Portland OR (April 23, 2007) Fifteen rally teams that were hungry for serious two wheel drive competition descended on Portland, OR this past weekend to slug it out in the Oregon Trail Rally. It was the first ever event in the MaxAttack! Triple Crown Rally Series and the rally teams laid it all on the line, racing through mud, rain, high winds, and unpredictable fog to battle for a piece of an $8000 cash purse and the chance to take a lead in the MaxAttack Triple Crown Rally Series.
"It's as fast as I would drive a car that doesn't belong to me." said Andrew Havas, the driver for Team Havspeed. Indeed Team Havspeed was racing a borrowed Honda Civic. Their last minute plans paid off as Andrew Havas and Francois Morin took the first place prize of $2000 with the CPD racing team of Kyle Sarasin and Mikael Johansson taking the 2nd place prize of $1600. $1400 was paid out to the Mazda backed Burmeister Engineering team of Eric Burmeister and Dave Shindle. Michel Hoche-Mong and Sameer Parakh took home 4th place and $1200 while Charles and Teresa Buren grabbed 5th place to claim $1000. Rounding out the top six were Sans Thompson and Jeff Secor taking home $800.
The snakelike, twisty forest roads in the mountains around the city of Vernonia demanded the respect of the drivers as road conditions became completely unpredictable in the rain on Saturday. Sunday brought some sunshine which allowed drivers to keep the pedal to the medal right through the end of the rally. Said Eric Burmeister "We were able to run faster and faster as the day went on. Our Mazdaspeed3 was finding more and more traction which helped us really put the horsepower down to the road."
The brand new MaxAttack! Triple Crown Rally Series has already changed the landscape of rally in the United States. 15 teams from all over the country came to Oregon for the competition and for a chance at taking home a cash prize. Two wheel drive rallying is surging in popularity as the teams enjoy the support of a championship created just for them with unprecedented cash payouts. An ecstatic Charles Buren said it all, "We wouldnt be here if it wasn't for MaxAttack!".
After Oregon Trail, the MaxAttack! Triple Crown Rally Series moves east to Rally West Virginia, which will take place on Aug. 4 in Elkins, W. Va. The series concludes at the well-known Lake Superior Rally in Houghton, Mich. on the weekend of Oct. 26-27.
For more information about the MaxAttack! Triple Challenge and the Rallysports Group of America, please visit http://www.max-attack.com. For information about the Oregon Trail rally, please visit http://www.oregontrailrally.com, or http://www.rally-america.com.
