|
Round #6 - 1993 Subaru PRO Rally Championship October 2-3, 1993
Press Notes by Andy Schupack |
MEDIA ALERT
Event: Gold Rush PRO Rally - Round #6 of the 1993 Subaru PRO Rally Championship.
Race cars from around the world will compete at high speeds through the mountain
roads in and around Westcliffe, Colorado
When: Saturday - Sunday, October 2 - 3, 1993
Schedule - Saturday
9:00 AM - Noon - Registration - Custer County High School
Tech inspection - High School Bus Barn
2:00 PM - ParcExpose - a display of cars - Downtown Westcliffe
3:01 PM - First car starts - Daylight section of the Gold Rush
PRO rally
6:30 PM - First car finishes Daylight section
7:31 PM - First car starts Evening Section of the Gold Rush PRO
Rally
Schedule - Sunday
2:00 AM - Finish - Gold Rush PRO Rally - Custer County High School
Where: Rally headquarters will be at the Custer County High School,
Rts. 69 and 96, Westcliffe, Colorado. Press room located on the
stage in the high school auditorium.
Duration: 80 stage miles, 250 total miles, 11 stages
Rank: Coefficient 3 Divisional PRO Rally in which drivers and co-drivers
with national competition licenses can score points towards the
national championship. National points will be awarded with a
multiplier of .6 (first place finishers, normally awarded 20 points,
will receive 12 points). Those competing only in the Divisional
competition will be skipped over in the overall computation of
national points. Presented by the Continental Divide Region of the
Sports Car Club of America. The National PRO Rally Series is
sponsored by Subaru of America and sactioned by the Sports Car Club
of America.
Interviews: Drivers will be available by contacting the press room at the
Custer County High School starting Saturday morning, October 2.
All drivers will be at the Parc Expose session listed above.
Several spokes-people, including rally organizer Rod Bagby of
Lakewood, Colo., SCCA series manager Rusty Campbell, and
defending divisional champion driver B.J. Beal from Denver, are
available in person or by phone earlier in the week.
Expected Top National Entries: Chad DiMarco - '91 National champion,
in his Subaru Legacy - favorite to win overall and clinch his fourth
straight Group A title; Carl Merrill - crashed his new 400 HP
Ford Escort Cosworth at Pikes Peak July 4 - in a new Escort; Jeff
Zwart - 1990 Open class champion - in his All-wheel drive Porsche
Carrera 4 - recently finished 19th at New Zealand world rally; Henry
Joy - four strong finishes in his first year of Open class
competition, including third at Prescott - in a Mitsubishi Eclipse;
Tony Takaori - Japanese rally driver - was fourth overall and first
in Group A at Prescott and third overall at Ojibwe - in a right-hand
drive Mitsubishi Galant; Todd Bawden - rookie rallyist from Southern
California - challenging for the class title in Production GT in his
Mitsubishi Eclipse; Antonio Menendez - Mexican rallyist currently in
second place in Production GT - in a Mitsubishi Eclipse; Chad
Dykes - newcomer in truck class - won in Prescott - leading truck
class competitor for Westcliffe.
Visuals: There will be escorts to take photographers and
video crews onto the course during the daylight part
of the rally on Saturday. Anyone requiring supplied photos or
video should contact Jeanne Long in the press room starting
October 2 in the morning. Rally cars going through mud, over yumps
and rough terrain, and sliding at high speed through tight turns
provide exciting visuals.
Media Info: We will provide phone-ins on event information,
driver interviews, and results. We will fax
stories and agate Saturday and Sunday. We have B-roll
available for TV.
Contact: Andy Schupack - Subaru PRO Rally Championship media liaison:
(401) 739-5677
Jeanne Long - Sports Car Club of America
(303) 779-6622 (before October 1)
(719) 783-2368 (October 2 - 3 in the press room)
Note: The Paul Choiniere/Jeff Becker Audi Quattro will not be making the
trip, saving their budget and energy for the rough POR course coming up the
end of October. Also missing will be the top two truck entries, Light/White
GMC Sonoma and the Gooch/Gooch Mitsubishi Pick-up. The other two major
competitors not to make the trip to Colorado include the '93 Production class
champions Peter Cunningham/Joe Andreini in their Acura Inegra, and Production
GT class leaders Frontinan and Arruda in their Toyota Celica All-Trac.
