As the United States Rally Championship (USRC, www.usrallychampionship.com) passes the midpoint of its sixth season with three events completed, competition is heating up in all categories on both sides of the country. 110 competitors, drivers and co-drivers, have participated in the Championship by midseason. All USRC events provide for two-pass reconnaissance and allow pace notes.

The United States Rally Championship awards separate National Championship titles in the 2WD (Two-Wheel-Drive) category and in the AWD (All-Wheel-Drive) category. In addition, eligible crews compete for the 2WD Production Cup and the AWD Production Cup.

In the Atlantic Division and overall, the Irish driver Celsus Donnelly in a Mitsubishi Lancer is leading the AWD Championship at midseason. With two different co-drivers, Donnelly won tarmac Rally New York USA and placed fifth after mechanical difficulties at New York Winter Rally in difficult icy conditions. Another Irish team of Enda McCormack with co-driver Tommy Doyle, who flies in for the USRC events all the way from Ireland, in a Mitsubishi Lancer is second. Tom Lawless, the winner of New York Winter Rally and the 2005 United States Rally Champion, is in the third place also driving with different co-drivers in a Mitsubishi Lancer. The leading codrivers are Tommy Doyle, Joseph Sinkevich and Austin Gager. In the Pacific Division, the leading crew is Wolfgang Hoeck with Pierce O’Hanlon in a Mitsubishi Lancer who won Rally Idaho. Keith Jackson and Marra Estep, the 2009 United States Rally Champions, in a Subaru Impreza are second followed by Dick Rockrohr and Marie Jacobs in a Subaru Impreza in the third place.

In the 2WD Championship in the Atlantic Division, Erica Detota and Jason Smith in a 2WD Subaru Impreza are leading after gaining two excellent second places. The Romanian crew of Claudiu David and Mihaela Beldie are in the second place after winning New York Winter Rally. Tarmac specialists and the winners of Rally New York USA Thomas Greer and Robert DellaRocko in a Volkswagen GTI are third. In the Pacific Division, Chris and Lori O’Driscoll in a Honda CRX are leading after winning Rally Idaho. Alex Rademacher and John Stewart in a Subaru Impreza are second and John Black with Jon Burke in a Ford Ranger are in the third place.

Subaru team of Matt Gottlieb and Austin Gager is leading the AWD Production Cup in the Atlantic Division with two wins in the category. Another Subaru team of Dan Rockrohr and Eve Thomason is leading the AWD Production Cup in the Pacific Division with one win.

Steven Levesque with Steve McKelvie in a BMW M3 from the Atlantic Division are sharing the first place in the 2WD Production Cup with the Pacific Division crew of Alex Rademacher and John Stewart who are driving a 2WD Subaru Impreza.

The United States Rally Championship will continue with the remaining events that include Gorman Ridge Rally (www.gormanridgerally.com) in California, International Rally New York (www.rallynewyork.com) and the final round of the 2010 Championship – Prescott Rally (www.prescottrally.com) in Arizona.

Atlantic Division teams are competing for coveted cash travel subsidies that will be awarded to top six teams in the Division. The total of $12,000 in subsidies will be distributed to Atlantic Division teams to assist them with travelling to the final round of the 2010 United States Rally Championship at Prescott, Arizona.

The United States Rally Championship is taking bold steps to make national competition more affordable and accessible to a larger number of rally teams. This is the fourth season of the new Championship structure that minimizes or, for many teams, eliminates the need for repeated cross-country travel during the Championship season by providing competition on each side of the country. The final round of the Championship at the end of the year counts both in the Atlantic Division and the Pacific Division and together with the results from all previous rounds decides the top spots in the Championship.

Photo by Pete Kuncis: Celsus Donnelly and Brian McNamara on their way to win Rally New York USA 2010 in the spectacular Catskill Mountains of southern New York

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A notable Romanian team of Claudiu David and Mihaela Beldie (www.claudiudavid.ro) in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX announced their plans to enter the New York Winter Rally 2010 and the subsequent Rally New York events of the 2010 season.

The team is the 2004 and 2005 Romanian Champion in N1.6 Trophy. David and Beldie were the surprise of the Production car World Rally Championship at the 2007 Rally Japan. They were fifth in Group N before the last stage of the rally and in the end finished 12th because of technical problems. They started their Production World Rally Championship career at Rally Argentina where they finished 32nd overall, 11th in Group N. The same year they retired from Rally Wales Great Britain.

David’s and Beldie’s most recent successes are winning Group N and placing 4th overall at 42 Alliantz Rally and a string of first and second places overall and in Group N. They hail from Sinaia, Prahova in Romania.

Rally New York, Ltd. is headquartered in Forestburgh, New York located ninety miles northwest of New York City in spectacular southern Catskill Mountains of Sullivan County. It is dedicated to furthering the sport of stage rallying in the United States.

Rally New York, Ltd. is the organizer and promoter of events in the United States Rally Championship (www.usrallychampionship.com) and in the New York Rally Championship (www.RallyNewYork.com). Since the 2004 season, Rally New York events have been the only rallies in the United States that have consistently allowed full reconnaissance of the rally route by competitors before the event as well as pace notes. Rally New York USA in April 2006 was the first ever all-tarmac National Championship rally in the United States. All Rally New York events are conducted according to the international rally regulations.

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The Year-End Awards Ceremony of the United States Rally Championship (USRC) was held at the conclusion of the International Rally New York in Callicoon, New York yesterday. Michael Taylor, President of United States Rally Championship, Inc. announced United States Rally Champions and USRC Production Cup Winners. Mr. Taylor also commented on the 2010 USRC Calendar.

The 2009 United States Rally Champions are Keith Jackson and Mara Estepp in the All- Wheel-Drive (AWD) category and Dan Brosnan and Shane McCann in the Two-Wheel-Drive (2WD).

The Winners of the USRC Production Cup are Shawn and Jennifer Hudspeth in AWD and Michael Reily and Josh Benthien in 2WD. The first three teams in each category are as follows:

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Regarding the Calendar for the 2010 United States Rally Championship, Mr. Taylor said the following: “We are working on the 2010 USRC Calendar, which will be announced well in advance of the 2010 season. At this point, we are planning the following changes: The International Rally New York that has been the final round of the season for the past two years will take place earlier in the year, namely on September 10 and 11, 2010. Competitors will travel to the final round of the 2010 USRC season at the Prescott Rally in Prescott, Arizona, which is scheduled for October 1 and 2.

Atlantic Division teams will be again competing for coveted cash travel subsidies that will be awarded to top six teams in the Division. The total of $12,000 in subsidies will be distributed to Atlantic Division teams to assist them with travelling to the final round of the 2010 United States Rally Championship in Prescott, Arizona.

The United States Rally Championship will continue its bold steps to make national competition more affordable and accessible to a larger number of rally teams. The Championship structure minimizes or, for many teams, eliminates the need for repeated cross-country travel during the Championship season by providing competition on each side of the country. The final round of the Championship at the end of the year counts both in the Atlantic Division and the Pacific Division and together with the results from all previous rounds decides the top spots in the Championship. As a result, 197 competitors, drivers and co-drivers, participated during the 2009 USRC season, nearly twice as many as in any other championship series in North America.

The Championship season consists of a combination of gravel and tarmac events. Events of the United States Rally Championship allow for reconnaissance and pace notes. Tarmac events, full reconnaissance and pace notes make the United States Rally Championship unique in North America as no other series in North America encompasses all these features. More information on the United States Rally Championship is available at www.usrallychampionship.com.

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Robert Cella has announced his selection of drivers whose entry he is sponsoring at the International Rally New York to be held in Narrowsburg and Callicoon in Sullivan County, New York on October 21 – 24, 2009. The selected drivers are:

- Thomas Barton and Matt Gottlieb, local Sullivan County rally drivers

- Robert Martai, a local rally driver from New Jersey with previous experience from Hungary

- Jani Passonen, a former Finnish Rally Champion and participant in World Rally Championship

Robert Cella is a retired engineer, a radio operator at Rally New York events (www.RallyNewYork.com) for many years and a great supporter of the sport of rallying and Rally New York events. This is the third Rally New York event in a row when the competitors become the beneficiaries of Mr. Cella’s awe-inspiring generosity.

