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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BC based team overcomes adversity to claim 2009 Canadian Rally Championship title, and claim manufacturer’s championship for Subaru Canada

Subaru Rally Team Canada driver Patrick Richard and his co-driver Alan Ockwell are the new 2009 Canadian Rally Champions, by virtue of their win at the Rally of the Tall Pines held this past weekend near Bancroft, ON. Their top finish also secured the 2009 Canadian Rally Championship manufacturer’s title for Subaru Canada.

Their stunning victory marked the fourth win of the season for rally driver Patrick Richard, of Squamish, BC, and his co-driver Alan Ockwell, of Toronto, ON. As reigning 2008 Canadian Rally Champions, this is their second consecutive overall rally championship win driving their Subaru Impreza WRX STI.

“We came into this event knowing that we needed a win to claim the championship title,” explained Ockwell. “The heavy rain and muddy conditions ensured it was going to be a very tough event.” During the final practice before the rally start, the team snap rolled the car into a swamp on a slippery left hand corner, and the car was unable to drive under its own power. “After Friday night, we didn’t even know if we could make the start of the event, and winning the championship seemed far, far away.” A frantic battle ensued for the team’s service crew from Rocket Rally Racing in Squamish, BC. “After three hours of gruelling work by our crew, the car was ready to drive, and in fact it was almost impossible to tell that we had rolled it – a new windshield, hood, fenders, radiator, you name it, they fixed it.”

And fixed it they did. Richard went on to take the lead of the rally by the event’s second stage, ultimately winning 8 of the 15 individually timed stages.

“With no options for us except to win, and no second chances if we had crashed or broken, we made sure that we were going as fast as we needed to in order to stay in front,” said Richard. At the start of the event’s 10th stage, Richard and Ockwell had a 13 second lead over their second placed rival, and were looking firm for the win. “We didn’t have to push too hard, but we were slowly ratcheting up the pace, and by the ninth stage we were putting in about a second per kilometer on our main rivals. We were feeling confident about the win.”

But it all came apart on the 10th stage, where a transmission problem forced the team to first slow, then ultimately stop on the stage. “We lost about a minute on that stage, and with that, the championship faded before our eyes.”

The team’s BC based service crew sprung into action, and performed a miracle 17 minute transmission change which kept the pair in the rally. “Our crew was amazing. After staying up all night repairing the roll damage, they then came through with a 17 minute transmission change. Incredible.” Despite having a new transmission installed, it was in fact a standard, production gearbox. Richard and Ockwell’s other racing gearbox was installed in the team’s second car, which was being driven by six-time Canadian Champion Frank Sprongl, who was also entered into the event to secure manufacturer points for Subaru Canada. Sprongl went on to eventually finish third.

“We won every stage after the transmission swap, and had whittled down the time lost with the transmission problem to just 25 seconds, with one 25km stage to go. It was going to be an epic finish.” But alas, the team’s primary rivals had a clutch problem on the very last stage of the event, handing the event and the championship title to Richard and Ockwell.

“We had a roller coaster of an event. From the roll, to comfortably leading the event, to losing the lead – and the championship – with the transmission issue, to fighting back and leading it again. All this in a 24-hour period!”

After taking a two year hiatus from the sport, Richard is now a four-time Canadian Rally Champion (2002, 2004, 2008 and 2009) and is now poised to break the all-time championship record of six, jointly held by Frank Sprongl and Tom McGeer. Richard has also previously won the Rally America Championship several times, including the overall North American Rally Championship.

“Aside from driver-induced damage the car ran flawlessly and I have to credit both Subaru Canada and all of our associate sponsors including Vision-X Lighting, Crawford Performance, ACT, and our Squamish, BC based Rocket Rally crew,” exclaimed Richard.

Rocket Rally Racing is based in Squamish, BC, Canada and operates the Subaru Rally Team Canada on behalf of Subaru Canada, with associate sponsors Vision-X Lighting, Crawford Performance and ACT providing product support for the 2009 championship campaign. “Everything ran perfectly and I can’t wait to do it all over again in 2010.”

All rounds of the Canadian Rally Championship are televised nationally on TSN, TSN2 and RDS, and internationally. For television times, please check your local listings. More information about the Canadian Rally Championship can be found at the Canadian Association of Rallysport’s website www.carsrally.ca. Photos, videos and more information about the team can be found at the team’s website www.rocketrally.com.