Note: We will begin CompuServe reports on the Gold Rush PRO Rally on
Friday, October 1. The rally starts on Saturday afternoon, and ends
early Sunday morning. The press room phone number is (719) 783-2368
as of Friday morning. --Andy
PREVIOUS GOLD RUSH WINNERS
Year Driver/Co-driver Car
1980 Tom Hanlon/Shelly Lu Cummings Datsun 510
1983 Hazzie Quick/Tim James VW Bug
1984 Frank Jacobs/Michael Jacobs BMW 2002
1985 Ramon Ferreyeros/Ken Eklund Toyota Starlet
1986 Dean Blagowsky/Sherri Morgan Dodge Omni GLHS
1987 Dean Blagowsky/Sherri Blagowsky Dodge Omni GLHS
1988 Dave Thomas/David Law Mazda RX-7
1989 Dave Thomas/David Law Mazda RX-7
1990 Overall Paul Choiniere/John Buffum Audi Quattro
Div. Clay Thomas/Dan Gensheimer Dodge Shelby
1991 Overall Bruno Kreibich/Jeff Becker Audi Quattro
Div. Lon Peterson/Jim Love Plymouth Arrow
1992 Overall Paul Choiniere/Jeff Becker Audi Quattro
Div. Larry Schmidt/Mary Engstrom Dodge Colt
GOLD RUSH PRO RALLY COMMITTEE
Co-chairmen Rod Bagby
Randy Engstrom
Rally Master Bob Gilliard
Steward Rusty Campbell
Registrar Jeanne Long
Scoring Randy Anderson
Chief of Controls Ed Kajko
Worker Coordinators Mary Engstrom
Alex Timmermans
Kathy Lantz
Scrutineering Howard Duncan
Radio Control John McDermott
Lead Cars Jim Gill
Bob Gilliard
Norm Babcock
Trent Gilliard
Sweep Cars Darrell Burtis
Clay Thomas
Spectator Safety Sheila Kok-Leone
Hospitality Jody Bailey
Service Coordinator Howard Duncan
Public Relations Sheila Kok-Leone
Press Notes #1
Gold Rush PRO Rally, Westcliffe, Colorado
Round #6 - 1993 Subaru PRO Rally Championship
October 1, 1993 - 2:30 AM MST
1. Welcome to the tenth annual Gold Rush PRO Rally, round #6
of the 1993 Subaru PRO Rally Championship. The rally,
which is a coefficient 3 Divisional PRO Rally in which
national drivers will be awards 60 percent of normal
national points, is presented by the Continental Divide
Region of the Sports Car Club of America, and sanctioned
by the Sports Car Club of America's national headquarters
office in Englewood, Colorado. The series is sponsored
nationally by Subaru of America, Inc.
2. The weather promises to be clear for the Saturday event,
but temperatures could creep down into the 30's before
the scheduled end of the event early Sunday morning. It
hasn't rained much in the Westcliffe area recently, so
the course could be dusty, leading to two or even three
minute intervals between cars before the event finishes.
3. The main reason for the Gold Rush PRO Rally applying for
a divisional event with 60 percent national points for
1993 rather than the full national status it enjoyed for
1992 is simple. With the extra miles required to make
the event a full national race, it proved to be a burden
for the organizer to get enough workers to make the event
run efficiently, so both the organizing committee and the
sanctioning body agreed that the present format is best.
This year's event consists of 80 stage miles, 250 total
miles, and 11 stages, while last year's event was
scheduled for 110 stages miles and 15 stage. However,
several stages had to be cancelled last year due to lack
of workers.
4. As this is not a full national event, there will be no
starting points awarded. The breakdown of points for
overall and class looks like this: 1st - 12 points;
2nd - 9 points; 3rd - 7.2 points; 4th - 6 points;
5th - 4.8 points; 6th - 3.6 points; 7th - 2.4 points;
8th - 1.8 points; 9th - 1.2 points; and 10th - 15th will
earn you 0.6 of a point. Sixth-tenths of a point? Who
cares? Well, ask Dick Corley, last year's POR winner,
who lost second place overall to Tim O'Neil by only four-
tenths of a point! By the way, the overall national
standings as well as class standings will be determined
independently from times and finishes by the divisional
competitors.
