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STPR ProRally Press Notes

6 June 1999

Susquehannock Trail ProRally
Round 4
1999 Michelin SCCA ProRally Championship
Wellsboro, Pennsylvania
June 4-6, 1999

Press Notes #1

Good morning and welcome to a crisp, brilliantly clear day in
north-central Pennsylvania. In a little over an hour 80 cars -­ well, 79
cars and one pickup -­ will start round 4 of the 1999 Michelin SCCA
ProRally Championship.

1.) If you had to pick a prototype day for a ProRally, or just about any
other sporting event that takes place at this time of year, today would
be a great choice.
2.) It’s in the low 70s, with a nice breeze and just a cloud or two
overhead. The cars are gathered around the picturesque village green
here in the center of Wellsboro, in a Parc Expose. The usual large crowd
of spectators is strolling around the green looking at the cars and
chatting with the participants as we get ready to start.
3.) Perhaps the biggest smiles to be seen belong to Noel Lawler and
Charlie Bradley -­ because the weather has been so great. Despite all of
the rain in the East lately, it is quite dry here, meaning that this
will be a “dust” rally. Since Lawler and Bradley start
first-on-the-road, in one of the two factory Hyundai Tiburons, they’ll
have clear sailing and a much easier time than everyone behind them.
4.) The big news, though, is that this event will be sort of an
unofficial North American rally championship showdown. A late entry
change has brought together the Canadian champions, the seven-time US
champion and the Mexican national champion.
5.) The 1998 winners of this rally, Frank and Daniel Sprongl, are here
with their always-potent Audi quattro S2. They are the multi-time
Canadian champions and winners of the last three events in Canada.
6.) A driver change in Lance Stewart’s new Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V has
put defending Mexican national champion Gabriel Marin-Ortiz in the
driver’s seat, with Mark Williams navigating. Marin has three national
titles to his credit, and has won both of Mexico’s nationals run so far
this year.
7.) Of course, seven-time US champion Paul Choiniere is on hand. Along
with co-driver Jeff Becker, he’s in the other factory Hyundai Tiburon.
Among them, these three drivers have more than a dozen national
championships. They will start two, three, five (Sprongl, Choiniere,
Marin).
8.) One of the fast teams that will not be here to give them a run for
the money is that of Pete Lahm and Matt Chester. They’re the overall
points leaders right now, but Lahm has run up against mid-season budget
problems and will have to skip this event. His program to run the Lancer
Evo IV came together at the beginning of the year, far too late in most
companies’ budget year to generate much meaningful sponsorship. However,
he does expect to run in the next round of the series, Wild West, which
will take place in two weeks in Shelton, Washington.

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