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Round #11 - 1994 SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally Championship December-2-3, 1994
Press Notes by Andy Schupack |
MEDIA ALERT
Event: 1994 Maine Forest Rally, round #11 and the final event in the 1994
Michelin PRO Rally series. Race cars from all around the U.S. and
Canada will compete at high speeds on the challenging logging roads
of the Boise Cascade Paper Co. and the Seven Islands Land Co. near
Rumford, Maine.
When: Friday - Saturday, December 2 - 3, 1994
Schedule_-_Friday
11:00 AM - 3:00 PM - Registration - Madison Hotel - Rumford
Tech inspection - AutoTech - Rumford
4:00 PM - Start of Maine Forest Rally - Madison Hotel
10:00 PM - First car finishes Friday/Parc Ferme -
Boise Cascade Admin. Bldg. parking lot
Schedule_-_Saturday
7:00 AM - 8:30 AM - Divisional registration - Madison Hotel
Tech inspection - AutoTech
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM - Open service - downtown Rumford - in the
Congress Street area
9:00 AM - Re-start - Maine Forest Rally - downtown Rumford -
Congress Street
3:00 PM - Finish - Maine Forest Rally - Oquossoc
7:00 PM - Posting - Provisional Results - Eagles Hall, Rumford
Where: Rally headquarters will be at the Madison Hotel, Route #2,
Rumford, Maine. Maps guiding spectators to viewing areas will
be available at the Rumford Chamber of Commerce, or at the Madison
starting Thursday, December 1.
Duration: 120 stage miles, 400 total miles, 8 stages
Rank: Full national PRO Rally, with two coefficient 3 divisional PRO
rallies to run with the national rally on Friday and Saturday
respectively. Friday's divisional will be the Seven Islands Rally,
while Saturday's divisional will be the Boise Cascade Rally. The
Maine Forest Rally is presented by the New England Region of the
Sports Car Club of America. The National PRO Rally series is
sponsored by Michelin Tire Corporation, sactioned by the Sports Car
Club of America, and administered by the American Rally Association.
Interviews: Drivers will be available by contacting the press room at the
Linnell Motel/RestInn Conference Center starting Thursday
afternoon, December 2. Any needs before then should be
directed to Andy Schupack at the phone number listed below.
Expected Top Entries: Paul Choiniere, two-time Maine Forest Rally winner,
already clinched '94 championship, in his new Hyundai Elantra; Henry
Joy - several top five finishes - looking for first PRO Rally win
ever - second in Washington State earlier in the year - in an Open
Class Mitsubishi Eclipse; Peter Moodie - Jamaican champion rally
driver - in Rod Millen-built Group A Mazda 323GTX - has inside shot
at clinching Group A title, the only one still up for grabs for '94;
Rick Davis, other driver competing for Group A title with Moodie, in
a BMW M-3; Frank Sprongl, Canadian Rally leader and winner of the
'92 Maine Forest Rally, in an Audi Quattro S-2; Rees Harris, up and
coming Production GT driver from Burlington, VT - second at Maine
Forest Summer Rally - in a Mazda 323GTX; Vinnie Frontinan, Group A
contender, in a Toyota All-Trac; Jason Priestley, star of "Beverly
Hills 90210" TV show, in a Production GT Toyota All-Trac.
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 Andy
Schupack or Laurie Sheppard in the press room starting December 1.
Rally cars going through mud, over yumps, and on ice and snow at
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. Press room will be located at The RestInn
Conference Center (behind the Linnell Motel, Route 2, Rumford).
Contact: Andy Schupack - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally series media liaison:
(401) 739-5677 (before Dec. 1 and after Dec. 4)
(207) 369-0403 (December 1 - 4, direct line)
HOW A PRO RALLY WORKS:
Each team consists of a driver and a co-driver (or navigator), and the exact course is kept
secret until just before the event - different from World Rally, where practice is allowed.
The cars start at one-minute intervals and race against the clock over 8 - 25 stages which
range in length from four to 25 miles. Most of the rallies include night stages, making it
necessary for competitors to adjust their driving style. Speeds of more than 120
miles-per-hour could be reached on long straight-aways, with the team achieving the fastest
combined times winning the event.
