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 2002 
                      Mountain Trials Rally  
                       Press 
                        Releases  | 
                       
                       
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            |   Specialty 
                Subaru Mountain Trials Rally 
                October 5, 2002 in Merritt, BC CANADA 
                Round 5 of the Western Canadian Rally Championship 
                Presented by Yokohama Tires 
                RACE FOR RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP RETURNS TO MERRITT
               For Immediate Release  | 
          
           
            |   MERRITT, BC (Sept. 
                24/2002) - Canada's fastest growing form of 
                motorsport makes a return visit to Merritt when 
                the Specialty Subaru Mountain Trials Rally rolls 
                into town on October 5th.  This event will 
                be the fifth of six rallies in the Western 
                Canadian Rally Championship presented 
                by Yokohama and promises to firmly establish the 
                thrill of rally in the heart of BC's interior.  | 
          
           
            |   Fierce competition is 
                expected to develop between the talented local 
                contenders and experienced visiting teams, all 
                of whom will be here hoping to advance their standing 
                in the  Western Canadian Rally Championship.  
                The championship has taken on a new look this 
                year and the title chase is still wide open.  
                Many of the teams that missed out on the last 
                round, the Pacific Forest Rally, also held here 
                in Merritt, will be making the trip hoping to 
                gain a stronger foothold in the standings.  | 
          
           
            |   Last year's Western Canadian 
                Champion, Janusz Komorowski, has had a 
                rough season getting acquainted with a new car.  
                After almost winning the opening round in Cochrane, 
                Alberta, Komorowski has failed to finish the last 
                four Canadian events.  However, a strong 
                performance at the recently held Wild West ProRally 
                in Olympia, Washington reminded everyone just 
                what he is capable of.  | 
          
           
            |   Among the local drivers 
                sure to challenge for top honours is last year's 
                Pacific Forest Rally winner, Scott Trinder.  
                This year, while competing against some of the 
                best driver's in North America, Trinder has impressed 
                many observers in the sport with a couple of brilliant 
                drives.  He, too, recently competed at the 
                Wild West ProRally, running as high as fourth 
                place overall before ignition troubles dropped 
                him to eighth on the very last stage.  | 
          
           
            |   Meanwhile, rally organizers 
                in Merritt have reached an agreement with Active 
                Mountain Entertainment Corporation (AME) to 
                use a network of private roads on their property.  
                AME hosts the famous Merritt Music Mountain Festival, 
                which attracts over 140,000 people annually to 
                the region.  AME is also the guiding force 
                behind the Active Mountain Raceway (AMR) project 
                that has been in the works for the last few years.  
                At the Mountain Trials Rally, a network 
                of roads on the AMR site will be evaluated for 
                potential use as a full "Super Special" 
                Spectator Stage.  The test run this year 
                is in anticipation of the National Rally that 
                will be coming here in 2003.  This unique 
                opportunity is a combined effort between the organizers 
                and AMR towards building a future rally site as 
                part of the AMR project. (For more details, check 
                out www.activemountainraceway.com)  | 
          
           
            |   At the rally there will 
                be plenty of opportunities to catch the teams 
                in action, both on the mountain roads and right 
                in downtown Merritt.  It all begins at the 
                Railyard Mall on October 5th when the rally 
                officially starts there at 9:30am Saturday morning.  
                Later, teams will return to the mall for service 
                stops throughout the day, before heading back 
                into the hills.  Of course, the AMR site 
                will surely give fans the best chance to see the 
                rally cars racing on a seven kilometer long stage! 
                Admission to the site is free.  | 
          
           
            |   For more information about 
                this event, check out the BC rally website: www.rallybc.com 
                or contact organizer Paul Westwick at (604) 682-3296, 
                or via e-mail: paul@rallybc.com  | 
          
           
            |   http://www.rallybc.com 
              For more information contact: 
              Paul Westwick (604) 682-3296, mailto:paul@rallybc.com 
              or 
              Ken Kwong (604) 808-0536, mailto:ken@rallybc.com 
               Rally Head Quarters: 
                Best Western Nicola Inn 
                Merritt, BC
               Media Liaison: 
                Mitch Kosterman (604) 880-2100, mailto:mkosterman@telus.net  | 
          
           
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