Christine Kay
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (June 21/02) - The 2002 Alcan 5000 Rally will be coming to Yellowknife this year, all the way from Kirkland, Wash.

Mark Winter, Yellowknife, will be taking part in the 2002 Alcan 5000 Rally in August

It's an 18-year-old event that covers 7,145 kilometres. The rally will include, for the first time, motorcycles as well as SUVs, trucks and cars.

Polar Performance will be the only team from the Northwest Territories taking part in the rally. The team's manager, Kelley Winter, is from Yellowknife. She said the rally is kind of a family endeavour.

Her husband, Mark Winter, will be the driver and her father, Bob Dowdall will be the team's navigator.

Their truck, a 1996 Chevy Blazer will be on display in the Centre Square Mall from July 24-29 with all the sponsor stickers on it.

The trip to Washington will take three days and the rally back will take nine.

"It's a rally so the roads are suppose to be rough. That's part of the reason they're coming to Yellowknife, because it's a challenge. That's what rallying is all about, the precision. I believe the roughest part of the trip is going to be from Whitehorse to Yellowknife," said Winter.

Don Beck, a participant from California and producer of a short television feature for the event, said the trip between Rae and Yellowknife should be lots of fun. He's one of the rally's bikers, so his trip may be a little more bumpy then most.

"The roughest part of the trip is going to be my tush after about the fifth day," says Beck.

Most of the bikes are dual sport or high adventure bikes that cross between a road bike and a dirt bike.

Beck says there's really no way to prepare for something like this, though he and his partner will be taking a shake-down cruise to make sure the bikes operate properly. Working out, running and eating properly may also help a little.

Art Young, president of the NWT Riders Association, said they'll make the rally participants feel at home.

"We'll be escorting them around town and we'll probably be throwing a bash for them on Long Lake," said Young.

There will be a show-and-shine in the Yellowknife Inn parking lot on Aug. 20 starting at 4:30 p.m. which will feature some of the trucks and bikes in the rally as well as a DJ.