Montréal (Québec), November 3, 2013.- Quebec driver Antoine L’Estage (of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu) won this weekend’s Rocky Mountain Rally, the penultimate round of the 2013 Canadian Rally Championship. Accompanied by Welshman co-driver Craig Parry, this sixth victory at this western event was an important win for the Rockstar team as it clinched L’Estage’s sixth North American title and moves him into the lead of the Canadian championship with one remaining round this year.
“It’s really what we could call a perfect weekend. We were in the lead from the start right until the end. We won all the stages and my co-driver Craig Parry and the entire team of mechanics, lead by John Buffum, did an impeccable job,” commented Antoine L’Estage. “It wasn’t as easy as our result makes it look. We had to attack hard at the beginning and then manage the lead we had built up, all the while being really careful in the snow and ice covered roads. Our Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X was reliable and competitive as always, and our Yokohama AO34s were the best possible choice for these tricky conditions.”
This victory was Antoine L’Estage’s sixth at the Rocky Mountain Rally. which was held on a completely new route and in a new location this year. The Rockstar team driver clinched the North American drivers’ championship and jumps into the lead of the Canadian Rally Championship.
“We knew that with a victory here, the North American title was in the bag. With the DNF of my main rival in the Canadian series, we gained a 15 point lead over him with only one rally left this season. This fourth consecutive was a key turning point in our year. It’s great for us because not only does it give me the lead in the drivers’ title hunt, it also gives Mitsubishi a bigger lead in the manufacturers’ championship. We couldn’t have had a more perfect result than this weekend’s,” stressed the Quebec driver.
Winner of the Baie-des-Chaleurs, Défi, Pacific Forest and now Rocky Mountain rallies, Antoine L’Estage and the Rockstar team are undefeated in the Canadian Rally Championship since this spring. With a sixth place finish or higher at the last rally of the season, the Rally of the Tall Pines in Ontario later this month, Antoine would clinch his sixth career national title.
Antoine L’Estage holds six North American championship titles (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013), five Canadian titles (2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012), one American title (2010), and forty-two overall victories in Canada and the US. This victory marked Craig Parry’s second victory in as many events with the Rockstar team this season.
Antoine L’Estage participates 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. For more information on the team or on rallying in general, visit antoinelestage.com.
From: Coyote Rallye Media Services, (514) 825 – 4332
2013 Canadian Rally Championship Calendar
Date Event Location
February 2 RALLYE PERCE-NEIGE Maniwaki, Québec DNF
June 29 – 30 RALLYE BAIE-DES-CHALEURS New Richmond, Québec 1st
September 6 – 7 RALLYE DÉFI Ste-Agathe, Québec 1st
October 4 – 5 PACIFIC FOREST RALLY Merritt, British Columbia 1st
November 2 ROCKY MOUNTAIN RALLY Invermere, British Columbia 1st
November 30 RALLY OF THE TALL PINES Bancroft, Ontario
Rally America Series 2013 Calendar
Date Event Location
January 25 – 26 SNO*DRIFT Atlanta, Michigan 1st
February 22 – 23 100 ACRE WOOD Salem, Missouri DNF
May 3 – 4 OREGON TRAIL Portland, Oregon DNF
May 31 – June 1 STPR Wellsboro, Pennsylvania D.N.E.
July 26 – 27 NEW ENGLAND FOREST RALLY Bethel, Maine DNF
August 22 – 23 OJIBWE FORESTS RALLY Detroit Lakes, Minnesota DNF
October 18 – 19 LAKE SUPERIOR PRO RALLY Houghton, Michigan 2nd
{fcomment}
Discussion about this post