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Reigning Canadian and North American champions, Antoine L'Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard kicked off the 2012 season this past weekend with a solid performance, finishing in second place at Michigan’s Sno*Drift Rally, opening round of the American series.

At the wheel of their brand new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, the Rockstar Energy Drink duo earned valuable championship points in the United States and are ready for the start of the Canadian Rally Championship this coming weekend.

"We may not have won but the outcome of this first rally in 2012 is still pretty positive. On one hand, the new car had no mechanical issues and doesn’t have a scratch on it and on the other hand, we earned second place points in what are promising to be hotly contested championships [North American and Rally America]," confides L'Estage.

"The 2012 edition of the Sno*Drift Rally was without a doubt the toughest driving conditions I’ve ever been faced with. The icy roads were comparable to an extremely smooth ice rink and it was practically impossible to find any grip. The first loop of stages was especially tough for me before I was able to better adapt to the new car on ice. I also made a mistake by cutting a corner where I shouldn’t have, resulting in a flat tire and another big loss of time," added the Rockstar Energy Drink driver.

After having conceded a big gap during the first day, L'Estage and Richard fought back hard on the second day but finished the competition in second place.

"Congrats to our British rivals David Higgins and Craig Drew – they had an excellent weekend," added Antoine L'Estage, who concludes, "thanks to Nathalie for another perfect co-driving job, to my entire Rockstar team, and to our sponsors, which now also includes Formica for the 2012 season."