5. For those of you reading these notes on CompuServe, there
are some late deletions from the entry list we posted
earlier in the week. Vermont Sports Car owner Lance
Smith reports that his Mitsubishi Eclipse Production GT
driver Antonio Menendez, who is currently second in class
in series points, has a conflicting business trip to
Europe and cannot make the rally. This gives Production
GT leaders Vinnie Frontinan and Frank Arruda, who decided
not to make the trip in their Toyota Celica GT4, a little
breathing room, but Todd Bowden, who has won the class at
two rallies and finished in the top five overall twice,
will be at Westcliffe to keep the Production GT pressure
on.
Other late scratches include:
--Goran Osterland in his Saab 99
--Windy Imperial in his Eagle Talon - was supposed to be
the debut of that car.
6. Other top runners who are missing he Westcliffe event due
to either budget considerations or points situations (see
below) are the Paul Choiniere/Jeff Becker Audi S-2
(winners here a year ago), the Peter Cunningham/Joe
Andreini Acura Integra, which has already clinched the
Production Class crown for '93, and truck competitors
Guy Light/Dave White GMC Sonoma pickup and Gary
Gooch/Judi Gooch Mitsubishi Pickup.
7. For the overall year-end point standings, the team's five
best finishes count. The situation by class going into
the Gold Rush event breaks down as follows:
--Overall - With Choiniere not here and Chad
DiMarco/Erick Hauge's Subaru Legacy
potentially picking up 12 points, DiMarco
could be back in the hunt if Choiniere has
trouble at the last two events. On the other
hand, if DiMarco does not finish this event,
he would have to win the last two events and
Choiniere would have to DNF for the Subaru to
overtake the Audi. Right now, Choiniere has
88 points and DiMarco 56.
--Open - In the open class, Choiniere has those same 88
points, but the Henry Joy/Jimmy Brandt
Mitsubishi Eclipse, improving with every event,
has 63 points with a chance to gain ground. If
Joy can win the Open class at Westcliffe, he
will score a net of 6 points as he will gain 12
points but drop his worst finish of the year,
where he earned 6 points.
--Group A - Chad DiMarco and Erick Hauge - as the only
Group A entry - can clinch their fourth
straight class title by just finishing the
Westcliffe rally, although that is a task
they have not accomplished in the last two
years. Tony Takoari, whose Mitsubishi Galant
has finished first and second in Group A in
the last two events, will not be at
Westcliffe.
--Production GT - As we mentioned, Vinny Frontinan/Frank
Arruda are leading Production GT with
87 - 56 margin over the Mitsubishi
Eclipse of Antonio Menendez and Juan
Goya, but neither team will be at Gold
Rush. That leaves Todd Bawden and his
Mitsubishi Eclipse as the sole GT
entry. If Bawden can finish, he will
not only surpass Menendez, but he will
put pressure on Frontinan/Arruda for
the last two events.
--Production - Although Peter Cunningham and Joe Andreini
have clinched the season championship,
second place driver Tony Shumaker in his
Mitsubishi Eclipse will be competing for
points and a chance to clinch the second
spot in the class for the season.
Although he would normally qualify for the
$2,000 first place money given out by
Mitsubishi for class winners, this is not
a full national rally, so there is no
national contingency money.
--Rally Truck -- This is probably the closest race of the
whole series, but not much will be
settled this weekend as the top two
competitors - Guy Light with 83 points
and Gary Gooch with 75 points - are not
here. Either is Roger Hull, who has 47
points, and is in third place. But
fourth place competitor Chad Dykes, a
rookie and probably the fastest truck
driver on the circuit right now, had 45
points and will be trying to get the 12
points available to climb closer to the
leaders in his Mitsubishi Pickup.
Round #6 - Subaru PRO Rally Championship
Gold Rush Entry List - National Classes (as of 10/1/93)
Car Driver/ Co-Driver/ Make/Model/Class
# Hometown Hometown
--- ------------------ ----------------- -------------------
4 Chad DiMarco Erick Hauge Subaru Legacy/Group A/Nat
Huntington Beach, CA Napa, CA
6 Carl Merrill J. Jon Wickens Ford Escort Cosworth/Open/Nat
Ogunquit, ME Birmingham, MI
11 Jeff Zwart Tony Sircombe Porsche Carrera 4/Open/Nat
Woody Creek, CO Corona del Mar, CA
12 Henry Joy Jimmy Brandt Mitsubishi Eclipse/Open/Nat
Wilmette, IL Lake Odessa, MI
14 B.J. Beal Stuart Beal Mazda 323GTX/Open/Nat
Denver, CO Tulsa, OK
15 Todd Bawden Cal Coatsworth Mitsubishi Eclipse/GT/Nat
Anaheim, CA Newport Beach, CA
17 Chad Dykes Pat Hanson Mitsubishi Pickup/Truck/Nat
Escondido, CA Escondido, CA
16 Rob Cherry Mike Taylor Jeep Commanche/Truck/Nat
Prescott, AZ Prescott Valley, AZ
77 Ivan Orisek Olga Orisek Mitsubishi Eclipse/GT/Nat/Div
White Plains, NY White Plains, NY
88 Sakis Hajiminas Tom Burgess Mitsubishi Galant/Open/Nat
Floral Park, NY Vancouver, BC
19 Sam Bryan Mark Simons Saab 900/Open/Nat
Kent, WA Seattle, WA
36 Mike Whitman Kevin Linville Datsun 510/Open/Nat
Farmington, NM Durango, CO
93 Tony Shumaker Bill Gutzmann Mitsubishi Eclipse 2WD/Prod/Nat
Mission Viejo, CA Ontario, CA
18 Peter Lahm Keith Roper Datsun 510/Open/Nat
Phoenix, AZ Peoria, IL
Gold Rush Divisional PRO Rally - Entry List
(As of 10/1/93)
Car Driver/ Co-Driver/ Make/Model
# Hometown Hometown
--- --------------- ----------- ----------------
44 David Thomas Jim Hurley Mazda RX-7
St. Charles, MO Knoxville, TN
20 Larry Schmidt Mary Engstrom Mazda 323GTX
Westminster, CO Broomfield, CO
47 Robert Burtis James Burtis Volkswagen Rabbit
Indian Hills, CO Morrison, CO
48 John Golden Bella Lamber Datsun 510
Lakewood, CO Denver, CO
45 Doc Shrader Don Gage Eagle SX4
West Memphis, AK West Memphis, AK
49 James Cook Doug Octoupal Mazda RX-7
Alpine, TX Ft. Davis, TX
50 Garen Shrader Steven Scott Dodge Daytona
Memphis, TN West Memphis, TN
46 David Whelan Nicholas Leone Eagle SX4
Erie, CO Westminster, CO
51 James Kilpatrick Ruth Katzin Dodge Colt
Durango, CO Durango, CO
52 Todd Jarvey Richard Faber Dodge Charger
Maple Grove, MN Blaine, MN
53 Paul Caouette Max Tyler Dodge Omni GLH
Denver, CO
25 Arthur Odero-Jowi Peter Njenga Toyota Corolla
Arlington, TX Houston, TX
Press Notes #2
Gold Rush PRO Rally, Westcliffe, Colorado
Round #6 - 1993 Subaru PRO Rally Championship
October 2, 1993 - 5:30 PM MST
8. Some housekeeping is in order from the Ojibwe PRO Rally
last month in Minnesota, where we had reported that the
Henry Joy/Jimmy Brandt Mitsubishi Eclipse has gone off
course and temporarily gotten lost on a stage. "I never
get lost," said Brandt, who said they were off-course due
only to the broken turbo hose, not because of any human
error. Joy/Brandt finished second in the Open class
behind Choiniere, but ninth overall because of the
problem.
9. The Norseman Inn crew and driver Carl Merrill went back
to Pike's Peak yesterday to view the spot where Merrill
plunged 285 feet off the mountain on July 4, totalling
his first Ford Escort Cosworth. They picked up a few
souvenirs - fenders and bumpers - but, although the hood
was still intact, it was too heavy to cart up the hill.
Merrill's new Escort, which debuted at Ojibwe, did not
finish due to a split center differential.
10. The new Mazda 323GTX that Larry Schmidt/Mary Engstrom are
piloting at Gold Rush is an ex-B.J Beal machine, but
Schmidt reports that the car had rolled before he bought
it, so lots of work has been done to this car since Beal
had it last. It debuted in July at the Silvercliffe
divisional PRO rally, and finished second.
