Waterloo, Ontario -- Two AM Rallysport took their Yokohama Tire sponsored MINI Cooper S to an impressive 2nd place overall in this weekend's Subaru Ontario Winter Rally. They also finished as the only 2 Wheel drive car in the top 12.

A field of 62 teams took to the twisty snow covered back roads around Bancroft Ontario on Saturday night for 9 hours of slippery overnight competition. The Two AM Rallysport team of Andrew Miller and Ian Macarthur finished just 6 seconds back of overall winners Jud Buchanan and John Bellefleur in a Subaru. Special mention has to go to Tibor Apro and Arthur Chiang, also in a Subaru, who were tied for 2nd place with the Two AM team on a mere 0.9 minutes of penalties until a tiebreaker formula was applied.

Conditions were ideal for this unique form of motorsport. Owner/Driver Andrew Miller explains, "The night was perfectly clear with a full moon, so visibility was great. It was very cold [-330 C] so there was good traction on the snow and of course we were on some of the best rally roads in Ontario. You can't ask for much more."

When asked about their MINI's performance amongst a field full of high horsepower all wheel drive cars co-driver Ian MacArthur had this to say. " Winter rally is different than most forms of motorsport, it's not all about how fast your car is (although the MINI is plenty fast). Teams are penalized for being either late or early at random checkpoints throughout the night. So it's more about precision driving and good communication between team members." Adding "The competition is really tight at these events, the fact that the top 5 teams all finished with less than 1= minutes in penalty proves that out. I'm just happy we had a good drive and finished with a top result."

A special thanks goes out to all the volunteers who make these competitions possible. It takes a certain level of insanity to fling your car around on snow-covered roads but it takes a really special person to sit in the freezing cold all night manning a checkpoint.

The Subaru Ontario Winter Rally is the longest running and biggest rally of its type in Canada; Two AM Rallysport competes with the help of their sponsor, Yokohama Tire Canada.

Information:
Two AM Rallysport, A-18 550 Parkside Dr. Waterloo Ont. N2L 5Z4
www.twoamrallysport.com
(519)-883-8288 Fax (519)-883-0356
[email protected]

Ontario Rally Championships www.rallysport.on.ca