This is Antoine L’Estage’s first Rally America title and Nathalie Richard’s third co-driver title. She co-drove for her brother, Patrick Richard, on his way to win the 2005 Rally America and 2004 SCCA ProRally Championships.

L’Estage led the 2010 Championship heading into the season’s final round with a 13 point advantage over New England hometown favorite, Bill Bacon a full-time Firefighter from Nashua, NH, and just needed 5th place or better to gain enough points to become Rally America’s third ever title holder. Bacon, who has doggedly pursued L’Estage on the podium all season, was the only driver within striking distance of L’Estage, but he had to win the event outright and rely on L’Estage finishing outside of 5th place to snatch the Championship for his own. But Bacon suffered a devastating flat tire on Stage 9 that pushed him back to an overall 6th place finish.

Luck was on L’Estage’s side though as he faced the return of 4-time Rally America Champion, Travis Pastrana from Davidsonville, Maryland, and Monster World Rally Team’s Ken Block from Encinitas, California. Pastrana missed two crucial rally events when he was in Australia for two months performing in a Live Nitro Circus television show, thus costing him valuable points and relegated him to a 3rd place position in the overall Championship points.

Early on, Ken Block led the New England Forest Rally in his Monster Energy-backed Ford Fiesta until he went too wide in a sweeping Stage 4 corner and ditched his car damaging his rear suspension. That left Pastrana in the overall lead by nearly 3 minutes until Stage 11 when he lost oil pressure in his 2010 Subaru WRX STI and was forced to retire. L’Estage and Richard then cruised to the end, winning the New England Forest Rally and stepping into the record books as the new 2010 Rally America National Champions!

It was not an easy season for L’Estage and Richard. At the start of 2010, they planned to compete in just four Rally America events in addition to their Canadian Rally Series schedule with just one car – a 2010 Mistubishi Lancer Evolution X prepared by US Rally legend John Buffum and his team at Libra Racing. But once the two Canadians found themselves at the top of the overall Rally America points in early spring and with two West Coast Rally America events looming, they mustered enough energy and funding to trek across the country from Quebec to see if they could maintain their overall points lead.

“I’ve never rallied in the West Coast, so it was a huge gamble for us,” said L’Estage following the Olympus Rally. “I came to the West Coast with the goal of maximizing recce at Oregon Trail and winning this rally. At Olympus there was no point in catching Pastrana. I just wanted to save my 2nd place for the big picture.”

L’Estage also placed his West Coast finishes in perspective: “Travis Pastrana has been out here rallying for years and should know these roads. I suppose it would be the same situation if Pastrana came to the Canadian Baie Des Chaleurs Rally where I know those roads and he just showed up for the first time.”

Antoine L’Estage has even more on the line competing in two North American Rally Championships with a single car making his run for a title even more special and improbable. Each event L’Estage entered he hoped for a smooth and problem-free run. Any catastrophic failure meant throwing away his season in both the Rally America Championship as well as the Canadian Rally Series, not to mention the coveted North American Rally Cup.

With the Rally America Championship secured, he and Nathalie can now focus their efforts on finishing the Canadian Rally Series season where they currently sit in 4th place overall.

Before he returns to his homeland, L’Estage has one more stop on U.S. soil at the Summer X Games 16 in Los Angeles where he plans to compete in both Rally Car Racing and the newly added discipline for Rally cars, SuperRally.

An experienced X Games competitor, L’Estage has even more momentum on his side heading to the big show in Los Angeles to win his first X Games medal. Plus, he will be part of motorsports history as a participant in the first-ever SuperRally competition featuring four rally cars at a time battling wheel-to-wheel on the L.A. Memorial Coliseum floor.

This has been the dream season that has validated Antoine L’Estage’s talent as one of North America’s best rally drivers. There are many ways to win a Championship and L’Estage, along with his co-driver, Nathalie Richard, have shown that consistency pays huge dividends in the world or rally. With that, L’Estage and Richard have cemented their place in rally history as the duo who broke Travis Pastrana’s run of four consecutive Rally America Overall Championships. And now he joins his co-driver’s brother, Patrick Richard, as only the second Canadian rally driver in history to win the Rally America Overall Championship.

