FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2000

Sierra RallySports starts 2000 ClubRally season with 2nd and 3rd at Michigan

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN -- Sierra RallySports team members Colin McCleery and Jeff Secor started off the 2000 SCCA ProRally season in a freshly built and virtually untested Volkswagen Golf GTi. A far departure from their usual rear wheel drive Mercury Merkur. Although the GTi remained essentially stock under the hood, they entered the car in the same class that the turbocharged Merkur runs, (Group 5) in an effort to improve on their 5th place finish in the National point standings of last year.

52 cars started the Snodrift rally on roads of glare ice, from their 29th position McCleery and Secor gradually worked their way up the leader board, improving their position by 11 places by the first reseed. "Our plan was quite simply to stay out of trouble" noted Secor, "we really had minimal pre-rally testing, and Colin is still adapting to the feel of front wheel drive".

This event was a National (or ProRally) and included two Divisional (ClubRallys). Pitting rallists from the Central Division of SCCA against each other and having it’s own yearly points race. The #556 GTi placed 4th overall, and second in class in the first divisional, 15th overall 3rd in class for the second. Halfway through the last stage of the rally, the final timed portion the second divisional, The team was running in 7th only a few seconds behind the 4wd Eagle Talon of Scott Harvey jr. and Bob Martin, when they came around a corner and hit a large rock with the right front, destroying the tire and wheel, necessitating a change while in the stage, losing valuable time. The five minutes spent changing the wheel dropped the pair down to 21st overall in the National.

"I knew it was a long event and we would be in the car for about 12 hours" said team driver Colin McCleery, "I didn’t want to push the car too hard at first, but the grip and feel from our Nokian Hakkapeliitta "Q"snowtires gave me fantastic confidence". He added. Several other drivers came up to examine the car during the main service break, wondering how the team was managing to beat so many more powerful and even 4wd machines? "It’s all in the tires", said Colin. "On three stages we caught and passed other cars, each time on corners that were of polished ice". It came as no surprise to us that the winners of both divisionals, Chris Czyzio and Eric Carlson also had Hakka Q’s on their Eagle Talon.

The SnoDrift ProRally was held January 29th in Atlanta, Michigan and surrounding areas, It was the first event of the Sports Car Club of America’s 2000 season. The rally team next plans to run the Headwaters Divisional in Minnesota, before contesting four more National events.

FOR MORE DETAILS,
CONTACT JEFF SECOR: secorjb@iserv.net
OR COLIN McCLEERY: colin_mccleery@hermanmiller.com