Rally driver Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard overcame a series of big challenges at the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally last weekend to move into second place in the Rally America points race.

“It was a tough weekend for us,” said Comrie-Picard. “But every point counts in this championship and we’re in it for the season.”

Comrie-Picard and Irish co-driver Marshall Clarke fought back from 31st after a rollover crash to finish the race in 13th overall. The result gave them the handful of points they needed to climb up one rung in the tight championship race.

“Marshall and I were actually able to roll the car back onto its wheels and keep going,” said Comrie-Picard. “It was a soft rollover and with a new windshield, the car was back to 100 per cent – but we lost a lot of time.”

Comrie-Picard is in second-place overall after five rounds in the Rally America championship, behind Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana and ahead of Rockstar Energy’s Tanner Foust.

The Susquehannock Trail event has long been known as one of the most demanding events on the U.S. calendar. The 2009 running of the contest featured a return to the popular two-day format, with a spectator-friendly daylight schedule and super special stages on each day.

“The spectator stages at the fairgrounds in Wellsboro were huge this year,” said Comrie-Picard. “It was great for us to see so many fans out there.”

The contest is renowned as one of the toughest on the Rally America calendar and the team was not alone in having problems. Factory-backed Travis Pastrana lost a minute on the first day to a suspension failure, Polish ace Andi Mancin battled braking issues and the Swedish World Rally team of Patrik Sandell and Emil Axelsson were out with a blown engine on the first day.

Rally car racing is considered the extreme sport of automobile racing and is often described simply as “real cars, real roads, real fast.” This all-season motorsport sees drivers and their co-drivers take modified road cars to the limit as they achieve blistering speeds over courses that cover hundreds of miles of gravel, dirt or snow-covered roads.

The sport is also featured in the annual X Games, the premier action sports event on the globe, featuring athletes competing for medals and prize money in sports including BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard, and Rally. Comrie-Picard has been among the dozen invited drivers every year since the rally discipline was introduced to the contest, and he has already secured an early invitation to return in 2009.

The Rally America national championship includes nine events in a cross-continent season that extends from January to late October. The Canadian Rally Championship has six events from coast to coast. ACP Rally will contest a busy season, with rally events on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, select drift events — and the X Games.

The next U.S. event for the team will be the X Games in Los Angeles.

The ACP Rally program is made possible by: NOS Energy (www.drinknos.com), K&N (www.knfilters.com), Mitsubishi Canada (www.mitsubishi-motors.ca), Yokohama Canada (www.yokohama.ca), Motul (www.motulusa.com), AMS (www.amsperformance.com), Works (www.worksevo.com), Brian Crower (www.briancrower.com), JE (www.jepistons.com), Exedy (www.exedyusa.com), Ohlins (www.ohlinsusa.com), Pfitzner Performance Gearbox (www.ppgearbox.com.au), Mishimoto (www.mishimoto.com), Oakley (www.oakley.com), Innovate Motorsports (www.tuneyourengine.com), Team Dynamics (www.teamdynamicsracing.com), Endless (www.endlessusa.com), NBB (www.nbblights.ca), Sparco (www.sparcousa.com), NGK (www.ngksparkplugs.com), Seibon Carbon (www.seiboncarbon.com), Piloti (www.piloti.com), and Skull Candy (www.skullcandy.com).

Find us on YouTube or Facebook under ACP Rally.

Photo by Pete Kuncis, www.onalimbracing.com

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Rally driver Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard and the NOS Energy Mitsubishi will continue their campaign for the Rally America title this weekend at the Oregon Trail rally in the Pacific Northwest (May 15-17).

“We’ve had a strong start to the season and we’re going to be pushing hard to stay up front this weekend,” said Comrie-Picard.

Heading into Round 4, Comrie-Picard tops the series standings with a three-point lead over Rockstar Energy driver Tanner Foust and Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana, who are tied for second-place.