About Rally America, Inc.:

Based in Golden Valley, Minnesota, Rally America sanctions the premier rally racing series in the United States, the Rally America National Championship Series. In 2009, Rally America will conduct nine National Championship events at venues across the country, from Portland, Ore., to Newry, Maine. Rally America competitors reach speeds well over 100 mph in modified street-legal rally cars on natural-terrain courses consisting of gravel, dirt or snow.

Rally America is introducing “Rallycross” to America for the first time on August 27-28, October 9-10, and November 6-7 at the New Jersey Motorsports Park. Fans will be able to watch two-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive rally cars compete wheel-to-wheel on a closed-loop 1.3 mile tarmac and gravel circuit in timed heats from the comfort of grandstands and special viewing areas.

Rally America is proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., BFGoodrich Tires, the Team O’Neil Rally School, Able Planet, Hawk Performance Brakes, Rally-Tire.com, RaceWatches.com, Exedy Racing Clutches, RECARO, Mazda and the Danza del Sol Winery.

To watch RAM TV videos from the New England Forest Rally go to:
http://rally-america.com/index.php

For Results from the New England Forest Rally visit:
http://rally-america.com/events/2010/NEFR/results

Photo: Mike Proulx/World Rally Sport/Rally America

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Victorious at their last two competitions, Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard, of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu (QC), will attempt to make it three in a row at the Rallye Auto Nord-Americain de la Baie-des-Chaleurs (in Gaspe), the third of six rounds in the 2010 Canadian Rally Championship. The Rockstar Energy Drink Royal Group team, which is currently leading the North American Rally Cup as well as the Rally America series in the United States, heads to this event with confidence.

“We’re on a good streak and the Rallye Baie-des-Chaleurs is one that I love. We use fantastic roads, the crowd is amazing, and I’ve won here twice before. We’re coming to this rally with high expectations,” explains Antoine L’Estage, who is encouraged by the strong performance of his Rockstar Royal Group Mitsubishi. ” Baie-des-Chaleurs is a rally that is sometimes tough on the equipment and the weather conditions can result in pretty challenging road conditions. With our Yokohama tires and a well-prepared Evo X, it’s clear to me that we couldn’t be in a better situation,” he adds. The Rockstar Royal Group team is also very pleased after having conducted a brief test session last week to ensure that everything was to their satisfaction before heading for Gaspe.

Antoine L’Estage is currently in second place in the Canadian Rally Championship, twelve points behind the leader. The fan-favourite is taking the start line with the intention of earning more than just valuable championship points. “We’re going there to win, that’s for sure,” indicates the two-time Canadian and North American champion, who was recently named as the only Canadian to qualify for Rally Car Racing in the 16th edition of the internationally popular ESPN X Games, which will take place in Los Angeles on July 31st.

At this point in their busy 2010 season, Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard have been on the podium at six of their seven outings. “It would be great to leave the Rallye Baie-des-Chaleurs with the lead of the Canadian championship to go along with our lead in the American series and the North American Rally Cup,” indicates co-driver Nathalie Richard. “But Baie-des-Chaleurs is a difficult rally and we remain focused on the task at hand – we’ll definitely wait until the end of the event before taking stock,” she adds.

Antoine L’Estage has won two Canadian championship titles (2006 and 2007), as well as two North American titles (2007 and 2008) and twenty-one overall victories in Canada and the United States. Co-driver Nathalie Richard has earned four national championship titles (two Canadian and two American) and thirty outright national rally victories. In 2009, she won her fifth North American Championship for co-drivers.

The thirty-third edition of the Rallye Baie-des-Chaleurs starts on July 2nd in New Richmond. After the Friday night stages that wow the thousands of spectators along the course, the second section will start on Saturday morning at 9am. The winner will cross the finish line at around 6pm.

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard 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.

In action: Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard, driving their Rockstar Royal Group Mitsubishi to victory at the most recent event in the Canadian Rally Championship.

Photo: Louren Sansregret

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Back-to-Back Victories for the Rockstar Royal Group Team

After having won the Rocky Mountain Rally in Calgary one week prior, Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard, both of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu (QC), continued their winning streak this past weekend by grabbing the top podium spot at Pennsylvania’s Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally (STPR), the fifth round of the Rally America series. This recent victory, the second time the duo has won at this particular event, increases the Rockstar Energy Drink Royal Group team’s lead in the overall Rally America title hunt as well as for the North American Rally Cup.

