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Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard Win Rocky Mountain Rally, Controlling From The Start

CALGARY, ALBERTA, May 26, 2012 - Antoine L'Estage (St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que.) won the 2012 Rocky Mountain Rally, the second round of the Canadian Rally Championship, leading from start to finish to claim his fifth win at the Calgary based rally. With co-driver Nathalie Richard, L'Estage took the lead early on day one, and never relinquished the advantage on the way to victory.

“It feels great, it was a perfect rally for us. We led right from the first stage,” said L'Estage, at the end of the final day of the rally. “We pushed right from the start and got a big lead, so today was just a matter of trying to pace ourselves.”

Challenging road conditions on day one saw the team excel in wet, muddy, even snowy conditions before moving to dry gravel stages for day two.

“The car was perfect, the crew was great, Nathalie was perfect. We had the right tires for each of the different conditions on this rally, and we have maximum points possible in the championship,” said L'Estage.

Winning at the Rocky Mountain Rally also allows the team to extend their lead in the Canadian Rally Championship, having also won the season opener, Rallye Perce Neige, in February.

Behind L'Estage and Richard, there were a number of battles, including that for second place. Pat Richard (Squamish, B.C.) and Alan Ockwell (Toronto) of Subaru Rally Team Canada suffered multiple setbacks on day one, but were not deterred and pushed hard to make up time on rivals Leo Urlichich (Toronto) and Carl Williamson (Wales).

“We had a good day,” said Richard at the end of the rally. “We won all the stages and we're pushing pretty hard. First stage we took ten seconds off Leo, second stage we took 12, then 15 and then 25.”

Richard was forced to push harder on each subsequent stage on the final day in order to make up for time lost on day one, when at the start of the final stage of the day, the rear differential exploded when Richard launched the car.

Though the car was able to be repaired overnight, the team awoke to find they had been assessed 45 seconds in chicane penalties.

“It was quite frustrating, because we started off the day thinking we were ahead of [Leo], but it turned out we were going to get assessed a penalty,” said Richard. “We had to big a bit deeper. It was quite an up and down day for us, but I'm happy we were able to claw back the time and win it despite of the penalties”

The second place finish means Richard and Ockwell, who failed to score points at the season opener, are now on the board in the championship standings.

“I'm still not satisfied. I come to these events to win, and we had some problems yesterday. We've got some homework to do before the next event,” said Richard.

Though Urlichich and Williamson finished third, the pair had arrived at the event hoping to find the extra speed to challenge Richard and Ockwell. Over the first day's muddy stages, they indeed found that pace, but once on the drier stages of day two, Richard was simply too fast.

“I have a massive smile on my face now,” said Urlichich. “Yesterday...I said I wanted a battle royale for this rally, and there it was. Ok, with a bit of luck on our side, and different conditions, toughness of the event, changing weather, we had a battle royale. I tried my best everywhere. There was not a stage road, or a kilometre where I said 'nah, I'll just take it easy here.'”

A two-day battle also raged for fourth place, between the Calgary based team of Eric Grochowski and Leanne Junnila and Kris Schofield (Calgary) and Jennifer Daly (Kelowna, B.C.) for the two wheel drive victory.

Grochowski and Junnila had made some improvements to their VW Golf, most notably a new, more powerful motor and carved out an early lead on the first day, until overheating problems in the evening cost all of the lead. The pair entered the second day of action four seconds behind Schofield and Daly.

However, Schofield and Daly experienced their own mechanical problems, when they broke both the brake and shock on the rear passenger corner of the car. Those were issues that, along with a deficit in power, would hamper their performance on the extremely fast Hunter Valley stages of day two.

“With the brake failure, and pretty much the whole rear passenger corner of the car – no suspension and no brakes – that probably slowed us down a little,” said Schofield.

With a fully functional car after overnight repairs, Grochowski and Junnila were able to press their power advantage to retake the lead and open up a safe margin over Schofield and Daly, winning two wheel drive.

