The Rockstar Royal Group team arrived to the rally in Bancroft with a two-point lead in the championship. Confident with their chances, Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard planned on pushing hard right from the start in order to build up a lead ahead of their main rivals. And that’s exactly what they did as they won the first competitive stage by nine seconds. “We followed our game plan to perfection; go fast without hurting the car,” confides Antoine L’Estage, “Tall Pines is a very tricky and difficult event. That held true for this year particularly because with dry road conditions, speeds get very high and the jumps multiply. Several teams had accidents and flat tires but that wasn’t the case for us. I drove a clean rally, Nathalie was fantastic, and after pushing hard in the morning we just focussed on managing our lead without taking risks. Our car was flawlessly prepared and our Yokohama tires were worry-free. It’s what you could call a perfect rally,” adds the champion.

This success earned Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard their third Canadian Championship title. Aside from this overall championship, the duo is also awarded the 2010 Open Class Championship and the coveted “Triple Crown” given to a team winning the North American, American, and Canadian titles in the same year. Antoine is only the second driver in history to achieve this. As for Nathalie Richard. she claimed the Triple Crown honours in 2004, which makes her now the only competitor to have done it twice.

“We are a private team with a limited budget. We are very proud of what our small team has been able to achieve against several manufacturers’ teams on both sides of the border. I owe a big thanks to John Buffum and our mechanics as well as commercial partners,” indicates Antoine L’Estage. “We worked extremely hard all season and our Mitsubishi Evo X was super reliable at every rally. We finished every one of our twelve national rallies this year, including six victories and four other podiums,” states co-driver Nathalie Richard.

Already three-time North American champion (2007, 2008, 2010), Antoine L’Estage also conquered his third Canadian title (2006, 2007, 2010). He is the reigning champion in the premier American rally series and he has won twenty-five national rallies to date. Nathalie Richard holds six overall national championship titles (3 in Canada and 3 in the USA), as well as thirty-one overall rally wins on both sides of the border. She is also six-time North American Co-Driving Champion (2004 – 2010, excluding 2006).

After an extremely successful year, the Rockstar Royal Group team will return to competition in January 2011. The team’s plans and partnership details are to be announced at a later date.

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard make up the only team to have participated in the entire 2010 Rally America and Canadian Rally Championships, with the support of Rockstar Energy Drink, Royal Group, Yokohama Tires, Mitsubishi Canada, Drenth Motorsport Gearboxes, Garrett Turbos, Energie Cardio, Libra Racing, Driver’s Edge Autosport (OMP), and VP Racing Fuels. For more information on the team or on rallying in general, visit Coyote Rallye .

Action photos: Claude Lamoureux
Antoine & Nathalie photo: Mat Janiak www.worldrallysport.com

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At the wheel of his Rockstar Royal Group Mitsubishi Evo X, Antoine L’Estage is confident heading into the final round of the season. “It will be a super exciting rally! Nathalie and I have already won Tall Pines on three previous occasions and it’s where I won my very first national rally in 2004,” he confides.

The situation at the top of the driver’s championship is as such: the L’Estage/Richard duo is leading by two points. If the team and their primary rivals finish the rally, as long as L’Estage/Richard lead at the end of the day, Triple Crown honours will have been earned. “I really enjoy Tall Pines and I always feel at ease, regardless of the road conditions. If I had my choice, I’d prefer dry gravel to snow or ice-covered roads because they will almost definitely be lined by ditches instead of snow banks. But at the same time, I’ve often won in those conditions so I don’t have any apprehensions and thanks to Yokohama, we have all the compounds we could need,” explains the Quebec driver.

The Rockstar Royal Group team tested its Mitsubishi Evo X last week to ensure that everything is in order mechanically before arriving in Bancroft. “We’re not leaving anything to chance because one thing is certain: it will be an epic battle,” concludes Antoine. Nathalie Richard adds, “We have won the last two rounds of the Canadian Championship and even the last three events if you count the final round of the Rally America series in the US where we won the title this summer. We’re on a roll and we’ll do everything to carry on that momentum up until the end of Tall Pines,” mentions the co-driver.

Antoine L’Estage currently holds three North American titles (2007, 2008 and 2010), two Canadian championship titles (2006 and 2007), one American title (2010) and twenty-four overall victories in Canada and the United States. Nathalie Richard holds five overall national championships (Canada and USA) and thirty national victories on both sides of the border. The North American title she clinched in September is her sixth in seven years.

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard make up the only team to participate in the entire 2010 Rally America and Canadian Rally Championships, with the support of Rockstar Energy Drink, Royal Group, Yokohama Tires, Mitsubishi Canada, Drenth Motorsport Gearboxes, Garrett Turbos, Energie Cardio, Libra Racing, Driver’s Edge Autosport (OMP), and VP Racing Fuels. For more information on the team or on rallying in general, visit Coyote Rallye .