Already leaders of the Rally America series since Round 2 in February, Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard have once again increased their lead going into the last round of the American championship, as explained by co-driver Richard. “It’s a big win for the entire team. Our crew only had four days to tow the car back across the country and prep it for STPR. During the first competitive stage on Friday afternoon we lost power steering when a hose separated from its fitting. We lost about 40 seconds on the first two stages as a result but with the help of American competitors Bill Bacon and Pat Moro, we were able to repair it, keep going, and win the next stage. Antoine did an awesome job in this rally, which is challenging both mentally and physically. It makes for a pretty satisfying win.”

Antoine and Nathalie finished the first day of competition in third place, just over thirty seconds behind the leader. The next morning the goal was to try to overtake second placed Bill Bacon, the only other driver that has a mathematical chance of winning this year’s title. “We were able to make up the difference early in the morning and then take over the lead shortly thereafter,” confides Antoine. “We pushed when we needed to and our Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X was perfect all day Saturday. Our Yokohama tires worked great in the sometimes rough and sometimes slippery hard-packed clay surfaces and everything fit together perfectly to enable us to win STPR for the second time in three years. It’s a fantastic result, we’ve competed at five rallies this year in the Unites States and we’ve been on the podium for all five!” concludes Antoine.

Only one event remains in the 2010 Rally America calendar, the New England Forest Rally in Maine and New Hampshire in mid-July. With the victory at STPR, Antoine heads to New England with a thirteen point lead in the championship.

Ten days ago the Rockstar Energy Drink Royal Group team was catapulted into second place in the Canadian Rally Championship and they now find themselves with an almost insurmountable lead in the North American Rally Cup and just one step away from the Rally America title.

Antoine L’Estage has won two Canadian championship titles (2006 and 2007), as well as two North American titles (2007 and 2008) and twenty-one overall victories in Canada and the United States. Co-driver Nathalie Richard has earned four national championship titles (two Canadian and two American) and thirty outright national rally victories. In 2009, she won her fifth North American Championship for co-drivers.

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard 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.

In action : Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard, winners of the 2010 Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally in their Rockstar Energy Drink Royal Group Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X.

Photo: www.WorldRallySport.com | Mat Janiak

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Rockstar Royal Group Rally Team makes its mark out west

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard, both of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu (QC), won this past weekend’s Rocky Mountain Rally, round two of the 2010 Canadian Rally Championship. At the wheel of their Rockstar Energy Drink Royal Group Mitsubishi Evo X, the duo took the lead of the rally on the first stage and never looked back, winning eight of the eleven stages and a dominating victory. L’Estage and Richard lead the North American Rally Championship and the US-based Rally America series, and are now in second place in the Canadian Rally Championship.

This 2010 Rocky Mountain Rally victory is another milestone for two-time Canadian and North American champion Antoine L’Estage, marking his twentieth overall national win. His co-driver, Nathalie Richard, is now one win away from the thirtieth outright victory. “We were faced with horrible weather conditions this year, with continuous snowfall and extremely muddy roads. One of the key factors in our win was our tire choice,” explains Antoine. He specifies, “We were able to benefit from our Yokohama A031 mud tires, which were perfect for Friday’s stages and allowed us to push hard on the first loop. By the end of the first three stages, we had over a minute and a half lead. Mechanical problems were not an issue for any of the top teams – it always feels good to win a clean fight.”

The Rockstar Royal Group team gained even more time on their opponents on Saturday to solidify their lead. “It’s an extraordinary victory for our team. We made good tactical choices, Antoine drove really well, and the car ran flawlessly all weekend. In short, it was a perfect rally, albeit the weather challenges that every team faced” confides Nathalie Richard, five-time North American champion co-driver.

This victory moves Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard into second place in the Canadian Rally Championship. It is also the fifth time in six 2010 North American rallies that the team has finished on the podium. Moving into first place in the championship is the team’s goal for the next Canadian round, July’s Rallye Baie-des-Chaleurs.

STPR this weekend …

Before Canada’s next round, the team will cross a majority of the continent to compete at the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally (STPR) this coming weekend in Pennsylvania. Antoine and Nathalie won this event in 2008 and as current leaders of the Rally America series, they have the opportunity to clinch the title this Saturday.

“Our main goal for STPR is to watch our closest championship rivals and stay ahead of them. Naturally, if the possibility of winning the rally presents itself, we’ll be gunning for that, but it’s not a must in order to keep the lead going into the final round in July,” mentions L’Estage.

