Portland, OR (July 30, 2008) – The second event in the 2008 MaxAttack! Triple Crown Rally series will take place on August 1 and 2 in Elkins, W. Va. Sanctioned by the National Auto Sport Association, Rally West Virginia will cover nearly 100 racing miles that will test rally teams on narrow roads with more than 1500 feet in elevation changes. An excellent field of 24 two-wheel-drive rally cars will make the second round of the year equally exciting and competitive as the season debut on the west coast.
In the first event of the 2008 MaxAttack! Triple Crown Rally Series, the Oregon Trail Rally, New York-based driver Andrew Havas and California co-driver Pete Pollard drove a Honda Civic to a well-deserved win. Havas is the first repeat MaxAttack! winner, having also won the series’ debut round in 2007.
Finishing second in Oregon was the Mazdaspeed 3 piloted by Michigan’s Eric Burmeister and Bill Westrick, and local heroes Cody Crane and Jason Grahn rounded out the podium in a Honda CRX. Oregon Trail saw a wide variety of machinery contesting MaxAttack!, ranging from Burmeister’s new 2007 Mazdaspeed 3 to the crowd-pleasing 1969 Saab 96 of Oregon’s Garth Ankeny and Russ Kraushaar, which finished eighth. The slippery, dusty Oregon roads took their toll, however, as only 14 of the 24 starters completed the course.
Series leaders Havas and Burmeister are on the entry list for Rally West Virginia, as is the Wisconsin-based team Brian Dondlinger and Dave Parps, who failed to finish the first round in their Volkswagen. Havas will not be driving the Honda he used in Oregon, in favor of a Volkswagen GTi. The bulk of the West Virginia entry is composed of eastern-based squads, and there are numerous fast teams that are expected to do well. Teams expected to challenge Havas and Burmeister for the MaxAttack! crown in West Virginia include the VW GTi of Josh Wimpey and the Acura Integra Type R of Evan Moen and Heath Nunnemacher.
The MaxAttack! Triple Crown Rally Series, presented by the Rallysports Group of America, consists of three events across the country, and each event will feature an $5,000 prize fund to be distributed among the top two-wheel-drive teams, as well as a season championship.
The series concludes at the “Oldest, Toughest, Meanest Rally on the Circuit,” the Lake Superior Rally in Houghton, Mich. on the weekend of October 17 and 18.
For more information about the MaxAttack! Triple Challenge and the Rallysports Group of America, please visit http://www.max-attack.com. For information about Rally West Virginia, please visit http://www.rallywv.com or http://www.nasarallysport.com.
About Rallysports Group of America
Rallysports Group of America, Inc. (RSGA) was formed as an organization in 2006 to advance the sport of performance stage rally in the United States. By providing education on performance driving, car preparation and safety, and by fostering the growth of meaningful competition, RSGA seeks to provide a sustainable and competitive arena for the advancement of North American performance rally that promotes increased value for rally competitors, organizers, and sponsors alike. For more information, please visit http://www.max-attack.com.
Photo by Lorne Trezise, http://www.frozenmotionphotos.com
