The first round of the Canadian Rally Championship will be held this weekend in Maniwaki, Quebec, capital city of the Upper Ottawa Valley. Standings will be reset for the fifty-six entries that will take to the harsh logging roads that this event is famous for. Mitsubishi will have ten teams vying for national titles, among them Canadian vice-champions and 2009 defending winners Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, in their 09 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.

For some teams, the season kicked off last week in Michigan where Mitsubishi earned three of the top four places at the Snowdrift Rally, the first event on the Rally America calendar, with L’Estage coming in second and Andrew Comrie-Picard, defending North American champion taking fourth place in his Lancer Evolution 9 with co-driver Jeremy Wimpey.

This weekend, in addition to these two star drivers, the Mitsubishi brigade will have Top 5 contenders with Simon Losier and Francois Morin steering their Evolution 8, Mathieu L’Estage and Yanick Napert in their Evolution 4, and Martin and Patrick Losier in their Synchro Racing entry. Jan and Jody Zedril from Winnipeg, three-time Canadian 2WD champions, will seek another title in their Lancer.

Competition will also be fierce in the new Production Sport class between the two Mitsubishi entries of driver Jeffrey Dowell partnered with Yavor Klostranec and Philip Deans and teammate Carmel Burke in stock Lancers. The only female driver, Michelle Laframboise will start her Evolution 4 from 39th place with co-driver Dave Getchell and the Picton, Ontario crew of Ian Crerar and Doug Draper will complete the Mitsubishi brigade.

“Hopes are running high amongst our teams as they try to reach their goals in 2010. We trust our rally program, now in its third season, will help them fulfill their dreams,” said Kogi Soga, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada Inc. “Mitsubishi has a long standing motorsport tradition and we know these teams can add their names to the honour list.”

Rallye Perce-Neige : profile
The first round of the season, Rallye Perce-Neige, ran first in 1964 and moved to Maniwaki in late 1970. This annual ice, snow and drift fest will showcase 14 speed sections totalling 201 kilometres included in the 425 kilometre trek over 14 hours. The 56-car grid will leave Maniwaki Saturday morning at 9:30 am only to return around midnight. Road conditions are reported as hard packed snow over ice : crews will be able to drive in convoy through the speed stages Friday to witness the conditions.
More information is available at www.rallyeperceneige.com.

Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard (left) on the podium in 2009 after their outright victory in their Lancer Evolution. Jan and Jody Zedril, the returning Canadian 2WD and Group 2 champions.

Credit : Philip Ericksen

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The sixth and final round of the Canadian Rally Championship was held this weekend out of Bancroft, Ontario. Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, in their 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, were minutes away from becoming national champions when they encountered mechanical problems (clutch) in the last speed section. They completed the event in fifth place, which was good enough for second place in the final standings.

Among the other Mitsubishi teams, Andrew Comrie-Picard and Jeremy Wimpey in a second Lancer Evolution took second place overall. The podium finish earned ACP the driver title in the North American championship. Nathalie Richard had already clinched the codriver title.

Simon Losier and Francois Morin guided their Synchro Racing Evolution VIII RS to a sixth place, which gives them third place overall in the season standings. In the Group 2 category, Jan and Jody Zedril from Winnipeg took second place in their stock Lancer ES and driver Jan became the Canadian 2WD Champion. Mitsubishi earns the manufacturer title.

Other Mitsubishi driving teams able to complete the grueling event include Michelle Laframboise and codriver Erik Lee in their Evolution IV, and rookie pairing Jeffrey and Emily Dowell in their Production Sport Lancers. Maxime Losier and Philippe Poirier in the second Synchro Racing Evo VIII RS were on their way to a surprising Top 5 finish when they had to drop out at the midpoint of the race.

Mitsubishi Cup

The results at Tall Pines determined the year-end standings for the 2009 Mitsubishi Cup. Antoine L’Estage (Nathalie Richard) raced to his first Mitsubishi Cup victory, beating out defending Cup champion Simon Losier (Francois Morin). Andrew Comrie-Picard rounds out the podium finishers.

“A national champion would have been a first for Mitsubishi in Canada,” said Koji Soga, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada Inc., when asked about the unfortunate clutch issues of L’Estage and Richard in the final speed section at Tall Pines.

“But we’re extremely happy with the performances of our teams. The titles we’ve won are the results of ongoing efforts for a whole season. We hope the Mitsubishi rally program has contributed to their success and that they will be back next year.”

Next rendezvous: Rallye Perce-Neige 2010

The Canadian Rally Championship is now history with the Rally of the Tall Pines, final round of the season. The teams will take a few months off only to reconvene in Maniwaki, Quebec, north of Ottawa, for the first round of the 2010 season, Rally Perce-Neige, in February. More information is available at www.carsrally.ca.

Photos : Philip Ericksen

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Quebec driver Antoine L’Estage, co-driven by Nathalie Richard, both of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu (QC), took part in past weekend’s Rally of the Tall Pines, the final round of the 2009 Canadian Rally Championship and the North American Rally Cup. The Rockstar Royal Group team demonstrated during almost the entire event that they were set to take home the rally victory and the two drivers’ titles at stake. Heart-breaking mechanical issues prevented the couple from claiming their third Canadian and third consecutive North American titles. The team, who was debuting a brand new 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, nonetheless takes away a very positive track record for 2009.

“When the new car was built in January, we planned on this being a developmental year for the Evo X. Our victories at Rallye Perce-Neige and Rallye Defi started to change our minds as we took the lead of the Canadian Rally Championship up until last Saturday night,” explains Antoine. The privateer Rockstar Royal Group team was having a perfect rally, winning five of the first seven stages without so much as a scratch on the car before solidifying their objectives and dialing back their speed.

