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Event Notes

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Contact: Andy Schupack - national series media liaison:
(717) 724-2111, ext. 426 -  press room direct
(717) 724-2086  - lines 6/4 - 6/7
(401) 739-5677 (before 6/4 or after 6/7)

Press Notes #1 - Thursday, June 4 - 6:00 PM EDT

  1. Welcome to Tioga County, Pennsylvania - home of the state Laurel Festival and the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon - and the 22nd running of the Susquehannock Trail PRO Rally - round #5 of the 1998 Michelin PRO Rally Championship. The weather promises to be cool - with highs in the mid-to-upper '60s F - and there does not appear to be any significant rainfall in the forecast. The National Weather Service is calling for a 30 percent chance of showers on Friday, and only 10 percent on Saturday. If there is no rain, that will be good for the Stony Fork Creek Crossing, which stands at about four inches of water at present (eight inches is considered a maximum height), but will be bad for potential dust problems.

  2. The Asaph Picnic Grounds stage is back after missing last year due to a bridge out. A complete list of spectator stages, maps, and stage descriptions are available in the Official STPR Rally Program - for sale at the Wellsboro Chamber of Commerce for $5.00.

  3. As we have mentioned in releases during the week, this event will start with 80 cars (organizer John McArthur actually has more than 90 entry applications, with some of the "waiting-listed" entries able to start if others do not make it). As of this writing, we have the following news on the entry list:

Press Notes #2 - Friday, June 4 - 7:30 AM EDT

  1. For those of you who are here in Wellsboro, turn your radio on and hear about the rally today as you prepare for the event. John McArthur and Andy Schupack will be on WNBT-AM 1490 at 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM talking about the event and its impact on the town. From about 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM, DJs Steve Worthington and Kevin Thomas from KC101 FM will be doing live cut-ins from the Special Olympics rally Friday afternoon. And don't forget to pick up a copy of Friday's ELMIRA STAR-GAZETTE, which has pre-rally story in the sports section.

    On the TV side, everyone around the country can catch the re-broadcast of the Rim of the World event this Sunday, June 7, at 6:00 AM Eastern time on ESPN2; and mark down the first broadcast date for STPR - Tuesday, June 30, at 6:30 PM Eastern time.

    Speaking of ESPN2, Replica Productions, producers of the rally shows for The Deuce, has reported that Subaru of America's Western Region sales office - which sponsored the Rim of the World event - has agreed to sponsor the Prescott Forest Rally telecast as well.

  2. It wouldn't be a collection of press notes without corrections - and co-driver Rob Bohn informs us that the Mike Hurst car he could show up with if he doesn't run his Porsche is a Mazda RX-7, not his old 200SX. That 200SX is running this weekend already, in the capable hands of Scott Kreisler, who had bought the car from Mike.

  3. The divisional national championship will bring to an end the longest season ever, which start in September, 1996 and formally ended in December, 1997. The event, which was originally scheduled for the ill- fated SNO*DRIFT rally, has attracted 18 top runners from around the country. The 4WD class will be a great battle between all four entries, as all four have either won their national class or finished in the top ten at national events (Gingras/Westrick, Czyzio/Carlson, Stewart/Dale and Driegert/Shim). 02 and U2 feature similar battles, which we will detail later.

    The divisional runoff cars were originally scheduled to run as their own group, but, with 80 cars running, and all the runoff competitors also running the national event, organizer McArthur decided that it would be better for all competitors if this group ran in their national seed. There will be a ceremonial start after the dinner break for the divisional runoff competitors as a group before the start of stage #5.

  4. With 80 cars instead of the usual 50 or 60, the space around the Green in Wellsboro will be at a premium, with several of the side streets to be used for the Parc Expose. The extra people should bring banner sales to the annual Rotary Club Chicken Barbecue and the St. Paul's Episcopal Church Hot Dog and Soda stands - both open all day Saturday.

Press Notes #3 - Friday, June 5 - 11:00 PM EDT

  1. The practice stage which the organizer sets up near Morris always brings bad luck for at least one competitor, and this year it was the Ford Mustang GT of Martin Donnelly/Peter Cunningham. The car went off the road and rolled, blowing out all the glass and ending the team's rally weekend.

  2. It looks like the Frank Sprongl/Dan Sprongl Audi Quattro S-2 will be in the fray tomorrow after spending the day waiting for a turbocharger. The same cannot be said for another veteran Audi competitor - Bruno Kreibich - who will miss STPR because parts for his car did not arrive on time.