In addition, the total of $12,000 in subsidies will be distributed to the teams from the Pacific Division of the United States Rally Championship (www.usrallychampionship.com) to assist them with traveling to the final round of the United States Rally Championship in New York – the International Rally New York 2009.

Finally, a prize fund guarantees that each team finishing the Rally in top 30 percent of all finishers, including at least one production car and one two-wheel-drive car, will win $200 in prize money.

The course of the International Rally New York 2009 is approximately 300 miles long with more than 100 miles of special stages. At the conclusion on Sunday morning, the United States Rally Championship will hold its annual Year-End Awards ceremony and will award separate National Championship titles in the Two-Wheel-Drive Championship and in the All-Wheel-Drive Championship, and declare Production Cup Champions in both categories. Each day of the Rally is a separate round of the New York Rally Championship (www.RallyNewYork.com) that will hold its own annual Awards in the New York City area in December.

The Rally takes place in the spectacular southern Catskill Mountains of New York only 90 miles northwest of New York City. The event is headquartered at the modern Villa Roma Resort. All racing will take place on the 12,500-acre Ten Mile River Scout Reservation on new, purpose-built and refurbished stage roads. The Ceremonial Start is at Villa Roma in Callicoon, NY on Thursday evening. The Rally ends with the Ceremonial Finish at Keowa Rally Village in Narrowsburg, NY on Saturday night.

Hundreds of participants, spectators and fans will gather for two days at the exciting Keowa Rally Village on the Ten Mile River Scout Reservation. The Keowa Rally Village includes a Spectator Area with spectator parking, food, lodging and camping, a Service Park with a Vendor Area next to it, and the Rally Control. During the two days of racing, a number of special stages will pass by the Spectator Area both in the morning and in the afternoon. Several special stages start or finish at the Keowa Rally Village.

The United States Rally Championship is taking bold steps to make national competition more affordable and accessible to a larger number of rally teams. This is the third season of the new Championship structure that minimizes or, for many teams, eliminates the need for repeated cross-country travel during the Championship season by providing competition on each side of the country. The final round of the Championship at the end of the year counts both in the Atlantic Division and the Pacific Division and together with the results from all previous rounds decides the top spots in the Championship.

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Round 3 of the United States Rally Championship’s Pacific Division. The Prescott Rally, the final qualifying round prior to the season finale at International Rally New York, was run on October 2nd and 3rd in the high deserts of Central Arizona.

A compressed two-day schedule allowed teams to participate in a multiple pass recce session Friday morning, register and inspect competing vehicles Friday afternoon, complete the competition stages Friday night and Saturday with awards and prize giving Saturday night.

Daniel O’Brien and Brendan McCabe made the trek from New York to pick up additional points towards the USRC AWD season championship and to size up Keith Jackson and Marra Estep, their closest rivals. The rally began with Jackson setting fast stage time by almost 20 seconds. O’Brien countered on stage two and took the overall lead by less than three seconds. Stage three marked the end of the battle as Jackson collected a tree, allowing O’Brien to cruise through the rest of the weekend to victory.

Production AWD was a battle between Will Hudson and Brian Szykowny and Shawn and Jennifer Hudspeth. The two teams traded the lead back and forth with the Hudspeth’s coming out on top. The husband and wife team have secured their spot in New York with a strong third place overall at Prescott.

Open 2WD was an unexpected runaway for Odi and Amy Bakchis, running as high as second overall until troubles on stage 5 ended their rally. This allowed Tim and Dick Moser to take over the lead and finish an incredible second overall in the older Golf.

In Production 2WD, John Black and Katianna Pihakari’s Ranger pushed Alex Rademacher and John Stewart’s Subaru until a big off on stage six. Alex and John cruised in for the win with Jason Wong and Yjiro Otsuki in second in their Neon.

