GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn., Nov. 28, 2006 – With the sport of rally racing enjoying national recognition in 2006, ESPN and Rally America have announced a multi-year agreement, in which ESPN2 will air the Rally America 2007 National Championship Series.
Rally America began its relationship with ESPN in 2006 and brought rally car racing to X Games 12, which helped spark the re-birth of rally racing in the U.S. and introduced the purest form of racing to a new audience. As part of the agreement, Rally Car Racing will be included in X Games 13 and X Games 14. A qualifying system will be established whereby the results of the 2007 Rally America National Championship will be used in determining invitations to X Games 13.
“I am very excited about our relationship with ESPN,” said Rally America Managing Director J.B. Niday. “The X Games gives us the opportunity to present our athletes to a broad audience and now the National Championship coverage gives our fans a chance to see their heroes perform throughout the season.”
As ESPN continues to build its motor sports division, it sees the Rally America National Championship Series as unique property that has crossover appeal with the X Games brand as well.
“We’re very happy to expand our relationship with Rally America,” said Frantz Cayo, Director of Motorsports Programming for ESPN. “With more than 500 hours of motorsports programming, ESPN2 is definitely the destination network for motorsports fans in 2007.”
The Rally America/ ESPN2 TV Schedule will be released in mid December. Highlights and interactive features from the television broadcasts will be available on the Rally America website at www.rally-america.com.
ESPN2 is now in 91 million homes and virtually mirrors the distribution of ESPN.
2007 Rally America National Championship Series Schedule
-Sno*Drift Rally – Atlanta, Michigan – January 26-27
-Rally in the 100 Acre Wood – Salem, Missouri – February 23-24
-Oregon Trail Rally – Hillsboro, Oregon – April 20-22
-Olympus Rally – Olympia, Washington – May 19-20
-Susquehannock Trail Rally – Wellsboro, Pennsylvania – June 2
-New England Forest Rally – Bethel, Maine – July 13-14
-Ojibwe Forests Rally – Bemidji, Minnesota – August 24-25
-Colorado Rally – Steamboat Springs, Colorado – September 22-23
-Lake Superior Rally – Houghton, Michigan – October 26-27
-TBD Rally – Location, TBD – November 9-10
CONTACT: Marc Feuerstein
Wasserman Media Group
[email protected]
212-704-0488