| Contact: Michel Poirier-Defoy Tel: (450) 491-2480 E-mail: lpindfoy@sympatico.ca | Date: February 28, 1999 |
| EVENT: | Rallye Perce-Neige | |
| LOCATION: | Pembroke, Ontario | |
| STATUS: Second event in 1999 | February 26 - 28 | |
| STATS: 13 special stages | 225 Km of speed sections | |
| TOTAL RALLY DISTANCE: 570 Km | One day event |
1999 Standings: Frank Sprongl, 40 points; Sylvain Vincent, 30; Yves Barbe, 20; Jean-Sébastien Besner, 12; Tom McGeer, 10; Jon Nichols, Éric Tremblay, 10
Class Leaders: Open: Sprongl; Production GT: Vincent; Group 2: Hammer; Prod. Sport: Mendham, Lévesque; Prod. 1750: Rosenshein, Krawczyk
Leading Marques: Open: Audi; Group 2: Suzuki; Production GT: Eagle; Prod. Sport: Toyota, Nissan; Prod. 1750: Suzuki, Subaru
| 1999 SUBARU CANADIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb. 12 - 13 | Rallye de Quebec | Quebec City, QC | Frank/Dan Sprongl |
| Feb. 26 - 28 | Rally Perce Neige | Pembroke, ON | |
| May 22 - 23 | Bighorn Rally | Hinton, AB | |
| May 28 - 29 | Rocky Mountain Rally | Calgary, AB | |
| July 2 - 3 | Rallye Baie des Chaleurs | New Richmond, QC | |
| Sept. 10 - 12 | Rally of the Voyageurs | Parry Sound, ON | |
| Oct. 29 - 31 | Rallye Auto Charlevoix | Pointe-au-Pic, QC | |
| Nov. 20 - 21 | Rally of the Tall Pines | Bancroft, ON | |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pembroke, Ontario -- Frank and Dan Sprongl capitalized on excellent driving conditions to take their second win of the Subaru Canadian Rally Championship in Pembroke, this weekend. Warm weather and clear, sunny skies made for excellent grip, which the Mississauga, Ontario-based Sprongls used to their advantage.
"There was great traction," said Frank Sprongl. "The Yokohama Guardex tires were working unbelievably well on the Audi Quattro S2." After 225 kilometres of stages, the Sprongls lead by almost 13 minutes ahead of their closest competitors.
Race for second place
Bad luck plagued pursuants: Tom and Trish McGeer were caught by a patch of ice and on the eighth stage of the rally and their Subaru Impreza WRX went off-roading. Jean-Marc Alcaraz, then running in second with the Import-Expert Mazda, had to forfeit when his co-driver, Cindy Derby, was taken to hospital after she fainted when she became too dehydrated. Montreal's Jean-Sébastien Besner, third in Quebec City two weeks ago, and Barry and Sandra Latreille of Williamstown, Ont., also plowed new roads as their Eagle Talon went off-course.
It was Sylvain Vincent and wife Dominique Cyr, from La Plaine, Que., who ended up the real success story of the weekend. While starting their Eagle Talon on Friday night, the timing belt slipped and eight intake valves were bent in the process. They organised a shipment of parts from Montreal and, working throughout the night, repaired the damaged engine. "We started the engine at 6:30am on Saturday," Vincent said. "I didn't sleep all night." Who needs sleep when you're fast. Vincent rallied to an amazing second place finish, against the odds. Yves Barbe and Gilles Lacroix of Laval, Que., 56 seconds behind, completed the podium finishers.
Nichols gets Group 2 win
A mere 13 seconds behind in fourth place was Jon Nichols of Lachine, Que., with co-driver Mike Koch from Nepean, Ont. They made best of their two-wheel drive RMR Volkswagen GTI to stay in the heat of competition until the very last stage, when Barbe was a bit quicker. Keith Townsend of Toronto in his Toyota and Chris Havas of Vermont in his Volkswagen (VW GTi) rounded the top six finishers. Newcomer Frederick Labrie of Montmagny, Que., was top novice; he finished eleventh overall.
The Subaru Canadian Rally Championship is presented eight times in 1999, between February and November. It is sanctioned by the Canadian Association of RallySport and supported by Subaru Canada and Yokohama Tire (Canada) Inc. Additional information is available from the CARS website at http://www3.sympatico.ca/rally.cars.
CARS Press Officers:
Michel Poirier-Defoy (450) 491 - 2480
lpindfoy@sympatico.ca
Terry Epp, CARS (905) 640 - 6444
EVENT: RALLYE PERCE - NEIGE 26 - 28 February 1999 # TEAM CAR HOMETOWN CLASS FINAL 1 Frank/Dan Sprongl Audi Quattro S2 Mississauga, ON Open 147:11 2 Sylvain Vincent/D. Cyr Eagle Talon La Plaine, QC GT 159:38 3 Yves Barbe/G. Lacroix Eagle Talon Laval, QC Open 160:34 4 Jon Nichols/Mike Koch VW Golf GTi Lachine, QC GR 2 160:47 5 Keith Townsend/R. Wood Toyota Corolla Toronto, ON Open 163:22 6 Chris Havas/Éric T VW Golf GTi Richmond, VT GR 2 166:27 7 Eric Tremblay/J.F. Guité Subaru RS Quebec, QC GT 169:55 8 John & Clark Paynter Subaru Legacy Sackville, NS GT 174:09 9 Ted/Lise Mendham Nissan Sentra SR Lyndeborough, NH Sport 176:11 10 Sakis Hadjiminas/B. Maxwell Fox Audi Turbo New York, NY Open 177:16The high points:
The low points: