusion of this event, his all-new Evo VII nearly ready for a planned debut at next month's Rim of the World. A strong finish at Oregon would give Millen a buffer heading to Round 4, allowing him time to get the new car sorted. · West Coast favorites and crowd-pleasers: Carl Jardevall/Amity Trowbridge; Tim Paterson/John Allen, both teams in 97 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IVs, Paul Eklund/Scott Huhn; (debut) 02 Subaru WRX. Format: · SCCA ProRally Championship events are unlike any other national motorsports series in the US, featuring flat-out competition, in any weather, on challenging forest, mountain, or desert roads, following a format similar to that used in rally championships around the globe. At-speed rally competition takes place on "Special Stages," using challenging back roads closed by local authorities for the event. "Transits" connect the "Special Stage" sections together and are driven at normal highway speeds, with teams fully subject to all traffic laws. The team with the lowest cumulative time from the Special Stages, wins. · SCCA Performance Rally vehicles are production-based cars and trucks from manufacturers around the world. They compete both for the overall victory and wins within a class structure that groups together vehicles with similar performance. · Each vehicle carries a driver and a co-driver/navigator. In a role as crucial as the driver's, the co-driver uses a detailed, event organizer supplied route book and a rally computer, keeping the team on-course and advising the driver of any hazards ahead. Media information, Credentials, Visuals and Interviews: · Press/Photo credentials will be available at registration on Friday only. Access to press only photo areas will require a press pass. Credentials are available only to adult members of the working press. · Media relations will be able to provide driver and co-driver interviews, event results, and other information via telephone or e-mail. During the event, action photography and video will be possible from special viewing areas set up along the rally course, as well as other sites. Drivers, co-drivers and crew members will be accessible throughout the event, including Friday's Press Stage and Scrutineering, Saturday's Parc Expose at the start of the rally, and at the Tillamook Service. Friday Press Stage Details · An informal opportunity for members of the working press to meet with the stars of SCCA ProRally, and see the cars contesting for top honors. All interested Media personnel are requested to meet at the host Hotel at 11:00 AM sharp for the press stage location. Attending Press do not need to be Credentialed prior to leaving for the stage, but will need to sign a waiver at the stage. · This is a closed press stage, presented exclusively for members of the Press, Supporting Manufacturer representatives, specific team sponsors and area VIP's. Rides in rally cars may be available, but will be handled purely on an individual request basis with the teams and drivers. National Media Contact, Web Access: · Kurt Spitzner - SCCA ProRally Championship Director Pre-event office: 303.967.9660 (USA Country Code: 1) At-event mobile: 303.204.0375 (USA Country Code: 1) E-mail: sccaprorally@aol.com · SCCA ProRally: http://www.sccaprorally.org · SCCA Oregon Trail ProRally: http://www.oregontrailrally.com The SCCA name and logo is a registered trademark of the Sports Car Club of America, Inc. ProRally, ClubRally and RallyCross are service marks of the SCCA. The SCCA ProRally Championship is presented by Hyundai, Mitsubishi and Subaru, and is televised in North America on SpeedChannel. Time and date listing information available at www.speedtv.com