SCCA ProRally - Oregon Trail Final Results and Summary
16 April 2000
Final Results - SCCA ProRally - Round #2 - Oregon Trail
Hyundai Triumphs, Erik Comas Astonishes
Oregon Trail is clearly back on the map as an SCCA ProRally Championship
destination with the conclusion of an exceptional debut event in the small
coastal town of Tillamook, Oregon. The rally posed a daunting combination of
tight, twisty and steep mountain trails that would challenge a Jeep and
smooth gravel roads built for huge lumber hauling trucks. Speeds ranged from
barely moving to nearly 100 mph, and provided real rally excitement for
participants and fans alike.
Key Notes:
¨ The Libra Racing Hyundai team was up late last night working on several
gremlins on Noel Lawler's new Tiburon, including some electrical and external
engine issues to be expected on a brand new rally car. The damage to the
front suspension after yesterday evenings puncture and rock impact were
essentially, according to John Buffum, the teams manager, 'a non-issue,' and
heading out this morning things looked good. However, the electrical and
turbo teething problems were an issue, and Noel had his hands full just to
hang on to second place in the overalls.
¨ Erik Comas' brilliant debut in US Performance Rally continued to go
exceedingly well, with a solid top 5 finish, and a win in the new FIA group N
category. The fast and smooth hard-packed gravel surfaces common to several
of the Day 2 stages suited Erik's road racing background, and he was able to
make substantial leaps up the leaderboard. Comas' Lancer Evo IV was also the
top finishing Mitsubishi, awarding the company its first SCCA ProRally
championship points since the Manufacturers' Championship was established at
the start of the 1999 season.
¨ Local favorites Paul Eklund and Eric Eaton, having strong runs in Day
one, both fell victim to transmission failures in SS9, and retired from
competition. Eric Eaton's PR agent did a good job of turning a bad day
around, announcing shortly after the retirement that Eric would be at Rim of
the World in an all new car - a turbocharged 99 Subaru 2.5RS.
¨ Thanks to clear skies, resourceful teamwork and a very supportive
Tillamook community of welders, mechanics and parts stores, 9 of the 17 cars
that failed to finish Day 1 were back at the start line this morning, buoying
the overall field back up to 39 cars. (52 started Day 1)
¨ The Group 2 race was tight, with series veteran David White capturing a
satisfying win in his first performance rally since 1998. It wasn't a walk
in the park however - hounded from SS1 to the finish by Jay Streets and Nate
Tennis, both rising west coast stars in the SCCA ProRally championship.
¨ In Group 5, Carl Jardevall, another local favorite, showed his mastery of
driving a big 7 series Volvo on loose gravel with an upset win over Ralph
Kosmides, in the Toyota Supra.
¨ Patrick Richard continued his steady climb up the ProRally ranks with a
commanding 6 minute win over the 2nd place Production GT entry, and an
impressive 8th place finish overall.
¨ The Production class winner treated rally fans to a rare sight - a
faithfully restored 1973 vintage Porsche 911, driven hard and fast by its
owner and restorer Dennis Chizma, bringing back a look performance rally from
its early days here in the United States.
¨ Errata: Corrections to last nights unofficial Day One results - Karl
Scheible (61) rolled in SS 6, not SS5, and damage to the Evo V is minor.
Paul Dubinsky (97) brakes did fail in SS2 as reported, but he did not have an
accident - and reported this morning that all the car needs is a new right
front brake line and he will be good to run at Rim of the World in three
weeks. Good thing too - Paul towed nearly 3000 miles from his home in South
Carolina for this event.
------------------------------------
SCCA® Oregon Trail ProRally Championship Round #2 April 15-16, 2000
Finishing Order (final)
Car # Drivers Name Co-Drivers Name Class Year Make Model
Overall Time
2 Paul Choiniere Jeff Becker Open 00 Hyundai Tiburon 2:04.29
1 Noel Lawler Charles Bradley Open 00 Hyundai Tiburon 2:06.18
39 Carl Jardevall Amity Trowbridge G5 83 Volvo 740 turbo 2:08.03
366 Erik Comas Julian Masters FIA N 98 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV
2:10.45
5 Ralph Kosmides Ken Cassidy G5 96 Toyota Supra Turbo 2:13.31
162 Patrick Richard Ian McCurdy PGT 98 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS 2:14.28
89 Dave White Jimmy Brandt G2 88 VW Golf Gti 2:16.25
351 Jay Streets Bill Feyling G2 85 Toyota Corolla 2:20.06
283 Nate Tennis Nate Pettit G2 79 SAAB 99 2:20.24
165 Dennis Chizma Claire Chizma P 79 Porsche 911 2:21.27
20 George Plsek Renn Phillips Open 90 Audi S2 quattro 2:21.51
222 Jon Tabor Kevin Poirier P 82 Nissan Sentra SE-R 2:20.40
110 Mark Nelson John Dillon FIA N 97 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV 2:23.21
250 Jeff Call Brent Dille G2 00 VW Golf 2:29.17
62 Trevor Donison Eric Schild P 97 Chrysler Neon ACR 2:30.46
98 Robert Nielsen Brett Corneliusen G2 87 VW Golf GTI 2:33.50
132 Robert Burtis James Burtis Open 85 Audi Quattro coupe
2:35.34
84 J B Niday Al Kintigh G2 86 VW Golf GTI 2:37.49
25 Gerry Valentini Lee Sorenson G5 82 Mazda RX-7 2:38.42
SCCA® Oregon Trail ProRallysm Championship Round #2 April 15-16, 2000
Retirement List (Final) - Day One
Car # Drivers Name Co-Drivers Name Class Year Make stage
Retirement cause (official)
35 Lee Shadbolt Bob Sherman FIA A 97 Subaru DNS Driver illness
261 Ron Sorem Josh Sorem PGT 87 Subaru DNS Engine, electrical
48* Scott Fuller Ole Holter G2 85 VW SS2 Engine
97 Paul Dubinsky Dale Cooke GT 92 Eagle SS2 Brakes
275* Nat T-Stow Aaron Montgomery G2 87 VW SS2 Engine
269* Erik Fischer Brad Kohut Open 84 Mitsubishi SS3 Accident
273* Bayard Osborne Leo Ovellette Open 88 Mazda SS3 Engine
274* Ian Drucker Gary Bockman Open 89 Toyota SS3 Engine cooling
188 Andrew Havas Eric Tremblay G5 79 Mazda SS4 Accident
258* David Schrenk Chad Little G5 86 SAAB SS4 Engine
207* Dave Hintz Doug Chase G5 87 Mazda SS4 Mechanical, accident
242* R.Scott Koch John Allen G5 79 Datsun SS5 Accident
28 Bill Malik Christian Edstrom G2 80 Volvo SS5 Accident
288* Gary Cavett Mika Lepisto Open 85 Subaru SS5 Stuck in ditch
61 Karl Scheible Russ Hughes FIA N 98 Mitsubishi SS6 Accident
198* John Lane Ray Damitio Open 76 Volvo SS7 Axle
Day Two
Car # Drivers Name Co-Drivers Name Class Year Make stage
Retirement cause (unofficial)
32 Paul Eklund Scott Huhn Open 95 Subaru SS9 Transmission
260 Eric Eaton Kenny Almquist Open 88 Mazda 323GTX Transmission