“I think we proved to the two-car manufacturer’s team that we were there to claim the Canadian Championship. We had a great rally and going into the last stage we had enough of a lead to just drive a steady stage without taking any risks,” explains Antoine L’Estage. “Unfortunately, a clutch problem made it almost impossible for us to make it up the hill to the start line of that last stage and we lost over eleven minutes trying. It was devastating to watch our competitors start the stage as two championship titles slipped through our fingers. We finished the rally in fifth place and finish the season as Canadian Rally Championship runner-ups,” he confides. The two-time Canadian and two-time North American Champion adds, “It’s obviously disappointing when such an incident takes place in the last stage of the last rally of the season, but that’s rally and we have to accept it and move on,” he concludes. L’Estage tied for top points in the North American Rally Cup driver’s title but tie-breaking rules gives his fewer but higher finishing rallies, a second place overall.

2009 was a transition year for the Rockstar Royal Group rally team. With two victories, only one mechanical DNF (did not finish), and a total of five “Top 5″ finishes, the season met all expectations and earned Antoine L’Estage top spot in the Mitsubishi Cup.

“We’re both very competitive and wanted to win this year but we didn’t expect to be in such an advantageous position for both Championships coming into the last event of 2009. Antoine did some of his best driving in Bancroft and didn’t succumb to any of the pressures that were being put on him. He deserved those titles and it was truly a heart-breaking end to the year. We extend a huge thanks to our fantastic crew and all of our partners and we promise to be there even stronger in 2010!” added Nathalie Richard, who finishes the year as the North American Co-Driving Champion as well as the Canadian Ladies’ Champion.

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard have won the Mitsubishi Cup this year. They have participated 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 Website.

Photo Credit: Neil McDaid

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With the sixth and final round of the Canadian Rally Championship being held this weekend in Bancroft, Ontario, Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, in their 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, are one step closer to becoming national champions. If this happens, it will be a first for Mitsubishi in Canada.

Eight additional teams, all steering Mitsubishi Lancer models, have entered into this unpredictable event where weather often determines the outcome. Among the open class favorites are Andrew Comrie-Picard and Jeremy Wimpey in a second Evolution; Simon Losier and Francois Morin driving a Synchro Racing Evolution VIII RS and Maxime Losier and Philippe Poirier, also in a Synchro Racing Evolution VIII RS.

Zebe Szewczyk and Tomasz Karzynski, out of Calgary, could campaign their Group 5 Ralliart to another class victory and series championship. Meanwhile, Jan and Jody Zedril from Winnipeg have locked the Group 2 title and could become the best two-wheel drive team in the country in their Lancer ES. Michelle Laframboise – the only female driver entered at Tall Pines – and Erik Lee have entered in their Evolution IV; while Philip Deans and Carmel Burke along with rookies Jeffrey and Emily Dowell in their Production Sport Lancers.

“Our teams have worked very hard all season long and we appreciate and support their efforts,” said Kogi Soga, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada Inc. “Mitsubishi is close to earning its first national championship and this is very good news for our future in rally sports in Canada and for the Mitsubishi brand.”

Rally of the Tall Pines: profile
The final round of the season, the famous Rally of the Tall Pines, will be held in Bancroft, Ontario November 19 – 21. Road conditions at Tall Pines have always made for an exciting and unpredictable event. Car preparation, route and tire choice all play a key role. This weekend 54 teams will take to the road for a total of 500 kilometres with 190 of them in sheer speed. More information is available at www.tallpinesrally.com.

Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard could become the Canadian rally champions in their Lancer Evolution. Jan and Jody Zedril are the new Canadian Group 2 champions.

Pictures : Philip Ericksen

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This past weekend, at the wheel of their Rockstar Royal Group Mitsubishi Evo X, Quebec driver Antoine L’Estage and his co-driver Nathalie Richard, both of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu (QC), earned valuable points to maintain their lead in the 2009 Canadian Rally Championship. By finishing second at the Pacific Forest Rally in Merritt, BC, the penultimate round in the series, current North American Rally Champions L’Estage and Richard have made it one step closer to claiming their third overall Canadian title.

“A strong finish at this rally was our main objective,” confides Antoine L’Estage. Sitting in second place with a fifteen second deficit at the end of Friday night, the L’Estage/Richard duo took charge the following morning by winning the first four mountain stages.

By the end of the ninth of sixteen stages, and without taking any unnecessary risks, Antoine and Nathalie had climbed back to within less than a second behind first place. “Unfortunately, we suffered a small problem with the turbo that cost us about forty seconds. From that moment on, we accepted that we would just manage our second place until the end of the rally. Mother Nature teased us a little before the start of the rally but our Yokohama tires once again did the job for us in these challenging road conditions” adds L’Estage.

Championship points were the most important goal for the Rockstar Royal Group team, who lead the 2009 hunt for the title by six points and one rally remaining. “We usually don’t settle for anything other than the rally victory but we had to keep the big picture in our minds. Any smart team would’ve done the same thing and we are happy with the result – we keep the championship lead and that’s what we wanted to return home with. We didn’t want to take any risks here and the car heads back east without even a scratch,” indicates Nathalie Richard.

The battle for the 2009 title will play out on November 21 at Ontario’s Rally of the Tall Pines, a rally that Antoine L’Estage has won three times. “I really enjoy the Rally of the Tall Pines and I’m confident we will clinch the championship there,” concludes L’Estage. Even if their closest championship rival wins the last rally, L’Estage and Richard could once again settle for second place and still be crowned 2009 Canadian Champions.

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 Website .

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard in action at the 2009 Pacific Forest Rally.
Photo: Andrew Snucins www.worldrallysport.com

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Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec in their new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution are one step closer to winning the 2009 Canadian Rally Championship after finishing in second place at the Pacific Forest Rally, the fifth round of the season. L’Estage and Richard fought hard in each of the 15 speed stages and were 0.6 second from the lead after 11 stages. Meanwhile, Jan and Jody Zedril from Winnipeg locked up the Group 2 title with another class victory in their front-wheel drive Lancer ES and earned a deserving sixth overall, their best finish ever in the championship. It was the fourth class win in five outings for the Manitoban brothers who lead the 2WD standings.