The NOS Energy Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, driver Comrie-Picard and co-driver Robbie Durant will be in downtown Portland on Thursday morning at 11 a.m. for a kick-off car display at Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Racing begins Friday at the Portland International Raceway, before heading to the Mount Hood area for the Saturday and Sunday stages.

During the three-day event, teams will take on over 100 miles of competitive stages on a course that promises a mix of twisty, hard-packed forest conditions and wide-open farming roads. The region’s hilly terrain means plenty of elevation changes throughout the contest.

Rally car racing is considered the extreme sport of automobile racing and is often described simply as “real cars, real roads, real fast.” This all-season motorsport sees drivers and their co-drivers take modified road cars to the limit as they achieve blistering speeds over courses that cover hundreds of miles of gravel, dirt or snow-covered roads.

The sport is also featured in the annual X Games, the premier action sports event on the globe, featuring athletes competing for medals and prize money in sports including BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard, and Rally. Comrie-Picard has been among the dozen invited drivers every year since the rally discipline was introduced to the contest, and he has already secured an early invitation to return in 2009.

The Rally America national championship includes nine events in a cross-continent season that extends from January to late October. The Canadian Rally Championship has six events from coast to coast. ACP Rally will contest a busy season, with rally events on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, select drift events — and the X Games.

The ACP Rally program is made possible by: NOS Energy (www.drinknos.com), K&N (www.knfilters.com), Mitsubishi Canada (www.mitsubishi-motors.ca), Yokohama Canada (www.yokohama.ca), Motul (www.motulusa.com), AMS (www.amsperformance.com), Works (www.worksevo.com), Brian Crower (www.briancrower.com), JE (www.jepistons.com), Exedy (www.exedyusa.com), Ohlins (www.ohlinsusa.com), Pfitzner Performance Gearbox (www.ppgearbox.com.au), Mishimoto (www.mishimoto.com), Oakley (www.oakley.com), Innovate Motorsports (www.tuneyourengine.com), Team Dynamics (www.teamdynamicsracing.com), Endless (www.endlessusa.com), NBB (www.nbblights.ca), Sparco (www.sparcousa.com), NGK (www.ngksparkplugs.com), Seibon Carbon (www.seiboncarbon.com), Piloti (www.piloti.com), and Skull Candy (www.skullcandy.com).

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Carl Jardevall runs only a few stage rallies a year, but his skill and experience give other competitors cause for concern. He is usually a contender, and has been known to finish in the top three, as he did at the 2008 Oregon Trail Rally where he finished third overall. Jardevall and his bright red Mitsubishi Evo VIII will be at the 2009 running of the Oregon Trail, this time with a new co-driver.

“Jason Grahn will be calling the turns this time,” said Jardevall. “He has the experience in a fast rally car, so I imagine he will be able to keep us on a good pace.”

Jardevall, a native of Sweden, built his Evo VIII himself, and maintains it from his Swedish car repair shop in the San Francisco Bay area, Nordic Motors. “We are using quite a few off-the-shelf rally parts developed for the Mitsubishis,” said Jardevall, “but since I have a limited budget the car is not as fully developed as it could be.”

One item that he is very excited about, however, is his choice of tires for this event. After dominant victories at the Doo-Wop Regional Rallies earlier this year, he will be using the Lassa Tyres from Turkey. “I was quite impressed with the traction of the Lassa tires in a variety of conditions,” said Jardevall. “It will be interesting to see how well they fare against the better known rally tires used by the front running teams.”

Though the Oregon Trail Rally will be in a different area this year, Jardevall is confident that he can do well. “The Mount Hood Rally ran in that same area a few years ago, so I have some familiarity with the roads.” Jardevall and co-driver Amity Trowbridge won both the Mount Hood and Hood River regional rallies in 2004 aboard a Mitsubishi Evo IV.

Jardevall was unable to attend the recent Olympus Rally in Washington due to a family trip to Sweden. He hopes to run another rally or two this season, but has not made any commitments as yet. Results and photos of Team Jardevall’s exploits can be found at their web site: www.TeamJardevall.com.

Photo by Ben Bradley

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