Mississauga, Ontario – January 19,2003 - At the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Association of Rallysport, held in Calgary on January 11, 2003, Brian Hyland, Director, Sponsorships for Subaru Canada, Inc. made the following announcement in regards to team personnel and the schedule for the Subaru Rally Team Canada ( SRTC ).

“ Subaru Rally Team Canada is pleased to advise the following for 2003.

John and Clarke Paynter, 2001 Canadian Production GT champions, will be competing in a reduced schedule for the 2003 season. Their actual rallying will consist of 3 Canadian Rally Championship events ( Quebec, Baie des Chaleurs and Tall Pines ) and theTarga Newfoundland. John and Clarke are true ambassadors of the sport and will promote Subaru and rallying throughout the Atlantic Provinces at auto shows and public displays. Their hope and that of Subaru is to rekindle enough interest in rallying to have a national event somewhere in the Atlantic Provinces.

As you may be aware Mark Williams ( Co-driver for 2002 NARC Overall Champion Tom McGeer ) has accepted an offer from Mitsubishi USA and will not be rallying with us this year. Mark has been a tremendous asset to the SRTC and we, particularly Tom, will miss him in 2003. At this time, Tom is looking for the next Mark Williams to be at his side for the 2003 season. Tom’s plans are for a return to the NARC championship. Tom’s team will compete in 5 Canadian and 3 SCCA events in an attempt to retain his NARC Overall championship.

The big news from the SRTC is the schedule for Pat Richard,. As you are aware Pat won the Canadian Overall and Group N championships along with Co-driver Ian McCurdy. Pat also won the NARC Group N championship. Pat initially came to Subaru with the proposition to compete in the Canadian Championship and also the CNAR for 2003. CNAR was of interest to him and to us as it will ultimately be the FIA recognized zone championship for North America.

As we worked on Pat’s initial proposition, he was looking at even bigger events in which to compete . You are all aware that he competed in the Rally of Great Britain and even with all the mechanical problems he encountered, he persevered and finished the rally in fine form including one fastest stage time along with numerous top 5 placements.

Based upon the results in Great Britain, Pat went looking for a way in which he could compete with the worlds best. After looking at numerous rides which involved tons of dollars, he came back to us with an opportunity for Subaru and Rocket Rally to work together. Subaru Canada, Inc. is pleased to advise you that we are well on our way to completing an agreement which will see Pat competing in 6 of 7 WRC Group N events in a Canadian prepared Subaru WRX under the banner of Subaru Rally Team Canada. “

Subsequent to this announcement additional changes have taken place. Ian McCurdy, co-driver for Patrick Richard and best man at Richard’s recent wedding, advised the SRTC that he would not be able to compete for the 2003 season. Citing business opportunities which have arisen, McCurdy, 2002 Canadian Co-drivers Champion, said, “ Rallying with Pat and accomplishing what we did over the past number of years was more than I could have ever have imagined. I am sad that I will not be able to compete this year but I wish Pat and the SRTC all the best for the 2003 season. “ Richard had already scheduled long time Canadian rallyist, Martin Headland, to accompany him to the first WRC event in Sweden February 7-9, so there is the possibility that the two may be paired for future events as well.

Also on the hunt for a co-driver after the departure of Mark Williams, Tom McGeer has selected former British Racing Champion, Welshman Howard Davies for the first event of the year at the Rallye Perce Neige to be held in Maniwaki, QC on February 7 – 9.