Simon Losier and Francois Morin almost had a podium in sight in their Boisvert Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8 RS when they were slowed by a flat tire. They completed the event in fourth overall, a mere 28 seconds from third place. Finally, Zebe Szewczyk and Tomasz Karzynski from Calgary steered their Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart to Group 5 class win.

“We congratulate our teams for their outstanding performances at the Pacific Forest Rally,” said Kogi Soga, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada Inc. “We are always happy when Mitsubishi teams are successful and we are glad that our rally program is a part of their involvement in motorsports.”

Rally of the Tall Pines finale
The last event of the season will be the famous Rally of the Tall Pines, held in Ontario around the city of Bancroft on the 19 – 21 of November. Tall Pines has been the season finale for decades and road conditions are always the key to an exciting and unpredictable event. A second place for L’Estage / Richard would confirm their title but they will still vie for the outright victory. More information is available at www.tallpinesrally.com.

Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard (left) are one step away from becoming the Canadian rally champions in their Lancer Evolution. Jan and Jody Zedril from Winnipeg are the new Group 2 Canadian title holders.

Pictures : Philip Ericksen, Barry Giles

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The Mitsubishi Canadian rally teams will have the opportunity to secure a few championships this weekend at the fifth round of the Canadian Rally Championship, the Pacific Forest Rally, held in Merritt, British Columbia. Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, are presently leading the overall point standings by 11 points after their win at Rallye Defi a few weeks ago. Depending on the outcome of the rally, they could become the new champions in their new Lancer Evolution. Jan and Jody Zedril from Winnipeg have all but dominated the Group 2 class with their front-wheel drive Lancer ES and could do the same in their category.

Three more teams will be entered: Simon Losier and Francois Morin will navigate their Boisvert Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8 RS and are looking for a podium finish. Zebe Szewczyk and Tomasz Karzynski from Calgary will steer their Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart Gr 5 hopefully to a class win. Zebe and Tomasz are former champions in that category. Finally, rookie Albertans Mike Elhard and Thomas Chichak are entering their Evolution for its maiden event.

“With only three weeks between the last event in Quebec, some teams ran out of time to prepare their cars and travel across the country to the Pacific Forest Rally,” notes Kogi Soga, president of Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada Inc.

“We hope our teams will come back victorious from British-Columbia. This is the first full season for our new Lancer Evolution and a championship would add to the long legacy of Mitsubishi in motorsports.”

Pacific Forest Rally profile

The Pacific Forest Rally will be held from October 1-3, 2009. Teams will take to the roads on Friday evening for five spectator stages before they spend the night in Parc Ferme. They head out for the logging roads next morning at 9:30 a.m. and will fight more than 11 special speed sections before they finish in Merritt again around 8:00 p.m. The event is 534 kilometres long with some 150 kilometres of competitive stages run around the town of Merritt, B.C.

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For the last ten years, the best Canadian rally crews have headed for the Quebec Laurentians to compete in one of the longest events of the season, the Rallye Defi. As the fourth round of the Canadian Rally Championship, this event spans over two days and uses some of the most challenging roads in the country. This coming weekend, Mitsubishi will be represented by no less than ten teams looking for an overall victory or a class win. Leading the 41-car grid in their Lancer Evolution, the defending North-American champions, Antoine L’Estage and codriver Nathalie Richard from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, will seek a record tying fourth victory. Both won the maiden event in February and are only ten points from leading the 2009 standings.

A trio of Evolutions will be fencing for a spot on the podium: defending Mitsubishi Cup winner, Simon Losier is fifth in the series’ standings and will be co-driven by Francois Morin in his Synchro Autosport Evolution 8RS. First Group N winners in the Canadian rally history, Jean-Sebastien and Jacques Besner will campaign a similar Evolution edition. Finally Mathieu L’Estage, Antoine’s brother, will be back in his older Evolution5 teamed up with Yanick Napert.

Two more crews are contending for class victories: former Production class champions, Jan and Jody Zedril from Winnipeg are leading the 2WD open class after three events while Albertans Zbigniew Szewczyk and Tomasz Karzynski will regroup in a Group 5 Ralliart model.

“It’s wonderful to see so many Mitsubishi vehicles in the top starting order”, says Koji Soga, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada. “With our increased commitment in the series this year and a heritage rich in rally sports, these events provide our customers and fans with an opportunity to see what Mitsubishi is really all about”.

Other entries include Martin and Maxime Losier, each steering a Synchro Evolution, Philip Deans in a Production model and Michelle Laframboise in her Evolution 4.

Antoine L’Estage (left) shows his magic in front of a huge crowd at Rallye Baie des Chaleurs last June and Jan Zedril presently leading the 2WD open class. Photos by Marie-Lyse Tremblay

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As the United States Rally Championship (USRC) passes (www.usrallychampionship.com) the midpoint of its fifth season, competition is heating up in all categories on both sides of the country. The United States Rally Championship awards separate National Championship titles in the 2WD (Two-Wheel-Drive) category and in the AWD (All-Wheel-Drive) category. In addition, eligible crews compete for the 2WD Production Cup and the AWD Production Cup. Most USRC events provide for two-pass reconnaissance and allow pace notes.

In the Atlantic Division and overall, the Irish crew of Daniel O’Brien, a former Eastern States Champion, and Brendan McCabe in a Subaru Impreza is leading the AWD Championship at midseason. They have been steadily climbing in the standings by finishing fourth at Rally New York USA and second at Rally Tennessee. Another Irish team of Tom Lawless with co-driver Brian Sharkey, who flies in for the USRC events all the way from Ireland, in a Mitsubishi Lancer is second after winning Rally Tennessee. Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino, in a Subaru Impreza, two-time winners of Rally New York USA are third in the AWD Championship. In the Pacific Division, Keith Jackson and Marra Estep in a Subaru Impreza are leading after winning Rally Idaho. Two more Subaru teams of Paul Eklund with Jeff Price and Byron Garth with Ron Crawford are second and third.