MAINE FOREST RALLY '94 - ROUND #11 OF THE SCCA/MICHELIN PRO RALLY SERIES
December 2-3, 1994
Rumford, Maine - Entry List
Final Entry/Start List
Start Car Driver/ Hometowns Vehicle/Class
Pos # Co-Driver Division
1 1 Paul Choiniere Shelburne, VT Hyundai Elantra/Open
Jeff Becker Great Neck, NY National
2 3 Carl Merrill Ogunquit, ME Ford Cosworth
John Bellefleur Toronto, ONT National
3 5 Henry Joy Atlanta, MI Mitsubishi Eclipse/Open
Brian Maxwell Port Hope, ONT National
4 11 Frank Sprongl Ontario Audi Quattro/Open
Dan Sprongl Ontario National
5 14 Bruno Kreibich Ridgewood, NY Audi Quattro/Open
Rod Hendricksen Clinton, NJ National
6 12 Peter Moodie Jamaica Mazda 323/Group A
Mike Fennell Jamaica National
7 98 Vicente Frontinan Cambridge, MA Toyota Celica GT4/Gp A
Francisco Arruda Johnston, RI National
8 99 Frank Cunningham Boston, MA Toyota Celica GT4/Gp A
Ray Cunningham Galway, Ireland National/Divisional
9 15 Rees Harris S. Burlington, VT Mazda 323/Prod. GT
C. Mantopoulas Staten Island, NY National/Divisional
10 16 Cal Landau Coraopolis, PA Mitsubishi Eclipse/GT
Eric Marcus Dayton, OH National
11 17 Sam Bryan Kent, WA Saab 900/Group 2
Rob Walden Seattle, WA National
12 18 Bob Elliott Rutland, VT VW GTI/Prod
John Hart Hydeville, VT National/Divisional
13 20 Jon Kemp Attica, NY Audi 4000Q/Open
Paul Barrows Rochester, NY National
14 21 Rick Davis West Chester, PA BMW M-3/Gp A
Ben Greisler Philadelphia, PA National
15 22 Karl Scheible Spencerport, NY VW GTI/Gp 2
Wayne Scheible Hamlin, NY National/Divisional
16 23 Mike Hurst Pendleton, IN Nissan 200SX/Gp 2
Rob Bohn Noblesville, IN National/Divisional
17 24 Dick Casey Fairfax, VA VW GTI/Gp 2
Martin Dapot Reston, VA National
18 27 Leslie Suddard Wilmington, DE Dodge Charger/Open
Anne Thomas Nashua, NH National/Divisional
19 28 Jim Anderson Carrboro, NC Honda Prelude/Prod
Jim Hurley Knoxville, TN National
20 30 Damon Mayers Taunton, MA Toyota Corolla/Gp 2
Matt Chester Atlanta, GA National
21 31 Jim Briggs Shelburne, VT Mazda 323/GT
Chris Poulin Williston, VT National
21 32 Dean Fry Mohnton, PA Subaru 4WD/Open
Don Kennedy Shillington, PA National/Divisional
23 33 John Pezzi Minoa, NY VW Golf/Gp 2
Gary Jones Balston Spa, NY National/Divisional
24 34 Pat Ayer S. Burlington, VT Audi Quattro/Open
Ray Cadieux St. Lazarus, QUE National
25 35 Greg Trepetin North Potomac, MD Mazda 323/GT
Sonia Trepetin North Potomac, MD National
26 50 Keith Kreisler West Chester, PA Saab 900
Greg Usavage Perkiomenville, PA Divisional
27 51 Gerardo Brinkman Freehold, NJ VW GTI
Robert Burrell Bethlehem, PA Divisional
28 53 Gail McGuire Avon, NY Ford F150 Pick-up
Russ Hughes Avon, NY Divisional
Press Notes #1
Maine Forest Rally Rumford, Maine
Round #11 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally Series
December 2, 1994 - 8:00 AM
1. Welcome to the 4th Annual Maine Forest Rally, the 11th
and final round of the SCCA Michelin Pro Rally Series.