Photos by Andrew Harvey

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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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In a dramatic season finale, Pat Richard (Squamish, B.C.) and Alan Ockwell (Toronto) won the Rally of the Tall Pines in Bancroft, Ontario to clinch the 2009 Canadian Rally Championship, presented by Subaru and supported by Yokohama.

“It’s fantastic to repeat as champions,” said Richard, who in winning the event, took his fourth overall title. “Now I have to win two more titles and tie the record!”

Transmission problems late in the day threatened to put the team out of the event, but the Subaru Impreza STI held up to get the pair into service where a new transmission was installed, allowing the two to continue. With this result, Richard and Ockwell also secured the manufacturer’s title for Subaru Canada.

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.) had a heartbreaking event. The two-time Canadian and North American Champions had been leading into the final four stages when clutch problems prevented them from starting the last stage on time. As the pair struggled to get going, competitors passed them on the stage and the team watched not just the event win, but the Canadian Rally Championship title and North American Rally Cup title fall apart in front of them. They eventually got the car going, finishing fifth.

“It’s been said that the highs in the this sport are really high, but that it can also be cruel,” said L’Estage, “We definitely felt that today.”

Andrew Comrie-Picard (Toronto) and Jeremy Wimpey (State College, PA) finished a strong second place in their NOS Mitsubishi EVO X. “We’ve just drove as hard as we could,” said Comrie-Picard. “Our car isn’t as developed as we’d like, so we knew we’d have to make it up in the driving.”

For Comrie-Picard, this result secures him the North American Rally Cup driver’s title.

Frank and Dan Sprongl (Georgetown, Ont.) were driving the second Subaru Rally Team Canada Impreza STI, finishing third. “We got quicker through the day,” said Frank. “It’s been three years since we’ve been in a car together, and two years since I have driven on gravel, so it’s been a good weekend.”

Two wheel drive competition was well represented, with 16 entries spread over three classes.

Michael Hordijk (Mars, PA) and Jessie Amend (Pittsburgh, PA) were the top two-wheel drive car in their VW TDI Golf, finishing 11th and winning the Group 5 class. Though the pair has rallied in the US, this marks their first event in Canada.

Martin Walter (North Gower, Ont.) and Ferdinand Trauttmansdorf (Ottawa) were the second place two wheel drive car in their Nissan 240 SX. The team finished in 13th overall. Third two wheel drive was Peter Kocandrle (Acton, Ont.) and Jimmy Brandt (Lake Odessa, MI) in a Suzuki Swift GT. Kocandrle and Brandt finished 14th overall and won the Group 2 class. Matt Barnes (Kitchener, Ont.) and Andrew Wallbank (Guelph, Ont.) finished 18th, winning the Production Sport class in a Toyota Paseo.

The 2009 Two Wheel Drive Championship driver’s title went to Jan Zedril (Winnipeg), with Leanne Junnila (Calgary). The Group 2 title went to Jan and Jody Zedril (Winnipeg), while Neil and Lorna Wright (Ottawa) earned the Production Sport title. Production GT went to Hardy Schmidtke (Cochrane, Alta.) and Adam Vokes (Red Deer, Alta.). Nathalie Richard won the Ladies Championship, and Nick Mathew (Mississauga, Ont.) was the top novice driver.

“We had a record number of entries this year, with 51 cars at the start line,” said rally coordinator Mike Koch. “We had unusually warm conditions, making it great for spectators to watch one of the deepest fields of the year in action.”

