Thousand Oaks, CA – April 27th, 2003: Known as the most physically demanding rally of the SCCA ProRally series, the Rim of the World rally will be held outside of Palmdale, California on the weekend of Friday, May 2nd and Saturday, May 3rd. The rally is infamous for its numerous “waterbars”, diagonal grooves in the road, specifically made to allow rain water to run off the road as quickly as possible, avoiding erosion on the fire roads. They do their job well, but create havoc for rally cars. They twist and turn the chassis, and make for a brutal ride, especially for the co-driver.

Julie Lin, co-driver in MozartRacing’s Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII, can attest to that: “The really unique character of the Rim are its waterbars. I have experienced no other rally where I had to fight with motion sickness so hard as at the Rim. I hope that after a year of rally competition and some experience in preparing for this rally I’ll have a bit better time this year.”

This will be MozartRacing’s first attempt to capture points in the near production car class, known as Group N. After an eventful rookie season in 2002, MozartRacing is stepping up their effort to focus on being competitive in ProRally on the West Coast, and possibly achieve a higher rank in the Group N Championship.

Team principal and driver, Wolfgang Hoeck, describes his feelings for the start of the season and the Rim of the World rally: “2002 was a fantastic season for us. From the joy of winning Pikes Peak in our first attempt, to the terrible disappointment due to mechanical problems at Wild West, and the shock and frustration at last year’s Rim, where one of the waterbars got the better of us, we tasted the bitter sweet of rally racing. We’d like to take this experience and start a new season. Unlike last year, where we were out to make our first baby steps in rally competition, this year our attempt is to focus on a placement in the championship – the Grp.N championship. As an independent team, we have to pay attention to our finances to ensure that we are able to contest enough rallies this year. We must focus on finishing, and collecting points along the way. This situation makes it difficult as one has to find a balance between aggressive driving and pacing oneself for the entire event. In any case, we are extremely excited to be able to participate again in Rim of the World rally, and hope we can provide an exciting show for the spectators hiking to the various spectator areas.”

The MozartRacing team is continuing to work with Rhys Millen Racing Inc., who maintains the rally vehicle and provides professional event support. The team is also supported by Hella, who enables MozartRacing to see well in the midst of darkness.

The SCCA ProRally season will be covered this year by hour-long event summaries shown on the SPEED channel, a couple weeks following each event. In addition, one can follow the MozartRacing team’s progress by visiting their website – http://www.MozartRacing.com.

Just in time for the Rim, MozartRacing Inc. launched “The MozartRacing Store”, an on-line shopping area for rally-related items, such as team apparels, rally model car kits or performance parts for your Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. The MozartRacing team hopes for your visit to support the MozartRacing team throughout the season.

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

For information on the SCCA ProRally series: http://www.scca.com/amateur/performance_rally/index.html

For information on Rhys Millen Racing Inc.: http://www.RMRProducts.com

For information on Hella Inc.: http://www.HellaUSA.com

For information on MozartRacing: http://www.MozartRacing.com

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