Duplessis Attacks OTR in a Scion
Friday, May 14, 2010
 Chris Duplessis will be contesting the 2010 Oregon Trail Rally in a brand-new Scion xD. Duplessis, who currently leads the national Rally America Two-Wheel Drive championship, usually drives a 1990 Volkswagen Golf and has been known to defeat other more powerful AWD cars. Duplessis has successfully developed a reputation for finishing rallies in the top ten overall standings in his twenty year-old front-wheel drive car.
Recognizing the young driver’s consistently impressive skills, Duplessis was offered a deal that included sponsorship to run one event in the Scion xD rally car.
This Scion rally car is a collaboration between 0-60 Magazine, Scion Racing, and Sparco and is based off of an exact replica that was premiered at SEMA 2009 and continues to tour the car show circuit. Scion Racing, which has traditionally had a strong presence in drifting and time attack, marks it’s Rally America debut at OTR.
The 0-60 Scion xD was only recently built, leaving no time for testing or development. The car is mostly stock and doesn’t have turbo, but was upgraded with Tein suspension, Performance Friction Brakes, and BFGoodrich rally tires. Duplessis expects to find a comfortable, steady pace as he adapts to the new machinery but his main objective is to finish and bring the car home in one piece. Amongst the other challenges Duplessis will face driving a slower, unproven car, he will also be adjusting to a new co-driver as 0-60’s Ron Zaras sits in for Catherine Woods, Duplessis’ usual co-driver.
The Scion rally team is also entered in the opening round of the Max-Attack! 2WD series, which begins it’s 2010 season this weekend at Oregon Trail.
Competition at Oregon Trail Rally jumps off this evening (Friday May 14) from 6 to 9pm at the Portland International Raceway with Parc Expose and the popular PIR Super Special Stage.
For more information on the 2010 Oregon Trail Rally, visit:
www.rally-america.com/events/2010/Oregon
You can also follow LIVE UPDATES from the rally all weekend here:
www.rally-america.com/events/2010/Oregon/news/liveupdates
And on Twitter here:
www.twitter.com/rally_america
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