  3. It also looks like the Vinnie Frontinan/Frank Cunningham VW Corrado will also make the field. Vinnie was the 81st car registered in an 80- car field, but will take the empty slot created by the Mustang roll. Other late entries include the John Shirley/Phil Barnes Triumph TR-7 V-8; and the Scott Williams/Michael Niven VW GTI.

  4. Here's the final breakdown - an amazing gathering of cars for a U.S. rally event:
    80 cars; 19 Open-class entries; 15 Group 5 cars; 8 PGT cars; 14 Group 2 16 entries in the divisional runoffs. This is the first 80-plus field at STPR, and the first one in the U.S. since the 1989 Sunriser event in Ohio.

  5. With all the battle going on (two divisionals, the divisional runoffs, and all the national classes), much of the attention will be focused on the overall battle for first place. Defending national champions Paul Choiniere/Jeff Becker had mechanical problems here last year in their Hyundai Tiburon, and fell further back when they went off the road on stage #7. They made a terrific comeback late in the rally, but could not catch the Carl Merrill/Lance Smith Ford Escort Cosworth. But those perennial favorites have some new competition - current series points leader David Summerbell, from Kingston, Jamaica, in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV. Summerbell, who finished third at Wild West and won Rim of the World to take the series lead, will also have to deal with the Sprongls, who are undefeated in their last four U.S. rally appearances dating back to 1996.

    And several other Open class competitors can't be counted out of the top five from previous experience. The Noel Lawler/Charles Bradley Hyundai Elantra (an ex-Choiniere championship car), the Jon Kemp/Gail McGuire Audi 4000 Quattro (fifth overall here last year), and even Sakis Hajiminas' VW Fox Station Wagon Kit car (more on this later) will turn fast stage times.

Press Notes #4

See Results - Stages 1-4.

Press Notes #5 - Saturday, June 6 - 9:30 PM EDT

  1. 79 cars took the countdown for the 22nd running of the Susquehannock Trail PRO Rally (Scott Naturale/Richard Adelmann RX-7 was a late scratch). To show the size of the crowd that a large field brings, the Wellboro Rotary Club sold out of its supply of 850 half-chickens it barbecued for the crowd.

  2. The Stage #1 Stony Fork water crossing provided the usual thrills, with O-controlmeister Carl Dresie clocking the Sprongl/Sprongl Audi Quattro S-2 at more than 42 mph through the creek. The Villemure's Beetle was second at 41 mph, with both cars getting great applause from the hundreds gathered to watch. The Greg Trepetin/Dick Casey Honda Prelude ingested too much water and lost its engine, causing the rally's first DNF. All the leaders made a fast charge through the water - and no one went off on the traditionally-troublesome last turn before the water.

  3. The Paul Choiniere/Jeff Becker Hyundai Tiburon showed no ill-effects from Choiniere's one-event layoff as the Libra Racing entry smoked the competitive field on both stage #1 and #2, assuring its position as first on the road for the service reseed for the evening stages. Choiniere had a good run going again on stage #3 when he slid wide on a turn at approx. 80 mph. towards some ferns on the side of the road. He would have steered back on the road with no problem, but the ferns concealed a large stump, which broke the right-front wheel in half and sent the Tiburon on its roof. The car then slid on its roof until it hit a burm, at which point it rolled two more times before coming to rest on its wheels facing downhill - a long way off the road. Both drivers were okay - Becker was a little sore when we talked to him - but the car is another matter. As John Buffum was off servicing the Noel Lawler/Charles Bradley Hyundai Elantra, he had not seen the car as of this writing, so there has been no opinion offered as to fixable damage.

  4. So when the cars came into town to service after stage four (with the reseed based on scores after stage #2), although the Frank Sprongl/Dan Sprongl Audi Quattro now lead the rally, the David Summerbell/Michael Fennell Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV will be first on the road for the rest of the event. So far the dust has not been a factor because of the breeze, but yesterday's rain did not leave enough moisture to prevent all dust - so, if the breeze dies down - dust could still be a factor.

  5. After four stages, here are the class leaders: 
         Sprongl/Sprongl   Audi Quattro S-2     Overall
     Nichols/Koch      VW Golf GTI          Group 2
     Gingras/Westrick  Eagle Talon          PGT
     Kosmides/Noyes    Toyota Supra         Group 5
     Mendham/Mendham   Nissan Sentra        Production

Press Notes #6 - Saturday, June 6 - 11:00 PM EDT

  1. In the divisional runoffs, Gingras/Westrick were leading 04 after four stages, with Kosmides/Noyes leading 02 and Malik/Edstrom leading U2. In the Tioga Divisional event, the leaders are the same as above.

