Start Order & News - SCCA ProRally - SnoDrift
Atlanta, Michigan: The season opening round of the 2003 SCCA ProRally
Championship starts tomorrow with a near-record setting field of performance
rally cars and drivers from the US, Canada and abroad. The Rally starts at
3:00 PM Friday afternoon, immediately following a Parc Expose of all the cars
entered in downtown Lewiston.
Selected late entries, news
· As is rapidly becoming a Sno*Drift tradition, the entry list includes an
impressive number of overseas competitors, including 2002 SCCA Overall Driver
Champion David Higgins with co-driver Daniel Barritt, making their debut with
Mitsubishi Rally Team USA.
Also returning is the 2001 SCCA Overall Driver Champion Mark Lovell with
co-driver Nicky Beech returning with Subaru Rally Team USA. 2002 British
Rally Champion Jonny Milner, with Duncan McMath alongside starts his "two
championships in two countries" bid, and British Rally Championship regular
Tapio Laukkanen and Ilkka Riipinen of Finland will be getting their first
impression American style winter rallying.
· Team Debuts: several new teams are making their first appearances at
Sno*Drift:
· Mitsubishi launches their all-new team, with all-new cars this weekend,
featuring David Higgins and Daniel Barritt in the #1 car, and returning 2002
Woodner Cup (overall two-wheel drive) champion Lauchlin O'Sullivan. The new
team, managed by SCCA Performance Rally veteran Lance Smith, features all-new
Lancer Evolution cars, with engine management by world renowned Mitsubishi
tuner HKS.
· AV Sport: The fiercely independent team which last year snapped up the
Overall Drivers Championship with David Higgins at the helm, much to the
consternation of the Works teams, this year will be fielding the first Ford
Focus to be seen in SCCA Open Class. Sponsored by the US Air Force Reserve,
and piloted by SCCA Rally veteran (and Air Force Reservist) Tim O'Neil, the
Focus is a unique beast, looking very much like a WRC car, but housing potent
and proven Ford Escort Cosworth mechanicals.
· Weather forecast: Unlike the last several years, this year's Sno*Drift
will be living up to its name - nearly 10 inches of snow have fallen in the
area over the last week, and the temperatures are bitterly cold - the highs
are predicted to be no more than 15 degrees F. The fresh snow, combined with
existing hard pack ice on the roads, and the ProRally Championship's
long-standing ban on studded tires, will create a driving challenge unlike
virtually any other winter rally event in the world.
Information regarding the start order list:
Car # = number on vehicle. Cars numbered under 200 are Pro entries. Cars
over 200 are generally ClubRally (regional) entrants, with first digit
denoting their home division (2,3 = West coast, 8,9 East coast).
Class = Open - fastest; are cars with considerable modifications;
P (Production) - slowest; are cars very near showroom stock configuration.
N (FIA Group N) - production based rally cars built to global competition
standards
G5 - two wheel drive high HP cars;
G2 - two wheel drive lower horsepower cars;
GT - high horsepower production (stock) cars.
Sno*Drift SCCA ProRally Championship Round #1
24-25 January, 2003
Top 35 Start Order (subject to revision)
Start Car# Seed Class Driver Name Country Co-Driver Country Car
1 1 0 Open David Higgins Wales Daniel Barritt UK 03 Mitsubishi
Lancer Evo
2 4 0 Open Mark Lovell UK Nicky Beech UK 02 Subaru WRX
3 25 0 Open Seamus Burke USA Charles Bradley USA 00 Mitsubishi
Lancer Evo 6
4 16 0 Open Tapio Laukkanen FIN Ilkka Riipinen FIN 00 Subaru Impreza
5 15 0 Open Jonny Milner UK Duncan McMath UK 02 Subaru WRX
6 5 1 Open Ramana Lagemann USA Michael Orr N Ireland 02 Subaru WRX
7 29 1 Open Tim O'Neil USA Alex Gelsomino USA 03 Ford Focus ZX3
8 6 2 G2 Lauchlin O'Sullivan USA Mark Williams USA 03 Mitsubishi
Lancer Evolution
9 45 2 N Shane Mitchell USA Paul Donnelly USA 02 Subaru Impreza WRX
10 80 2 Open Jon Kemp USA Rod Hendricksen USA 84 Audi 4000 quattro
11 83 2 N Mark Utecht USA Jeff Secor USA 02 Subaru WRX
12 44 2 N Henry Krolikowski USA Al Kaumeheiwa USA 00 Subaru Impreza
WRX-STi
13 78 3 Open Paul Dunn USA Randy Summers USA 97 Mitsubishi Lancer
Evo 4
14 103 3 N Wyeth Gubleman USA Therin Pace USA 02 Subaru WRX
15 46 3 G2 Matthew Johnson USA Carl Fisher USA 86 VW Golf GTi
16 50 2 Open Steve Gingras USA Scott Putnam USA 02 Subaru WRX
17 122 3 Open Dennis Martin USA Kim Demotte USA 97 Mitsubishi Lancer
Evo IV
18 36 3 N Mark Cox USA Jim Gill USA 00 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6
19 53 3 G5 Don Jankowski USA Peter Gladysz USA 03 Dodge Neon SRT-4
20 42 3 G2 Eric Burmeister USA Ole Holter USA 88 VW Golf GTi
21 76 3 Open Gail Truess USA Pam McGarvey USA 88 Mazda 323 GTX
22 527 3 Open Christopher Gilligan USA Joe Petersen USA 92
Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX
23 544 5 Open Dan Malott USA Matt Malott USA 90 Eagle Talon TSi
24 565 3 N Russell Hodges USA Mike Rossey USA 95 Subaru Impreza WRX-STi
25 532 4 PGT David LaFavor USA Robert LaFavor USA 90 Eagle Talon TSi
26 93 3 G5 Robert Olson USA Conrad Ketelsen USA 93 Porsche 911
27 143 5 G2 Christopher Whiteman USA Michael Paulin USA 03 Dodge Neon
SXT
28 916 3 GT Jonathan Bottoms USA Eric Dahlgren USA 99 Subaru Impreza
2.5RS
29 60 5 GT Bruce Davis USA Lee Sorenson USA 92 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX
30 546 5 G2 Phil Schmidt USA Steve Irwin USA 87 Toyota MR2
31 591 6 G2 Denis Cizmas USA Brady Sturm USA 87 VW Golf GTi
32 589 5 Open Michael Cienkosz USA Yurek Cienkosz USA 90 Mitsubishi
Eclipse GSX
33 549 5 GT Thansasi Samaras USA TBA 94 Eagle Talon TSi
34 56 5 GT Roland McIvor USA Alan Perry USA 95 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX
35 84 5 Open JB Niday USA Al Kintigh USA 97 Subaru Impreza
Complete start order available at www.sno-drift.org