In the 2WD Championship in the Atlantic Division and overall, the Irishmen Dan Brosnan and Shane McCann in Nissan Sentra are leading after winning Rally New York USA and placing second at Rally Tennessee. They are the 2008 USRC runner-ups in the 2WD category. Josh and Jeremy Wimpey in a Volkswagen GTi are second with a second place at Rally Idaho. Wimpey brothers are the 2007 USRC runner-ups in the 2WD category. Brad Morris and Doug Nagy in a 2WD Mitsubishi Lancer are third. They won Rally Tennessee. In the Pacific Division, Lauchlin O’Sullivan, a former Mitsubishi USA Team driver, with co-driver Karen Wagner in a Dodge SRT-4 are leading after winning Rally Idaho. Aurimas and Amy Bakchis in an Eagle Talon are second and Cody Crane with Patrick Darrow in a Honda CRX are third.

Subaru driver William Petrow is leading the AWD Production Cup in the Atlantic Division with a win at Rally New York USA and a second place at Rally Tennessee. The leading co-driver is Austin Gager who has placed third and fourth in the previous events. Another Subaru crew of Byron Garth and Ron Crawford is leading the AWD Production Cup in the Pacific Division.

Michael Reilly and Josh Benthien in a Ford Focus SVT are in the first place in the 2WD Production Cup in the Atlantic Division. Alex Rademacher and John Stewart in a 2WD Subaru Impreza are leading the 2WD Production Cup in the Pacific Division.

The United States Rally Championship will continue with the remaining events that include Gorman Ridge Rally (www.gormanridgerally.com) in California, Prescott Rally (www.prescottrally.com) in Arizona and the final round of the Championship – International Rally New York (www.rallynewyork.com).

Pacific Division teams are competing for coveted cash travel subsidies that will be awarded to top six teams in the Division. The total of $12,000 in subsidies will be distributed to Pacific Division teams to assist them with travelling to the final round of the United States Rally Championship in New York.

The United States Rally Championship is taking bold steps to make national competition more affordable and accessible to a larger number of rally teams. This is the third season of the new Championship structure that minimizes or, for many teams, eliminates the need for repeated cross-country travel during the Championship season by providing competition on each side of the country. The final round of the Championship at the end of the year counts both in the Atlantic Division and the Pacific Division and together with the results from all previous rounds decides the top spots in the Championship.

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Irish Crew Daniel Barry & Martin Brady have been confirmed the 2009 Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge Champions after their emphatic victory on round six, the Swansea Bay Rally in Wales. This gives Daniel his fifth victory out of six rounds and means he has an insurmountable lead in the series even with two rounds left to play for. Daniel & Martin have been victors right from the initial round of the series in Bournemouth and continued the campaign with victories in the Scottish Borders, the Isle of Mann, the Welsh Severn Valley and now the latest success in Swansea.

The victory in Swansea was hard fought after a day long tussle with Icelandic driver Daniel Sigurdarson and at the finish of the final stage Daniel Barry had just barely moved into a scant 1.3 second lead which sealed the victory and the championship. At the finish ramp an ecstatic Daniel received his well deserved champagne reception and commented “Im so happy to finally make it here, it has been a great year with big battles on every round but thankfully Martin & I have managed to come out the winners and take the victories each time we needed to, and thanks to this and our family run team Barry Motorsport we are here now celebrating the spoils of our hard work and effort. Our car the Mitsubishi Lancer never missed a beat all season and gave us sterling performance and reliability every time we need it. That’s a credit to our team and how hard they worked to have every nut and bolt perfect on the car. I’m just so relieved as well as happy to have confirmed the championship with time to spare as it means we can concentrate on the rest of the season without the pressures of championship responsibilities and we look forward to the remaining rounds of the series.

Martin from Navan has been co driver to Daniel for almost a year now and is the reigning champion in the series by virtue of the results he scored with Daniel in the latter half of the 2008 season, at the Swansea finish he recounted a day of nerves as all that was required was a finish to secure the 2009 series, “we had a unusually nervous start to the rally as we for the first time were driving knowing we had to be cautious and just simply finish to win and that’s perhaps more difficult to do than driving to the maximum concentration and pace, but as the day progressed we got more settled and built more speed and after a great day long battle with Daniel Sigurdarson we got the win on the rally as well as the championship which is the ultimate happy ending to our Evo Challenge season, of course we will continue with the rest of the rounds because it is such a great championship and the friendship and camaraderie with our rivals is as much a part of it as the competition itself.

The prize for the 2009 Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge is a 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 10 Road Car or prize bursary to the same value to allow the winner to compete in the 2010 official Mitsubishi team UK in the British Rally Championship.

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The next step on the road to the Canadian Rally Championship is the Rallye Baie des Chaleurs in the Gaspe Peninsula. This coming weekend, Mitsubishi will have no less than nine teams entered looking for a second victory this season and a third consecutive podium finish. Winners of the first event in February, Antoine L’Estage and codriver Nathalie Richard from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, will be first on the road Friday evening in their 2009 Lancer Evolution while Torontonian Andrew Comrie-Picard is third in a very impressive 48-car starting grid.

The Boisvert Mitsubishi Synchro team from Blainville will have four Evolution Lancers entered, all manned by members of the Losier family: defending Cup champion Simon and father Rejean in their familiar Evolution 8RS, Martin and rookie Maxime in similar EVO 5 models. Meanwhile, brothers Jan and Jody Zedril from Winnipeg will again compete in the Group 2 class. Phil Deans and codriver Carmel Burke from Kingston are leading the Production Sport category and looking for a second class win. Finally, Michelle Laframboise from Picton will be the first female driver to compete for the Mitsubishi Cup in 2009. She will start 47th.

“All the crews have been working overtime to get their cars ready for the toughest event of the year,” said Koji Soga, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada. “We have two teams among the top three in the country, and this event could be a turning point in the season.”

