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Subenet Features
For Immediate Release
Contact Scott Putnam: (612)
309-5938
Laughlin O’Sullivan
and Scott Putnam contest this weekend’s Desert Storm Rally with a Vermont Sports Car-prepped WRX
 MINNEAPOLIS (March 8, 2010)
– Scott Putnam, fleet sales manager of Morrie’s Subaru, sold
his first Subaru in 1988, and has also been a co-driver competing in
professional rally events all across the country for a decade. But when
he had a unique opportunity to rally in a $250,000, professionally-prepared
Subaru WRX at this weekend’s Desert Storm event along the California-Arizona
border, he had some selling to do with his bosses.
“Scott presented us with
a compelling sponsorship deal, and after some discussion, we decided
to do it,” says Pat Kyes, General Sales Manager, Morrie’s Subaru.
“Scott is someone who can strengthen our exposure to the rally community,
and we are pleased and excited to be involved.”
Subaru as a manufacturer certainly
has had a long exposure to the internationally popular sport of rallying.
The company’s rally roots date all the way back to the 1980’s. Subaru
earned multiple World Rally Championship titles, national championships
and has come to represent the sport of rallying for a generation of
Colin McRae video game fans through the iconic blue Subaru WRX STi.
 “This has been a gratifying
process for me,” said Putnam, who will team with his former X Games
rally partner Lauchlin O’Sullivan in the Sonora Desert this weekend.
“Morrie’s has been supporting the local and regional rally community
in various ways since 1997, through RallyFest and the sponsorship of
various drivers and cars. Now to get the Morrie’s logo on a nationally
competitive car will be really exciting. I couldn’t ask for better
partners.”
Putnam’s partner on the car
prep side is the famed Subaru rally stable of Vermont Sports Car, out
of Colchester, Vermont. They prepare the Subaru factory rally rides
for extreme sports stars Travis Pastrana and Dave Mirra as they compete
in the Rally America national rally championship, and they own the Subaru
WRX that O’Sullivan and Putnam will try to take to victory at Desert
Storm this weekend.
“They’re the best rally
car builders in the U.S. right now, so I know the car is going to finish
if I don’t do anything crazy,” the San Francisco-based O’Sullivan
said. “Our car won’t have the same horsepower at Pastrana’s, but
it will be nimble and I’m really looking forward to it.”
“This event is really a return
to Lauchlin’s roots,” added Desert Storm Rally organizer Denise
McMahon. “He grew up in California doing a lot of desert-type racing
and everyone here expects him to do well. In fact, we look forward to
seeing him and Scott Putnam on the podium at the end of the weekend.”
To accomplish that, they’ll
have to complete 67 miles on Saturday through rocks, gravel and sand,
then switch tires and take four hot laps around the track at the Lucas
Oil I-10 Speedway in a unique super stage. And they’ll be back at
it on Sunday for 42 more dusty desert miles.
On paper, O’Sullivan and
Putnam look to have superior experience and equipment. But a lot can
happen in the course of 110 miles, most of them marked off on the desert
floor. Regardless of the results though, there are other ways to measure
success.
“Of course we have to look
at return for our marketing dollars, and what’s good for the store,”
concludes Pat Kyes, Morrie’s Subaru General Sales Manager. “But
we also look at what automotive-related activities we can support. And
we feel this is a good thing to do. So we’re looking forward to doing
our part to continue Subaru’s long association with rallying, and
finding another way to connect to our customers.”
Desert Storm
Rally (www.desertstormrally.com)
Saturday, March 13
Total Course Distance: 198
miles
Number of Special Stages: 13
including 2 Superspecials
Total Distance of Special Stages:
67 miles
Type of Road Surface: Hard
packed dirt, gravel, sandy washes
Lucas Oil 4 lap Showdown Special
Stage road surface: Speedway track oval, asphalt, distance 1⁄4
mile.
Sunday, March 14
Total Course Distance: 92 miles
Number of Special Stages: 6
Total Distance of Special Stages:
42 Miles
Type of Road Surface: Hard
packed dirt, gravel, sandy washes
Lauchlin O’Sullivan, Driver
2007 4th place finish at X Games with co-driver Scott Putnam
2004-’05 3 Podiums in 3 National events, including an overall win
2003 1st overall, SCCA ProRally Manufacturer Championship
2003 2nd overall, SCCA ProRally Driver's Championship
2002 1st Group 2, SCCA ProRally Driver's Championship
2001 1st Production GT, California Rally Series
2001 1st Production GT, SCCA ProRally Southern Pacific Divisional Series
1999 1st overall, SCCA ProRally Southern Pacific Divisional Series, Northern
Pacific Rally Divisional Series, California Rally Series
Scott Putnam,
Co-driver
1988 Started Subaru sales career
1996 Sold first car online through his Subaru.net website
2001 Started rallying
2002 Co-driver with
SCCA ProRally Rookie of the Year
2005 Scored first overall
win with Lauchlin O’Sullivan
2007 Co-drove
to 4th place finish at X Games with O’Sullivan
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