“The car ran flawlessly today, and we pushed really hard today,” said Grochowski at the end of the rally. “I know how fast Kris is, he's fully committed all the time so we weren't sure how it was going to play out. We put time on Kris every stage. We didn't leave anything in reserve today.”

Schofield and Daly took second in class, while Andrew Comrie-Picard (Los Angeles) and Brian O'Kane (Calgary) finished third.

The victory in Production GT – a class for nearly showroom stock all wheel drive cars – was claimed by Eric Pehota and Richard Doucet of Pemberton, B.C.

The Rocky Mountain Rally is the first gravel round of the six event Canadian Rally Championship, and is made up of 13 stages, totalling 184km of competitive distance. The second round of the championship, the Rocky Mountain Rally is the first western event of the year.

“The Conditions were challenging but we were able to run every stage in the schedule,” said Keith Morison, of the organising committee. “We're looking forward to more changes and growth for the event next year.”

The Canadian Rally Championship is comprised of six events held nationwide in a season that

extends from February to November. The series is presented by Subaru Canada, supported by

Yokohama Tire Canada and features contingency programs from Subaru Canada and Mitsubishi

Canada. The Canadian Association of Rallysport (CARS) is the official sanctioning body for rallying in

Canada.

Rally car racing is often described simply as “real cars, real roads, real fast.” The all-season

motorsport sees drivers and their co-drivers take modified road cars to the limit as they achieve

blistering speeds over closed-road courses that typically cover more than 150 kilometres of gravel, dirt

or snow-covered roads. Fans can get up close to the cars in the service areas and catch all the action

from specially designated spectator points located at the best spots on the route.

Full coverage of the championship will air on RDS and TSN. Check local listings.

For more information: www.carsrally.ca or www.rockymountainrally.com

Rocky Mountain Rally Final Results

1. Antoine L'Estage – Nathalie Richard – one hour, 22 minutes, 24.4 seconds
2. Pat Richard – Alan Ockwell – 1:24:03.5
3. Leo Urlichich – Carl Williamson – 1:24:29.2
4. Hardy Schmidtke – John Hall – 1:29:42.7
5. Alexandre Kozlov – Martin Matas – 1:38:09.0
6. Eric Pehota – Richard Doucet – 1:38:40.1
7. Azam Deen – Shabir Haji – 1:41:05.8
8. Tibor Kertes – Spencer Armstrong – 1:41:41.6
9. Eric Grochowski – Leanne Junnila – 1:43:34.8
10. Kris Schofield – Jennifer Daly – 1:44:58.5

FOR MORE INFORMATION - Canadian Association of Rally Sport offices : (855) 640-6444

Attention News, Sports and Automotive Editors

For Immediate Release

NOTE local interest for: Montreal, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Merritt, Squamish, Whistler, Vancouver,
Red Deer, Calgary, Halifax, Toronto, Ireland, Winnipeg.

RICHARD PUTS SUBARU ON TOP OF PODIUM AT PACIFIC FOREST RALLY

MERRITT, BRITISH COLUMBIA, October 2, 2011 – Pat Richard (Squamish, BC) and Alan Ockwell (Toronto) of Subaru Rally Team Canada won the Pacific Forest Rally, putting an end to a year long drought. The two were competing together for the first time this season, though together they won the 2008 and 2009 Canadian Rally Championship titles.

“We took control of the event right from the start,” said Richard, who led most of the rally. “Then we had to manage the lead. Really, it was a clean run, with no drama. The car was flawless, Alan was great.”

Richard last won a round of the Canadian Rally Championship in the middle of the 2010 season, and has faced a number of challenges since. Between car development issues and using a different co-driver for most of the 2011 season the team had been unable to reach the top of the podium while his rivals seemed to have nearly trouble free runs at every event.

Though Richard’s bid for driver's title is over for this season, he arrived at Pacific Forest Rally relaxed and refocused on earning the manufacturer's title for Subaru. The points scored this weekend are vital in Richard's bid to earn the Manufacturer's title in the Canadian Rally Championship. Richard will still need to win the final event of the season to secure the title for Subaru.

