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3 September 2003
Immediate release
RALLY SERIES OF NORTH AMERICA GATHERS PACE
David Higgins bids for seventh US win this season
Strong challenge from Subaru?s World Rally Championship test driver
The International Wild West Pro Rally (5-7 September) marks the start of the second half of the 2003 Rally Series of North America and, with three of the six events still to run, the series organisers remain focused on becoming the region?s premier rally series. The fourth round, based in Olympia in the Pacific Northwest, will be striving for a successful observation by the FIA this weekend in order to assist the series in achieving Zone Championship status in 2004.
Commenting on the progress being made in North America, Shekhar Mehta, President of the FIA Rallies Commission said: ?The FIA fully supports the regional rally championships and having a sanctioned championship in North America is high on our list of priorities. The organisers of the Rally Series of North America are working hard towards securing this status and progress is good, although a little slower than we had hoped. The North American market presents huge opportunities, but entering this region is a lengthier process due to the sport still not having the profile that rallying in Europe, for example, has enjoyed over nearly 30 years. Corona Rally Mexico has however made great progress in this area, and its impact on the sport in North America will be very positive. The Rally Series of North America very much has our support. The organisers have been very mindful of the standards that need to be achieved, such is the mounting pressure on all rally organisers worldwide.?
The International Wild West Pro Rally is based in the bustling city of Olympia in the state of Washington, approximately 100 kilometres south of Seattle on the west coast of the United States of America. Run in the region?s early autumn, weather conditions are however variable and while the hard-packed gravel roads are likely to remain dry, the prospect of inclement weather is a possibility. For its 11th anniversary event, the rally organiser has introduced a raft of improvements this year, most notably the compact nature of the route, which never moves further than 80 kilometres from Olympia and its 40,000 inhabitants.
Team Mitsubishi Motor Sports America driver David Higgins tops the 53-car entry list and the Briton will be bidding for his seventh outright victory this year after a crushing display of domination in the US. Higgins, whose win in the recent Ojibwe Forests Rally secured him, his co-driver and Mitsubishi America honours in the SCCA series, will still be gunning for maximum points in the International Wild West Pro Rally, a result that would also catapult him into contention for overall Rally Series of North America honours alongside Canada?s Patrick Richard, Argentinean Marcos Ligato and Erwin Richter, winner of the Rally International de las 24 Horas, the third round of the series in July.
?The Wild West is quite a difficult event; very mixed,? commented David. ?There are narrow and twisty sections and then fast and open stuff and dust can be a bit of a problem. Competition in the US is really tough at the moment and there are some good drivers in quick cars who are pushing hard from start to finish. I think because we?ve won so much this season it?s made it look easy, but that?s not the case and this event will be equally tough, especially with Pasi Hagstrom entering; he?ll be a good guy to race against, although our biggest priority will be to help our team-mate secure second in the SCCA series.?
A late entry from Subaru America for Pasi Hagstrom sees the competition hot up yet further. Hagstrom, who undertakes gravel note duties for four-time World Rally Champion Tommi Makinen and is the Subaru World Rally Team?s leading test driver, will be competing in a Prodrive-built Subaru WRX and the Finn is sure to be hot on the pace from the outset.
Higgins? team-mate Lauchlin O?Sullivan will undoubtedly be another of the pace-setting crews, the reigning Pro-Rally 2-Litre Champion notching up a string of podium finishes in his first season in the Evolution VIII with the Mitsubishi team. Tim O?Neil, driving a Ford SVT Focus, and Ramana Lagermann, in a Subaru WRX, are also likely to be strong contenders in the open class.
The 2003 International Wild West Pro Rally kicks off with a ceremonial start on Friday evening (5 September), but the real action starts on Saturday morning when the crews tackle the opening seven stages and 132.74 competitive kilometres. After the overnight halt in Olympia, the second day of competition takes the crews over a further seven stages and 97.66 competitive kilometres before the finish outside Olympia?s Casino on Sunday afternoon. The route covers a total distance of 653.20 kilometres, 230.40 of which are competitive over 14 gravel stages.
The International Wild West Pro Rally is a qualifying round of the Rally Series of North America and the SCCA Pro Rally series. Following this event, the two remaining rounds of the series include the Rallye International de Charlevoix (24-26 October) and the Ramada Express International Rally (11-14 December).
