Comments from L'Estage, CrazyLeo, and Vincent

North American Rally — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:13:00 -0800

Antoine L'Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard began the defense of their 2011 Canadian Rally Championship with a dominating victory at the Rallye Perce-Neige Saturday near Maniwaki, Quebec. L'Estage whipped his newly-built 2011 Rockstar Energy Drink Mitsubishi Evo X across 245 kilometers of snow-covered ice stages. It was his fifth Perce-Neige win.

L'Estage's comments from the podium: http://bit.ly/AuqSZe

L'Estage and Richard Dominate Rallye Perce-Neige

North American Rally — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:58:14 -0800

Antoine L'Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard begin their Canadian title defense in fine form winning Rallye Perce-Neige today in Maniwaki, Quebec.

The crew finished the one-day 244.37km (151.84 mi) CRC season opener with a dominant lead of 8 minutes and 32.2 seconds over second-placed CrazyLeo Urlichich and co-driver Carl Willamson.

BREAKING: L'Estage Wins Rallye Perce-Neige

North American Rally — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:14:29 -0800

Antoine L'Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard begin their Canadian title defense in fine form winning Rallye Perce-Neige today in Maniwaki, Quebec. L'Estage had a flawless run in his newly-built 2011 Rockstar Energy Mitsubishi Evo X to claim the fifth Perce-Niege win of his career.

Cars are arriving in Maniwaki for the podium.

Carré in Perfect Position for Podium

North American Rally — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:03:53 -0800

Two years ago Bruno Carré won his first Canadian national rally at Perce-Neige. Guess where he is again this Saturday?!

And the conditions are much the same. Ice, snow and mechanical issues have decimated the field leaving Carré in second behind defending Canadian champion Antoine L'Estage with only four stages to go and less than six minutes separating L'Estage and Carré.

Now, normally, that wouldn't be a consideration. But these aren't normal conditions. One mistake and...

Riddle Retires from Perce with Blown Motor

North American Rally — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:26:27 -0800

Former MX5 Cup driver Max Riddle has grown enormously in his transition to becoming a rally driver in Canada. His start to the 2012 season at Rallye Perce-Neige, however, wasn't seamless.

Riddle and co-driver Aaron Neumann were sitting sixth after the first two stages before he slid into a snowbank on Stage 3. There were further problems when he lost an engine on Stage 4 and had to retire from the season opener.

Riddle won his first regional rally when he launched his gravel career in 2010. He was immediately called a future Canadian rally champion.

Disappointment for Richard at Perce-Neige

North American Rally — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:14:21 -0800

Subaru Rally Team Canada's Pat Richard and co-driver Alan Ockwell face a disappointing start to their season. The factory squad has retired from the CRC opener after stopping on Stage 9 due to mechanical failure.

Richard had temporarily held a slight lead on Stage 4 after L'Estage suffered a puncture, but landed an unexpected jump so hard that his Subaru's intercooler split in half and the car lost its boost. Richard continued for a few more stages and eventually the car quit.

Richard's DNF leaves him at a disadvantage in the race for championship points.

CrazyLeo Crashes But Will Continue

North American Rally — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:38:50 -0800

CrazyLeo Urlichich started Rallye Perce-Neige as the first car on the road but he's had nothing but problems. He picked up 6 minutes worth of penalties early in the day dropping him to 37th position overall.

CrazyLeo then damaged his car crashing at high speed. "We backed into a pole at 200 kilometers per hour," Urlichich said.

CrazyLeo has managed to claw back up the standings to hold 9th place overall after SS9 and is 8 minutes and 11.5 seconds back from rally leader L'Estage.

L'Estage Regains Lead from Richard

North American Rally — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:43:31 -0800

Defending Canadian rally champion Antoine L'Estage is leading the Rallye Perce-Neige by 27.8 seconds over 2009 Canadian champion Patrick Richard.

The two rivals have traded time at the front. L'Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard started strong, got a puncture, and have since recovered to regain the lead. Richard and co-driver Alan Ockwell had a brief time in front before they had issues and gave the lead back to L'Estage.

Penalties Set CrazyLeo Back at Perce

North American Rally — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:37:22 -0800

CrazyLeo Urlichich and co-driver Carl Williamson have suffered a major setback early in the Rallye Perce-Neige, opening round of the Canadian championship.

CrazyLeo received two separate 3 minute penalties for checking in early to Stage 2 and Service 1. He checked in 3 minutes early at both Controls resulting in a 1 minute penalty for each minute he was early (6 minutes total).

L'Estage Wins Opening Perce-Neige Stages

North American Rally — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:21:03 -0800

Rockstar Energy Team's Antoine L'Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard begin their Canadian title defense by claiming wins on both of the opening two stages of Rallye Perce-Neige.

L'Estage tackled the first loop of the day on snow tires while rival Pat Richard of Subaru Rally Team Canada gambled in ice tires. The choice paid off for L'Estage who beat Richard by 2.4 seconds on the 2.02km Marie-Anne 1 stage and by 3 seconds on the 6.30km Des Eaux 1 stage.

L'Estage leads the rally over Richard by 5.9 seconds after Stage 2.