Andy's Press Notes
June 6, 1997 - noon EDT
Press Notes #1
Welcome to Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, and the 21st running of the
Susquehannock Trail PRO Rally, round #5 of the Michelin PRO Rally
Championship. The weather for the weekend, originally thought to be
wet, will be clear and dry, with highs in the upper 70's F. A breeze
should help keep the dust to a minimum during the day Saturday, but, as
the wind dies down after dark, the organizer might have to go to two
minute intervals to maximize visibility. It has not rained in
Wellsboro since Monday, so the roads are dry. On the other hand, the
lack of recent moisture will preserve the running of STPR's most famous
stage — the Stoney Fork Creek Crossing, scheduled for stage #1 on
Saturday.
There are almost 60 cars pre-registered for this event — the largest
turnout in several years. This includes 47 national entries — the best
national field on the circuit since STPR four years ago. Registration
is just opening as of this writing, so we will update everyone on the
final count tonight when registration is complete.
It's always an unpleasant task, but we have to start most rally weekend
press notes with the news of expected entries that will not be running
this weekend.
The Audi Quattro S-2 of Frank and Dan Sprongl, one of the pre-rally
favorites, were scheduled to appear at STPR in their new Castrol-sponsored
colors, but a blown engine at a last-minute test run has
caused the Canadian champions to scratch.
The Rick Davis BMW M-3 is also a no-show, with Rick's new BMW 318
project taking up time and resources, and the M-3 needed repairs have
taken a back seat.
The Lesley Suddard Dodge Charger is spent after its three West Coast
events, with a warped head being the final blow. She is assessing
the damage, and hopes to have her car up and running later in the
season. She has been trying to line up a borrowed ride for this
event, but there has been no word of success as of this writing.
Replica Productions, of Cambridge, Mass., is here this weekend
producing a telecast of the event for ESPN2. Airdates for the 1/2-hour
STPR show will be Sunday, June 29, at 8:30 PM, and Tuesday, July 1 at
3:30 AM (both Eastern Daylight times). Anyone who has seen the first
two telecasts — Wild West and Rim of the World — will tell you this
show should not be missed. Commentator Marty Ried and analyst John
Buffum have done a good job explaining the sport as well as describing
the action.
June 6, 1997 - 4:30 PM EDT
Press Notes #2
All the major contenders for the year-end overall national championship
are here in Wellsboro this weekend, with defending national champion
and STPR defending titlist Paul Choiniere finding himself in second
place going into the rally. Choiniere and co-driver Jeff Becker had a
rough go of it at Rim of the World last month in their Hyundai Tiburon,
snapping off a wheel, rebuilding the suspension, actually stretching
their lead afterwards, only to break a strut with one stage to go and
DNF. Henry Joy and Michael Fennell, who had some problems themselves
with their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution II during the event, took
advantage of Choiniere's demise to score their first Rim win and forge
into the points lead. Selcuk Karamanoglu and Tony Lumino, potentially
rally winners in their new Open class Eagle Talon, have had turbo
problems at both national events, and hope that STPR will be their
first contending event. Carl Merrill and Lance Smith have also
suffered teething problems in their updated '97 Ford Escort Cosworth,
and have a second and a DNF to show for the first two events.
Bruno Kreibich, a perennial favorite at STPR with his 1983 Audi
Quattro, is back for his 20th Wellsboro event ("I think I might have
missed one"). He and driver Rod Hendricksen are consistent runners,
and could finish in the top three, even with this strong field.
The wild card in the mix is 11-time national champion John Buffum, who,
along with veteran co-driver and friend Tom Grimshaw, is entered in the
'96 Hyundai Elantra in which Choiniere won the national title (and
STPR) a year ago. Buffum confirmed in today's ELMIRA GAZETTE that he
is not here "to win the rally — we just want to have fun," and
indicated he might want to run some additional events before the end of
the year. Although Buffum won't be trying to take points away from
Libra teammate Choiniere, look for the Elantra to be very fast on these
roads, and to contend for the lead should anything happen to Choiniere.
Also, look for him strive for second if Choiniere is leading in order
to help take points away from Paul's closest competitors. Another
factor here is the manufacturers championship, which is important to
Hyundai. With only Choiniere running a Hyundai at Rim last month, a
DNF meant no points for the Korean manufacturer.
Mike Whitman and Paula Gibeault also have a new Open class car in this
year's series — a right-hand-drive Ford Sierra Cosworth. Whitman, the
defending Group 2 champion, should flourish here with the fast, smooth
roads for which his car was designed. At Wild West, the car lost a
turbo and was down on power, where the rough ride at Rim was not suited
to his racer.