  2. Notes from the Green (service after Stage 4):

Press Notes #7 - Sunday, June 7 - 1:00 AM EDT

  1. Top National Standings through Stage 7: 
    DRIVER           CO-DRIVER         Car                   Class   Total

Frank Sprongl    Dan Sprongl       Audi Quattro S-2      Open    72.91*
Carl Merrill     Lance Smith       Ford Escort Cosworth  Open    74.36
Jon Nichols      Mike Koch         VW GTI                Gp2     76.11*
Mike Whitman     Paula Gibeault    Ford Sierra Cosworth  Open    76.61
Jon Kemp         Gail McGuire      Audi 4000 Quattro     Open    77.48
Noel Lawler      Charlie Bradley   Hyundai Elantra       Open    78.00
Cal Landau       Eric Marcus       Mitsubishi Eclipse    PGT     78.46*
Bryan Pepp       Jerry Stang       Eagle Talon           PGT     79.70
Rick Davis       Ben Greisler      BMW 318i              Gp5     79.81*
Mark Utecht      Paul Schwerin     Dodge Omni            Gp5     80.10
Sylvester Stepniewski Adam Pelc    Audi 4000S Quattro    Open    80.81
Ralph Kosmides   Joe Noyes         Toyota Supra          Gp5     81.32
Chris Czyczio    Eric Carlson      Mitsubishi Eclipse    PGT     81.33
Vinnie Frontinan Frank Cunningham  VW Corrado            Gp5     81.34
Bill Driegert    Hishin Shim       Mitsubishi Galant VR4 PGT     81.50
Greg Healey      John MacLeod      Dodge Ram 50 Pickup   Prod.   84.64*

*class leader

  2. We have again fallen behind with stories, but the rally marches on. Quick highlights:

Press Notes #8 - Sunday, June 7 - 4:00 AM EDT

  1. The 22nd running of the Susquehannock Trail PRO Rally is history, and the Canadian National Champions Frank Sprongl and Dan Sprongl have won their fourth straight U.S. rally dating back to February, 1997, in their Audi Quattro S-2. The Sprongls took over the lead for good on stage #3 after the Paul Choiniere/Jeff Becker Hyundai Tiburon crashed while enjoying a slight lead. They expanded their lead when the David Summerbell/Michael Fennell Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV ran out of gas, and clinched the victory when Carl Merrill/Lance Smith had a flat tire late in the event.

    Merrill finished second in the Ford Escort Cosworth, while the Noel Lawler/Charles Bradley Hyundai Elantra was fourth, beating out the Jon Nichols/Mike Koch Group 2 VW GTI by just 15 seconds. Nichols went off the road late in the event, bending a wheel, when slowed him down after running in the top three most of the night.

    The Mike Whitman/Paula Gibeault Ford Sierra Cosworth was fifth overall, easily their best finish ever in that car, while Jon Kemp and Gail McGuire were sixth in the Audi Quattro 4000. Summerbell ended up 7th overall.

    Other class winners included Cal Landau/Eric Marcus Mitsubishi Eclipse (Production GT); Rick Davis/Ben Greisler BMW 318i (Group 5); and Jay Kowalik/Scott Embree Honda Civic CVT (Production).

    In the divisional runoffs, Mark Utech/Paul Schwerin Dodge Omni GLH Turbo had the best overall time and won 02, while Bill Malik/Christian Edstrom Volvo 240 took U2 and Chris Czyczio/Eric Carlson Mitsubishi Eclipse took 04 honors. In all, 51 of the 79 starters finished - both STPR records as well as 60 percent finishing ratio.

Press Notes #9 - Sunday, June 7 - noon

  1. In the overall national points, Carl Merrill, with his best effort of the season, now leads the series with 49 points, with David Summerbell having 42 points and Paul Choiniere 36. With only four events left, the best six finishes counting for the championship, any of the leaders who DNF from here on in will put themselves in difficulty.

  2. The Bryan Pepp/Jerry Stang Eagle Talon had a good run to finish second in class after running into a myriad of early problems, including cracked brake rotor in the water crossing and a busted cooler line after hitting a burm. They finished only 30 seconds behind the Landau Marcus Eclipse.

  3. One of the pre-rally favorites for a Group 2 win and a top ten finish was the Chris Havas/Eric Tremblay VW GTI. They lost third gear early in the event, and while going back and forth between second and fourth gear, the clutch began to slip badly. The bell housing broke, and oil went all over the clutch. Havas tried to replace the transmission at the dinner service, but was unable to complete the work, and was a DNF. The pair got the stock transmission in after the fact, and ran a couple of stages from Germania, but dropped out again after stage 10.

