The Black River Stages rally race returns to Lewis County, New York on September 19 – 20, 2009. Just thirty miles from the Canadian border, the gorgeous fall leaf season will be interrupted by the roar of competitors racing closed roads in the Towns of Croghan, Edwards, Harrisville and Pitcairn. Black River Stages Rally is the final event of the Atlantic Rally Cup and the Atlantic RallyMoto(tm) Cup.

This year racing will take place on Saturday afternoon and evening, and Sunday all day. Spectators who wish to catch the racing action can head to Pastamore in downtown Harrisville, Nice ‘N’ Easy in Pitcairn or Croghan, or the Indian River General Store in Croghan to pick up a limited edition spectator guide with schedules and bios. More fun rally information and a rally schedule can be found on blackriverstages.com.

For the rally cars, Tom Lawless, racing a Mitsubishi Evo, is in points lead for the Atlantic Rally Cup season; however, schedule conflicts means he may not be able to attend. This leaves the door open for a shoot-out between Danny O’Brien, in a Subaru Impreza Sti, and Brad Morris, in a Mitsubishi Lancer! Chasing Morris for third place is Simon Wright in his agile Ford Focus. Although they may not be in the run for the championship, the O’Leary brothers, Michael and John, will be contenders for an overall finish in their Mitsubishi Evo IV.

In the Atlantic RallyMoto(tm) Cup, Bill Conger, on his Aprilia RXV 5.5, has a mathematical lock on the overall win; however, his presence at Black River Stages may significantly alter the strategy of the other riders. The pace that Conger sets will be the one to match but no one will know how hard he’s pushing until long after the HID have blazed down the roads late Saturday night. The real battle will be for second and third place overall between Seth Strait, on a KTM 690 Enduro, Kurt Weigand, on a KTM 530 EXC-R, and Luis Figuerido on a KTM 640 Enduro. This proves that KTM remains a popular brand for rallying despite the fact that the company has withdrawn its support of the world famous Dakar Rally in South America.

Black River Stages Rally still needs volunteers reports organizer Anders Green. “We still have spots open for road marshals. If you’re willing to give some time to your community, you can help keep everyone safe and still see some great racing!” Green suggests volunteers visit http://www.blackriverstages.com/2009/volunteers.php for more information!