Most of the class titles have already been clinched and
the overall champion has been decided, but many
competitors are here for the challenge of the winter
roads and the camaraderie of the awards banquet on
Saturday night.
2. Friday night temperatures are expected to be in the high
20's in the Oquossoc area, near where the rally will be
held. Tomorrow the mercury will rise above freezing,
changing the conditions considerably. Rallymaster John
Buffum reports that the roads are generally icy and
rutted, but can be slushy where the sun hits them. Tire
choices will be critical.
3. Last year's winners, Paul Choiniere and co-driver Jeff
Becker are back again this year to defend their title.
This time they are debuting their new Open Class Hyundai
Elantra, a 4 cylinder, turbocharged, 2 litre, four wheel
drive entry like that which has been successfully
rallying in Australia.
4. Several of last year's top finishers are not going to be
with us this year. Tony Takaori, who was the runner-up
last year, has returned to Japan, leaving his co-driver,
Ken Cassidy without a ride. Todd Bawden is looking for
sponsorship and has not been running this year. Roger
Hull has also taken the year off; his co-driver, John
Elkin has lent his talents to various drivers and has
organized his own rally in southern California. Greg
Healey and John MacLeod crashed heavily at the Maine
Forest Summer Rally and have not been able to get their
Dodge Ram 50 Pick-up repaired as yet. Sylvaine Vincent
and Pierre Racine from Quebec did not return, nor did
Carl Fisher and Ted Mendham from nearby Greenville, NH.
Press Notes #2-#3
Maine Forest Rally Rumford, Maine
Round #11 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally Series
December 2, 1994 - 8:10 PM
5. Henry Joy, last year's fourth place finisher, is back
this year, again in his Mitsubishi Eclipse. Next year
he expects to debut a Mitsubishi Lancer in the Group A
class. Although Henry has enjoyed several top three
finishes, he still is looking for his first career
victory.
6. The team of Vicente (Vinnie) Frontinen and Francisco
(Frank) Arruda rounded out the top five at the 1993 Maine
Forest Rally. They are back again this year with a new
car. Still competing for Toyota, this year they have a
Group A Celica GT4 All-Trac.
7. Bob Elliott was a late entry this year. Regular co-
driver Mark Williams is out of the country (in Saudi
Arabia) and Elliott didn't think he could get the car
ready in time, so he thought he would be skipping this
one. At the last minute, with the car ready to go,
Elliott brought along his regular mechanic, John Hart of
Hydeville, VT, to be his co-driver.
8. Another top finisher from last year, the team of Ivan and
Olga Orisek of White Plains, NY, are sitting this one out
while they work on building a new Audi 4000. The
Mitsubishi Eclipse that they competed in here last year
was destroyed in a fire at the Susquehannock Trail Pro
Rally in June.
9. With almost all the class championships decided already,
there will be one shootout for a national championship in
Rumford. The Group A title is up for grabs between the
Mazda 323GT-R of Peter Moodie - a Jamaican Rally
champion, and the BMW M-3 of Rick Davis, a professional
photographer from West Chester, Penn. Moodie finished
second to John Buffum by only 40 seconds at the latest
rally in Michigan to put him in a contending position of
the title.
The possible scenarios in the Group A battle are as follows:
If Peter Moodie does not finish the event, Rick Davis wins the
championship. If Rick Davis wins the class and Peter Moodie
finishes second, Moodie wins the title by a point. If Davis
wins and Moodie finishes third or lower, Davis wins. If
Moodie finishes first, Moodie wins. If Davis beats Moodie by
any two positions (2nd and 4th, etc.). Davis wins. If there is
almost any other scenario, Moodie wins. It should be quite a
battle.
10. Going into the Maine Forest Rally, the following drivers and co-
drivers have clinched national championships:
Overall
Paul Choiniere - driver; Jeff Becker - co-driver
Production_GT
Selcuk Karamanoglu - driver; John McArthur - co-driver
Production
Dave Turner - driver; Bill Gutzmann - co-driver
Group_2
Goran Ostlund - driver; Steve Baker - co-driver
Rally_Truck
Jeff Hendricks - driver; Noble Jones - co-driver
11. Twenty-eight cars took the starter's countdown beginning at 4:00PM
today from downtown Rumford. The cars left at 1 minute intervals
beginning with the Hyundai Elantra of Paul Choiniere/Jeff Becker.
