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April 2000 - For immediate release
For more information, contact: John Dillon
Widget Rally Team
P. O. Box 1231
Thousand Oaks, CA 91358-0231
Phone: 805.906.7797
Widget web site: www.WidgetRacing.com
e-mail: John @ WidgetRacing.com

Podium Finish for Sierra Motorsport Team at Oregon Trail Rally

In First Race Together, Nelson and Dillon Claim Second in Group N Behind Car Driven by ex-F1 Pilot

Tillamook, Oregon. Driver Mark Nelson of Incline Village, NV, and co-driver (navigator) John Dillon of Thousand Oaks, CA completed their first rally together with a podium finish in Group N. The new team's Mitsubishi Evo IV finished second behind a similar car, driven by ex-F1 and current Nissan GT driver Erik Comas with navigator Julian Masters. It was the first time Dillon and Nelson had ever raced together, and only the second time the Nelson had raced the Evo.

"Since this was our first National race," noted Nelson, "we set realistic goals, all of which we exceeded." The team's first goal was to have fun, their second was to finish, and their third was to get progressively faster as they grew more comfortable in the car. Nelson drove consistently faster throughout the two day event. Several of the stages were raced twice. The scoresheet showed the team went thirty seconds to a minute faster on the second run. On the final stage the team proved to be second fastest overall, just behind the Comas/Masters car. Said Dillon, "Motorsports is all about serious competition--how better to gauge your performance than by measuring yourself against a top driver?"

The co-driver added, "We decided right away that we wanted to sneak up on our speed instead of overshooting it. These roads are too narrow and unforgiving to make rookie mistakes." Statistics proved their point--of 53 starters, only 32 were running at the finish. The Sierra Motorsport team finished 13th overall in the ProRally.

The team's Mitsubishi is shod with Pirelli tires. "Our tires performed flawlessly," said Dillon. "We didn't have a single puncture all weekend, and the tires wore extremely well." Added Nelson, "We chose a medium compound on Saturday, based on the surface descriptions, which proved to be too hard, and cost us quite a bit of time as the car was difficult to handle."  On Sunday the team used a softer compound, which further contributed to their improved positions, with a car that proved much easier to drive.

The team's next race is the Rim of the World ProRally near Palmdale, California on May 5th and 6th.  "Southwestern US roads are notorious for their roughness, but the car and team are ready. I believe these roads will suit us much better, as the majority of the roads we practice on in Nevada, are very similar to Rim," stated Mark.  "Now that John and I have had a chance to work out the kinks in Oregon, we have more confidence going into the event, and we're both becoming much more comfortable.  We'll keep learning more as we go along, and hopefully keep moving up the pace."

Sierra Motorsport campaigns a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV in the SCCA ProRally Championship series. The car (number 110 in the national series) is classified in Group N, an FIA category recently adopted by the SCCA. The Lancer was originally prepared by Ralliart New Zealand and is now supported by TAD Motorsports and Sierra Motorsport. Be sure to check out all the rally action on the Speedvision network. For more information, visit www.SierraMotorsport.com hosted by Shults Dot Com.

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