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27 February 2003 - 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

Widget Codriver Partners with Universal Rally Team for Inaugural WSRC Event

[Rented Mazda 323]Los Angeles, CA. Universal Rally Racing is gearing up for the 2003 SCCA season with a new car in a new class. In 2002, the URR squad was campaigning a Mazda 323 GTX in the Open class of the California Rally Series. The team had lackluster results due to continual mechanical failures. The highlight of the season was Rim of the World in May. The team set consistently fast stage times until an engine fire retired them with two stages from the finish. "Unfortunately, we retired, but I feel very good about the stage times," said URR co- driver, Steve Rappai.

For 2003, URR is preparing to contest the SCCA Pro Rally Group N class with a brand new car. URR's schedule will include all Western SCCA Pro Rally events and selected Western States Rally Championship events. The new car is a 1998 Subaru WRX STI RA.

Universal Rally Racing just launched their totally re-designed web-site. Lead by URR's Technology Chief, Scott Schumacher, the web site was built to be pleasant on the eyes and easy to navigate. Another goal of URR was to make their site a resource for rally related information with a forum to allow guests to converse about cars, rallying or anything.

One of the most important additions to the URR web site was their Sponsors page. "Without the support of our Sponsors we wouldn't be racing," said Andrew Sutherland, URR Owner and Driver. "Our sponsors are more than just businesses, they're groups of individuals that share a love for racing"_.."These people are the backbone of our sport and the future of its growth", noted Andrew.

The first race of the season for URR will be March 1st and 2nd at the Doo Wops Club Rally located in Hoquiam, Washington. Doo Wops will be the first event of the much anticipated Western States Rally Championship and URR will be looking forward to participating in the series.

URR's new Group N Impreza will not be ready in time for the race so the team will be piloting a rented Mazda 323 in the Open class. "This will give me some much needed seat time and a chance to see some true gravel roads prior to the Wild West Pro Rally scheduled in September", said Sutherland. Andrew hasn't been behind the wheel of a rally car since his retirement at RIM last year.

Through special arrangement with the Tombstone Paintball Widget Rally Team (www.WidgetRacing.com), John Dillon will codrive for Andrew at Doo Wops in a one-off deal. "I was teaching at a rally school last Saturday when Andrew approached me about codriving for him next weekend. Since Leon Styles and I plan to compete only in National rally events, and since Doo Wops is the first event on the new WSRC calendar, I thought it would be fun to race with him in the Pacific northwest." Dillon is the Chairman of the Western States Rally Championship and had planned to attend as a volunteer worker to show support for the new series.

Universal Rally Racing's dedicated sponsors:

For more information about the Tombstone Paintball Widget Rally Team, visit www.WidgetRacing.com.

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