Announcer Andy Schupack called each car and driver combination by for
the benefit of the gathered spectators.
Press Notes #4
Maine Forest Rally Rumford, Maine
Round #11 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally Series
December 2, 1994 - 9:06 PM
12. At 6:35 PM, word from the field was that stage #2 was
just beginning, putting the rally more than a half hour
behind schedule already. The Saab 900 of Sam Bryan and
Rob Walden went off on stage #1, but was able to get back
onto the course and has continued. Rees Harris and C.
Montopoulas suffered mechanical problems in their Mazda
323 and barely finished the first stage, but all seemed
well at the start of the second stage.
13. Another battle that is brewing here at the Maine Forest
Rally is race for the North American Rally Cup (NARC).
The NARC series consists of 14 rallies in the U.S. and
Canada, 7 in each country. Maine Forest is the last
rally in this series and Carl Merrill leads the points
coming into this event. Frank Sprongl, however, is a
scant 9 points behind, and certainly has a mathematical
chance at winning. Sprongl clinched the Canadian
Association of Rallysport Drivers Championship last week
with a win at the Michelin Rally of the Tall Pines in
Ontario, Canada.
14. The Maine Forest Rally field has completed three of the
four stages scheduled for Friday night, with all 28 cars
still running - the first time that has happened in the
four years of this rally. The cars will complete the
evening stages by 10:00 PM, and then will be locked in a
Parc Ferme (no service allowed) until 8:00 AM Saturday
morning. The second and final day of the event starts
at 9:00 AM and will finish at 3:00 PM Saturday afternoon.
15. Additional word from the field is that the Mazda 323 of
Rees Harris and C. Mantopoulas did not have mechanical
problems, but rather suffered a roll-over, landing on its
roof. Jim Anderson and Jim Hurley stopped to help, and
after righting the Mazda, both cars continued. The
Harris/Mantopoulas entry seems to be running fine after 3
stages.
Press Notes #5
Maine Forest Rally Rumford, Maine
Round #11 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally Series
December 3, 1994 - 7:08 AM
16. All teams are reporting slippery conditions out on the
course, although not everyone finds that a problem.
Henry Joy, at least, loves driving the stages. The
Jamaican team of Peter Moodie and Mike Fennell, on the
other hand, are feeling the effects of the cold weather.
17. Carl Merrill limped into the service area following the
third stage with a broken half-shaft. The breakage
occurred at the very end of the stage and the service was
a long one, so the crew was able to repair the damage and
Merrill is still in the hunt.
18. All 28 cars finished the first night of the Maine Forest
Rally (the first time that has ever happened), and the
1992 winners Frank Sprongl/Dan Sprongl hold a 40 second
lead in their Audi Quattro S-2 over the Hyundai Elantra
of Paul Choiniere/Jeff Becker. Third is the Carl
Merrill/John Bellefleur Ford Escort Cosworth, followed by
the Bob Elliott/John Hart VW GTI and the Pat Ayer/Ray
Cadieux Audi Quattro.
19. Tires played a large part in Friday night's event, with
the snow being less of a factor and the ice being more of
a factor than people anticipated. The solutions for
everyone were different, however, depending on the
driver's style and the type of car. Those who brought
tall profile, snow tires found themselves with little
snow to bit into, and not enough of a footprint to grip
the road. The Michelin Alpins and Bridgestone Blizzaks
seemed to be the tires of choice among the top runners,
with Michelin's coldest compound rally tire being the
next best alternative. Today's warmer, daylight
conditions might change that situation again, with the
Michelin XGT mud and snow rally tire being a better bet.
