I apologize if this is a repost. I just read last week's AutoWeek and this blurb had some info I had not seen before:
(08:24 Oct. 31, 2002)
Factory teams gearing up to enter 2003 SCCA ProRally season
The SCCA ProRally season might be on hiatus until January?s Snow Drift in Michigan, but factory teams started gearing up for next year just hours after the 2002 season awards were doled out. Top of the docket: Mitsubishi is setting up its own factory team to enter the field next year to replace Mitsubishi-sponsored, California-based Rhys Millen Racing?s independent team, which ran a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6.5, an Evo VII and a Group 2 Lancer in 2002.
As it stands, Millen is without a sponsor next year and Mitsubishi is shopping for drivers. Possible candidates include Lauchlin O?Sullivan (from Millen Racing) and 2002 open-class champ David Higgins, a European. Mitsubishi forged a ?gentlemen?s agreement,? according to insiders, with fellow manufacturers Subaru and Hyundai and with the SCCA, saying it will sign at least one American driver. While Mitsubishi will probably wait until the U.S. debut of its production Evo VIII in January to announce plans, it looks as if Lance Smith?s Vermont Sports Cars will be influential in preparing Mitsubishi?s U.S. rally cars.
As other manufacturers, such as Mazda and Dodge, are expected to up their sponsorship ante in coming years, ProRally racers?many of whom see the sport slipping away from its grassroots character because of major sponsorships?are insistent corporate comers provide opportunities for U.S. drivers. Cindy Krolikowski?who took second in the G5 class at Wild West in Washington in September co-driving a Dodge PVO-sponsored SRT-4 that was passed around among established drivers this year for evaluation purposes?suggests that if such a commitment doesn?t exist, the most visible classes of ProRally could lose support.
In addition to working through Mitsubishi?s 2003 ProRally strategy, SCCA officials and factory reps are also trying to extend the Speed Channel?s ProRally coverage from 30 minutes to one hour.
(08:24 Oct. 31, 2002)
Factory teams gearing up to enter 2003 SCCA ProRally season
The SCCA ProRally season might be on hiatus until January?s Snow Drift in Michigan, but factory teams started gearing up for next year just hours after the 2002 season awards were doled out. Top of the docket: Mitsubishi is setting up its own factory team to enter the field next year to replace Mitsubishi-sponsored, California-based Rhys Millen Racing?s independent team, which ran a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6.5, an Evo VII and a Group 2 Lancer in 2002.
As it stands, Millen is without a sponsor next year and Mitsubishi is shopping for drivers. Possible candidates include Lauchlin O?Sullivan (from Millen Racing) and 2002 open-class champ David Higgins, a European. Mitsubishi forged a ?gentlemen?s agreement,? according to insiders, with fellow manufacturers Subaru and Hyundai and with the SCCA, saying it will sign at least one American driver. While Mitsubishi will probably wait until the U.S. debut of its production Evo VIII in January to announce plans, it looks as if Lance Smith?s Vermont Sports Cars will be influential in preparing Mitsubishi?s U.S. rally cars.
As other manufacturers, such as Mazda and Dodge, are expected to up their sponsorship ante in coming years, ProRally racers?many of whom see the sport slipping away from its grassroots character because of major sponsorships?are insistent corporate comers provide opportunities for U.S. drivers. Cindy Krolikowski?who took second in the G5 class at Wild West in Washington in September co-driving a Dodge PVO-sponsored SRT-4 that was passed around among established drivers this year for evaluation purposes?suggests that if such a commitment doesn?t exist, the most visible classes of ProRally could lose support.
In addition to working through Mitsubishi?s 2003 ProRally strategy, SCCA officials and factory reps are also trying to extend the Speed Channel?s ProRally coverage from 30 minutes to one hour.