Event profile: Baie des Chaleurs Rally

Threading its way through the country roads of New Richmond, Quebec, the 32nd edition of the Rallye Baie des Chaleurs will kick off its first leg on Friday night. Several thousand spectators are expected for the two-day event which resumes Saturday morning at 9:00 AM and runs until a 5:30 PM podium ceremony. Of the 400 kilometre total distance, more than 190 will be speed stages. For more information, please visit the event web site at www.rallyebdc.com or visit our password free media website at www.mitsubishi-motors-pr.ca

Andrew Comrie-Picard (left) claimed a podium finish at the Rocky Mountain Rally in May in his new Lancer 09 Evolution while Simon Losier came in a superb fourth overall.
Photos by Barry Giles

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Quebec driver Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard, both of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu (Quebec), participated in this past weekend’s Rocky Mountain Rally, the second of six rounds in the 2009 Canadian Rally Championship. Overall leaders after the first rally of the season, the duo was unable to complete Calgary’s event due to mechanical problems. Their performance prior to stopping was confirmation of their competitiveness, despite competing on gravel for the first time in the new Rockstar Royal Group Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X.

Often contested in winter-like weather conditions, the 2009 Rocky Mountain Rally was blessed with sunny skies and mid-summer temperatures. Antoine and Nathalie started the rally as first car on the road, forcing them to “sweep” the thin layer of gravel coating the competition roads, much to the advantage of their adversaries. “We knew we would drop some time on the first couple of stages but our Yokohama tires allowed us to excel under these conditions,” explains Antoine. “This is also the first time I drove my new Rockstar Royal Group Evo X on gravel and to see that were we mere seconds – or tenths of seconds – off the pace confirms our competitiveness and is reassuring for the future,” he adds.

Under blue skies the following morning, the L’Estage/Richard team closed the gap to within four seconds of eventual winners Pat Richard/Alan Ockwell. Everything came to halt after the fourth stage of the day, during which the team’s rear differential broke, causing them to drop a minute off the lead. “Our mechanics attempted repairs during the service break but on the penultimate stage of the rally, we were sidelined in spite of our minute and a half lead ahead of third place. It’s disappointing because our objective was to earn valuable championship points but now I leave Calgary tied for the championship lead with Pat. The good news is that I learned a lot about the car and how it handles and I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season,” concludes L’Estage.

Before heading to Rallye Baie-des-Chaleurs later this month, Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard will compete in round 5 of the Rally America series, Pennsylvania’s Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally (STPR). L’Estage and Richard won this rally in 2008 and commencing Friday, June 5th, they will attempt to defend that victory amongst a talented field of US and international drivers.

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 Website.

Photo: World Rally Sport, http://www.worldrallysport.com/

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Andrew Comrie-Picard and his codriver, Brit Robbie Durant, clinched their first podium this year in the Canadian Rally Championship with their 2009 Lancer Evolution as they came in second at the Rocky Mountain Rally out of Calgary last weekend. Mitsubishi came up short of another podium finish when Simon Losier and codriver Francois Morin crossed the finish line 4th, only 41 seconds shy of third place. Rejean and Maxime Losier also made a Top 10 with an eighth place finish. Other teams had a difficult weekend: championship leader, Antoine L’Estage was cruising to a second place finish when a mechanical gremlin impeded his progression. Albertans Zbigniew Szewczyk and Tomasz Karzynski and brothers Jan and Jody Zedril from Manitoba were leading their respective classes but went off-road.

“We witnessed in Calgary why rally is one of the toughest form of motorsports”, argued Koji Soga, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada. “Comrie-Picard and Durant were very patient and deserved their podium, a second in a row in Canada for our new Evolution. They have a busy schedule with two championships and a new car to develop. We always expect to see the Losier family repeat their steady performances and they really deliver. Finally, we’re sad for Antoine who was fighting for victory when ha was sidelined.”

Next round: Baie des Chaleurs in the Gaspe area
After Rocky Mountain, Antoine L’Estage stills leads the national standings by virtue of his victory in the maiden event in February, but he will have to up the ante for the next round in the Gaspe area at the end of June at the Rallye Baie des Chaleurs, out of New Richmond since 1975. Experts say the title will be challenged by the two Mitsubishi Evolution and the defending champion Patrick Richard. At least four more crews will be entered for that round, boosting the Mitsubishi Brigade to ten entries. For more information, please visit www.rockymountainrally.com or www.carsrally.com.

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The Canadian Rally Championship is moving west to Calgary for the Rocky Mountain Rally this coming weekend and Mitsubishi will have some of its winningest crews enter the second round of the season. North American and twice Canadian champions and winners of the first round earlier in February, Antoine L’Estage and codriver Nathalie Richard, will take to the roads Friday evening in their 2009 Lancer Evolution. Albertans Zbigniew Szewczyk and Tomasz Karzynski will follow in a Group 5 Ralliart model while returning Production champions, brothers Jan and Jody Zedril from Manitoba are now entering the Group 2 class. These three teams are looking for an outright victory, a podium finish and a class win.

Presently 3rd in the Rally America standings, Andrew Comrie-Picard and Brit codriver Robbie Durant will charge as well for a podium place in another 09 Evolution. Synchro Autosport from Blainville, Quebec is also fielding a couple of Evolution 8 RSs with the usual Losier father and son crews. First, Rejean with codriver Maxime, then Simon, the 2008 Mitsubishi Cup winner, will pair up with Francois Morin. Finally, Mike Elhard and Thomas Chichak will vie for top rookie title in a first generation Evolution.

“We were very pleased with Antoine L’Estage taking a first win with the new Evolution this winter”, stated Koji Soga, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada. “We hope he repeats this feat again in the Rockies. But other Mitsubishi crews are also very deserving and we hope our Rally Program helps them in their quest for titles in their own classes. The standings for the Mitsubishi Cup show Antoine leading but we know it is a long season and Andrew and the Losier family will attack every event.”