Second place team of Antoine L’Estage (St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC) and Nathalie Richard (Halifax, NS) ran a conservative event but remained focused on their goal for the season.

“For this rally, we really needed to concentrate on the Driver's Championship and not get caught up in the battle for the event win. We only needed to finish tenth here to get the points we needed,” said L'Estage, whose second place result earns a second consecutive Canadian Rally Championship title for both he and codriver Nathalie Richard.

“This marks my fourth career championship in Canada, and at the last event, I clinched my fourth North American title,” said L'Estage. “I wouldn't be here without the help of my sponsors and of course my team. They worked hard all season, and we've had great results. Of the last 11 rallies we've done, we've only had one DNF, we've won six, and been on the podium for the rest.”

“Crazy” Leo Urlichich (Toronto) and Martin Brady (Meath, Ireland) earned the final spot on the podium, Though Urlichich wasn't satisfied with the result.

“Of course I want to do better than third place,” said Urlichich. “But we had two really good accomplishments this weekend. We led the rally while both Antoine and Pat were still competing, and our margin back from those guys is a lot less than it used to be. We just need to fine tune ourselves and our car, and I think we can go even faster.”

Immediately behind the top three, a battle emerged between the team of Hardy Schmidtke (Cochrane, AB) and John Hall (Sherwood Park, AB) versus rookie Max Riddle (Vancouver) and co-driver Aaron Neumann (Vancouver). Schmidtke took advantage of early road position on the first day to open up a comfortable margin while slotting into fourth place. Riddle, who was further back in the start order was slowed by dusty conditions that made it hard to see, especially on the night stages.

“I've competed for three years to have earned my road position,” said Schmidtke, referring to his driver ranking that moves him closer to the front of the pack. “But Max is really fast, so I'm not sure I can hold him off.”

Meanwhile, Riddle, who started competing less than a year ago, drove calmly, clawing back the seconds until edging past Schmidtke halfway through day two.

“On Friday, our goal was to get into the top five,” said Riddle, a position that gives the team an extra minute gap to help reduce the chances of catching the dust from the car ahead. “From there, we just drove hard to make up time.”

Riddle and Neumann finished fourth, their highest result in a national championship event.

In two wheel drive, brothers Jan and Jody Zedril (Winnipeg) had a largely trouble free run to the top spot on the two wheel drive podium. The pair has been one of the most consistent competitors in two wheel drive and have been rewarded by winning the 2wd Championship making Jan the only driver to win the title in its three year history.

The Pacific Forest Rally also includes the PIAA ecoChallenge, an award given based on a combination of fast times and low fuel consumption. Jim Shepard and local Nicki Beverley (Merritt, BC) took the top spot in the ecoChallenge in their Toyota Celica. Though dominated by two wheel drive cars, pro mountain bike rider Brandon Semenuk (Whistler, BC) and Adam Vokes (Red Deer, AB) were the top ranked all wheel drive car.

“This rally offers up a great challenge for teams, and an amazing experience for spectators,” said organiser Paul Westwick. “The stages really reward teams that push and take chances, and that means more excitement for the fans.”

The 2011 Canadian Rally Championship finishes at the Rally of the Tall Pines, in Bancroft, ON, November 25-26, 2011. Conditions are highly variable at the Rally of the Tall Pines, so teams must prepare to face everything from soft gravel to snow and ice. Multiple class championships will be up for grabs, and teams will be driving at maximum attack!

The Canadian Rally Championship comprises six events held nationwide in a season that extends from February to November. The series is presented by Subaru Canada, supported by Yokohama Tire Canada and features contingency programs from Subaru Canada and Mitsubishi Canada. The Canadian Association of Rallysport (CARS) is the official sanctioning body for rallying in Canada.

Rally is often described simply as “real cars, real roads, real fast.” The all-season motorsport sees drivers and their co-drivers take modified road cars to the limit as they achieve blistering speeds over closed-road courses that typically cover more than 150 kilometers of gravel, dirt or snow-covered roads. Fans can get up close to the cars in the service areas and catch all the action from specially designated spectator points located at the best spots on the route.