Press Notes #6
Maine Forest Rally Rumford, Maine
Round #11 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally Series
December 3, 1994 - 11:40 AM
20. Times through Friday night (stage #4):
Driver/Co-driver Car Class Time (min.1/100th)
Sprongl/Sprongl Audi Quattro S-2 Open 54.49
Choiniere/Becker Hyundai Elantra Open 55.23
Merrill/Bellefleur Ford Cosworth Open 56.37
Elliott/Hart VW GTI Prod. 57.66
Ayer/Cadieux Audi Quattro Open 59.74
Frontinan/Arruda Toyota All-trac Group A 60.21
Kreibich/Hendricksen Audi Quattro Open 60.44
Moodie/Fennell Mazda 323GT-R Group A 60.95
Joy/Maxwell Mitsu. Eclipse Open 61.82
Mayers/Chester Toyota Corolla Group 2 61.92
Scheible/Scheible VW GTI Group 2 62.21
Cunningham/Cunningham Toyota All-Trac Group A 62.32
Briggs/Poulin Mazda 323GTX Prod GT 63.65
Landau/Marcus Mitsu. Eclipse Prod GT 64.54
Hurst/Bohn Nissan 200-SX Group 2 65.70
Pezzi/Jones VW Golf Group 2 67.67
Kemp/Barrows Audi 4000Q Open 67.71
Fry/Kennedy Subaru 4X4 Open 69.66
Davis/Greisler BMW M-3 Group A 70.48
Anderson/Hurley Honda Prelude Prod 73.13
Trepetin/Trepetin Mazda 323GTX Prod GT 73.81
Casey/Dapot VW GTI Group 2 75.22
Suddard/Thomas Dodge Charger Open 76.30
Harris/Mantopoulas Mazda 323GTX Prod GT 147.39
Bryan/Walden Saab 900 Group 2 Time Barred
Press Notes #7-#8
Maine Forest Rally Rumford, Maine
Round #11 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally Series
December 3, 1994 - 12:36 PM
21. At 9:00AM, 27 cars remained in the National Rally; the
Saab 900 of Sam Bryan and Rob Walden are the only car so
far to drop out. Bryan/Walden have entered the
Divisional and so are still in competition. Two new
entries in the Boise Cascade Divisional being run today
are the newly completed Audi 4000 Quattro of Ivan and
Olga Orisek and the Mazda 323 of Tom Brann and Mark
Childs. That makes a total of 30 cars to take the
countdown in downtown Rumford today.
22. Some quotes from last night's finishers:
Carl Merrill - "It's awfully icy out there. I had an
off, you know, but I kept going. I did some rear
suspension damage, broke a half shaft. We got it fixed
and we're in pretty good shape. The car is running
fine. It's so icy out there, that nobody can really make
up the time."
Paul Choiniere - "The car felt very good. I'm really
pleased with the way it [the new Hyundai] handled. There
are places in the road where it's just like a skating
rink out there, there's absolutely no control whatsoever.
We had a couple of off road excursions." (Co-driver Jeff
Becker came in with laryngitis.)
Frank Sprongl - "It's different from last weekend. We
ran Tall Pines [in Ontario]. I had a bit more snow and
so it was a nice little warm-up for this. But today this
is really slippery. I've never seen it this slippery
before and I've run it twice before. I'll be happy at
the end of the last stage." When asked how to handle
long stages such as the 24 mile stages in Saturday's
section of the rally, he answered, "Pace yourself through
the beginning. If you do get a flat at the beginning,
that's it. Game over. You're going to lose the rally,
so pace yourself, and towards the end, 18 mile mark, you
can start pushing a little bit. If you do get a flat,
you've only got five, six miles to go so that's no
problem."
Henry Joy - The first stages were a bit tentative because
of the ice and the snow. You don't get a lot of time to
practice this. So, tentative but back into it on the
third and fourth stages. The snow was a lot more grippy.
I could hear the tires working at it so I could push a
lot harder. When I was passed last year by Tony Takaori
two miles into the second to the last stage, and he had
his Blizzaks on, I learned something there. So we're
running the Bridgestone Blizzaks. I think I'm fifth or
sixth. I think I'm the fastest of the slow guys. I
think our tire choice is just better this year. There's
more loose snow out there this year."
