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Susquehannock Trail ProRally

Press Notes

Provided by Andy Schupack, Press Officer


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28th Annual Susquehannock Trail ProRally
Round #4, June 4 - 6, 2004
SCCA ProRally Championship presented by Hot Wheels
www.stpr.org press notes #1 - Page 1

  1. Welcome to the 28th running of the Susquehannock Trail ProRally, round #4 of the 2004 Sports Car Club of America ProRally Championship presented by HotWheels. This event, which is one of the few one-day rallies on the SCCA circuit, kicks off on Saturday, June 5, from the main town Green in Wellsboro at 10:30 AM. The stages, 127 miles of smooth, fast Pennsylvania State Forest roads, provide some of the most exciting rally action in North America. 59 cars are registered to take the countdown on Saturday, with almost half of them not expected to make it to the finish, according to historical data.

  2. This years STPR event will be televised by the Speed Channel on Saturday, July 17 at 4:00 PM EDT. The Speed Channel will be broadcasting all the ProRally events - www.scca.com has the complete schedule for the season. The next scheduled broadcast is Rim of the World, which was held in May, and will be telecast on Saturday, July 10 at 3:30 PM EDT. As always, check you local listings as live events can pre-empt broadcast times at the last minute.

  3. Team Mopar's SCCA ProRally warriors will get a significant boost this Weekend as eight-time overall SCCA ProRally champion Paul Choiniere will jump behind the wheel of the No. 53 Mopar Dodge SRT-4, marking the first time he will have competed in a 2WD machine in over 20 years. Choiniere said he hopes to give Team Mopar veterans and defending 2WD and Group 5 champions Doug Shepherd and co-driver Pete Gladysz a run for their money, while competing in one of the classic stage rallies in the United States. Veteran co-driver Cindy Krolikowski, a two-time Group 5 champion co-driver, will read the notes for Choiniere. Choiniere is very familiar with the roads through Pennsylvania; he has won the overall championship at STPR seven times, including five in a row in the early 1990s. The Vermont native is also scheduled to drive the No. 53 Mopar car at the famous Pikes Peak International Hillclimb, Round Five of the SCCA ProRally Championship Presented by Hot Wheels later this month. Shepherd and Gladysz have no plans of letting Choiniere drive around them; the pair has championed Group 5 in their SRT-4 for five straight events dating back to last season.

  4. The latest word from the organizer is that the Stony Fork Creek Crossing, this year known as the "Subaru Splash," will run as scheduled. With the aid of gravel delivered to the creek bed, the water level is not high enough to force a repeat of last year's cancellation.

28th Annual Susquehannock Trail ProRally
Round #4, June 4 - 6, 2004
SCCA ProRally Championship presented by Hot Wheels
www.stpr.org press notes #2 - 6/4/04 -11:00 pm

  1. The weather is a factor at every rally, and this year’s STPR will be no exception. A low pressure system is coming in from the Ohio Valley this evening which will spawn showers after midnight. On-and-off rain in the morning on Saturday will taper off in the afternoon, with a chance of rain again later in the evening. Although this might mean the spectators might get wet, it could turn out to be ideal conditions for the rally drivers. The temperatures will be cool and comfortable in the 60’s during the day and in the 50’s at night, and the dampness will keep the dust down on the roads. Of course, too much rain will mean mud, and that would be another story. We’ll check with John Buffum, former rally champion and long-time Michelin rally tire distributor, and see what choices the teams have for tire tread and compound selection.

  2. The start list for tomorrow’s event is now out, and Pat Richard from British Columbia, BC - winner of the first three rallies of the season, will be first on the road for tomorrow’s event in his Group N Subaru. Richard has won so many Production GT class championships in both Canada and Europe that he doesn't recall an exact number, although "last year was a bad year because I didn't get any anywhere," Richard said. In just under five years (it will be five this summer by his count), the 30-year-old has already carved a niche in Canada's rally elite group and now, as one of Canada's all-time best, Richard has chosen to drive his 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STi, the same car he ran en route to winning the Production Cup in the Canadian Rally Championship, south of the border this year, intent on adding a U.S. championship to his resume.

