CADILLAC, Mich. -- John Buffum and 35 other competitors survived the inaugural edition of the three day, 800 mile Michigan International PRO Rally. Buffum's Audi Quattro moved into the lead early on and built it to a final margin of over two minutes. Technical problems caused several of the rally's 37 stages to be cancelled as well as many other delays to the event. Buffum and co-driver Neil Wilson of England took home first prize and moved Audi into a commanding lead in the manufacturer's points standings.
Second went to the 4wd prototype Mazda RX-7 of Rod Millen and R. Dale Kraushaar which suffered from an incorrect selection of gears for the sandy roads around Cadillac, Michigan. Millen kept Buffum within sight for the entire event but was not able to reel the German car in. Third overall, and first of the conventional two-wheel-drive cars, was the Peugeot 504 Coupe of Jon Woodner and Ginny Reese who had to fight off a determined charge from another 4wd vehicle as Mike Purzycki and Ken Middleton drove their AMC Jeep CJ8 to fourth overall in their best finish ever at an international event.
Production Class went to Steve Nowicki who took advantage of some of the fast stages in the middle of the rally to put his Plymouth Arrow on top. He moved ahead of Gene Henderson's AMC Eagle SX/4 after several of the very sandy stages that would have been to Henderson's advantage were cancelled. Henderson eventually dropped to third in the class behind Guy Light's Oldsmobile Omega.
This Michigan event was one of the most ambitious events tried in many years of PRO Rallying. It began Wednesday at the Renaissance Center in Detroit and continued to Cadillac with a competitive stage in Grand Rapids along the way. There were several major problems in scheduling and many stages had to be cancelled; however, the avowed purpose of the down- state route was to generate higher visibility for the sport and in that it was most successful. The daylight portions of the rally were covered by several television stages and the entire rally -- all three days -- was covered live by radio station WKJF in Cadillac.
The event marked the official unveiling of the Firestone rally team with a modified Lincoln Mercury Lynx of Taisto Heinonen, a Ford Escort Production car for Walter Boyce, and Mark Hardymon's Mazda RX-7. Heinonen's Lynx wouldn't start at the Detroit section and Boyce's Escort blew an engine half-way through the second night, but Hardymon held on for a fifth- place finish, also winning seed 2.
Next event on the PRO Rally circuit is a Co-Efficient B, or Driver's-Only Championship event, Foresthill Divide in Auburn, California, May 21-22. The remmining events on the 1983 SCCA PRO Rally Series are as follows:
DATE EVENT LOCATION
May 21-22 Foresthill Divide Auburn, California
June 10-12 Susquehannock Trail Wellsboro, Pennsylvania
September 2-4 Dallas Dallas, Texas
September 10-11 Manistee Trails Manistee, Michigan
November 4-6 Press On Regardless Houghton, Michigan
November 18-20 Tour de Forest Bellevue, Washington
December 2-4 Sno*Drift Grayling, Michigan
December 9-11 Reno International Reno, Nevada
EVENT: Michigan International EVENT CONDUCTED BY; Saginaw Valley Region, SCCA
LOCATION: Cadillac, Michigan LENGTH: 799 miles, 129 stage miles
DATE: April 28-30, 1983 WEATHER: Cool and some rain
ENTRANTS; 62 FINISHERS: 35 TERRAIN: Forest trails
FIN. CHAMP. MFG.
POS. DRIVER/CO-DRIVER/HOMETOWN CAR SCORE POINTS POINTS
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1. John Buffum, S. Burlington, Vt. Audi Quattro 122.11 20 20
Neil Wilson, Chester, England 20
2. Rod Nillen, Costa Mesa, Calif. Mazda RX-7 124.31 15 15
P.Dale Kraushaar, Tigard, Oreg. 15
3. Jon Woodner, Washington, D.C. Peugeot 504 139.35 12 12
Ginny Reese, Chelsea, Mich. Coupe 12
4. Mike Purzycki, Fenton, Mich. Jeep CJ8 141.80 10 10
Ken Middleton, Holly, Mich. 10
5. Mark Hardymon, Powell, Ohio Mazda RX-7 142.32 8
Tom Drake, Bay City, Mich. 8
6. Bruno Kreibich, Ridgewood, N.Y. Audi Quattro 147.03 6
Clark Bond, Bay City, Mich. 6
7.(1P) Steve Nowicki, New Berlin, Wis. Plymouth 151.24 4
Brian Berg, Milwaukee, Wis. Arrow 4
8.(2P) Guy Light, Midland, Mich. Oldsmobile 153.54 3
Terry Conklin, Midland, Nich. Omega 3
9. Tom Bell, Williamsburg, Mich. Datsun 280Z 155.35 2
David Stone, Acme, Mich. 2
10.(3P) Gene Henderson, Pinckney, Mich. AMC Eagle 155.43 1
Jon Wickens, Birmingham, Mich. SX/4 1
PRODUCTION CLASS WINNERS
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1. Steve Nowicki, New Berlin, Wis. Plymouth 151.24 20 20
Brian Berg, Milwaukee, Wis. Arrow 20
2. Guy Light, Midland, Mich. Oldsmobile 153.54 15 15
Terry Conklin, Midland, Mich. Omega 15
3. Gene Henderson, Pinckney, Mich. AMC Eagle 155.43 12 12
Jon Wickens, Birmingham, Mich. SX/4 12
UNITED STATES RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER FIVE EVENTS
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DRIVER (Current Car) PRODUCTION DRIVER (Current Car)
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1. John Buffum, Audi 95 1. Gene Henderson, AMC 55
2. Rod Millen, Mazda 65 2. Steve Nowicki, Plymouth 52
3. Jon Woodner, Peugeot 48 3. Guy Light, Oldsmobile 29
CO-DRIVER PRODUCTION CO-DRIVER
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1. Doug Shepherd 60 1. Jim Kloosterman 43
2. R. Dale Kraushaar 50 2. Brian Berg 40
3. Ginny Reese 48 3. Terry Conklin 29
MANUFACTURER PRODUCTION MANUFACTURER
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1. Audi 95 1. AMC 70
2. Mazda 80 2. Plymouth 60
3. Peugeot 48 3. Dodge 36
SEED WINNERS
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FIA/SEED 1 - Buffum/Wilson SEED 3- Brooks/Grimshaw SEED 5- Klos/Klos
SEED 2 - Hardymon/Drake SEED 4- Purzycki/Middleton SEED 6- Nykamp/Nykanp