Schmidt/Engstrom drove an old Dodge Colt to the
divisional win last year at Gold Rush, and their time
were good enough to finish fourth overall had they been
running in the national event.
11. There's always one team which seems to have a tougher
time preparing for the rally than actually running the
rally itself. That award for Gold Rush could be shared
by two teams. The Jeff Zwart/Tony Sircombe Porsche
Carrera 4 looked like it was totalled at Ojibwe after
Zwart careened off the stage at a high rate of speed and
ended upside down in a ditch. By the magicians at Millen
Motorsports in Huntington Beach, California, have
reconstructed the car ("the damage wasn't as bad as it
looked," according to Sircombe) and they are ready to
race.
Doc Schrader hopes his Eagle SX4, entered in the
divisional event, is ready as well after a DNF forced him
to replace a torque converter after Ojibwe, but the
transmission was damaged again today as the crew severed
a fluid line unloading the racer from the trailer. Then,
a "C" clip holding the axle to the differential broke
during unloading, but Schrader seems ready to run.
Press Notes #3
Gold Rush PRO Rally, Westcliffe, Colorado
Round #6 - 1993 Subaru PRO Rally Championship
October 2, 1993 - 6:15 PM MST
12. Under clear skies and temperatures in the 60's, 27 rally
cars took the starting command from downtown Westcliffe
for the start of the tenth annual Gold Rush PRO Rally.
14 cars started the national event, while there were 13
divisional starters. The cars will run four stages, and
return to downtown Westcliffe at dusk, service their
vehicles, and head back out for the night stages.
13. The route books were marked with special asterisks *
at caution corners where drivers have gone off the road
in the past, ending their Gold Rush activity for that
particular year. One specific corner, nicknamed
"Vermont Vortex," for the Vermont drivers who have
crashed there previously, needed so many asterisks the
organizer did not have room for them all on the page.
14. First reports from the field are that the Sakis
Hajiminias/Tom Burgess Mitsubishi Galant is running
slowly, and may be in jeopardy of dropping out of the
event. They hope to make it to service at the end of
stage four to see if they can diagnose the problem.
15. After four stage, we have no incidents to report, and
have stage times for the top seven drivers. All seven
are within 90 seconds of each other, and we have no
DNF's reported after four stages - everyone is still
running.
Stage numbers
Driver/Co-driver-Car-Class #1 #2 #3 #4 Total
Merrill/Wickens - Escort-OP 6:27 2:44 2:33 3:32 15:16
DiMarco/Hauge - Subaru-GpA 6:38 2:41 2:40 3:40 15:39
Beal/Beal - Mazda 323GTX-OP 6:46 2:35 2:43 3:44 15:48
Zwart/Sircombe - Porsche-OP 6:47 2:34 2:45 3:45 15:51
Joy/Brandt - Mitsubishi-OP 6:52 2:37 2:46 3:53 16:08
Bawden/Coatsworth - Mits.-GT 6:59 2:40 2:46 3:58 16:23
Schmidt/Engstrom - Mazda-Div. 7:13 2:40 2:58 3:58 16:45
All the class leaders are shown above except the Chad Dykes/Pat Hanson
Mitsubishi Pickup, which is the only entry in the Rally Truck class,
and will pick up the 12 points for first if it finishes.
B.J. Beal/Stuart Beal, who are the local favorites and looking to top
their fifth place overall finish last year at Gold Rush, spun hard and
went off the course on stage #1, but were able to recover without
damaging their vehicle or losing much time.
Press Notes #4
Gold Rush PRO Rally, Westcliffe, Colorado
Round #6 - 1993 Subaru PRO Rally Championship
October 2, 1993 - 9:00 PM MST
16. Other items from the service before the start of
stage #5:
--The Hajiminas/Burgess Mitsubishi Galant broke two
alternator belts causing the problems that team is
having. they have also incurred 18 minutes in penalty
points related to their mechanical woes, according to
co-driver Burgess.
--The other half of the EuroAmerican Rally team - the
Mitsubishi Eclipse of Ivan and Olga Orisek - has been
slowed by an engine misfire, perhaps related to a
similar problem they encountered at the last rally in
Minnesota.
--There were cattle on and around stage #3, leading to a
conversation on the radio that sounded something like
this: "We understand someone grazed a cow on stage
#3." "No, there are some cows grazing on staged #3."