    With his win at Sno*Drift in Atlanta, Mich., in late January, Richard did two things. Though early, he instantly validated the popular notion that the FIA Group N class (which became better known last year as American Mark Utecht and Irishman Shane Mitchell waged a full-season battle for the largest class contingency payout in SCCA ProRally Championship history), might produce its first Overall Drivers' Champion ever. He also earned his first U.S. National event win, something that Richard said he needed to solidify his chances at running a full season in the states. Richard said he knows that success in the next two rounds of the SCCA ProRally Championship, Oregon Trail and Rim of the World in California, has not only solidified his points lead, but given him respect among the U.S. rally elite.

28th Annual Susquehannock Trail ProRally
Round #4, June 4 - 6, 2004
SCCA ProRally Championship presented by Hot Wheels
www.stpr.org press notes #3 - 6/5/04 - noon

  1. In the midst of a steady rainfall, 58 cars left the town Green in Wellsboro to start the 28th running of the Susquehannock Trail ProRally (car #961, the VW Golf of Jerzy Banjo/Erwin Meisel - Group 2 - did not start). Although the rain is scheduled to let up by early afternoon, it was already having an impact on t-shirt sales at the Boy Scouts tent and the St. Paul’s Church and Rotary Club food concessions. A small, but hearty crowd of fans and local townspeople saw the drivers off at 10:31 AM EDT, and everyone seemed resigned to the fact that it was going to be a wet rally, but the rain is supposed to stay on the light side and let up as the afternoon wears on. The competitors will run four stages, including the Subaru Splash water crossing, and come back to the Green after stage four for a two-hour dinner break and service. The cars will be re-seeded based on their times after two stages.

  2. We spoke to Mark Utecht, who, along with co-driver Jeff Secor, have had a rough season so far with all DNFs in his Subaru Impreza Group N car. Utecht made a point of telling us how determined he was to better his status in the point standings, and possibly finish on the podium for the first time. However, it is not to be as the #83 Subaru is reported to have mechanical failure at the end of stage #1 and will DNF for the rally - no word as to whether the water crossing caused his ills. Utecht did not need any assistance to get his car off the stage. Details available after we talk to the driver.

  3. Dan Coughnour from Rochester won the American Cancer Society TSD charity rally held in Wellsboro yesterday. 35 cars entered the event, raising almost $1,000 for the local Cancer Society chapter. Coughnour won the "equipped" class, Ron Johnstonbaugh won the stock class, Jerry Kerwin the limited class, and Jared Lanzy the novice class. Full results will be posted on the www.stpr.org web site.

  4. As promised, we checked with former rally champion, current car builder, Michelin rally tire distributor John Buffum, who thought that most of the competitors who had the budget to buy a selection of tires would go with the "dry" or wider tires to get maximum bite on these very fast roads. The competitors would have the opportunity to change after the first stage if they thought it was slippery or muddy enough to need the narrower, wider-grooved tire - the model Michelin calls its ZE80. This applies to the larger-budget competitors only, however, as most of the entrants will slog through the stages on whatever tires they brought.

28th Annual Susquehannock Trail ProRally
Round #4, June 4 - 6, 2004
SCCA ProRally Championship presented by Hot Wheels
www.stpr.org press notes #4 - 6/5/04 - 2:00 PM

  1. #587, the Group 2 Honda Civic of Matt Johnson/Steve Zoepf, quit at the end of stage #1, and had to be towed off the course - a DNF. After the stage was closed, their service crew headed down to the creek to get the disappointed drivers.

  2. Leon Styles, who, with co-driver John Dillon, started this event in their Mitsubishi Evo VI from the second position, hopes to heal the still-fresh wound of leading the last rally - Rim-of-the-World - with one stage to go when a turbo hose let loose. Although the second place at Rim was his best finish ever, Leon said it was a hollow second with victory so close at hand. "If we had fought tooth-and-nail from third or fourth to finish second, that’s one thing, but we led most of the day, only to lose out in the end." Leon said he likes the slower, rougher road like Rim or Prescott out west, but looks forward to competing for a podium finish and important overall championship points.

  3. #130, the Open class Mitsubishi Evo VI of Liam Egan and Charlie Donnelly, has gone off into a ravine 3.6 miles into stage #2, and the drivers - both okay - said they need a wrecker.