Bruno Kreibich - "Last time I was here we had about two
feet of snow, and this time it was kind of slick. And
all the tires I brought were not meant for that kind of
condition, you know? I had a flat and I drove about 7
miles on the flat. I lost a little bit of time, but
otherwise it's fine."
Bob Elliott - "We're running on the Michelin Alpins,
which is a brand new tire this year. And we're testing
those tires out to see how they do against the
Bridgestone Blizzak. So far, the Michelins have been
incredible wherever there was snow. They have a siping
that opens up like little fingers, and it's just been a
phenomenal tire in the snow. I can feel it, it feels
like it's on gravel or on pavement. The Brigestones,
which I've run a lot before... are doing very well on the
ice and the Michelins are also doing well on the ice, so
it's a close tie in that regard. The car's been going
very well. It's holding up. We spent a lot of time in
the past month working on the car and putting it back
together after POR [the Lake Superior Pro Rally] which
was a very rough rally. This is a very smooth rally.
The ice and snow makes it very, very smooth. John Hart
[his co-driver for this rally and regular mechanic] has
done very well. There was one 90 right where the mileage
was off a little bit that we went off the road and came
back on. But otherwise it's been good."
Press Notes #9
Maine Forest Rally Rumford, Maine
Round #11 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally Series
December 3, 1994 - 4:50 PM
22. (cont.) Frank (and Ray) Cunningham - "The family affair
is going pretty well if we could keep it going straight.
It's [the Toyota] totally different from the Mitsubishi.
It just keeps spinning 'round itself. Other than that
it's actually a nice car to drive. Very nice car to
drive. I've had a lot of fun driving it today. The car
is running perfectly. We had a little clutch problem
early on, but I think we've cured it. Other than that
the car is perfect." Ray, who came from Ireland for this
event, said of the Maine Forest Rally, "It's good. It's
different. Definitely something I haven't done before.
I'm not sure whether I'll be back."
Vinnie Frontinan - "We're doing OK. We just tried to
keep the car on the road. It's very difficult,
especially on the last stage, if you drive 10 miles with
a flat on the rear. I caught Peter Moodie inside stage
and then I had a flat. I was right on his tail... ready
to make my pass. The car was absolutely marvelous.
There was more snow this year on the stages, which we
have different tires, though."
Peter Moodie - "There's nothing to compare it [rallying
in the ice and snow] with. To be honest, most of the
night has been done on ice, rather than snow. I think we
made a mistake as to our choice of tires. We were
obviously hoping for something a little more slushier.
You know, deeper. Something with some depth. It really
has been just essentially sheet ice most of the way.
Very difficult. There's essentially little or no
adhesion. You know, no sideways adhesion. When you
point the car, there's nothing to keep it pointing
towards the apex. It's very different. But you know,
we'll adapt to it."
Press Notes #10
Maine Forest Rally Rumford, Maine
Round #11 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally Series
December 3, 1994 - 4:53 PM
23. From the service stop in Oquossoc after stage 6, we have
reports that the Frank Sprongl/Dan Sprongl Audi Quattro
S-2 continues to lead the Maine Forest Rally with only
two stages remaining. Choiniere/Becker remain in second
place in the maiden voyage of their Hyundai Elantra,
with Carl Merrill/John Bellefleur Ford Escort Cosworth
hanging on to third.
24. Other news after six stages:
--All top three teams have changed to the Michelin C-5
Rally tires as the snow and ice is melting at midday
and the temperature is soaring into the '50s.
--Merrill claims he is running "not so good" after
hitting a snow bank on stage #5. He is still
frustrated that he can't get much of the 400 hp he
possessed to the ground because of the ice.
--Henry Joy, a disappointing tenth after last night's
stages, said his ice racing experience hasn't helped
because, in ice racing, he can use studded tires. He
referred to his team as studs without studs.
--The Karl Scheible/Wayne Scheible VW GTI now leads Group
2 as the Toyota Corolla of Damon Meyer/Matt Chester and
the Nissan 200-SX of Mike Hurst/Rob Bohn have both had
problems. Hurst broke a tail shaft bearing, causing
gear oil to flip into the car via the transmission
tunnel. Damon's welded differential has broken, and he
is limping the finish.