Late news on the Vinnie Frontinan VW Corrado is that Vinnie was waiting
for a part from Canada to clear customs, and will probably not make it
to the event. Vinnie debuted the Corrado last year in Group 5, and was
running well when he hit a rock and stage #3 and lost his front
suspension.
June 6, 1997 - 6:30 PM EDT
Press Notes #3
All the other classes present strong fields as well, and many of the
other classes will finish far up in the top ten because of the quality
of entries. Before we get to the class breakdowns, here's a review of
the differences between the five SCCA PRO Rally classes:
Open Vehicles must be based on model built by a recognized
manufacturer. The engine is free, but must be production-
based. Brakes and suspension are also free.
Group 5 New in 1996. Two-wheel-drive cars with adjusted engine
displacement over 2400 cc. Open class style modifications
apply to brakes and suspension, and turbocharging is allowed.
Group 2 Two-wheel-drive cars with normally aspirated engines with
adjusted displacements under 2400 cc. Open class style
modifications allowed for brakes and suspension.
Production GT
Street licensed vehicles offered for sale in the United States
with engine displacements over 2650 cc. Limited suspension and
brake modifications allowed.
Production
Street licensed vehicles offered for sale in the United States
with engine displacements up to 2650 cc. Except for safety
equipment, no other modifications are allowed.
In Group 5, Sam Bryan and Rob Walden have their Saab 900 turbo
running in top form, having won both national events in class and
finishing third overall in both Washington and California. Sam's
biggest West Coast rival, Ralph Kosmides' Toyota Supra, has retired
for the season to concentrate on building his new turbo car for the
'98 season, so you might think that Sam could cruise to the
championship. But the series is now Back East, and defending
Group 5 champions Henry and Cindy Krolikowski are back with their
Dodge Shadow, which won here last year by 15 seconds. Also here to
challenge Bryan is the fast Porsche 911 of Mike Hurst/Rob Bohn,
the Bruce Newey/Matt Chester Toyota Celica, and the Reny
Villemure/Mike Villemure VW Beetle — all of whom have won the
Group 5 class at least once since the class came on board last year.
The Production class has come alive after sparse West Coast fields,
with '95 champion Tad Ohtake with co-driver Martin Dapot leading the
field in a Ford Escort GT. Pete Pollard and Peter Watt have brought
their VW GTI down from Canada, Damon Meyers and Mark Childs will
challenge in Meyers old, but fast Toyota Corolla. Al "K" Kaumeheiwa
and Craig Sobczak have brought their Dodge Neon to the event, while
Jay Kowalick will be running his Honda Civic VTEC.
June 6, 1997 - 9:30 PM EDT
Press Notes #4
In Production GT, the championship is very much up for grabs, with the
team most determined with the best chance to win the title. That
could be the Steve Gingras/Bill Westrick Mitsubishi Eclipse, armed
with their new sponsorship from Act III microwave popcorn. Gingras
has two wins so far — the divisional 60 percenter in Michigan in
February and the Wild West event in April. But the Cal Landau/Eric
Marcus Mitsubishi Eclipse won the championship in 1995, and Cal and
Steve have had close battles in the past. With points leader Lee
Shadbolt not bringing his Subaru Impreza east, Gingras can take the
lead with a win here. Chris Czyzio/Eric Carlson have a new Mitsubishi
Eclipse entered, while Constantine Mantopoulos/Eduardo Besada will be
in an Audi 200 Quattro. A new entry is the Dodge Shadow of Kendall
Russell/John Hurley. Ms. Russell, who was shaken up last year as a
co-driver when Mazda 626 driver Serguei Beloussov hit a tree on stage
#1, went to the Ski Sawmill rally school last month to try her luck as
a driver. She rolled the Dodge Charger, but is more enthusiastic than
ever about rally and is making her national debut this weekend.
In another East versus West battle, Bill Malik, from Burbank,
California, has journeyed to STPR to protect his Group 2 lead from the
fast guys back east. Malik and Farina O'Sullivan won Group 2 at Wild
West, and, despite finishing fifth overall at Rim of the World, were
second in class by less than a minute. Here, they will have to
contend with the Phoenix-based Datsun 510 of Pete Lahm/Jimmy Brandt as
well the Chris Havas/Eric Trembley VW GTI and the Kurt Thiel/George
Thompson VW GTI — both Northeast teams.