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

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

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

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

Rally of the Tall Pines Final Results (full results at www.tallpinesrally.com)

1 ) Pat Richard – Alan Ockwell (Subaru Impreza STI) – 1 hour 53 min. 48 sec.
2 ) Andrew Comrie-Picard – Jeremy Wimpey (Mitsubishi EVO X) – 1:56:44
3 ) Frank Sprongl – Dan Sprongl (Subaru Impreza STI) – 1:57:07
4 ) Leo Urlichich – Martin Headland (Subaru Impreza STI) – 2:02:51
5 ) Antoine L’Estage – Nathalie Richard (Mitsubishi EVO X) – 2:03:43
6 ) Simon Losier – Francois Morin (Mitsubishi EVO VIII) – 2:07:25
7 ) Chris Martin – Phil Narini (Subaru Impreza) – 2:10:55
8 ) Martin Donnelly – Dave Shindle (Subaru Impreza STI) – 2:16:10
9 ) Bruno-Pierre Allard – Karen Wagner (Subaru Impreza STI) – 2:18:00
10) Nicola Narini – Massimo Narini (Subaru Impreza) – 2:19:32

Canadian Rally Championship Final Driver Standings

1 ) Pat Richard – 90 points
2 ) Antoine L’Estage – 84 points
3 ) Simon Losier – 50 points
4 ) Andrew Comrie-Picard – 47 points
5 ) Craig Henderson – 40 points
6 ) Leo Urlichich – 28 points
7 ) Bruno Carre – 25 points
8 ) Hardy Schmidtke – 21 points
9 ) Nick Mathew – 20 points
10 ) Sylvain Erickson – 18 points

Canadian Rally Championship Final Co-Driver Standings

1 ) Alan Ockwell – 90 points
2 ) Nathalie Richard – 86 points
3 ) Francois Morin – 58 points
4 ) Lyne Murphy – 44 points
5 ) Martin Headland – 30 points
6 ) Yvan Joyal – 25 points
7 ) Adam Vokes – 23 points
8 ) Keith Morison – 21 points
9 ) Kelly Mathew – 21 points
10 ) Philip Erickson – 17 points
= ) Daniel Duchesneau – 17 points

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Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard and the NOS Energy Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution won the North American Rally Championship this past weekend with a podium finish in the season-ending Rally of the Tall Pines.

The win represents the first championship for the Mitsubishi Evolution X, and the first rally championship for NOS Energy Drink.

“This is a terrific result, especially given that we were working on developing the new rally car throughout this first competition season for the Evolution X,” said Comrie-Picard. “But our sponsors and our team came through and we won a very tight championship race.”

A late-season push, including a win at Rally Colorado and a second-place finish at the Rally of the Tall Pines, sealed the driver’s title for Comrie-Picard. Co-driver Jeremy Wimpey joined the team to secure both of these top finishes.

The season-ender was unusually dry and warm and made for very fast speeds and intense competition. Fans and media at the contest noted Comrie-Picard`s aggressive driving throughout the event — which saw him tearing off bumpers, bending bodywork, and even taking out a finish board — in contrast to his normally tidy style.

“We told ACP to win the championship or leave it in the woods,” said crew chief Eric Vlasic. “He actually did leave some of the car in the woods, but he brought in the championship!”

“We had this car wide-open the whole time,” added Comrie-Picard. “I just wasn’t lifting in most corners or over crests and fortunately, the Ohlins TTX shocks were amazing, the Yokohama tires took the super-high sideloads at 200 km/h (120 mph), and our K&N filter kept the engine safe even through some deep water splashes.”

The team is already preparing for 2010 and looks forward to defending the championship and competing at the X Games for a fifth time.

The NOS Energy Drink motorsports team has had an exceptionally successful year, winning four major racing titles: the North American Rally Championship, the Formula Drift Championship, the Redline Time Attack Series, and the NASCAR Nationwide series.

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 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), Bully Dog (www.bullydog.com), 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), Seibon Carbon (www.seiboncarbon.com), Rockford Fosgate (www.rockfordfosgate.com), Piloti (www.piloti.com), and Skull Candy (www.skullcandy.com).

For more information and video highlights, visit: www.acprally.com and read the team’s blog at www.drinknos.com. Find us on YouTube or Twitter under ACPRally.

Photos courtesy of the Canadian Association of RallySport and Neil McDaid.

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Quebec driver Antoine L’Estage, co-driven by Nathalie Richard, both of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu (QC), will contest this weekend’s Rally of the Tall Pines in Bancroft, Ontario, the final round of the Canadian Rally Championship and the North American Rally Cup. This will be a decisive event, one at which the Rockstar Royal Group team could capture both the Canadian and North American titles, as well as the Manufacturer’s title for Mitsubishi. Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard, who each have three victories at this rally, are naturally very confident leading up to the final round of the season.

“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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