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| For Immediate Release | Contact: Andy Schupack (401) 739-5677 |
WELLSBORO, Penn. -- June 7 -- The largest field of national PRO Rally race cars inspired Canadian champions Frank and Dan Sprongl to their fourth straight U.S. win in their Audi Quattro S-2 at the latest Michelin PRO Rally event - the Susquehannock Trail PRO Rally.
The Sprongls, who had won two events in Maine and one in Michigan dating back to August, 1996, outclassed the field after early threats from the Paul Choiniere/Jeff Becker Hyunda Tiburon and the David Summerbell/Michael Fennell Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV. Both were DNFs, with the Jamiacan Summerbell running out of gas and defending champ Choiniere doing three rollovers after hitting a stump at 80 mph.
Second overall - and now first in the point standings after round five of the Michelin series - was the Carl Merrill/Lance Smith Ford Escort Cosworth, while Choiniere's old car, the Hyundai Elantra, driven by Noel Lawlor/Charles Bradley, was third.
Other class winners included the Rick Davis/Ben Greisler BMW 320i (Group 5); the Cal Landau/Eric Marcus Mitsubishi Eclipse (Production GT); the Jon Nichols/Mike Koch VW GTI (Group 2); and the Jay Kowalik/Scott Embree Honda Civic CVT (Production).
Merrill now leads the Michelin PRO Rally point standing with 49 points, while Summerbell has 42 and Choiniere 36. This was Sprongl's first U.S. event in 1998, so he has 22 points.
Besides Choiniere, several pre-rally favorites did not finish the event, including the Ralph Kosmides/Joe Noyes Toyota Supra twin turbo (electrical); the Steve Gingras/Bill Westrick Eagle Talon (fuse junction); the Chris Havas/Eric Tremblay VW GTI (transmission); and the Jamaican team of Dean Panton/David Watkins in their Hyundai Elantra (exhaust).
The 1998 STPR event will be telecast on ESPN2 on Tuesday, June 30, at 6:30 PM Eastern time.
The 1998 Michelin PRO Rally Championship consists of eight events, is sponsored by Michelin Tire Corporation and sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). PRO Rally information, as well as scores, updates, membership, or other SCCA material can be found on the SCCA web site at www.scca.org/amateur/prorally/.