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Busy Rally Schedule For Antoine L'Estage And Nathalie Richard
Quebec driver Antoine L’Estage (of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu) and his co-driver Nathalie Richard (of Halifax, Nova Scotia) contested this weekend’s opening round of the 2013 Canadian Rally Championship, the Rallye Perce-Neige in Maniwaki, Québec. The Rockstar Energy Drink team was favourited to win the event and were the early leaders before succumbing to mechanical misfortunes. This marked the team’s last real snow rally before returning to the United States in just over two weeks for the second round of the Rally America series.
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Already five-time winners of the Rallye Perce-Neige and coming off a strong win seven days ago at the Sno*Drift Rally in Michigan, Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard were the early favourites this weekend: « Last week in Michigan we came out on top after a great two-day battle, which left us feeling really positive and very comfortable in the car leading up to the Rallye Perce-Neige. The roads here were very tricky and extremely slippery so we remained on the safe side but we were able to win the first two stages and lead the rally even while driving risk-free. Engine problems prematurely ended our event during the third stage, which was really disappointing for the entire team » confides Antoine. « We’re sorry that we weren’t able to put on a longer show for all the fans that came out to cheer us on in these frigid temperatures » adds co-driver Richard.
The Rockstar Energy Drink Team is now preparing to head to Missouri’s Rally in the 100 Acre Wood, Round 2 of the Rally America series and the third event in the 2013 North American Rally Cup. « This will be our first gravel rally of the season. I’m really excited to get back on this type of surface with our Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X ! It’s a tough event and one that our top American rival (Ken Block) has won many times. We will do everything we can to make it to the top step of the podium, like we did back in 2011 ! » mentions the Quebec driver. The 100 Acre Wood rally will take place on February 22nd and 23rd.
Antoine L’Estage holds five North American championship titles (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012), five Canadian titles (2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012), one American title (2010), and thirty-eight overall victories in Canada and the US. Nathalie Richard holds eight overall national championship titles (2004, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012 in Canada and 2004, 2005, 2010 in the US), as well as forty-four overall rally wins on both sides of the border. She also holds a record eight North American Co-Driving Championship titles (2004 – 2012, excluding 2006).
Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard participate in the 2013 Rally America and Canadian Rally Championships with the support of Rockstar Energy Drink, Fenetres Concerto, Mitsubishi Canada, Yokohama Tires, Drenth Motorsport Gearboxes, Énergie Cardio, Formica Group, Alpinestars, VP Racing Fuels, Exe-Tc Suspensions, Driver's Edge Autosport, and Libra Racing.
PaddockTalk Perspective
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Also in WRC Rally News 2010: |
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