Hello Competitors!

The 2006 Rally of the Tall Pines is fast approaching! Have you submitted your entry yet?

The Rally of the Tall Pines (24-25 Nov. 2006) is dedicated to bringing you even more explosive competition this year! You won't want to miss round six of the Canadian Rally Championship this coming November. Being just over 2 hours from Toronto Ontario, Canada, this event is easily reachable and provides a rally experience like no other! We pride ourselves on building an event that supports our competitors and feel this is one of the main reasons for our great success over the past 36 years that the Tall Pines has run!

Competitors from across North America will converge on Bancroft this November for what is shaping up to be the largest and best Tall Pines ever! Organizers have been working hard to add more value to competitors than ever before. Come out and experience what the Town of Bancroft (voted "Ontario's most talented town") has to offer!
2006 Event Highlights:

• The Tall Pines will have National Television Coverage within Canada through broadcasts on the CHUM Television Network (City TV, A-Channel) to over 37 Million households. Additionally, the Tall Pines will be shown on Canadian Learning Television (CLT) and Drive In Classics, both of which are specialty channels that are broadcasted nationally (CLT reaches an additional 4.7 million subscribers).
• The Tall Pines has been working with local media to bring improved coverage to the event, it's competitor and it's sponsors. We expect to release an announcement shortly about an exciting new promotional opportunity that we are developing.
• Our increased event marketing, PR and promotion efforts mean increased awareness and exposure to your sponsors.
• The Pines is happy to welcome aboard Élise Racette as our Bilingual Competitor Relations Officer. Elise will be available to assist all competitors with questions on Rally weekend.
• Over 250 workers will assemble in Bancroft on Rally weekend to bring you one of the best organized rallies in North America.
• On-Line registration is now OPEN! Be sure to submit your entries before Tuesday November 14th to avoid paying the late entry fees.
• New roads are being added to keep the route fresh for 2006.
• Tom McGeer and Mark Williams have been recruited to develop the Organizer Supplied Descriptive Stage Notes that will be given to each competitor as part of their entry fee. Competitor feedback from last year on the quality of the Stage Notes was excellent, so we are happy to have them back again!
• A Notes Familiarization Pass will be offered to all competitors and will provide them at least one pass over all roads. This will allow teams to build confidence in the Organizer Supplied Descriptive Stage Notes.
• A night-time Shakedown and Media Rides program has been added back to the Tall Pines schedule for 2006. Competitors will be given a chance to test the Organizer Supplied Descriptive Stage Notes on an actual stage road during this time.
• The Pines is also proud to offer the best Rally VIP program in North America! Entertain your friends, family and sponsors in our VIP program worry free while you are off racing. You can rest assured that they will be well taken care of for the entire day. We provide transportation, food and special reserved spectator areas while you provide the entertainment! VIP packages are $135 CDN per person + taxes and can be purchased on-line from our website.
• A post rally party / beer tent complete with a gourmet BBQ caterer (http://www.bbqcatering.com) will be held after the finish podium on Saturday Nov. 25th. This is no ordinary rally banquet food, so this is one banquet you will not want to skip! Additional Banquet tickets can be purchased on-line on our event website or at the door.

Competitors Tip(s):

• Accommodation in Bancroft can be difficult to find as we typically sell out the entire town! However, there are a number of other options you can investigate that include Cottage rentals (great for teams), Lodges, etc... Be persistent, often there are cancellations and new rooms being released every week. If after checking the list on our website you still cannot find anywhere, please email the coordinator for assistance.
• Competitors who sign up to help at the Tall Pines Work Day on Saturday October 21st in Bancroft may use the opportunity to preview the stage roads ahead of time. Remember, this is your ONLY chance to do this before the event. To sign up, contact Ross Wood and indicate you wish to help.

Additional event inquiries can be directed to richard@tallpinesrally.com.  For more info visit [ULR]www.tallpinesrally.com[/URL].

We hope to see you this November in Bancroft!


Thank you,


Richard Hepburn, Coordinator - Rally of the Tall Pines