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard, taking a commanding lead at the Pacific Forest Rally in October.
Photo: Matthew Young / www.worldrallysport.com

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Second place finish points earns top spot

Quebec driver Antoine L’Estage and his co-driver Nathalie Richard finished in second place at this past weekend’s Rally in the 100 Acre Wood, Round 2 of the Rally America series and the third event counting towards the North American Rally Cup. After a strong second place finish at the first round of the year, the duo from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu (Qc) arrived to the two-day gravel rally in Missouri five points behind the series leader. Driving their Rockstar Energy Drink Royal Group Mitsubishi Evo X to another second place finish this past weekend vaulted the team into top spot on the leaderboard.

Antoine L’Estage finished 21 seconds behind Ken Block, who earned his fifth consecutive victory at this particular rally. “At the end of Friday night, we were comfortably in second place, over forty seconds ahead of Ken. Our plan Saturday morning was to push hard and close the gap between us and first place (Travis Pastrana). On the second stage of the morning, we drove through a watersplash and our windshield completely fogged up, forcing us to stop on the stage. That and a subsequent puncture on the same stage cost us almost a minute and a half, and dropped us down to third place,” explained L’Estage. “Travis eventually didn’t finish the rally and we were unable to make back the time we had lost earlier in the day. We went to the rally with the intentions of winning it and the same still applied for the next event” he added.

“We often don’t know what to expect in terms of weather or road conditions at the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood so to be fully prepared, we brought many different reliable Yokohama tires with us. The speeds were really fast on most of those stages and when big rocks get pulled out onto the driving line, they’re sometimes unavoidable. We got caught out twice but it’s just part of the sport,” commented co-driver Nathalie Richard.

Antoine and his five-time North American champion co-driver Nathalie Richard set the fastest time on four of the competitive road sections. This podium finish almost guarantees L’Estage an invitation for his third trip to the ESPN Summer X Games, to be held this August in Los Angeles. It also marks important points for the North American Rally Cup, a championship that L’Estage and Richard are also currently leading. Winning this year would be Antoine’s third North American title in four years.

With the Rally America series lead, and no damage to the competition vehicle, L’Estage and Richard would like to travel out west to Round 3 of the championship, the Olympus Rally, in April. L’Estage has never competed at this Olympia, Washington event but hopes to add the rally to their 2010 programme.

Antoine L’Estage holds two Canadian Championship titles (2006 and 2007), as well as two North American titles (2007 and 2008) and a total of 19 overall victories on both sides of the border. As for Nathalie, she has four national championship titles (Canada and USA) and twenty-eight overall victories. In 2009, Nathalie was crowned North American Rally Champion for an impressive fifth time.

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard participate in the 2010 Canadian Rally Championship and select Rally America events with the support of Rockstar Energy Drink, Royal Group, Yokohama Tires, Mitsubishi Canada, Drenth Motorsport Gearboxes, Garrett Turbos, Energie Cardio, Libra Racing, OMP Racewear and MBF Racing. For more information on the team or on rallying in general, visit Coyote Rallye .

Photo : Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard, leaders of the Rally America series and North American Rally Championships

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Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard will again rely on the dedicated collaboration of John Buffum, crew chief and rally car builder, as well as major supporters including Rockstar Energy Drink, Royal Group (Concerto), Yokohama Tires Canada, and Mitsubishi Canada all of whom are returning with the fan-favourite team for the 2010 season.

“Our season starts this weekend at the SnoDrift Rally in Michigan, the first round of the Rally America series,” indicates Antoine L’Estage, “I’ve only competed in it once back in 2008 but we came away with the win and we plan to be very competitive again this weekend,” he adds. The following week, the entire team will be back in Quebec for the Rallye Perce-Neige in Maniwaki (Haute Gatineau), an event at which the L’Estage/Richard team was victorious the past two years. “Perce-Neige has great roads and it’s one of my favourite rallies. It’s challenging but it’s been good to us and we have come out at the top of the podium in 2006, 2008 and 2009,” adds the two-time Canadian and North American Champion.

The Rockstar Royal Group team’s 2010 program includes the entire six rounds of the Canadian Rally Championship as well as at least four of the six rounds in the Rally America series. “Our goal in the United States is to win events, qualify Antoine for his third X Games this August, and score top points for the North American Rally Cup. We’ll definitely compete at the first two events south of the border (Michigan this weekend and in Missouri at the end of February) plus at least two of their remaining four rallies in the spring and summer” explains Nathalie Richard, who, since mid-season 2006, sits alongside L’Estage as his trusted co-driver.

Antoine L’Estage holds two Canadian Championship titles (2006 and 2007), as well as two North American titles (2007 and 2008) and a total of 19 overall victories on both sides of the border. As for Nathalie, she has four national championship titles (Canada and USA) and twenty-eight overall victories. In 2009, Nathalie was crowned North American Champion for an impressive fifth time.