Full coverage of the championship will air on RDS and TSN. Check local listings.

For more information: www.carsrally.ca or www.pacificforestrally.com

You can also follow the series on Twitter @CRCRally or at facebook.com/CRCRally

Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs Final Results

1. Pat Richard – Alan Ockwell – One hour, 19 minutes, 49.60 seconds

2. Antoine L'Estage – Nathalie Richard – 1:20:37.45

3. Leo Urlichich – Martin Brady – 1:21:55.80

4. Max Riddle – Aaron Neumann – 1:29:36.00

5. Hardy Schmidtke – John Hall – 1:30:36.90

6. Mike Goodwin – Martin Burnley – 1:31:19.70

7. Mark Jennings-Bates – Jennifer Daly – 1:33:27.10

8. Jan Zedril – Jody Zedril – 1:35:26.10

9. Onur Tezcan – Angela Cosner – 1:37:25.60

10. Eric Grochowski – Leanne Junnila – 1:39:09.80

Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell hold a significant lead at the end of the first day of the Pacific Forest Rally in Merritt, BC with a gap of 38 seconds over Leo Urlichich and Martin Brady in second place and another nine seconds back to Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard in third.

Richard was able to take advantage of road position, running first without having to contend with dust that might the night stages difficult for other drivers. Alan Ockwell has stepped back in as co-driver and the two are finding their championship winning pace.

"There's been no drama," said Richard at the end of the day. "We've been doing our thing and just concentrating on working together again."

Urlichich and Brady were slowed as they suffered two punctures though Urlichich was unsure what caused the problem.

"No more flats, so that's good," said Leo. "We've been trying to adjust our setup. I think it's getting closer to what we want."

L'Estage and Nathalie Richard are content with their position. A tenth place finish here is all that is required for the pair to clinch the 2011 Canadian Rally Championship.

"Dust was insane tonight. Even with a three minute window, it wasn't enough," said L'Estage. "Still we are where we need to be. I don't need to be a hero here."

In two wheel drive, Jan and Jody Zedril have opened up a strong lead over their rivals.

"The dust was really bad for us on Princeton tonight. With the extra minute, we beat our first time by 45 seconds," said Jody.

Zebe Szewczyk and Shabir Haji are in second place with Eric Grochowski and Leanne Junnila not far behind.

"Today was all hillclimbs and hairpins, tomorrow's stages are momentum stages, which should be good for us," said Grochowski.

The second day of the Pacific Forest Rally starts south of Merritt, with 125kms of competitive stages before the finish of the rally.

Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard are leading the 2011 Rallye Defi by a margin of two minutes, 20.8 seconds over second place Leo Urlichich and Martin Brady after the first day of action.

L'Estage took the lead on the first stage, fighting off Pat Richard and Leanne Junnila through the rest of the day. L'Estage finished with a lead of 10.3 seconds, but Richard and Junnila were excluded at the end of the day after getting flat towed to a fuel drop in the morning.

“Everything has been going good today,” said L'Estage. “Pat and I were very close all day, it was a good battle.”

L'Estage was the seemingly the only crew not to have problems. Leo Urlichich and Martin Brady snapped an axle on the first stage that damaged their differentials, a problem that wasn't solved till the afternoon, and appeared to have returned on the final stage.

“Everything seemed good, but on this last stage, the car made a noise, and it's not going so well now,” said Leo.

Sitting in third place is Steeve Hobbs and Jean-Mathieu Tremblay, less than 18 seconds back from Leo, and just 1.1 seconds ahead of Joel Levac and Stephanie Lewis.

Jan and Jody Zedril have a strong hold on first place in 2wd, after Simon Dube and Pat Lavigne had problems in the first stage, breaking the rear suspension and brakes on their Golf. Eric Grochowski and Keith Morison retired after the first stage with a broken fuel pump.

Tomorrow, the rally relocates to Montpellier for an additional 12 stages.