PRESS
RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION Rocket
Rally Racing Returns to Oregon
SCCA ProRally Championship leader looking to widen
points gap
Hillsboro, OR, April 23 - SCCA ProRally points
leader Patrick Richard returns to the Oregon Trail
ProRally this weekend, looking to extend his narrow
points gap in the fight for the SCCA ProRally
Championship title. Richard, the 2002 Canadian
Rally Champion, will be driving the same Subaru
Impreza WRX which brought him victory at the SnoDrift
ProRally, the most recent round of the American-based
rally championship. As a competitor in the internationally-
recognized Group N class, Richard's win at SnoDrift
was the first time in recent history a Group N
machine took an overall victory against the more
powerful "Open class" rally cars.
"My main objective is to place well within
the Group N class," explained Richard, "but
if we have a chance to place well in the overall
results, it would be icing on the cake."
Richard is also the current leader of the 2004
Canadian Rally Championship, where he drives a
Subaru for the factory-backed Subaru Rally Team
Canada. "We're leading both the Canadian
and American championships right now, so there's
a bit of pressure on us to perform this weekend
to try and keep that status. But priority-wise,
if we can walk away from here with a decent class
finish we will be in a very strong position for
the rest of the year."
Making the weekend interesting will be the debut
of a new pairing inside the car. Nathalie Richard,
Patrick's sister, who most recently competed as
a co- driver in the ultra-competitive Australian
Rally Championship, will be joining Richard for
the remainder of the 2004 SCCA ProRally Championship
season. "I'm happy to get back in the North
American rally scene, it?s been a long time since
I've been to an American event," she stated.
"This will be my first time using the supplied
course notes that
they use in the United States, as I am more familiar
with doing full reconnaissance of the rallies
as we do in Australia." In the SCCA ProRally
Championship, drivers and codrivers do not have
any opportunity to see the rally roads prior to
having to drive on them at full competitive speed.
Rallies conducted to the international regulations
formulated by the FIA, the world's governing body
for motorsport, allow drivers and co-drivers to
'reconnoiter' the route prior to competition,
allowing them to make detailed and precise notations
of every kink, turn and bump in the road. In the
United States, this is performed by the rally
organizers, who
deliver a set of 'course notes' to the competitors
just prior to the rally start.
"There's going to be an adjustment period
at the beginning," cautioned Richard, "but
I am confident that we will get up to speed with
the organizer- supplied route notes fairly quickly."
The brother and sister duo will also be debuting
a new graphic and colo scheme for the car, modeled
after Richard's previous championship-winning
cars from the 1999 and 2000 SCCA ProRally Championship
seasons. Featuring yellow cartoon-like rocket
graphics synonymous with the Rocket Rally Racing
logo, the branding effort represents a step forward
in terms of exposure for current team sponsors.
"We've had a lot of support from Patrick's
personal sponsors for his 2004 campaign,"
explained Team
Co-ordinator Ken Kwong, "and we are still
seeking an elusive title partner for the rest
of the year. Globalstar, OMP, Motul, DMS North
America and NASIOC.com have all been very supportive
of our efforts for 2004, and we've taken the step
of creating additional value for them while we
negotiate for a title sponsor. Given the situation,
its the right thing to do."
The Oregon Trail ProRally will start Friday evening
at the Portland International Raceway. Featuring
3 short spectator 'special stages', the start
area will include rally drivers taking part in
a timed drag race as part of the rally, as well
as circuits around the raceway mixing in the asphalt
road course with the gravel infield. The rally
will continue on Saturday morning, where it will
take a 'proper' start in the forests outside Hillsboro,
Oregon, finishing Sunday afternoon after over
100 miles of hard-packed action on the tree-lined
gravel roads of the Pacific Northwest.
For more information contact: info@patrickrichard.com
www.patrickrichard.com
Up to the minute results and news: www.rallyamerica.com
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