Postponed due to unseasonably warm weather, the first event of the 1999 SCCA NY State Rallycross Championship was finally held this past weekend in Middleburgh, NY. Promises of snow went undelivered but freezing temperatures overnight provided hard packed road surfaces with patches of ice. As the morning progressed, light rain caused a slippery layer of mud to form on the permafrost providing some of the most challenging driving conditions ever seen at Apple Hill. Spectators kept warm in the drizzle by maintaining a large bonfire and conversation as rally officials kept time on soggy papers under large umbrellas.

Up to the challenge were 23 competitors, driving into the Catskill Mountains from as far away as Pennsylvania and Boston. All-wheel-drive was the weapon of choice on Sunday with all but three cars registering in 04 categories.

The fastest overall time of the day was posted by Kevin Mullan in his Rally Class Eagle Talon TSI (8:01). While Mullan was only fastest on the final stage, his impressive consistency and few overall mistakes throughout the day added up to the best overall time. Perhaps the most inspired drive of the day was completed by Jorge Pinedo, a newcomer to Apple Hill. By driving the socks off his Stock Class Audi 4000 Quattro, Pinedo embarrassed the entire field, including the potent turbocharged Rally Class machines with an unreal time of 8:07 - only six seconds off FTD! Second place in 04 Stock Class went to Garrett Meegan in his Eclipse Turbo at 1:32 behind (9:39). Meegan snagged the second place slot from Galant VR4 pilot Alex Grabau during the penultimate stage as Grabau lost time mired in the back field and then ventured off course.

The fastest two-wheel-drive entry at Apple Hill was a Suzuki Swift GT driven by Andy Smith. Smith's win on three out of four racing stages placed him a safe 38 seconds ahead of the second fastest U2 driver - Victor Till in the same car.

In the 04 Modified Class Jude DeMeis was fastest overall (9:08) with wins on the first three stages in his Subaru Impreza 2.2l. In the final stage, Constantine Mantopoulos upset DeMeis with a come-from-behind stage win in a borrowed Audi 4000 Quattro. Mantopoulos' final charge wasn't enough to displace Nick Paleologos from the final second place spot (9:21) in the same Audi.

Many of the competitors took home lots of free mud. Hopefully they will bring back some of the dirt when the rally cars return to Apple Hill on March 21st for the second event of the series.

Visit the website for complete results and updates to the series schedule: http://members.aol.com/qtrm/rallycross.htm

Pos.  Gr     Driver                     Car             Tot-Score    OV    Class
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                                      RALLY CLASS

 1.   U2  Konstantine Roum         VW Golf GTI              10:54    18    1

 2.   O4  Kevin Mullan             Eagle Talon TSI           8:01     1    1
 3.   O4  Tom Lawless              Eagle Talon TSI           8:19     3    2
 4.   O4  Naill Donnelly           Eagle Talon TSI           8:47     4    3
 5.   O4  Charles Donnelly         Eagle Talon TSI           9:07     5    4
 6.   O4  Patrick Mulleady         Mazda GTX                 9:14     7    5
 7.   O4  Mike Curran              Eagle Talon TSI           9:36    11    6
 8.   O4  Joe Mc Girl              Eagle Talon TSI           9:42    15    7

                                      MODIFIED CLASS

 9.   U2  Andy Smith               Suzuki Swift              9:39    12    1
10.   U2  Victor Till              Suzuki Swift             10:17    16    2

11.   O4  Jude DeMeis              Subaru Imprezza           9:08     6    1
12.   O4  Nick Paleologos          Audi 4000 Quattro         9:21     8    2
13.   O4  Wojtek Slawik            Eagle Talon TSI           9:25     9    3
14.   O4  Constantine Mantopoulos  Audi 4000 Quattro         9:32    10    4

                                      STOCK CLASS

15.   U2  Patrick Munhall          VW Golf GTI                DNF
16.   U2  Brian Fuller             VW Golf GTI                DNF

17.   O4  Jorge Pinedo             Audi 4000 Quattro         8:07     2    1
18.   O4  Garrett Meegan           Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX    9:39    13    2
19.   O4  Michael Katashev         Audi 4000 Quattro         9:41    14    3
20.   O4  Alex Grabau              Mitsubishi Galant VR4    10:47    17    4
21.   O4  Brendan Lawless          Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX   11:22    19    5
22.   O4  Eduardo Besada           Audi 5000 Quattro        11:39    20    6
23.   O4  Joaquim Mason            Subaru Legacy            12:21    21    7