SUBARU CANADIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
PRESENTED BY YOKOHAMA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Round 1 of 2000 championship

Sprongls win Seventh Straight Rallye de Quebec

QUEBEC CITY (Jan. 30/2000) - Canadian rally driving champion Frank Sprongl maintained his perfect record on the Rallye de Quebec as he won the season-opener for a seventh straight year.

With brother Dan as navigator, Sprongl, of Mississauga, Ont., drove his Audi Quattro to victory by almost six minutes. A pair of Subaru Imprezas, driven by Tom McGeer, of Georgetown, Ont., and Sylvain Vincent, of La Plaine, Que., were second and third.

The Sprongls have won the Rallye de Quebec every year since its inception in 1994. This is the first of eight events in the Subaru Canadian Rally Championship, presented by Yokohama.

"We had a little problem with the gearbox, but other than that, everything went well," said Sprongl. "We had some new lights, which probably helped us go faster on the night stages, and our Yokohama tires were fantastic. We only used two sets of tires."

A record 51 cars started the rally, which began on the Plains of Abraham on Friday evening, and 35 were still running as the event ended at Quebec City's Hippodrome just before midnight Saturday.

Sprongl completed the roughly 150 kilometres of special stages - the competitive, high-speed portions of the event, held on roads temporarily closed to the public - in 1 hour, 40 minutes and 25 seconds. Runner-up McGeer had a time of 1:46.19.

This was the 33rd career victory for Sprongl, a six-time national champion, and his 14th win in his past 16 starts.

Vincent, a multiple Quebec champion, fought back to third place after a poor start to the rally. He was running just 15th in the early stages after selecting tires ill-suited to the conditions.

A pair of Eagle Talons, driven by Yves Barbe, of Laval, Que., and Barry Latreille, of Williamston, Ont., were fourth and fifth.

Jeff Smith, of Beaumont, Alta., was sixth in a Subaru RX and took top honors in the Production classes. Andrew Havas, of North Carolina, was seventh in a Mazda RX7 and winner of the Group 2 class (for two-wheel-drive cars).

Jon Nichols, of Lachine, Que. - the four-time, defending Group 2 champion - crashed his VW Golf into a tree on the first special stage on Friday. He and navigator Mike Koch were not hurt.

RESULTS of the RALLYE DE QUEBEC
Round 1 of the Subaru Canadian Rally Championship, presented by Yokohama

   driver / navigator, hometowns                                                  car            time
1. Frank Sprongl / Dan Sprongl, Mississauga, Ont.                                 Audi Quattro   1h40m25s
2. Tom McGeer, Georgetown, Ont. / Mark Williams, Maryland                         Subaru Impreza 1h46m19s
3. Sylvain Vincent / Dominique Cyr, La Plaine, Que.                               Subaru Impreza 1h48m39s
4. Yves Barbe, Laval, Que. / Pierre Bazinet, Ste-Anne-des-Lacs, Que.              Eagle Talon    1h50m14s
5. Barry Latreille / Sandra Latreille, Williamston, Ont.                          Eagle Talon    1h54m00s
6. Jeff Smith, Beaumont, Alta. / Bob Burton, Regina, Sask.                        Subaru RX      1h54m10s
7. Andrew Havas, N. Carolina / Scott Slingerland, Pennsylvania                    Mazda RX7      1h55m22s
8. Bruno Laverdiere, Laval, Que. / Martin Duval, Ste-Catherine, Que               Eagle Talon    1h56m53s
9. Jean-Marc Alcaraz, St-Lambert-de-Levis, Que. / Shirley Normandin, Laval, Que.  Mazda 323      1h56m56s
10. Patrick Richard, Vancouver, B.C. / Ian McCurdy, Whistler, B.C.                Subaru Impreza 1h57m04s

For more information:
Terry Epp, (905) 640-6444
David Hatter, (613) 231-3248