The other Group 2 contender — the Gerry Sweet/Stuart Spark Saab
99EMS — should be okay by the start of the rally, but bent an A-arm
when Gerry spun off the road during today's official practice stage.
Lesley Suddard/Ann Thomas DO have a ride this weekend — they have
rented Lynn Dillon's Pontiac Sunfire which will run in Group 5.
The Ken Stewart/Doc Shrader Open class Chevy S-10 pickup, which had to
give up its traditional #117 because of a scoring computer glitch,
gave Dennis Dean, SCCA's new VP of Rally/Solo and Club Racing, his
initial ride in a rally racer. Dean also rode with Mike Whitman, in
Whitman's new Open class Ford Sierra Cosworth.
PPG/IndyCar pace car driver and professional driving instructor Gail
Truess — stuck previously in a heavy Chevy Citation for a rally
mount — will challenge the Production GT field along with co-driver
Ben Greisler in a new Mazda 323GTX built by husband Paul.
June 7, 1997 - 9:00 PM EDT
Press Notes #5 & #6
- Final pre-rally notes (brief as the PR guy is behind - the rally is
currently on stage #6):
- The Gail Truess/Ben Greisler car was forced into the Open class
as the crew ran out of time to outfit the racer with the proper trim
pieces to qualify for Production GT.
- The name of the Gingras/Westrick sponsor (notes #13) is ACT II
microwave popcorn, not Act III as previously reported.
- The original entry list had Tad Ohtake's car listed as a Ford Escort
GT when, in fact, Tad has built a new car - a Ford Escort ZX2. This
is Ford's new sporty version of the Escort, and Tad hopes to
interest FMC in supporting his and other rally efforts through his
success. We might mention that Ohtake works for Ford, and is the
'95 Production class national champion.
- Miss Wellsboro Heather Linder and Miss Suburban Wellsboro Ann Tombs
flagged off a great-looking field of 60 cars from The Green in
downtown Wellsboro (51 national entries and nine divisional-only cars)
at 11:01 AM under cloudy skies and 65 degree temperatures.
- The first sign of trouble came right in town as the Saab 900 turbo of
Sam Bryan/Rob Walden broke its transmission on the way to stage #1.
They did not know what happened - but they were not able to continue.
- Stage #1 is the Stony Fork Water Crossing stage, and the field lost
several cars either directly or indirectly as a result of the 9-inch
deep stream that ends the stage. Both the Dean Fry/Don Kennedy Subaru
Legacy and the Pete Pollard/Peter Watt VW GTI lost their engines as a
result of water entering the intake and ruining the motor. Divisional
entry Roland McIver/Colm McIver in a Nissan Sentra GS-R was also
unable to continue after the water crossing.
- The VW GTI of Ed Maklenburg/Barbara Steencken, having fallen victim to
the water crossing a year ago, didn't make it that far this year as Ed
ran off the course 1.9-miles into stage one, and was unable to
continue.
- The Selcuk Karamanoglu/Tony Lumino Open class Eagle Talon was down on
power on stage #1, and was unable to continue after the finish of the
stage. Selcuk has been having turbo problems in the past two events,
but we don't have an official word on the cause of today's DNF.
- Although the dust wasn't as bad as expected during the daylight, the
rally organizers decided to go to two-minute intervals for the
upcoming night stages (after stage #4).
- The Henry Joy/Michael Fennell Mitsubishi Lancer is having a bad day,
hitting a dirt bank on stage #2 and bending steering knuckles and
affecting Henry's steering. He had trouble steering on stage #3, and
then John Buffum hit Henry on the transit between stages #3 and #4
trying to pass him, causing additional body damage. Then on stage #4,
Henry rolled the car related to his steering problems, causing bent
rear crossmember, a hole in the radiator and a lot of body damage.
At the service break at the end of four stages - after being towed in
by Cal Landau's Mitsubishi Eclipse - crew chief Murray Thomas got
assistance for at least a half-dozen crew chiefs including Weegee
Smith from Carl Merrill's team and the entire Saab 900 team.
Unfortunately, the repairs weren't enough as the car could not answer
the bell for the start of stage five, and is a DNF.
- Here are the top national standings after seven stages:
CAR
# (DRIVER/CO-DRIVER) CAR SCORE CLASS
12 John Buffum/Tom Grimshaw Hyundai Elan. 69.50 Open
2 Carl Merrill/Lance Smith Escort Cosw, 75:60 Open
9 Cal Landau/Eric Marcus Eclipse 75.73 PGT
17 Jon Kemp/Gail McGuire Audi 4000 75.74 Open
24 Hadjiminas/Bellefleur Audi Quattro 76.59 Open
96 Bruce Newey/Matt Chester Toyota Celica 78.14 Group 5
19 R. Villemure/M. Villemure VW Beetle 78.58 Group 5
66 Tad Ohtake/Martin Dapot Ford ZX2 79.00 Production
5 H. Krolikowski/C. Krolik Dodge Shadow 79.14 Group 5
1 Paul Choiniere/J Becker Hyundai Tib. 79.99 Open
35 Jacek Kotowski/D. Szeriusz Eagle Talon 80.61 PGT
29 Ken Stewart/Floyd Shrader Chevy S-10 PU 81.18 Open
31 Gail Truess/Ben Greisler Mazda 323GTX 81.28 Open
46 A. Kaumeheiwa/C. Sobczak Dodge Neon 81.95 Production
28 Damon Mayers/Mark Childs Toyota Coroll.81.98 Production
36 Keith Kreisler/C. Erney Mazda 323GTX 82.25 Open
25 C. Mantopoulos/E. Besada Audi Quattro 82.29 PGT
26 Ivan Orisek/Olga Orisek Audi Quattro 82.97 Open
33 Greg Healey/John MacLeod Dodge Ram 50 82.98 Production
27 Chris Czyzio/Eric Carlson Eclipse 83.04 PGT
53 Lesley Suddard/A Thomas Pontiac Sunb 83.96 Group 5
50 Jay Kowalik/Jeff Wheeler Honda Civic 84.42 Production
16 Chris Havas/Eric Trembley VW GTI 85.70 Group 2
- The Bruno Kreibich/Ron Hendrickson Audi Quattro is missing from
the list after Bruno went off the course on stage #6 and could
not continue.
June 8, 1997 - 5:00 AM EDT
Press Notes #7
- Other stage #4 service news:
- John Buffum/Tom Grimshaw Hyundai Elantra was leading Carl Merrill
Lance Smith by more than one minute as a result of winning all four
of the afternoon stages.
-
Paul Choiniere/Jeff Becker were down on power as turbo problems
continue to plague the Hyundai Tiburon - Paul was in fourth after
four stages.
-
Steve Gingras/Bill Westrick Mitsubishi ran the stages of their
lives, positioning themselves third overall and blitzing the
Production GT field.
-
The Bill Malik/Farina O'Sullivan Volvo 240 fell victim to
transmission problems on stage #2, and is a DNF.
-
The Kurt Thiel/George Thompson VW GTI rolled on stage #3, and also
DNFed.
-
The Carl Merrill/Lance Smith Ford Escort Cosworth has a new engine
this weekend because the old one used eight quarts of oil while
winning the Calgary event in Canada last weekend.
-
The Krolikowski/Krolikowski Dodge Shadow, the defending Group 5
champion, was running well after four stages, but driver Henry
admitted to being rusty after a seven-month layoff from the sport.
-
The Truess/Greisler Mazda 323GTX is finding the learning curve with
her new car is largest in the area of turbocharging, as turbo lag
is a new sensation for her. Also, husband Paul forget to place one
of the drain plugs in the floor before the event, and Truess and
Greisler got "very wet" at the water crossing.
- With the Cal Landau/Eric Marcus Mitsubishi Eclipse more than two
minutes behind them, the Gingras/Westrick entry seemed to be on their
way to a Production GT route, but disaster struck on stage #6 as
Gingras overcooked it in a tight turn and ended up in a ditch, ending
his fine run.
- As the field headed for service after stage #9, Buffum and Grimshaw
had a comfortable lead - seven minutes - over Merrill and Smith, but
rest of the top five was very crowded, with Kemp/McGuire and
Landau/Marcus both on the same minute as Carl. Choiniere/Becker lost
more time on stage five when Paul "ran out of road at high speed" and
hit a dirt bank, losing another seven minutes to the field. He had
started to catch up again, but had a long way to go.
June 8, 1997 - 8:00 AM EDT
Press Notes #8
- By stage #9, Bruce Newey/Matt Chester's Toyota Celica had taken the
Group 5 lead back from the fast Villemure Beetle, which lost time to
the field with a broken alternator wire. Tad Ohtake's new Ford Escort
ZX2 was dominating the strong Production field, despite a strong
showing from the Al Kaumeheiwa Dodge Neon, and the Chris Havas/Eric
Trembley had settled in the Group 2 lead after the demise of the pre-
rally favorites, the latest being the DNFs of the Lahm/Brandt Datsun
510, the Sweet/Spark Saab 99EMS (causes unknown at this time) and the
Frank Cunningham/Emanuel Lopes VW Rabbit (broken flywheel) - despite
Havas' 7.5 minutes of penalty points for speeding through a transit
control zone, radar set up by the organizer, after stage #4.
