Bangor, Maine, USA -- Last Ditch Racing is putting the finishing touch on their new Subaru Impreza rally car in preparation for their home event - the prestigious Maine Forest Rally, August 1-2 in Rumford Maine. The rally is the sixth round of the SCCA's 2003 ProRally Championship.

The team has recently returned from testing of the car at the Team O'Neil Rally School in New Hampshire and are pleased with the results. "The new car met all our expectations and then some," said team driver/owner John Cassidy. The team had previously been driving a lower power car in the Open Class, which is comprised of turbo-charged all-wheel drive cars.

"We made a conscious decision early this year to run a naturally aspirated Subaru so we could get some more seat time on the Subaru all wheel drive platform before stepping up the power," said Cassidy. "We always try to step things up for Maine Forest as we are one of the few Maine based rally teams competing at the Pro level. We always try to give a bit more on our home event."

Cassidy is joined in the right seat by co-driver Dave Getchell. Getchell has been co-driving for the team since 2002. Said Cassidy, "Having Dave in the right seat is truly an asset to myself and the team. Dave and I have been working hard to increase our skills since the beginning of the year, and we're starting to see it pay off."

Last Ditch Racing wishes to thank Tim O'Neil for providing top quality instruction and a wonderful test facility, Brent Hatch of Hatch Manufacturing for recent work on the roll cage and Mike Fields of www.subaruxtras.com for help with parts. "Without the support and encouragement of people like this, we'd be hard pressed to do what we do on the stages," said Cassidy.

Last Ditch Racing would like to thank their sponsors: www.mainehost.com, www.phantomgrip.com, www.primmracing.com and mrtperformance.com.au/

For more information on the Maine Forest Rally, please visit www.maineforestrally.com

For more information on Last Ditch Racing, please visit www.lastditchracing.net or e-mail [email protected]

To purchase Last Ditch Racing merchandise, please visit http://www.cafeshops.com/lastditchracing#top