Contact: John Morris 416-963-3222 Jud Buchanan 905-873-7163		Date: November 17, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bancroft, ON - The final event of the 2004 Canadian Rally Championship presented by Subaru is the 34th edition of the Rally of the Tall Pines. Unpredictable November weather in Central Ontario and this event’s well-deserved reputation as one of North America’s best rallies has brought the strongest field of the year to Bancroft, Ontario.

Five top contenders will be battling for the win: Pat Richard, Whistler, BC and his sister Nathalie, Halifax, NS in a factory-sponsored Subaru WRX STi are going for six out of six. A perfect season has never been accomplished in Canada. With the Championship already in Richard’s pocket, you can bet he will be totally stoked.

Tom McGeer is the defending CRC champion, six-time Canadian Champion and three-time winner of The Pines. This is Tom’s home event and with his new factory Subaru WRX STi primed, he’ll be going flat out.

Frank Sprongl, also a six-time Canadian Champion has eight Tall Pines wins including 2003. He is back in his Mitsubishi Evo VI seeking to redeem his season.

Antoine L'Estage is back but this time with a John Buffum prepared Hyundai Tiburon. After a season best 2nd overall at last month’s Pacific Forest Rally in Merrit, BC, he is gunning for the top spot.

Andrew Comrie-Picard, in his Mitsubishi Evo IV, returns to action after missing the last two events. ACP is looking for his first career CRC win.

Group 2 is still very much up for grabs. It comes down to The Pines and a pair of VW rivals. Jon Nichols of Quebec has a slim 3-point lead over Gord Olsen of Alberta. The P-2 class will also be settled at The Pines. William Bacon and Thierry Menegoz, both in factory backed Suzuki Swift+'s are the contenders.

The Rally of the Tall Pines marks the conclusion of the marketing and broadcast agreement between Rally Development Group (RDG) and CARS (Canadian Association of Rallysport) for the Canadian Rally Championship. As RDG found the agreement changes required by CARS unacceptable, their five-year agreement, scheduled to expire at the end of 2008, was terminated by CARS.

The Canadian Rally Championship is broadcast nationwide in prime time on Rogers Sportsnet and RDS and is the only Canadian motorsport series receiving exposure of this prominence. The complete TV schedule is available at www.CRC-Rally.com.

The Canadian Rally Championship is presented by Subaru and sanctioned by the Canadian Association of Rallysport.