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard participate in the 2009 Canadian Rally Championship with the support of Rockstar Energy Drink, Royal Group, Yokohama Tires, Mitsubishi Canada, Drenth Motorsport Gearboxes, Garrett Turbos, Energie Cardio, Libra Racing, OMP Racewear and MBF Racing. For more information on the team or on rallying in general, visit Coyote Rallye.

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“We’re going to Bancroft confident, with a car that has been meticulously prepared by John Buffum and our crew,” indicates Antoine L’Estage. “We have excellent cards in our hands coming into this rally seeing as we have a six point lead in the Canadian Championship standings. Our main rival could win this rally and we could finish second and still be assured the championship title,” he adds. For Antoine, Nathalie and the entire team, the Canadian title is the main objective but the possibility of claiming another North American title is just as interesting. “In the North American Rally Cup, we have a seven point lead and our main NARC rival needs to win this rally to claim the title. Anything less awards us the championship. One thing is certain, if we win the NARC, it means a third consecutive title for us – something that is exceptional in the history of the sport,” explains the Quebec driver.

The Rally of the Tall Pines, the last round of the 2009 calendar, is infamous for being a very difficult event, whose roads are often made very tricky due to the changing weather conditions – conditions in which the Yokohama tires always excel. It’s also a rally that Antoine and Nathalie have claimed victory at three times since 2004, when Antoine won the first national rally of his career.

Recent winners of the Bertrand-Fabi Trophy, which awards top motorsports competitors for excellence on national and international levels, Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard look forward to the Rally of the Tall Pines with anticipation, as the co-driver describes, “2009 was an excellent year for our team and our sponsors. We debuted a brand new open class Evo X, one of the first of its kind in the world, and we expected a few teething problems. As it stands, we have earned two victories in five Canadian rallies to date and we lead the Canadian and North American championships heading into the final round. It’s nothing but positive and we’re here to cap it off with two more titles!” concludes Nathalie.

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard participate in the 2009 Canadian Rally Championship with the support of Rockstar Energy Drink, Royal Group, Mitsubishi Canada, Yokohama Tires, Mobil, Energie Cardio, Libra Racing, OMP Racewear and MBF Racing. For more information on the team or on rallying in general, visit Coyote Rallye .

Photo Credit: Andrew Snucins – http://worldrallysport.com

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“Defi is an important race to us … It launches the second half of the season and it’s also our home event. It’s the closest rally to where we live and we have plenty of family, friends, and sponsors that come out to support us,” explains Nathalie Richard. The champions’ goal will be two-fold at this rally. “First and foremost we will attempt to reclaim top spot in the Canadian Championship, and the secondary goal is to win the event once again,” she adds.

If Antoine and Nathalie win the 2009 edition of the Rallye Defi, Antoine L’Estage will have accumulated his fourth victory at this event, equalling the Defi record held by the legendary John Buffum, who is also Antoine’s mentor. “John Buffum prepares our Rockstar Royal Group Mitsubishi Evo X so it would be an honour for me to tie his record in a car he built,” highlights Antoine, who anticipates this rally with confidence. “We were very competitive and had a fantastic battle with the current four-time US champion at July’s New England Forest Rally. The car was great and we had an almost perfect rally.” Antoine L’Estage and the entire team now rest assured that the teething problems of their new car, one of only a few in the world, are over. “We have crossed that bridge and we can now fully concentrate on our performance,” confides the Quebec driver.

Taking place in the Laurentians region (Ste-Agathe) on Friday, September 11th and in the Petite Nation region (Montpellier-Duhamel-Ripon) the following day, Mother Nature is often an uncertainty at the Rallye Defi, something that doesn’t bother Antoine L’Estage. “I hope for nice weather for the thousands of spectators that come to support us and the sport but in terms of the competition, rain doesn’t bother me at all. I do well in adverse conditions and I have Yokohama tires that I can trust to do the job regardless of whether it’s wet or dry”. With a reputation as being one of the toughest rallies in North America, the Rallye Defi is also one of the most popular amongst fans and competitors alike. Close to fifty teams will start the first leg of the rally in Ste-Agathe on Friday at 2pm. On Saturday, the competition will resume in the Petite Nation region between 7:30am and 6 pm.

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard participate in the 2009 Canadian Rally Championship with the proud support of Rockstar Energy Drink, Royal Group, Mitsubishi Canada, Yokohama Tires, Mobil, Energie Cardio, Libra Racing, OMP Racewear, and MBF Racing. For more details on the team or general rally information, please visit the Coyote Rallye web site.

Photo: Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard, impressing the crowds at the Rallye Baie-des-Chaleurs.

Photo by Gordon Sleigh

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