Event profile: Rocky Mountain Rally
After the usual Friday afternoon procedures before the official start, Antoine L’Estage will head out first on the road for a few spectator stages before the cars enter Parc ferme for night. Saturday morning will see the southern trek to the Porcupine Hills where most of the event will be held. This area in the past has offered every possible scenario, from hot and dusty roads to heavy snow. At the end of the long 12-hour day, teams will gather in Pincher Creek for the podium ceremony. For more information, please visit www.rockymountainrally.com or visit our password free media website at www.mitsubishi-motors-pr.ca

Photos by Philip Ericksen and Rally America

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Rally driver Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard put in an aggressive drive this weekend at the Olympus Rally to finish second overall and extend his lead in the Rally America championship series.

“This was an incredibly tough rally,” said Comrie-Picard. “The competition between the top teams was intense; we fought hard for this result.”

It is the third podium finish for the NOS Energy Mitsubishi in three starts in the series.

Entering the event, Comrie-Picard was tied with Rockstar Energy’s Tanner Foust for the championship lead. After a two-day battle over more than 100 miles of rugged stages, Comrie-Picard came out ahead in the points.

After three rounds of the Rally America championship, Comrie-Picard tops the standings with 48 points, while Foust and Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana are tied for second with 45 points apiece.

“We’re thrilled to be leading the championship,” said Comrie-Picard. “We’re gunning for top points this year and we’ll be battling hard at every round.”

The rally opened with a series of extremely fast stages that saw teams top 120 mph on some of the straightaways. Comrie-Picard and co-driver Robbie Durant finished the first day in the third-place position and prepared to charge on the more technical Day 2 course.

Serious mechanical trouble for the early rally leader, Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block, meant the battle was on between Comrie-Picard and Red Bull’s Travis Pastrana for Day 2. The two traded seconds all weekend, even finishing stages in a dead-heat tie.

But as Comrie-Picard prepared to push into the final miles Sunday afternoon, an ailing transmission began to cost them time. Without the use of third or fourth gear through the final two stages of the event, he was unable to catch Pastrana.

“Everybody had problems; Travis and Tanner both had to do some serious transmission work overnight after Day 1, and Ken (Block) blew two motors,” said Comrie-Picard. “There’s no doubt this is a tough sport.”

Third place went to Foust. The driver had made an early bid for the lead but lost time to the leaders on Sunday while running with a back-up gearbox.

The next round for the team is the Portland-based Oregon Trail Rally in a month’s time (May 15-17). Driver Comrie-Picard is also slated to begin running select events in the prestigious Formula D drifting series in the coming months.

Rally car racing is considered the extreme sport of automobile racing and is often described simply as “real cars, real roads, real fast.” This all-season motorsport sees drivers and their co-drivers take modified road cars to the limit as they achieve blistering speeds over courses that cover hundreds of miles of gravel, dirt or snow-covered roads.

The sport is also featured in the annual X Games, the premier action sports event on the globe, featuring athletes competing for medals and prize money in sports including BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard, and Rally. Comrie-Picard has been among the dozen invited drivers every year since the rally discipline was introduced to the contest, and he has already secured an early invitation to return in 2009.

The Rally America national championship includes nine events in a cross-continent season that extends from January to late October. The Canadian Rally Championship has six events from coast to coast. ACP Rally will contest a busy season, with rally events on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, select drift events — and the X Games.

The ACP Rally program is made possible by: NOS Energy (www.drinknos.com), K&N (www.knfilters.com), Mitsubishi Canada (www.mitsubishi-motors.ca), Yokohama Canada (www.yokohama.ca), Motul (www.motulusa.com), AMS (www.amsperformance.com), Works (www.worksevo.com), Brian Crower (www.briancrower.com), JE (www.jepistons.com), Exedy (www.exedyusa.com), Ohlins (www.ohlinsusa.com), Pfitzner Performance Gearbox (www.ppgearbox.com.au), Mishimoto (www.mishimoto.com), Oakley (www.oakley.com), Innovate Motorsports (www.tuneyourengine.com), Team Dynamics (www.teamdynamicsracing.com), Endless (www.endlessusa.com), NBB (www.nbblights.ca), Sparco (www.sparcousa.com), NGK (www.ngksparkplugs.com), Piloti (www.piloti.com), and Skull Candy (www.skullcandy.com).

Photo by Jen Horsey

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Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard and the ACP Rally team are looking to notch up another podium this weekend when they take on Rally America’s second round, the fast and flowing 100 Acre Wood Rally in south-central Missouri (Feb. 27-28).

“This race is about putting your foot down and keeping it there,” said Comrie-Picard. “The course is high-speed and it’s a battle of the brave to the finish.”

After a strong start in the NOS Energy Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, the team is third in Rally America’s overall points standings and optimistic about this next round. Comrie-Picard finished on the podium at this event in 2007 and wound up a narrow fourth last year while nursing an ailing transmission during a fierce podium battle.

The early-spring event takes teams through a through Missouri’s scenic Ozark foothills. The course roads are consistently fast and flowing, but the big question mark is the weather. In previous years, conditions have run the gamut from balmy and sunny to below freezing, with pelting ice and snow.

“Bring it on,” said Comrie-Picard. “We’ve got the car and the tires for whatever Mother Nature can throw at us.”

The team will be keeping a close eye on Subaru Rally Team USA’s Ken Block, who has chalked up three wins in three previous starts at this contest. “Ken’s the guy to beat, for sure,” said Comrie-Picard. “It’s time for somebody to end his winning streak and we’d like it to be us.”

ACP Rally is back in U.S. competition following a stop in Canada, where the NOS Energy Mitsubishi rally car was on display at a prestigious automotive exhibition, the Toronto Auto Show.

Rally car racing is considered the extreme sport of automobile racing and is often described simply as “real cars, real roads, real fast.” This all-season motorsport sees drivers and their co-drivers take modified road cars to the limit as they achieve blistering speeds over courses that cover hundreds of miles of gravel, dirt or snow-covered roads.