- ends -
For further information, please contact:
Tom Burgess
Chairman, Rally Series of North America
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.cnarally.org
Immediate release
RALLY SERIES OF NORTH AMERICA GATHERS PACE
David Higgins bids for seventh US win this season
Strong challenge from Subaru?s World Rally Championship test driver
The International Wild West Pro Rally (5-7 September) marks the start of the second half of the 2003 Rally Series of North America and, with three of the six events still to run, the series organisers remain focused on becoming the region?s premier rally series. The fourth round, based in Olympia in the Pacific Northwest, will be striving for a successful observation by the FIA this weekend in order to assist the series in achieving Zone Championship status in 2004.
Commenting on the progress being made in North America, Shekhar Mehta, President of the FIA Rallies Commission said: ?The FIA fully supports the regional rally championships and having a sanctioned championship in North America is high on our list of priorities. The organisers of the Rally Series of North America are working hard towards securing this status and progress is good, although a little slower than we had hoped. The North American market presents huge opportunities, but entering this region is a lengthier process due to the sport still not having the profile that rallying in Europe, for example, has enjoyed over nearly 30 years. Corona Rally Mexico has however made great progress in this area, and its impact on the sport in North America will be very positive. The Rally Series of North America very much has our support. The organisers have been very mindful of the standards that need to be achieved, such is the mounting pressure on all rally organisers worldwide.?
The International Wild West Pro Rally is based in the bustling city of Olympia in the state of Washington, approximately 100 kilometres south of Seattle on the west coast of the United States of America. Run in the region?s early autumn, weather conditions are however variable and while the hard-packed gravel roads are likely to remain dry, the prospect of inclement weather is a possibility. For its 11th anniversary event, the rally organiser has introduced a raft of improvements this year, most notably the compact nature of the route, which never moves further than 80 kilometres from Olympia and its 40,000 inhabitants.
Team Mitsubishi Motor Sports America driver David Higgins tops the 53-car entry list and the Briton will be bidding for his seventh outright victory this year after a crushing display of domination in the US. Higgins, whose win in the recent Ojibwe Forests Rally secured him, his co-driver and Mitsubishi America honours in the SCCA series, will still be gunning for maximum points in the International Wild West Pro Rally, a result that would also catapult him into contention for overall Rally Series of North America honours alongside Canada?s Patrick Richard, Argentinean Marcos Ligato and Erwin Richter, winner of the Rally International de las 24 Horas, the third round of the series in July.
?The Wild West is quite a difficult event; very mixed,? commented David. ?There are narrow and twisty sections and then fast and open stuff and dust can be a bit of a problem. Competition in the US is really tough at the moment and there are some good drivers in quick cars who are pushing hard from start to finish. I think because we?ve won so much this season it?s made it look easy, but that?s not the case and this event will be equally tough, especially with Pasi Hagstrom entering; he?ll be a good guy to race against, although our biggest priority will be to help our team-mate secure second in the SCCA series.?
A late entry from Subaru America for Pasi Hagstrom sees the competition hot up yet further. Hagstrom, who undertakes gravel note duties for four-time World Rally Champion Tommi Makinen and is the Subaru World Rally Team?s leading test driver, will be competing in a Prodrive-built Subaru WRX and the Finn is sure to be hot on the pace from the outset.
Higgins? team-mate Lauchlin O?Sullivan will undoubtedly be another of the pace-setting crews, the reigning Pro-Rally 2-Litre Champion notching up a string of podium finishes in his first season in the Evolution VIII with the Mitsubishi team. Tim O?Neil, driving a Ford SVT Focus, and Ramana Lagermann, in a Subaru WRX, are also likely to be strong contenders in the open class.
The 2003 International Wild West Pro Rally kicks off with a ceremonial start on Friday evening (5 September), but the real action starts on Saturday morning when the crews tackle the opening seven stages and 132.74 competitive kilometres. After the overnight halt in Olympia, the second day of competition takes the crews over a further seven stages and 97.66 competitive kilometres before the finish outside Olympia?s Casino on Sunday afternoon. The route covers a total distance of 653.20 kilometres, 230.40 of which are competitive over 14 gravel stages.
The International Wild West Pro Rally is a qualifying round of the Rally Series of North America and the SCCA Pro Rally series. Following this event, the two remaining rounds of the series include the Rallye International de Charlevoix (24-26 October) and the Ramada Express International Rally (11-14 December).
- ends -
For further information, please contact:
Tom Burgess
Chairman, Rally Series of North America
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.cnarally.org
