September 18, 2002

Marysville, OH - Team RallyVW took the Production Class win at the Wild West ProRally in Olympia, Washington. The victory secured enough series points for RallyVW driver Jon Hamilton to take the SCCA ProRally Production Championship title as well. His navigator for the event, Ken Sabo, locked in the second-place Production Class co-driver spot.

The grueling two-day event saw over a third of the entrants retire, leaving Jamie "Subie Gal" Thomas and her co-driver, David Weiman, as Hamilton and Sabo's only real competition. Thomas' Subaru Impreza provided spirited competition for Hamilton's Volkswagen Golf TDI, but the durability and speed of the RallyVW TDI prevailed, and the team finished with over a one and a half minute lead.

The RallyVW service crew for Wild West included Rich Lipstreu and Mike Jackson, and Patrick Jackson whose efforts produced a mechanically trouble-free rally for the team.

Team RallyVW would like to thank our sponsors: Volksport, MotorsportVortex.com, AV Lubricants, Inc., McWherter Petroleum, Soylect Soy Diesel Fuel, TDIClub.com, Bildon Motorsports, Performance-cafe.com, and WaterWagens.com for making this wining season.

Hamilton's Volkswagen Golf TDI, the only diesel competing in the 2002 ProRally series, runs on an environmentally friendly Soylect Biodiesel blend supplied by McWherter Petroleum. Made from domestically grown soybeans that reduce both harmful emissions and dependency on foreign oil, biodiesel also fuels RallyVW's service truck.

Performance Rally takes place on real roads, usually dirt, gravel, or two-tracks in forested areas. The terrain can change quickly. The winding roads are peppered with washouts, large rocks, tight turns, and jumps. The driver relies heavily on the co-driver, who reads instructions and maintains mileage calculations while the driver is pushing the car to impossibly fast speeds through the woods and fields.