The sport is also featured in the annual X Games, the premier action sports event on the globe, featuring athletes competing for medals and prize money in sports including BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard, and Rally. Comrie-Picard has been among the dozen invited drivers every year since the rally discipline was introduced to the contest, and he has already secured an early invitation to return in 2009.

The Rally America national championship includes nine events in a cross-continent season that extends from January to late October. Canadian Rally Championship has six events from coast to coast. ACP Rally will contest a busy season, with championship events on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, and the X Games.

The ACP Rally program is made possible by: NOS Energy (www.drinknos.com), K&N (www.knfilters.com), Mitsubishi Canada (www.mitsubishi-motors.ca), Yokohama Canada (www.yokohama.ca), Motul (www.motulusa.com), AMS (www.amsperformance.com), Works (www.worksevo.com), Brian Crower (www.briancrower.com), JE (www.jepistons.com), Exedy (www.exedyusa.com), Ohlins (www.ohlinsusa.com), Pfitzner Performance Gearbox (www.ppgearbox.com.au), Mishimoto (www.mishimoto.com), Oakley (www.oakley.com), Innovate Motorsports (www.tuneyourengine.com), Team Dynamics (www.teamdynamicsracing.com), Endless (www.endlessusa.com), NBB (www.nbblights.ca), Sparco (www.sparcousa.com), NGK (www.ngksparkplugs.com), Piloti (www.piloti.com), and Skull Candy (www.skullcandy.com).

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Starting the second year of its National Rally Support Program for the Canadian Rally Championship, Mitsubishi has never before been represented by so many individual entrants and so many competitive teams for a Canadian event. The season opener for the Canadian Rally Championship will take to the logging roads this weekend with the 42nd edition of Rallye Perce-Neige in Maniwaki, Quebec. No less than 13 of the 40 entries will be competing in Mitsubishi products and 10 of the top 15 seeded teams will use Lancer Evolutions of various generations, with four of them being previous event winners.
First on the road will be defending North American champion Antoine L’Estage, debuting a brand new 2009 Evolution RS prepared by rally icon John Buffum. With 36 overall victories and four national championships, Frank Sprongl from Toronto will drive an EVO VI. Fresh from a podium finish in Michigan at the first Rally America round, will be 2007 winner Andrew ‘ACP’ Comrie-Picard with a 2008 Evolution GSR. The other former winner and previous national title holder is Peter Thomson with an EVO VIII.

“Based on our initial objectives, the first year of the Mitsubishi National Rally Support Program was a qualified success”, stated Koji Soga, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada.”Most importantly, we officially got involved as a company with the Canadian Rally Championship and began to develop ongoing relationships with the participants and the volunteers who make this great series possible.For 2009, we have increased our commitment to the series and the participants, and are very pleased that the number of competitors using Mitsubishi products has increased dramatically over last year. Mitsubishi, as a brand, has been involved in competitive rallying for many years and our Canadian program reflects the excitement and athleticism of our current products.”

Other strong entries will vie for a place on the podium. Jon Nichols from Montreal was 4th overall last year; Mathieu L’Estage (Antoine’s brother) lead the Mitsubishi Cup for a long time last year and was 5th at Perce-Neige. The first title won by a Mitsubishi product in Canada was due to Jean‑Sebastien Besner back in 2001 and Besner is making a comeback this year in a Synchro Racing EVO. Boisvert Mitsubishi with three more teams have been regular top 10 finishers: defending Mitsubishi Cup winner, Simon will head the Evo posse with Rejean and Martin in hot pursuit. Finally, 2008 Production class champions, Manitobans Jan and Jody Zedril will be back to defend their title again.
Event profile:
Perce-Neige is the longest event of the 2009 schedule. The 14 stages total close to 200 kilometres on narrow icy logging roads out of 430 kilometres for the whole distance. The 40 cars entered will leave Maniwaki Saturday morning at 9:30 and will return late in the evening around

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by: Koski Pekka

Mitsubishi took 1- 2 in the final results as Juha Salo repeated his victory in Arctic and our other driver Kosti Katajamaki secured second highest points. Fastets Subaru-driver Jari Ketomaa collected 3rd highest points.
After leg one on Friday Ketomaa was leading by 9,9 seconds before Katajamaki and Salo was 13,2 from Subaru-driver. As the starting order for the opening leg was same as last years championship ranking, Salo opened the road and clean braking points for others.
On leg two Ketomaa was first car on road, followed by Katajamaki and Salo. Salo started his attack on the second legs opening stages and already on the first one he clocked 10.9 second faster time than his ex-team mate Ketomaa and on the second Salo was 14 sec faster and leading the rally by 11,7 seconds. Kosti Katajamaki did good job as well and dropped Ketomaa 3rd in list.

Finally Salo drove the second leg 46,2 seconds faster than Ketomaa, which is egual to 0, 4 sec / km.

New Evolution X

Total 4 new Evolutions entered into Arctic Rally. Salo & Katajamaki will take new car in action later as we havent have a change to test the enought yet and current cars are still available.
Best benchmark of those 4 is Jukka Ketomaki, who was in our team 2001- 2003 and then went for a Subaru for some years. Last year he drove FRC in Gr A with Skoda WRC, but managed due to technical problems collect only 130 stage kilometres during whole year out of almost 1000 km which are available. So when evaluating his perfomance we have be aware that he was missing competitive kilometres a lot, so wrists where quite rusted and he had time only for 140 test kilometres with the new car before the event. All in all he drove trouble free rally, no technical problems at all ! He was as in some stages already only 0,2 / 0,3 seconds slower than stages best time and thats just the difference with in my data he has as a driver to Salo and Katajamaki.So I could say that technically already now X is as fast as IX, which we have developing for resent 2 years.