  4. Also, at stage #2, four more cars have fallen off the road and requested tows; the # 915 Group 2 Mazda Protégé of Terdsuk Srisook and Andrew Cohen at the 4.1-mile mark; the #573 Group 2 Dodge Neon of Kevin Wesley and Richard Ehrenberg at the 5.7-mile mark; the #515 Group 5 Dodge Neon of Adam Boullion and Phillip Boullion (hit a tree) at the 7.1-mile mark; and #589 Open class Mitsubishi Eclipse of Michael Cienkosz and Yurek Cienkosz at the 4.9 mile mark - all DNFs. 51 cars finished stage #2.

  5. On stage #3, the fire department has been called to put out a car fire on #614 Group N Subaru WRX of Poitr Wiktroczyk and Mark McAllister 4.9 miles into the stage - DNF. The drivers are out of the car and okay. This has stopped the rally pending the the fire department activity. The rallymaster is calculating how much of a delay the rally can take before he has to decide whether to continue with the stage or cancel it.

  6. Car #99 - the Group N Subaru WRX of Matthew Iorio and Phillip Ho - lost a turbo on stage #3 and is a DNF

  7. Bill Bell, the long-time radio personality and announcer for the Finger Lakes Region of the SCCA at Watkins Glen and STPR, reports that a healthly crowd appeared at the Subaru Splash water crossing despite the steady rain, which has now tapered off to a drizzle.

28th Annual Susquehannock Trail ProRally,
Round #4, June 4 - 6, 2004
www.stpr.org press notes #5 - 6/5/04 - 5:00 PM

  1. Latest on the fire and the delay in the rally is that the Poitr/McAllister Subaru rolled on its side and the car caught fire when power steering fluid spilled onto the turbo, and the car burned to the ground before the fire department could do much about it. The stage was delayed enough that it set the rally schedule back almost an hour. The cars came back to the Green in Wellsboro starting at 3:15 PM, and will take off again at 5:45 PM (first car). The rain has stopped for the moment, but radar shows the slow-moving system is still in the area.

  2. Here are the top ten cars overall after four stages:

    Car Number, Class, Driver, Co-driver, Car, Time
    87. Open, Frank Sprongl/Dan Sprongl, 2000 Mitsubishi Evo VI, 35:26.2
    54. Group N, Patrick Richard/Nathalie Richard, 2002 Subaru Impreza, 35:42.2
    45. Group N, Shane Mitchell/Glenn Patterson, 2002 Subaru Impreza, 35:49.3
    116. Open, Thomas Lawless/Jason Gillespie, Mitsubishi Evo VIII, 36:48.0
    41. Open, John Drislane/Ronan Burke, Mitsubishi Evo VI, 37:58.0
    52. Group 5, Doug Shepherd/Pete Gladysz, 2004 Dodge SRT4, 38:01.3
    374. Open, Leon Styles/John Dillon, 2002 Mitsubishi Evo VII, 38:15.6
    11. Group 5, Paul Choiniere/Cindy Krolikowski, 2004 Dodge SRT4, 38:22.0
    774. Group N, Otis Dimiters/Peter Monin, Subaru WRX, 38:27.1
    914. Open, Noel Nash/Eddie Fries, Mistubishi Lancer VI, 38:33.0

  3. Frank and Dan Sprongl, who have run Audis in ProRally forever, appear to be the favorites to win the rally in their Mitsubishi Evo, but anything could happen on the last six stages, and almost any of the above drivers could step in and win. Frank said driving the Mitsubishi was like driving a Cadillac compared to his old Audis, and that he was very comfortable in the car despite an "off" on stage #1 (he won the other three stages). He also said stage two was as slippery as any snow he has driven on in Canada.

28th Annual Susquehannock Trail ProRally,
Round #4, June 4 - 6, 2004
www.stpr.org press notes #6 - 6/5/04 - 8:00 PM

  1. Patrick Richard, who started first on the road in his Subaru Impreza, lost time to the Sprongls on stage two when he spun, but is still running second overall and first in Group N. As it is the Group N championship where Patrick really wants the points, he was much more concerned over his scant seven second lead over Shane Mitchell’s WRX.

  2. The two Dodge SRT4s entered by Doug Shepherd are first and second in Group 5, and sixth and eight overall. While car owner Shepherd was ahead of Choiniere, it was only because of Paul’s flat tire on stage four. But Shepherd was just happy that Paul liked the car, and Choiniere felt very comfortable in his 2WD mount. "Of course, I missed the 4WD in some of the slippery spots, but the 100-less horsepower sort of puts things in slow motion for me, enabling me to process route notes from my co-driver better and gives me more time to react to conditions." Choiniere and co-driver Cindy Krolikowski will run together three weeks from now at Pikes Peak.

