Cache Creek & Nanaimo. - The exciting sport of Performance Rallying returns to the BC motorsports calendar this summer. No less than two closed-access, high-speed road rallies are being planned: The Mountain Trials Rally June 24th in Cache Creek and The Edge of the Rock Rally July 15th in Nanaimo.Teams from across BC, Alberta and the Pacific Northwest will be headed to these events sanctioned by Rally Pacific Motorsports, the BC region of the Canadian Association of Rallysport.

The Mountain Trials Rally has been held in BC's southern interior off and on since 1960. During the 1970's and 80's this event became famous as part of the Canadian National Rally Championship. Revived once again for 2000, the Mountain Trials Rally will feature challenging roads around the Cache Creek area to test the abilities of the rally teams and their vehicles.

Since 1997 The Edge of the Rock Rally has developed a well-deserved reputation for excellence. Each year competitors from around the Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest have headed to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island to experience the roads and enjoy the superb organization of this event. This year competitors and spectators will see some new roads in the Nanaimo Lakes area and the same exciting, high caliber event they've come to expect.

Over the past few years Performance Rallying has experienced strong growth in Canada. National level rallies attract thousands of spectators and are televised regularly. Unlike conventional racing, rallies are held primarily on forest access roads. Conditions on these roads can dictate speeds from well over 200 km/h to as low as 30 km/h. Also, unlike racing, the route remains unknown to the driver until it is read at speed by the co-driver (navigator). At every moment, the car, driver and co-driver must be ready for whatever may be around the next curve!

The Performance Rally format consists of two parts: Special Stages and Transit Sections. Special Stages are run flat-out against the clock and are closed to public traffic. Transit Sections are the routes between Stages, in which teams must obey all traffic laws. Plenty of time is given to allow teams to arrive at the start of the next Special Stage without speeding, and penalties are assessed for arriving too early or too late. The accumulation of times from the Special Stages and any Transit Section penalties make up the final scores and help to determine the winner.

If you would like to find out more about rallying contact the BC Rally Director, Paul Westwick, at 604.682.3296 <paul@rallybc.com> or check out the BC Region website at www.rallybc.com

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