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Mountain
Trials Rally
October 18, 2003
Merritt,
BC
Round 5 of the
Western Canadian Rally Championship
Organized by the
West Coast Rally Association
Detailed
Results
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Mountain Trials Rally
October 18, 2003
Merritt, BC, Canada |
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Event: |
Specialty Subaru Mountain
Trials Rally, round five of the Western Canadian
Rally Championship presented by Yokohama. Performance
rally cars from around Western Canada and the Northwest
United States will be racing on a tight, challenging
gravel road course in BC's interior. This event
is sanctioned by the Canadian Association of Rallysport
(CARS) and Rally Pacific Motorsports (RPM), and
is organized by the West Coast Rally Association
(WCRA). |
When & where: |
October 18, 2003, Merritt,
BC. |
Headquarters & Press Room: |
Friday, October 17, 2003 Saturday,
October 18, 2003
17:00-20:30 09:30-18:00
Best Western Nicola Inn Railyard Mall Service Area
4025 Walters St. Garcia St
Merritt, BC Merritt, BC
http://www.nicolainn.com
Phone: 1-800-663-2830, or 250-378-4253. |
Schedule (subject to change): |
Friday
October 17th
17:00-20:30 Registration (Best Western Nicola Inn)
17:30-20:00 Scrutineering & Technical Inspection
(Best Western Nicola Inn)
21:00-21:30 Mandatory meeting for all seed 5 &
6 teams
21:30-22:00 Drivers' meeting and introduction of
officials |
Saturday
October 18th
8:00-8:30 Late Registration & Scrutineering,
by appointment only
9:30 Start of First Leg (Railyard Mall)
14:00-15:00 Lunch Stop
18:30 End of Rally
19:00 Dinner and Awards (Day's Inn) |
Format: |
Events in the Western Canadian
Rally Championship consist of flat-out rally racing
on challenging mountain and forest roads. No practice
is allowed. Unlike circuit racing, competitors generally
see the course for the first time as they race it.
At every moment the driver and co-driver must be
ready for what may be around the next curve! |
Performance rallies consist
of roads designated as "special stages"
and "transit sections". Special stages
are run flat-out against the clock and are closed
to public traffic. Transit sections are the routes
linking together the special stages in which teams
must obey all traffic laws. |
Performance rally vehicles
are production-based cars and trucks from manufacturers
around the world. They compete both for the overall
victory and wins within a class structure that groups
together vehicles with similar performance. Each
vehicle carries a driver and a co-driver/navigator.
Using a detailed route book and a sophisticated
rally computer, the co-driver keeps the team on-course
and advises the driver of any hazards noted in the
route book. This role is as critical as the driver's
skill, since the team is traveling at full racing
speeds over roads they have never seen before. |
Selected entries: |
- Last year's winner of the
Pacific Forest Rally, Scott Trinder, of Vancouver,
with Bill Westhead co-driving, in an all-wheel drive
Subaru Impreza 2.5RS. Scott Trinder currently sits
tied for first place in the Production Over class
(P4) entering this round. Throughout 2003, Scott
has been consistently fast, winning the Production
Over class at all rounds of the Western Canadian
Series that he's entered. Besides running the Western
Canadian series, Scott has also campaigned successfully
south of the
border, recently winning the PGT class at the Wild
West International Rally in Olympia, Washington
by a margin of over six and a half minutes. |
- Also tied for first in the
Production Over class is Edmonton, Alberta native
Maceij (ma-chey) Ogrocki in his all-wheel drive
Subaru Impreza 2.5RS. Maceij and his co-driver/wife
Danuta will be making their third appearance at
the Mountain Trials Rally, having started here in
a Honda Civic more than four years ago. The Ogrocki's
have shown some signs of brilliance this season,
making it clear they are hungry for the championship
and setting a very fast pace in the process. |
- Two-time defending Western
Canadian Rally Champion, Janusz Komorowski, with
an unknown co-driver in an (as yet) unknown vehicle.
The reason for all this mystery is that Komorowski's
last rally car, a powerful Open Class all-wheel
drive turbocharged Mitsubishi Eclipse, was stolen.
Despite this setback, Komorowski leads overall in
the 2003 Western Canadian Rally Championship having
had a very successful run here at the Pacific Forest
Rally back in June when he finished second to some
of the best rally drivers in Canada. Regardless
of which co-driver and which vehicle he appears
with, Komorowski is sure to challenge for the lead
and, perhaps even the win. |
- An interesting late entry
has also been received by the very quick young American
driver, Ross Foster of Washington, with co-driver
Dave Kean in a brand new Group N class Mitsubishi
Lancer EVO VIII. Foster has demonstrated some serious
speed in his past outings here in Western Canada.
His best result in BC came last year at the Mountain
Trials Rally when he was third overall behind Trinder
and Komorowski. |
Of additional interest: |
- As round five of six in
the Western Canadian Rally Championship, teams will
be viewing this event as the key to their championship
hopes for 2003. Many of the teams that missed out
the last round are expected to be here in order
to cement their standing in the championship. |
- One of the competitive stages
will offer a rare combination of both paved (tarmac)
and gravel roads. It's expected that this type of
surface change on the route will produce some of
the most challenging conditions for the rally teams. |
- Growing interest in BC rallies
has been demonstrated by the number of outsiders
making the trip to Merritt. Competitors and volunteers
from Alberta, Manitoba and the US help round out
a healthy group of local participants. The community
of Merritt has also responded to this interest by
extending a warm welcome to these visitors |
2003 Western Canadian Rally Championship: |
Date |
Event |
Place |
Winners |
March 23 |
Cochrane 100 years Rally |
Cochrane, AB |
J. Komorowski / M. Monette |
May 17-18 |
Bighorn Rally |
Edson, AB |
J. Komorowski / M. Swann |
May 22-24 |
Rocky Mountain Rally |
Calgary, AB |
J. Komorowski / M. Swann |
June 13-14 |
Pacific Forest Rally |
Merritt, BC |
J. Komorowski/T. Karzynski |
October 18 |
Mountain Trials Rally |
Merritt, BC |
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November 9 |
Kananaskis Rally |
Cochrane, AB |
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Contact: |
Paul Westwick - Organizer
Pre-event: (604) 682-3296; e-mail: paul@rallybc.com
At event: (604) 617-4132 |
At event:
Andrea McLaren, Media Liaison |
Ken Kwong, Event Spokesperson
(604) 808-0536; e-mail: ken@rallybc.com |
Spectator
Guide
Will be available at registration |
Additional Resources: |
Canadian Association of Rallysport
http://www.carsrally.ca
West Coast Rally Association http://www.rallybc.com
City of Merritt http://www.city.merritt.bc.ca |
2003 BC Rally Supporters: |
Specialty Subaru http://www.specialty.subarudealer.ca
Yokohama Tire http://www.yokohamatire.ca
Western Driver http://www.westerndriver.com
Driver's Edge Autosport http://www.ompwins.com
Total Autosport http://www.totalautosport.com
Wilkinson's Automobilia http://www.eautomobilia.com |
Bill Westhead
Communications & Media Relations
2003 Mountain Trials Rally
http://www.rallybc.com |
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