  4. Another cracked rotor victim was the Jim Anderson/Martin Dapot Honda Prelude VTEC, and along with his new power deficit in Group 5 (the car used to be eligible for Production class - in fact, Jim is the 1996 Production class champion), he was having a hard time keeping up with class leaders Ralph Kosmides and Rick Davis. Kosmides was having his own problems in the Toyota Supra, having to change a master cylinder at the dinner break and later DNFing after stage #7 due to electrical problems.

  5. The Vinnie Frontinan/Frank Cunningham VW Corrado had its first national PRO Rally finish, but Vinnie finished sixth instead of third in Group 5 because the organizer caught him going 41 mph in a 30 mph transit zone.

  6. The Kurt Thiel/George Thompson VW GTI lost its transmission as they chipped second gear early in the day, and dropped out after stage #5.

  7. The Honda Civic CVT of Jay Kowalik/Scott Embree, winners in the Production class, said that he lifts off the throttle, there is no engine breaking, so he is using up his brakes to keep the car on the road. He had to back off often during the event in order to keep from overheating the brakes.

  8. The winning Landau/Marcus Production GT Eclipse has a myriad of problems, not the least of which was several missing route book pages which were graciously replaced by a stage captain. The team replaced an alternator, and then finished the rally on three cylinders and a burnt piston.

Press Notes #10 - Sunday, June 7 - 2:00 PM

  1. The Garen Shrader/Doc Shrader Ford Sierra Cosworth finished its first rally this weekend, with both driver seat time and fuel management issues working themselves out in fine form for a top 20 finish.

  2. The Steve Gingras/Bill Westrick Eagle Talon, which might have finished in the top three overall at their first five stage pace, but a broken main buss fuse failure - possibly caused by an overheating O2 sensor - brought their day to a close in PGT.

  3. The Mike Hurst/Rob Bohn Porsche 911 was going slower than Hurst would have liked due to his stomach flu, which caused him to forgo all his regular meals for the last 48 hours. Hurst wanted to stay in the middle of the road as to not wreck the car as the Porsche is for sale.

  4. The Bruce Newey/David Payne Toyota Celica, which was in the top five last year, did not have as good luck this year as he rolled his car after the dinner break. Although driveable - and Newey finished fifth in Group 5 - the car did not run right the rest of the event. During the course of the event, they lost their turbo and lost their clutch enroute to their fifth place finish in Group 5.

  5. The Lesley Suddard/Marc Goldfarb Dodge Shelby Charger is down about 100 hp from its original race configuration, but Lesley has to change the fuel feed and cooling system before she put on a new head so she doesn't blow the motor again. The original damage was done last year at the Rim of the World and Wild West events.

  6. The Jon Kemp/Gail McGuire Audi 4000 Quattro finished in the top six for the second year in a row in a field that featured even more competitive Open class cars. Kemp turned fast stages throughout the event, and challenged for a top-three spot right to the end.

  7. Although they won the event by more than three minutes, the Sprongl/Sprongl Audi Quattro S-2 lost about 45 seconds to Carl Merrill on stage #7 when they spun in a turn and hit a rock out of the spin. There was only cosmetic damage to the car, however, and the brothers continued at speed.

  8. Although the rally never went to two minute windows, dust was certainly a factor later in the evening as several cars, including the Jon Nichols GTI, went off the road when they couldn't see. On stage #10, Nichols bent the rear axle, which probably cost him a third-place finish.

  9. The Greg Healey/John MacLeod Dodge Ram 50 pick-up, leading the Production class after 10 stages, simply wore out its tire over the last stages, and left its lead slip away to the Kowalik Honda.

Press Notes #11 - Wednesday, June 10, noon

  1. The reason divisional results and divisional runoff results have not been posted is that some miscommunication between registration and scoring, along with some lazy competitors who did not appear to scrutinize the posted provisional results, had led to incorrect final results. Organizer John McArthur is working to correct those inaccuracies, and we will post accurate results as soon as possible. When we post the results, we will also post additional details on the event. Please be patient - we don't want to post wrong results.

  2. Some corrections already known include:

  3. For the Maine Forest Rally in late July, organizer John Buffum and event coordinator Cat McKeen report that as many as half of the overall winners of PRO Rallies from the last 25 years will appear at the rally as part of a 25th anniversary celebration. We will provide details on line as we get them.