  3. Mark Utecht reported that he will have to wait until he gets back to Minnesota to find out why his Subaru failed on stage #1, but it was not the transmission problems which have plagued his so far this year. It was the engine that went sour this time - Utecht speculates a bad piston.

  4. The #91 Jonathan Bottoms/Carolyn Bottoms Group N Subaru WRX, seventh in Group N and 18th overall, lost its brakes due to a punctured brake line on stage #4, losing four minutes to the cars they were running with. They also had a flat on the transit after #4.

  5. The cars have now all left Wellsboro, and are proceeding to stages 5-10. The rally should end about 1:00 AM in downtown Wellsboro.

28th Annual Susquehannock Trail ProRally,
Round #4, June 4 - 6, 2004
www.stpr.org press notes #7-6/5/04 ­ 11:30 PM

  1. The leaders are having problems, and we might have a surprise winner of the rally. The winner could be a first-time victor, or even a 2WD car! The first problem was the Mitsubishi Evo of Frank Sprongl/Dan Sprongl, which lost its engine on stage #5 while leading the rally. Then, on stage #6, the new leading Subaru of Richard/Richard lost its brakes, and couldn’t stop at an acute corner, going right through some banner tape and off the road. Richard got back on the road, but lost 45 seconds to the new leaders - the Subaru Impreza of Shane Mitchell/Glenn Patterson. Mitchell, one of the few drivers who could actually catch Richard in the Group N points, could do standings damage if he beats Patrick here. Lurking in fourth place - and having a terrific rally - is the 2WD Group 5 Dodge SRT4 of Paul Choiniere/Cindy Krolikowski, right behind the Mitsubishi Evo VIII of Thomas Lawless/Jason Gillespie. Who’s gonna win?

  2. Only 37 cars started stage 8, and there’s a long list of DNF’s since the start of stage #5. Besides the Sprongles mentioned above, here are others we know about - no injuries reported:

    #876, Birbilis/Vicente, Open, Ford Escort - Stage 8 (rolled)
    #774, Dimiters/Monin, Group N, Subaru Impreza - Stage 7 (rolled)
    #52, Shepherd/Gladysz, Group 5, Dodge SRT4 - Stage 8 (mechanical)
    #914, Nash/Fries, Open, Mitsubishi Evo - Stage 8 (two flat tires)
    #995, Drislane/Pollard, Open, Mitsubishi Lancer - Stage 7 (mechanical)
    #59, Moro/Smith, Open, Subaru WRX - Stage 7 (unknown)
    #912, Cassidy/Getchell, Open, Subaru Impreza - Stage 5 (engine)
    #908, Kelbel/Sekella, Group 5, Dodge Shadow - Stage 6 (unknown)
    #91, Bottoms/Bottoms, Group N, Subaru WRX - Stage 5 (center dif.)
    #41, Drislane/Burke, Open, Mitsubishi Evo VI - Stage 9 (unknown)

  3. The dream of Patrick Richard to win four in a row and virtually clinch the title is fading fast he lost more than nine minutes to the field on stage #9. No details yet available.

  4. The rally will end in less than one hour - the next notes will have results.

28th Annual Susquehannock Trail ProRally,
Round #4, June 4 - 6, 2004
www.stpr.org press notes #8 - 6/6/04 - 2:30 AM

  1. Scoring their first-ever SCCA ProRally event victory ever, Shane Mitchell and Glenn Patterson drove their Group N Subaru Impreza to victory in the 28th running of the Susquhannock Trail Pro Rally in Wellsboro, Penn. Mitchell, who finished second earlier this season at Sno Drift, had a smooth run, avoiding the mechanical problems and driving woes that plagued most of his competitors to score a 2:45 win over the Open Class Mitsubishi Evo VIII of Thomas Lawless/Jason Gillespie. Third overall was Paul Choiniere/Cindy Krolikowski Dodge SRT4 - the Group 5 class winner and the top-finishing 2WD car. Complete results can be found on www.stpr.org and www.rally-america.com. Quotes from the winners in the next report later in the morning.