--The Dave Thomas/Jim Hurley Mazda RX-7 seemed to be
running a little rich, and the crew discovered that
two primary jets in the carburetor - supposed to be
the same size - were not. The RX-7 had a 58mm and
68mm jet, and they have now re-jetted to twin 56mm
jets to help lean the car out a bit. Thomas thinks
the car ran "several" rallies in its former condition.
--Both Schraders are having problems, with the Doc
Schrader/Don Gage Eagle SX4 having a loose skid plate,
and the Garen Schrader/Steve Scott Dodge Daytona
having lost their turbo due to a blown gasket. They
have been placed last in the stage #5 restart.
--The James Cook/Doug Octoupal Mazda RX-7 has been
slowed by a broken wheel bearing, which was replaced
at service.
--Scott Gaylord, a last-minute entry, is a Winston Cup
driver as well as an SCCA club racer who has taken his
Showroom Stock C Honda Civic Si, put a skid plate on
it (not even added driving lights), and has come out
to try PRO Rally. He did so well on the initial four
stages that he was moved up to 11th on the restart.
It's also the first rally for co-driver Gary Cook.
All 27 original rally starters started stage #5. Series manager
Rusty Campbell and Rallymaster Randy Engstrom have gone to two
minute intervals because of the dust.
Press Notes #5
Gold Rush PRO Rally, Westcliffe, Colorado
Round #6 - 1993 Subaru PRO Rally Championship
October 3, 1993 - 1:00 AM MST
17. The Hajiminas/Burgess Mitsubishi Galant and the
Orisek/Orisek Mitsubishi Eclipse are both out of the
event - victims of the mechanical problems mentioned
earlier.
18. Tony Shumaker/Bill Gutzmann rolled their Mitsubishi
Eclipse 2WD - the only Production class entry - on stage
#6, but caused only sheetmetal damage and the car is
continuing. Although Shumaker cannot catch the Peter
Cunningham/Joe Andreini Acura Integra for the season
series championship, a class win here can clinch second
place for Tony, and give him his second class win this
season.
19. Shumaker's car preparer, veteran racer Dave Wolin,
reports that is now 27 degrees F in the town of
Westcliffe, and probably colder in the mountains where
the competitors are in the final stages of the rally.
20. The Scott Gaylord/Gary Cook Honda Civic Si is out of the
rally, but not before the veteran club racing and NASCAR
driver showed everyone that an experienced racer can do
well in PRO Rally. It was Cook's first event, and he
shared a co-driving experience that happens to many - he
became too ill to continue. Gaylord's times in his
unmodified, un-rally-prepared car were in the top ten
when he retired after stage #7.
21. We will not have interim stage times or standings before
we get final results, with the first car due in after
the finish of stage #11 at 2:00 AM MST. We understand
the standings are very close to the ones we reported
after stage #4, with Merrill and DiMarco running neck
and neck for the overall lead. Merrill has never won a
PRO rally, finishing second twice (Maine '92 and Wild
West '93), while DiMarco has been shut out of the top
spot since the 1991 POR event. If DiMarco finishes the
event - even if he doesn't win the overall rally - he
will clinch the Group A championship, making his team
the only active PRO rally competitors to win their class
four years in a row.
Press Notes #6
Gold Rush PRO Rally, Westcliffe, Colorado
Round #6 - 1993 Subaru PRO Rally Championship
October 3, 1993 - 3:00 AM MST
22. The tenth running of the Gold Rush PRO Rally is
now history, and the Ford Escort Cosworth of Carl
Merrill and John Wickens has scored its first-ever
SCCA PRO Rally win. Merrill, who had a life-threatening
crash just two months ago about 80 miles from Westcliffe
at Pikes Peak, drove a flawless race enroute to his
victory over second-place Chad DiMarco/Erick Hauge. By
virtue of their second-place finish, however, DiMarco
and Hauge clinched their fourth straight Group A
national championship. The margin of victory was 1:06.
Merrill broke a differential - same problem as at
Ojibwe - during stage #9, and said the car was almost
uncontrollable over the last two stages, but he was
still able to hold his lead to the end, even beating
DiMarco by 20 seconds on the last stage to secure the
win.
