Bangor, Maine -- Last Ditch Racing, a Performance rally racing team from Bangor, Maine is making preparations for the 3,500 mile journey to the The Rim of the World Rally in Palmdale, CA, May 3-5.

Rim of the World rally is the second round of the 2003 SCCA(Sports Car Club of America) ProRally championship series, and the first gravel event on the calendar. Last Ditch Racing finds itself in an 80 competitor field comprised of factory teams from both Subaru USA, Mitsubishi USA, international and domestic entries.

Driver/owner John Cassidy and co-driver Dave Getchell are coming off a successful finish at the Rallye International de Quebec, where they gained 9 spots over the two day event and looking forward to heading West.

The team is putting the finishing touches on their Subaru Impreza. "Rim of The World is known as a rough and usually dusty event," says Cassidy, "but our home event, the Maine Forest Rally has a similar reputation."

The team is campaigning their Impreza in the Open Class. Open class is populated by high power, turbo-charged, all-wheel drive cars. "Our car doesn't have the power that others in the class do, so we have to try and make up time by our driving, service and strategy. The car is in great shape and with our new PhantomGrip limited slip unit, we're ready to see what the West has in store for us!"

Cassidy feels the team is up to the challenge. "We've got a rock-solid team, and our results over the last year reflect that. Having a strong team infrastructure allows Dave and I to go out and attack the stages with little worry. Our participation in Rim illustrates to our sponsors and fellow competitors that we are ready to join them at the Pro level."

Last Ditch Racing would like to thank their sponsors for their continuing support: www.mainehost.com, www.phantomgrip.com, www.primmracing.com, www.subaruwrxparts.com and www.lubedealers.com/cassidy.html.

More information on the Rim of the World Rally can be found at http://www.rimoftheworldrally.com/

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