TORONTO, Ontario (June 1, 2006) - Canadian rally driver Andrew "ACP" Comrie-Picard will take on one of the most challenging fields in North American performance rally racing history at this weekend's Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally in northern Pennsylvania (June 3).

The Alberta native, who will contest the race in a high-spec Open class Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV, is favored for a top finish at this very competitive race. He took the overall win at the U.S. season opener, Sno*Drift, in January.

"Steep drop-offs, deep forests, a water splash, tight hairpins, probable fog, and lots of night racing - this rally has all the challenges that I love." says Comrie-Picard.

A significant portion of the rally takes place at night, which Comrie-Picard says he prefers. "Some guys don't like racing at night. Not me - that's part of what rallying's about. It really focuses the mind and ups the ante."

ACP's demonstrated skill on mixed surfaces mean conditions may be on his side this weekend on what are likely to be slick roads thanks to recent rains. "Andrew is always fast, but one of his strengths is his ability to get the most out of a tricky surface. He's excellent at making the road work to his advantage," says co-driver Marc Goldfarb.

The rally, in the dense Pennsylvania State Forest, takes place on a course that at times skirts the vast drop-offs of the Grand Canyon of the East. And spectators line the banks of the Stoney Fork Creek by the thousand at this popular rally to watch competitors make a treacherous splash through the race's famed water crossing at top speed.

The driver, who hosts a nationally-broadcast automotive television show in Toronto when he isn't racing, had to sit out the two previous rounds of the championship of the due to filming conflicts. He plans to contest the rest of the series.

"I still feel I have a good shot at the Rally America championship title," he says, noting that the series rules require competitors to drop two events from their year-end points totals. "I already have the car, the skill and the determination. All I need now is more sponsorship support."

The stakes are high at this Rally America round. The Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally is a qualifier for the first-ever X Games rally. Two top finishers will be invited to compete at the games in Los Angeles this August.

"What I'm really excited about is the depth of competition at this race. The chance to qualify for the X Games has brought out a lot of talented competitors and it'll be great to get the chance to race them flat-out," says Comrie-Picard. "It's going to be an exciting rally, but I have every confidence I can win it."

ACP also co-hosts the broadcasts of the Canadian Rally Championship and, last weekend, he took on the Rocky Mountain rally through Alberta's foothills in a production-class car rigged with cameras for the show. He says the extremely muddy conditions, hairpins, and treacherous cliffs of the Alberta rally were a good warm up to the Pennsylvania rally.

The teams will compete this weekend on ten different timed stages covering 200 kilometres of racing over a 14-hour period. The team that earns the fastest time over the whole course wins the event.

The team, Musketeer Racing, is supported by Yokohama Tire, DMS Shock Absorbers, Motul, Pagid, Team O'Neil Rally School, Fidanza, Boisvert Mitsubishi, Innovate Motorsports, and Inside Track Motorsport News.

Thanks to Murray Thomas and T.A.D. Motorsports in Chicago for their exceptional support.

About the sport:

Performance rallying is a challenging, all-season motorsport that puts modified street cars to the test in every imaginable road condition - it's real cars, real roads, and real fast. Cars hit speeds of 200 kilometres-per-hour on winding roads in races that last two days and cover several hundred flat-out kilometres.