Canada's First Eco-Friendly Rally Car wins Ontario Championship

Chris Martin wins the Ontario Rally Championship racing the first green car

November 26, 2009 – Toronto, Ontario – Torontonian Chris Martin drove to a comfortable win at the Ontario Rally Championships. Martin raced his 1993 Subaru Impreza using E85 bio-ethanol fuel; the first car to use this fuel  in the Ontario Rally Championships and the Canadian Rally Championships.

"We were really looking forward to showing people what we could do using ethanol,”  says Martin, "My win demonstrates  you can be environmentally friendly and still win. I hope that other drivers will see this as the perfect opportunity to use less racing fuel and help the environment at the same time."

Martin’s desire to use eco-friendly fuel inspired him to win.  Old School Motorsports battled it out with two other teams all year leading up to the final championship race at the Rally Tall Pines in Bancroft, Ontario. A crash early in the race threatened to put the team out of the Championships, but he was able to recover with his quick thinking.  Along with his co-driver Phil Narini from Oshawa, Ontario Martin won Tall Pines by four minutes and 27 seconds.

Along with his wins in the Shannonville Rally and Tall Pines in the regional event, Martin also received the 2009 Ontario Performance Rally Championship (OPRC) Overall Driver, Open Class Driver and Novice Driver.  “It feels great to win the OPRC championships!” says Martin. “Winning our first rally in April  at Shannonville and now  finishing the season with another OPRC win, and the Ontario Championship, it has been a great  year, with the points coming down to a battle at the final rally. The competition has been great, and we look forward to another battle next year.” 

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Elizabeth Sweet // Public Relations Coordinator
Phone: 647.637.0908 // Email: elizabethcsweet@gmail.com