Antoine L’Estage has won two Canadian championship titles (2006 and 2007), as well as two North American titles (2007 and 2008) and twenty overall victories in Canada and the United States. Co-driver Nathalie Richard has earned four national championship titles (two Canadian and two American) and twenty-nine outright rally victories. In 2009, she won her fifth North American Championship for co-drivers.

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard 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.

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Two-time Canadian and North American champion Antoine L’Estage, who has never before competed at the Oregon Trail Rally, has high expectations of himself. “I don’t want another second place finish. We’re here to win. The rally organizers have added a day of reconnaissance to the event schedule this year so we will use that day to familiarize ourselves with the roads and lessen the advantage that the other teams have over us,” indicates the driver from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Qc.

With only three events to go, he and five-time North American champion co-driver, Nathalie Richard, lead the Rally America series title hunt. Rumours of Travis Pastrana missing the Oregon Trail Rally is bittersweet for L’Estage. “We always want as much competition as possible at every event. All the championship contenders were at each of the events to date and at the last rally in Washington, we had even more competition than usual. It was fantastic – just how we like it,” confides the Yokohama driver.

The duo suffered a bit of misfortune at the last two rallies, preventing them from putting pressure on the eventual winners throughout the entire duration of each rally. “We’ve had a really strong start to the season and clearly we’re consistent! We’re both eager for a top podium spot this year but my ultimate job is to make sure Antoine doesn’t lose sight of the big picture,” adds Richard, who won her first overall victory at this rally in 2004.

In two weeks, L’Estage and Richard will head north to Calgary for the Rocky Mountain Rally, round two of the Canadian Rally Championship, followed by a sprint across the country to Rally America’s Susquehannock Trail Rally in Pennsylvania. A reliable car, prepared by John Buffum’s Libra Racing shop in Vermont, enables the team to be such a threat while competing both full championships.

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard 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), VP Racing Fuels, and MBF Racing. For more information on the team or on rallying in general, visit Coyote Rallye .

2010 Rally America and North American Championship leaders Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard.
Photo: Andrew Snucins, World Rally Sport

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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, two-time Canadian and two-time North American rally champion, is heading to Missouri with one main goal : qualifying for the dynamic ESPN Summer X Games to be held in Los Angeles this coming August. “In addition to the entire Canadian Rally Championship, our calendar includes a minimum of four Rally America events in order to maximize our chances of being invited to this year’s X Games. ” he explains. “I competed at the X Games two years in a row but missed out on last year’s. After our second place finish in Michigan in January, there’s a good possibility of placing well in the overall championship hunt too and we’ll take every opportunity to acquire critical points towards that, as well as taking home victories. ” adds the Quebec driver.

This will be the second time in three years that the L’Estage/Richard duo will take to the start of the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood. While the rally is normally run on gravel roads, Mother Nature was a force to be reckoned with, leaving snow and ice-covered roads during the past two years of competition. “Whatever the conditions and road surfaces, we have a fantastic lineup of Yokohama tires to rely on. We are very motivated and are looking forward to Friday’s start. The few modifications that have been made to our Rockstar Energy Drink Royal Group Mitsubishi will allow us to continue to be amongst the fastest teams out there ” added the Quebec driver.

Five-time and reigning North American champion co-driver, Nathalie Richard, is also anxious to get back in the rally car : “As always, I have a lot of confidence in Antoine’s driving ability. Similarly to in Canada, competition is really strong again this year in the United States – we compete head to head with some really big manufacturer teams and we’ve proven to be right alongside them in terms of competitiveness and speed. The team’s ready, the car is reliable, and we’re aiming for the victory ” she mentions.

The Rockstar Royal Group team’s 2010 program includes the entire Canadian Rally Championship and four of six rounds in the Rally America series. Antoine L’Estage has two Canadian Championship titles (2006 and 2007), as well as two North American Rally Championship titles (2007 and 2008) and nineteen overall national victories in Canada and the US. Last year, he and Nathalie Richard were awarded the Bertrand-Fabi Trophy, which recognizes motorsports driving excellence and international exposure. Nathalie has four national titles (two Canadian and two American) as well as twenty-eight overall national victories. In 2009, she won her fifth North American Rally Championship title in six years.

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, 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 : A.L’Estage and N.Richard thrilling the spectators while leading the Rallye Perce-Neige 2010.

Photo credit : Maxime Poirier

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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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“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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“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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