23. The divisional PRO Rally was won by Larry Schmidt/Mary
Engstrom for the second year in a row - this time in a
Mazda 323GTX. Schmidt outdistanced Paul Caouette/Max
Tyler's Dodge Omni by more than eight minutes for the
win.
24. Other class winners in the national event included:
--Chad Dykes/Pat Hanson, Mistubishi Pick-up, Rally Truck
--Todd Bawden/Cal Coatsworth, Mitsubishi Eclipse,
Production GT
--Tony Shumaker/Bill Gutzmann, Mitsubishi Eclipse 2WD,
Production
25. The national results look like this (12 finishers):
Driver/Co-driver-Car-Class Total
(min:sec)
Merrill/Wickens - Ford Escort Cosworth - Open* 123:01
DiMarco/Hauge - Subaru Legacy - Group A* 124:07
Zwart/Sircombe - Porsche Carrera 4 - Open 124:43
Beal/Beal - Mazda 323GTX - Open 125.21
Joy/Brandt - Mitsubishi Eclipse - Open 126.29
Bryan/Simons - Saab 900 - Open 126.33
Whitman/Linville - Datsun 510 - Open 130.55
Dykes/Hanson - Mitsubishi Pick-up - Truck* 133.09
Bawden/Coatsworth - Mitsubishi Eclipse - GT* 136.51
Lahm/Roper - Datsun 510 - Open 138.50
Shumaker/Gutzmann - Mitsubishi Eclipse - Prod* 149.55
Cherry/Taylor - Jeep Camanche Pick-up - Truck 156.55
* Class winners
Press Notes #7
Gold Rush PRO Rally, Westcliffe, Colorado
Round #6 - 1993 Subaru PRO Rally Championship
October 3, 1993 - 10:45 AM MST
26. A note on points. As explained in notes #7, the best
five finishes will count towards determining the
point standings at the end of the season. If someone
finishes six or more events, one drops the lowest finish
the points that went with it, and adds the higher finish
to their point total. An exception is the starting
points. This year, each driver and co-driver gets two
points for starting each national event (as Gold Rush
was technically a divisional, competitors didn't get
starting points for this event). When a competitor
does not finish an event, they still receive starting
points, and they do not have to drop them when dropping
a DNF. This is a long-winded way of saying that the
points we released earlier today on CompuServe need
adjusting in a couple of areas. We will post revised
points later today and label them as such.
27. In a post-rally interview, Carl Merrill was very pleased
with the way both he and his car performed en route to
his first PRO Rally win. He said the breaking of a
differential on stage #9 turned his car into rear-wheel-
drive, but he was determined to win the event. He had a
43-second lead on DiMarco going into the last stage, and
the last stage was 14 miles, but instead of just hanging
on, he put another 20 seconds on Chad to sweep to
victory. "I made very few mistakes," said Merrill.
28. Jeff Zwart was also pleased with his third place finish,
although he acknowledged that the lack of a turbocharger
at this altitude really hurt him on the fast stages.
But, after radical adjustments made to the suspension
because of the rough stages encountered at Rim and
Prescott, the Porsche was well-equipped to handle when
the course got rutty. Both Zwart and Merrill said dust
was a major factor, with Merrill have the distinct
advantage of being first on the road after the restart
for stage #5.
29. Divisional winner Larry Schmidt, who was running a much
faster car with his new Mazda 323GTX than the Dodge Colt
he has run in the past, said the sensation for all-
wheel-drive verses rear wheel drive and turbo versus
normally aspirated helped him in most spots, but he
still thinks the Colt might have been faster on the real
rough stages. He also mentioned the dust. Last year,
there was a five minute window between divisional and
national drivers, enabling Schmidt to have his own
version of first on the road. This year, however, only
Merrill was the beneficiary of a clear path.
30. Todd Bawden won the Production GT class in his
Mitsubishi Eclipse, but not before he rolled his car on
the last stage. Fortunately, someone stopped to help
right the vehicle (that driver has not been identified),
and Bawden lost several place in the overall standings,
but picked up the 12 points where it counts - in class.
Perhaps more important, however, will be how much damage
needs repair before the demanding Press on Regardless
rally coming up October 22-24.
31. It might be a day or two before we have the stage time
maitrix available for distribution. We will put it on
CompuServe and distribute it with hard copies of the
press notes as soon as we receive it from the
organizers.
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