FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: R.Dale Kraushaar
480-390-3712
The final shakedown is complete and the Cooper Tires Subaru is ready
for
the Alcan 5000 Rally commencing August 14th through August 23rd.
THE ENTRY: A 2002 yellow Subaru Impreza WRX fitted with Cooper
Lifeliner SLE tires driven by the returning champions, R.Dale Kraushaar,
Larry Richardson and Ken Eklund.
Car#1 at
Carillon Point
in Kirkland.
ROUTE: The 2002 Alcan will start near Seattle, Washington, and finish
4,500 miles later in Jasper, Alberta. The route will include visits to
Hyder and Skagway in Alaska, Whitehorse in the Yukon, Yellowknife in the
Northwest Territories, Grand Prairie and Jasper in Alberta. The course
takes the entrants on many of North America's most scenic and remote roads
such as the Alaska, Klondike, Liard, MacKenzie, and Bighorn highways.
HISTORY: The 1984 Alcan 5000 Rally had 23 starting cars, 22 at the finish
4,700 miles later, and was at that time the longest rally ever conducted
in North America. Looking for new challenges, organizers began alternating
with a winter Alcan in 1988. The 1990 Alcan became "the world's longest
and coldest winter rally" at -58 F and 6,275 miles. This 2002 event
will be the 15th Alcan rally and the 9th summer Alcan.
CONCEPT: A modern sporting event based on the original concept of
rallying as a grand tour, a motoring adventure, and a gentleman's sport
(historic examples include the Monte Carlo [1911], Mille Miglia [1911],
and RAC [1932]). Over 90% of the route is composed of touring sections
with a reasonable elapsed time for each. Competition takes place in 10-
to 40-mile Time-Speed-Distance (TSD) sections, with a one point per
second penalty for arriving at checkpoints early or late. Six to ten
checkpoints may be hidden in each section.
PAST ENTRANTS: Although entrants are mostly private, some professionals
such as Johnny Unser, Paul Dallenbach, and John Buffum have all won
this event in the past. Factory teams have included Audi, Subaru, BMW,
Ford, Isuzu, Jeep, Mazda, Oldsmobile, and Range Rover. Auto performance
is helpful, but the most important element is reliability (and common
sense and experience in the team). Some Alcan teams have also competed
in related events like the Australian Safari, Baja 1000, La Carrera
Panamericana, One Lap of America, Mille Miglia, Monte Carlo, and
Paris-Dakar, but novice rallyists are also common on the summer Alcan.
Two reporters from Forbes Magazine are competing and writing about their
adventure. See this web site for their story:
http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/2002/08/12/0812feat.html
Have a little patience as the site seems to take forever to download.
A journalist from NPR/PRI Radio is also competing in the event.
Daily stories and photos about the rally will be posted at
http://www.writerguy.com/rally
We will also be posting stories and standings at
www.challengedriving.com,
assuming we can catch an internet hook from
the small communities in the far North.
R.Dale Kraushaar
Challenge Driving Events International
"Drive the Adventure"