This year’s event featured 101 stage miles over the two day format with activities based at Tim’s Subaru and the Prescottonian Hotel in Prescott, Arizona. Sponsors for the event include Scott Roofing of Phoenix, Tim’s Subaru of Prescott along with the Subaru Western Region, The Prescottonian Hotel, and Whiskey Row Screen Printing. Timing and Scoring are provided by the California Rally Series.

The series now moves to New York for the final round with six Pacific Division qualifiers eligible for a part of the $12,000 tow subsidy. The Pacific Division qualifiers are:

All-Wheel-Drive Championship and All-Wheel-Drive Production Cup:

Keith Jackso – AWD
Shawn Hudspeth – AWD
Will Hudson – Prod AWD

Two-Wheel-Drive Championship and Two-Wheel-Drive Production Cup:

Alex Rademacher – 2WD
Bill Holmes – 2WD
John Black – Prod 2WD

Additional event information is available at www.prescottrally.com. Additional Championship information is at www.usrallychampionship.com.

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Entry is now open for all-gravel International Rally New York scheduled for October 23 – 24, 2009. Rally program, online entry, downloadable entry forms, itinerary, supplementary regulations, lodging information and downloadable order form for course notes (can be also ordered online) are available at www.RallyNewYork.net/irny2009.html. Regular entry ends on September 24. The entry will close on October 15.

The International Rally New York 2009 is the final round of the United States Rally Championship. The course is 299 miles long with 104 miles of special stages. At the conclusion on Sunday morning, the United States Rally Championship will hold its annual Year-End Awards ceremony and will award separate National Championship titles in the Two-Wheel-Drive Championship and in the All-Wheel-Drive Championship, and declare Production Cup Champions in both categories. Each day of the Rally is a separate round of the New York Rally Championship that will hold its own annual Awards in the New York City area in December.

A prize fund guarantees that each team finishing the Rally in top 30 percent of all finishers, including at least one production car and one two-wheel-drive car, will win $200 in prize money.

The Rally takes place in the spectacular southern Catskill Mountains of New York only 90 miles northwest of New York City. The event is headquartered at the modern Villa Roma Resort and Conference Center. All racing will take place on the 12,500-acre Ten Mile River Scout Reservation on new, purpose-built and refurbished stage roads. The Ceremonial Start is at Villa Roma in Callicoon, NY on Thursday evening. The Rally ends with the Ceremonial Finish at Keowa Rally Village in Narrowsburg, NY on Saturday night.

Hundreds of participants, spectators and fans will gather for two days at the exiting Keowa Rally Village on the Ten Mile River Scout Reservation. The Keowa Rally Village includes a Spectator Area with spectator parking, lodging and camping, a Service Park with a Vendor Area next to it, and the Rally Control. During the two days of racing, a number of special stages will pass by the Spectator Area both in the morning and in the afternoon. Several special stages start or finish at the Keowa Rally Village.

The Rally will be conducted according to the international FIA regulations.

After the just completed Gorman Ridge Rally in California, the United States Rally Championship heads to the final round of the Pacific events at the Prescott Rally (www.prescottRally.com) in Arizona before the final round in New York. Pacific Division teams are competing for coveted cash travel subsidies that will be awarded to top six teams in the Division. The total of $12,000 in subsidies will be distributed to Pacific Division teams to assist them with traveling to the final round of the United States Rally Championship in New York.

The United States Rally Championship is taking bold steps to make national competition more affordable and accessible to a larger number of rally teams. This is the third season of the new Championship structure that minimizes or, for many teams, eliminates the need for repeated cross-country travel during the Championship season by providing competition on each side of the country. The final round of the Championship at the end of the year counts both in the Atlantic Division and the Pacific Division and together with the results from all previous rounds decides the top spots in the Championship.

More information on the United States Rally Championship can be found at www.usrallychampionship.com. Information on other Rally New York events and on the New York Rally Championship is at www.RallyNewYork.com.

