For Immediate Release

July 24, 2005,  Bangor, Maine USA

Maine's premier performance rally team, Last Ditch Racing, is making final preparations for the fifteenth edition of the prestigious Maine Forest Rally.  One of the top events on the calendar, the event is the 5th round of the Rally America Championship.  The event is expected to draw top teams from both the US and Canada to the woods of Western Maine.

Currently second overall in the Canadian Rally Championship, Driver John Cassidy and Co-Driver Dave Getchell have been steadily making their way towards the top of the standings over the past two seasons.  The team recently completed the Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs in 5th place overall in the National and 2nd overall and 1st in class in the Regional portion of the event.

"We've had a difficult time putting together a clean run at Maine Forest over the past few seasons," said Cassidy.  "This event is important to the team on many different levels.  As native Mainers, Dave and I hope to put on a good show for our local fans.  As a driver inspired by the late and fellow Mainer Carl Merrill, and having first driven at the 1999 event, the event is very special.  Dave and I always push ourselves and the team a little more at Maine Forest."

The team will be attending a special autograph and media reception at the Bethel Inn Conference Center Thursday July 28th from 5-8PM.  Other attendees include past World Rally Champion Stig Blomquist, Motocross  and X-Games champion Travis Pastrana, current US and North American Champion Pat Richard, past Champion Paul Choiniere as well as other top regional teams.

The team's next event will be Rallye Defi Ste-Agathe/Duhamel, September 9-10th, round four of the Canadian Rally Championship.

Last Ditch Racing would like to thank their 2005 team partners for their continued support!

http://www.teamoneil.com
http://www.mainehost.com
http://www.f1dyno.com/
http://www.triplecaution.com
http://www.rallyxi.com
http://www.andrewharvey.ca
http://www.rev-lab.com/

For more information on Last Ditch Racing, please visit:  http://www.lastditchracing.com
For more information on the Rallye Defi Ste-Agathe/Duhamel, please visit:  http://www.rallyedefi.com
For more information on the Maine Forest Rally, please visit:  http://www.maineforestrally.com