Fastest SS times
Juha Salo 6
Jari Ketomaa 1
Kosti Katajamaki 1

Speed scale
Fastest average SS-speed 120 km/h
Slowest average SS-speed 77 km/h (Super SS at local horsetrack)
Salo average speed whole rally 115 km/h
Top speed on SS (Motec data) 205 km/
Longist time TPS 100 % 38 sec

F1 stars
Current and old F1 stars Kimi Raikkonen (Fiat S2000), Mika Hakkinen (Lancer Evolution IX), Mika Salo (Lancer Evolution IX) and JJ Lehto (Lancer Evolution IX) took the change to enjoy arctic climate and snow covered fast rally route. The big surprise was Kimi Raikkonen, who drove his first ever rally and managed to be 13th overall. His best SS results was 4th on the Super Stage, where he had some advantage to be 19th car on road- but still a fantastic results. The fastes of them was JJ Lehto (also Le Mans winner) he has been driving many rallies and also he lead Arctic Rally Gr N some years ago for a while. Hes final position is 11th. Mika Hakkinen enjoyed and finaly was 19th overall. Mika retired on leg 2 due to T/M failure.

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Seamus Burke/Eddie Fries (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) have won International Rally New York for the second year running. For this former national champion team, this comes at the end of a season of mechanical difficulties.

At the finish, Burke/Fries were three minutes ahead of Seamus’s son Joseph Burke and co-driver Ole Holter (Subaru Impreza WRX). Holter noted at the finish, that this was only the younger Burke’s second outing in a powerful turbocharged, all-wheel-drive car – and in the first he won the Black River Stages Rally in Upstate New York.

Celsus Donnelly/Barry Smyth (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) had been a solid second for most of the rally. But with two special stages remaining, the car engine failed, apparently due to head gasket failure.

Brian Scott/John Dillon (Subaru Impreza WRX) finished third, after a cool performance in which they went just fast enough for a top finish – sufficient to take the all-wheel-drive category title in the U.S. Rally Championship.

The two-wheel-drive (2WD) category in the rally was taken by the husband-wife team of Kristopher and Christine Marciniak (Dodge Neon), who also won the 2WD division of the U.S. Rally Championship. They were followed to the finish by Dan Brosnan/Shane McCann (Nissan Sentra) and the father-son team of Simon and Kieran Wright (Ford Focus).

Hampton Bridwell/Josh Katinger (Ford Focus SVT) were in contention with Marciniak/Marciniak early in the rally, for both the 2WD win and championship. But when the Ford slid off the road on the first day, the team was forced to “play catch-up.” They were closing on the leaders again when they rolled the car – without harm to themselves, but it put them out of the rally.

International Rally New York was the final round of the United States Rally Championship and the New York Rally Championship. It began in Callicoon, New York on Thursday evening, and ended in nearby Walton this evening.

For further information, check the event web site, www.rallynewyork.com.

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The Temple Canyon Hill Climb, based in Canon City, CO, marked the second round of the Colorado Rally Cup and the first flat out high-speed event of the 2008 schedule. Twenty-one teams entered the rally classes for the annual Mothers Day weekend race, setting a new overall entry record for the rally classes.

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Practice and qualifying on Saturday greeted teams with one of the smoothest road seen in years, but with ominous weather. After wind and sporadic periods of rain made conditions less than hospitable for officials and course workers, two all-wheel-drive teams posted qualifying times faster than the standing record of 3:21.75 with three more teams within three seconds of the record. In two-wheel-drive the record wasn’t under threat, but five teams were within 10 seconds with a further two just 13 seconds off of top qualifier John Conley, with co-driver Keith Rudolph, in their Dodge Neon SRT-4.

Conditions improved overnight and Sunday greeted teams with a forecast of mid-70s with a slight breeze, ideal conditions for racing. On the first run, the competition in rally all-wheel-drive that had been building during practice and qualifying began to boil over with the top four teams within five seconds and all under the record with two additional teams just seconds more back. After the second run a total of 5.53 seconds covered the top 5 teams in rally all-wheel-drive with all 5 teams breaking the previous record and .52 seconds separating first from second. As the dust settled Jason Waples and JP Hodgson came out ahead, 0.52 seconds in front of their teammates Todd Moberly and Rebecca Greek to go 1-2 for JP Motorsports/Phoenix Autosport, with Mike Whitman and Aaron McConnell finishing just ahead of Dave and Allison Kern to finish third.

Rally two-wheel-drive saw John Conley and Keith Rudolph finish a comfortable 7.2 seconds ahead of Scott Leonard and Adam Kniepp, who just finished ahead of Jim Gillaspy and Chris Daniher and Jeremy Brown and Simon Branton-Housely. Further down the order the remaining five entries were all within six seconds forcing all teams to be on the limit and flat out on both runs. Unfortunately the rally two-wheel-drive class also saw the Texas-based entry of Fornari and Paipott suffer a race-ending crash after just starting their first run on Sunday, forcing the team out of the event and throwing into jeopardy the rest of the team’s season as they make repairs to their Mazda RX7.

Teams will have a short three week break, then will head to the Continental Divide Hill Climb based in Monarch, CO. After such tight battles at Temple Canyon, the competition is sure to be fierce as teams battle for Colorado Rally Cup points and Colorado Hill Climb Association results.

About the Colorado Rally Cup:
The Colorado Rally Cup is a multi-organizational championship. Formed by competitors for competitors, entered teams compete in eight events covering three different versions of rallysport-based competition in three different classes. More information on the Colorado Rally Cup can be found at: http://www.ColoradoRallyCup.org

About the Colorado Hill Climb Association:
For 37 years the Colorado Hill Climb Association (CHCA) has been putting on a series of all-dirt hillclimbs in Colorado. Host to a variety of different classes the CHCA will offer its brand of high-speed dirt racing at five events, promising something for just about every motorsport fan in the process. More information on the CHCA, as well as detailed results, can be found at: http://www.CHCAracing.com

Story & Photo (c) 2008 Kevin Hahn – Jason Waples with interim co-driver Jason Hodgson continued to show his prowess at Colorado Hill Climb Association events and took an impressive victory over team mates Todd Moberly and Rebecca Greek. Their .52 second victory is one of the closest seen in the rally classes at a CHCA event and put them just nine points back in Colorado Rally Cup standings after two events.

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