Press Notes #11
Maine Forest Rally Rumford, Maine
Round #11 - SCCA/Michelin PRO Rally Series
December 3, 1994 - 4:55 PM
25. The fourth running of the Maine Forest Rally is now
history, and Frank and Dan Sprongl from Mississauga,
Ontario, Canada won the event in their Audi Quattro S-2.
Frank Sprongl, already the Canadian National Champion,
has won the Maine Forest Rally title for the second time,
and for the second time, did it by winning a battle with
defending and current champion Paul Choiniere.
Choiniere, who was debuting the Libra Racing-prepared
Hyundai Elantra, had made up the 40-second deficit it had
incurred on Friday night, and was virtually tied with
leader Sprongle going into the last stage. Choiniere
broke his drive shaft on the last stage, however, and
the Sprongls squeeked to a six-second win.
Frank Sprongl also clinched the North American Rally
Championship with the win, edging Carl Merrill by 9
points. Jeff Becker won the NARC co-drivers title.
The Carl Merrill/John Bellefleur Ford Escort Cosworth was
third, clinching third place overall in the SCCA/Michelin
PRO Rally series.
Other class winners included:
Bob Elliott/John Hart, VW GTI, Production
Vinnie Frontinan/Frank Arruda, Toyota All-trac, Group A
Cal Landau/Eric Marcus, Mitsubishi Eclipse, Production GT
In the points battle for the Group A championship, Peter
Moodie/Michael Finnell finished second in class - about
one minute 20 seconds behind Frontinan, but two places
ahead of the BMW M-3 of Rick Davis/Ben Greisler. Thus,
Moodie and Finnell are the 1994 SCCA/Michelin Group A
national champions.
For Immediate Release Contact: Andy Schupack
(401) 739-5677
CANADIAN BROTHERS EDGE U.S. RALLY CHAMPION IN FINAL MICHELIN EVENT
RUMFORD, Maine -- December 4 -- The final round of the 1994 SCCA/Michelin
PRO Rally series through the Boise Cascade and Seven Islands forests here
turned out to be the closest of the season as Frank and Dan Sprongl of
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada edged Paul Choiniere, from Shelburne,
Vermont, and Jeff Becker by only five seconds at the fourth annual Maine
Forest Rally.
Sprongl, who clinched the Canadian Rally National Championship just last
week, had a 40 second lead in his Audi Quattro S-2 after Friday's action,
but Choiniere's Hyundai Elantra, making its national debut, caught Spongl
on the last stage and looked like it was headed for Paul's fifth win of
the year. Unfortunately for Choiniere and Hyundai, the drive shaft broke
only a quarter of a mile from the finish, and Sprongl scored his
narrow win.
Ogunquit, Maine's Carl Merrill, the only local-based entry, was third in
his Ford Escort Cosworth.
Other class winners included Bob Elliott/John Hart, Rutland, Vermont, in a
VW GTI (fourth overall and first in the Production class); Vinnie
Frontinan/Frank Arruda, Cambridge, Mass., Toyota All-trac (sixth overall
and first in Group A); Cal Landau/Eric Marcus, Coraopolis, Penn.,
Mitsubishi Eclipse (10th overall and first in Production GT); and
Karl Scheible/Wayne Scheible, Spencerport, NY, VW GTI (11th overall and
first in Group 2).
In the battle for the Group A season championship, the Jamaican team of
Peter Moodie and Michael Finnell drove their Mazda 323GTX to a second
place class finish to edge the BMW M-3 duo of Rick Davis and Ben Greisler,
from West Chester, Penn. Moodie won the title by six points over Davis,
who lead most of the season.
Other year-end champions included Paul Choiniere (overall national
champion - fourth title in five years); Selcuk Karamanoglu, Bath Maine,
Mitsubishi Eclipse (Production GT); Dave Turner, Hemet, California,
Mitsubishi Eclipse (Production); Goran Ostlund, El Salvador, Saab 99
(Group 2); Jeff Hendricks, Prescott, Arizona, Jeep Comanche (Rally Truck).
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