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Thomas Lawless, the 2005 United States Rally Champion, with Irish codriver Brian Sharkey in a Mitsubishi Evo IX won tarmac Rally Tennessee, the second round of the United States Rally Championship. Daniel O’Brien and Brendan McCabe in a Subaru Impreza STi took second and Martin Donnelly with Stephen Duffy in Mitsubishi Evo IX were third. Enda McCormack with Bernard Farrell in another Mitsubishi Evo IX rounded up the Irish-American brigade.

David Alan with Ben Slocum in their handsome, black Subaru Impreza WRX won the Production All-Wheel-Drive Cup classification and placed fifth overall. Only 16 seconds behind was a new team of William Petrow and Jeremy Neyhart in Subaru Impreza WRX. Petrow, with a different co-driver, Vincent Nguyen, won the Production Cup classification at the previous round – Rally New York USA. Scott Wilburn and Aaron Crescenti, who were battling engine issues in their Subaru Impreza WRX throughout the rally, were third.

Brad Morris and Doug Nagy in a Two-Wheel-Drive Mitsubishi Lancer won the Two-Wheel-Drive category, Dan Brosnan and Shane McCann, winners of Two-Wheel-Drive category at Rally New York USA, in a Nissan Sentra took second, and Andrew Frick and Ryan Scott in a Ford Focus placed third. Robert Maunz with Mark Sackett won the Two-Wheel-Drive Production Cup classification.

After Rally Tennessee, the Championship will continue with five gravel rounds – Idaho Rally International, Rally West Virginia, Gorman Ridge Rally (California), Prescott Rally (Arizona) and the final round – International Rally New York. Most rounds of the Championship allow for reconnaissance of the rally course and pacenoting.

The United States Rally Championship, now in its fifth season, is taking bold steps to make national competition more affordable and accessible to a larger number of rally teams. This is the third season of the new Championship structure that minimizes or, for many teams, eliminates the need for repeated cross-country travel during the Championship season by providing competition on each side of the country. The final round of the Championship at the end of the year counts both in the Atlantic Division and the Pacific Division and together with the results from all previous rounds decides the top spots in the Championship. The highest-scoring six teams from the USRC Pacific Division are eligible for the coveted cash travel subsidies totaling $12,000 to attend the final round in New York.

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* Round Four of the Atlantic Rally Cup expands to Linden and Lobelville, Tennessee
* New sponsors join event

Perry County’s annual event, Rally Tennessee, is only days away and it appears this year will be another year of growth for the event. In the current economy, this is an exciting development for the local communities and the competitors!

“So far it’s looking very good.” said Anders Green of NASA Rally Sport. “Last year we had thirty-six entrants. This year, with a few last minute folks that aren’t yet listed on the web site, I’m expecting a few more than that, maybe forty total.” The current competitor list on the event’s web site, RallyTennessee.com, shows twenty-four car and thirteen motorcycle entrants. Green added that the declining economy has had a significant effect on the amount of entries at rallies throughout the country.

The excitement is spilling over into the local community as several new sponsors join the event. This year’s sponsors include the City of Lobelville, the Perry County Chamber of Commerce, Performance Friction Brakes, P-Sport, the Commodore Hotel & Caffe, Village Pizza, and Sonic of Linden. Additional local businesses are sponsoring discount coupons for spectators.

For the racers, the roads of Tennessee are one reason they are drawn to Perry County and this year’s event added two new stages to the schedule. Now racing roads in both Linden and Lobelville, there is even more for spectators to enjoy as well. The rally will be in downtown Lobelville on Saturday, coinciding with a free country music concert being offered that night at the Lobelville Music Park. On Sunday, the rally will be at the Perry County High School in Linden.

Rally Tennessee is the fourth round of the notable Atlantic Rally Cup and the second round of the Atlantic RallyMoto(tm) Cup. It is also the second round of the United States Rally Championship.

There’s still time to get involved with the rally. “Volunteering really opens up the door for a lot of folks. Many competitors got their start as volunteers.” said Green. “We treat our volunteers well — with a free t-shirt, free breakfast, free lunches, and an exclusive invitation to the awards ceremony. Plus, they get to hang out with all the racers. Being right on the course for the rally all day long is pretty exciting, too!” RallyTennessee.com has more information on volunteering opportunities.

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