MEDIA ALERT - SCCA ProRally Championship -
Wild West
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For immediate release 30 August 2002
MEDIA ALERT:
SCCA® ProRallysm Championship Round 9
Wild West International Rally
DENVER, Colorado Ninth round (of ten) for the 2002 season. A highly
competitive field of SCCA and FIA Performance Rally cars from across North
America and the World are slated to start the 10th anniversary of the Wild
West Rally as well as the supporting Sou'wester and Simpson Stages SCCA
ClubRallys. Cars will compete on the quick, hard-packed gravel state forest
and Simpson Resource Company roads on the Olympic Peninsula in western
Washington state. This performance rally event is sanctioned by the Sports
Car Club of America (SCCA). The SCCA ProRally Championship is presented by
Hyundai Motor America, Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America, and Subaru of
America.
When & Where:
7-8 September 2002 (Saturday & Sunday) headquartered in Olympia, Washington;
approximately 60 miles southwest of Seattle, Washington.
Headquarters Hotel - Friday & Saturday Press Room;
West Coast Olympia Hotel; 2300 Evergreen Park Dr., Olympia, WA 98502.
Hotel main phone: 360.943.4000
Complete Event Schedule: (Subject to change)
Thursday, 5 Sept. 2002
4:00 PM - 8:00 PM Press and Competitor Registration - WestCoast Hotel.
4:00 PM - 8:00 PM Scrutineering - Olympia Dealer Mall Texaco.
Friday, 6 Sept. 2002
9:00 AM- 12:00 PM Press Stage - CREDENTIALED PRESS ONLY - Location TBD.
3:00 PM - 6:00 PM Press and Competitor Registration - WestCoast Hotel.
3:00 PM - 8:00 PM Scrutineering - Olympia Dealer Mall Texaco.
8:00 PM - 10:00 PM Welcome and Rally Staff Appreciation Party - WestCoast
Hotel.
Saturday, 7 Sept. 2002
7:30 AM - 9:30 AM Scrutineering - Olympia Dealer Mall Texaco.
8:00 AM - 8:30 AM Late Press Registration: Press Room - WestCoast Hotel.
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Parc Expose - Thurston County ORV Park.
11:15 AM Start of Leg 1 - ORV Super Special Stage.
Approx. 7:30 PM End of Leg 1 - Parc Ferme - Mason County Fairgrounds.
Sunday, 8 Sept. 2002
7:30 AM Parc Ferme Closes - Mason County Fairgrounds.
8:00 AM Parc Expose - Downtown Shelton.
9:00 AM Start of Leg 2 - First Car Out - Downtown Shelton.
Approx. 4:07 PM Finish of Rally - Little Creek Casino.
Approx. 6:00 PM Awards Banquet - Little Creek Casino.
Selected entries (Driver/co-driver):
· Current Overall Drivers Championship points leader David Higgins (120
points), 2002 Subaru WRX.
· Current Manufacturer Championship Leaders (106 Points), Hyundai Rally
Team USA: Mark Higgins (Winner of last month's Ojibwe Forests Rally) with
Claire Mole (#5), and Paul Choiniere and Jeff Becker (#6) both in 2003
Hyundai Tiburons.
· Subaru Rally Team USA: 2001 Driver's Champion Mark Lovell with Steve
Turvey (#1); Ramana Lagemann and Michael Kidd (#2) in 2002 Prodrive prepared
Subaru Impreza WRXs.
· Mitsubishi Rally Team USA: Rhys Millen and Garry Cowan (#3), recovering
from their huge off at Ojibwe, return in Rhys' trusty Lancer Evolution 6.5.
Ascending 2002 Group 2 Manufacturer and Driver Champions, Lauchlin O'Sullivan
and Matt Chester (#90) put the finishing touches on their nearly flawless
season, with what may be the final appearance of their Group 2 Lancer.
· Henry and Cindy Krolikowski (#44) are swapping their Group N 2000 Subaru
Impreza WRX-Sti for a ride in Dodge's 2002 Neon SRT-4 for this event only.
The Krolikowski's are very familiar with Dodge front-wheel-drive turbos, the
couple were Group 5 champions in their privately entered Dodge Shadow in 1999
and have been lobbying the manufacturer heavily for this ride. If Henry
rediscovers 'the magic' with the SRT; the Krolikowski's could be one of the
big shows of the weekend.
· West Coast notable local favorites: Paul Eklund and Scott Huhn (#32) Open
Class 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX;
· Group N points leaders Ralph Kosmides and Jimmy Brandt (#22) 1999 Subaru
Impreza WRX hope to put some distance between themselves and the
hard-charging east-coast team of Tim O'Neil and Martin Headland at their
"home" rally;
· Jay Streets returns with (#51) 'the school bus' - the ex-Carl Yardevall
and always crowd pleasing Group 5 1992 Volvo 740 Turbo;
· Group 5 points leaders David and Rick Hintz (#207) may put the finishing
touches on their championship bid with a solid run in their 1990 Mazda RX-7
Turbo;
· Rising star Mark Nelson with veteran co-driver Charles Bradley (#110)
will continue to impress in their Open Class 2000 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
VI;
· Tim Paterson and John Allen (#107) return after their big roll at Maine
Forest in their rebuilt Open Class 1997 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV.
Event Rank:
This rally is a full points SCCA ProRally Championship event. Drivers earn
points towards the national championship, and supporting manufacturers
(Hyundai, Subaru, Mitsubishi, and Mazda) earn points towards overall and
class Manufacturers' Championships.
Press / Media / VIP - Registration & Credentials:
Event Press/Photo and VIP credentials will be available at registration on
Thursday evening, Friday Afternoon, and Saturday morning at the WestCoast
Olympia Hotel Press Room (See above for times). Access to press-only photo
areas will require an OFFICIAL Press Pass. Credentials are available ONLY to
members of the working press. Identification and/or proper work orders are
required. Minors are not eligible for Press or VIP credentials.
Visuals, Interviews & Media information:
During the event, action photography and video will be possible from
spectator and press-only viewing areas along the rally course. Drivers,
co-drivers and crew will be accessible throughout the event, including the
Saturday morning Super Special (Details at event) and services. Media
Relations will be able to provide driver and co-driver interviews, event
results and other information via telephone and e-mail. The press room phone
number will be available on event day.
Contact: Kurt Spitzner - SCCA ProRally Championship Director
Pre-event: 303.967.9660; 303.694.3654 Fax (USA Country
Code: 1)
email: sccaprorally@aol.com
Time zone at event: Pacific Time (GMT - 8 hours)
· SCCA ProRally: http://www.sccaprorally.org/
· SCCA Wild West Rally: http://www.nwr-scca.org/rally/wildwest.html
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
