Thousand Oaks, CA – July 21st, 2003: Round 5 of the SCCA ProRally Championship, the Oregon Trail Rally, was MozartRacing’s one-year anniversary to US Rallying. The team remembered the event from last year very well, it being the first finish of a 2-day rally in a brand new car. This year’s rally will be remembered again, however, for completely different and tragic reasons.

While waiting in line for the start of the first stage, the first car out was involved in a horrific accident, fatally injuring both driver and co-driver, Subaru’s Mark Lovell and Roger Freeman. Without clear information the teams were routed back to the service area. (However, tears in the eyes of some people, who were close enough, made the team’s realize that something serious had happened. Leaving many questions un-answered.

The rally continued in the spirit of the perished driver and co-driver. Saturday was a difficult day for the MozartRacing Team, it finished the day way down the leader board. “Driving under those circumstances was very difficult. I could not find a connection with the road, and played it safe. It was disappointing and frustrating alike.” said Wolfgang, MozartRacing’s driver and team manager. “We wanted to do well here, the roads are beautiful, the organization is fantastic, and then something like that happens. Rallying really has a tough year.”

“I was in complete denial when I first heard the rumors about what had happened.” commented Julie, MozartRacing’s co-driver. “The roll-cage is supposed to protect the competitors inside. I had have heard and seen accidents with rally cars, but rarely seen any serious injury. I still can’t really grasp on what happened this time. For some strange reason Mark and Roger left us this weekend, but at least doing what they loved. Our deepest sympathies and regrets are with their families and friends.”

The second day of the rally worked much better for the MozartRacing Team, posting second fastest times in Grp.N, and including one stage victory in Grp.N. In the end, the results were sufficient to reward the team with a 3rd place finish in Grp.N and 9th place overall, the best finish for the MozartRacing Team ever.

MozartRacing will skip the Maine Forest rally and prepare itself and the car for the Ojibwe rally in August. RMR, Mobil, Hella and Sparco in part support MozartRacing.

The MozartRacing team’s progress can be followed by visiting their website – www.MozartRacing.com. The MozartRacing Store is an on-line shopping area for rally-related items, such as team apparel, rally model car kits or performance parts for your Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.

For event interviews, sponsorship and other promotional activities, please call Team Principal Wolfgang Hoeck at 626-617-0778 or whoeck@speakeasy.org.

Further information can be found at the following websites:

Ojibwe Forest Rally: http://www.ojibweforestsrally.com/

The MozartRacing Team: http://www.MozartRacing.com

The MozartRacing Store™: https://www.MozartRacingStore.com/MRStore.html