- Despite side-swiping a tree earlier in the day, the Sakis
Hadjiminas/John Bellefleur Audi 90 Sport was running as high as fifth
overall until it broke on stage #8 (cause unknown).
- Merrill and Smith fell further behind Buffum after losing three
minutes to the field on stage #8 with tha blown turbo - which was
replaced at the next service. Merrill proceeded to finish either
second or third on the remaining stages, but it would not be enough to
catch Buffum unless...
- The '96 Hyundai Elantra of John Buffum/Tom Grimshaw came to a halt 1.9
miles into stage #12 - one from the end - and could not get going. As
of this writing, we have not had any contact with Buffum or his crew
to find out what happened (it was a mechanical rather than a crash
DNF), but Merrill found himself with a two-minute lead with one stage
to go. Choiniere was charging hard after being as far back as tenth
place after his "off," and won stages 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13, and was
able to overtake the entire field, minus Merrill to finish second,
while Cal Landau and Eric Marcus were third overall and first in
Production GT, about one minute behind Choiniere. Jon Kemp and Gail
McGuire, in the top five all day, finished fourth overall in his Audi
4000 Quattro, and, for a while, was contending to be the first Finger
Lakes Region member to win STPR. Despite the fact that Henry
Krolikowski lamented the fact that off-season updates to his Dodge
Shadow really set him back a step or two, the Krolikowskis were fifth
overall and second in Group 5. The Bruce Newey/Matt Chester Toyota
Celica was fifth overall and captured the Group 5 title.
June 8, 1997 - 10:00 AM EDT
Press Notes #9
- Here are the national results:
CAR
# (DRIVER/CO-DRIVER) CAR SCORE CLASS
2 Carl Merrill/Lance Smith Escort Cosw, 142.39 Open
1 Paul Choiniere/J Becker Hyundai Tib. 144.39 Open
9 Cal Landau/Eric Marcus Eclipse 145.73 PGT
17 Jon Kemp/Gail McGuire Audi 4000 147.77 Open
96 Bruce Newey/Matt Chester Toyota Celi. 150.16 Group 5
5 H. Krolikowski/C. Krolik Dodge Shadow 153.60 Group 5
66 Tad Ohtake/Martin Dapot Ford ZX2 154.41 Production
27 Chris Czyzio/Eric Carlson Eclipse 156.16 PGT
31 Gail Truess/Ben Greisler Mazda 323GTX 157.14 Open
29 Ken Stewart/Floyd Shrader Chevy S-10 157.77 Open
46 A. Kaumeheiwa/C. Sobczak Dodge Neon 158.21 Production
16 Chris Havas/Eric Trembley VW GTI 158.39 Group 2
33 Greg Healey/John MacLeod Dodge Ram 50 159.07 Production
50 Jay Kowalik/Jeff Wheeler Honda Civic 160.85 Production
48 Charles Langan/H.Langan Ford Escort 161.68 Production
36 Keith Kreisler/C. Erney Mazda 323GTX 162.16 Open
53 Lesley Suddard/A Thomas Pontiac Sunb 162.77 Group 5
35 Jacek Kotowski/D. Szeriusz Eagle Talon 164.00 PGT
26 Ivan Orisek/Olga Orisek Audi Quattro 164.00 Open
23 Greg Trepetin/S. Trepetin Honda Prelu 165.19 Group 5
37 Eric Schroeder/J. Mynhier VW Jetta GLI 169.84 Group 2
19 R. Villemure/M. Villemure VW Beetle 175.63 Group 5
52 C. Kazmierczak/D. Casey Mazda RX-7 176.20 Group 5
38 S.Kreisler/J. Bonasera Nissan 200SX 177.15 Group 2
13 Mike Hurst/Rob Bohn Porsche 911 177.61 Group 5
8 Mike Whitman/P. Gibeault Ford Sierra 180.23 Open
42 A. Wojcik/M. Salamon Mitsu. Galan 184.91 Open
40 Ann Jordan/Alan Jordan Mazda RX-3 196.35 Group 5
43 Kendall Russell/J.Hurley Dodge Shadow 200.03 PGT
47 R. Losee/K. Livingston VW GTI 229.14 Group 2