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EVENTS L’ESTAGE DOMINATES IN SNOWY ROCKY MOUNTAIN RALLY CARS: ROCKY MOUNTAIN RALLY 28 - 29 May 2010 Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard kept up their recent form to dominate the Rocky Mountain Rally, further boosting this talented pairing’s confi dence for the rest of the season. Story: Staff Writer / www.carsrally.ca Pictures: Andrew Harvey Photography Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard charged to an early lead at the 2010 Rocky Mountain Rally, and continued to build their lead to the fi nish despite harrowing conditions that forced organisers to change the schedule for Saturday’s stages. The Calgary based Rocky Mountain Rally is the second round of the Canadian Rally Championship, presented by Subaru and supported by Yokohama. “We had the perfect Yokohama tires for the event,” said L’Estage, driver of the Rockstar EVO X. “We took mud tires for the fi rst stages and built a big lead that we kept through the rally. It is our fi rst win since last year, so it feels fantastic.” Rival team and defending Canadian Rally Champions Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell of Subaru Rally Team Canada suffered from a poor tyre choice at the start of the rally and struggled “Tyre choice proved vital for every team” to fi nd their pace, eventually fi nishing second, more than two minutes back from L’Estage. “The stages were super haywire,” said a dejected Richard, who holds four national overall driver titles and a North American driver’s title. “It’s been disappointing, I don’t know the last time I came second.” Bruno Carré and Yvan Joyal benefi ted by using tall and narrow snow tyres that cut through the sloppy conditions, driving to a third place fi nish. Their result was good enough to retain the top spot in the point standings for the Canadian Rally Championship. “We found the secret weapon in terms of tyres for these conditions,” said Carré, who worked his way to second place before dropping behind Richard and Ockwell on the fi nal stages. “We’re still leading the Championship, which is great, especially against guys like Antoine and Pat.” Tyre choice proved vital for THIS PAGE: Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard. OPPOSITE PAGE FROM TOP LEFT TO RIGHT: Patrick Richard and Alan Ockwell; Bruno Carre and Yvan Joyal; Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard; Jan and Jody Zedril. Overall Classifi cation: 01) A. L’Estage/N. Richard Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X – 01h 11m 48,8s 02) P. Richard/A. Ockwell Subaru Impreza WRX + 02m 17,7s 03) B. Carré/Y. Joyal Subaru Impreza WRX + 02m 28,6s 04) L. Urlichich/C. Beavis Subaru Impreza WRX + 03m 37,3s 05) C. Henderson/L. Murphy Subaru Impreza WRX + 04m 20,3s 06) H. Schmidtke/A. Vokes Subaru Impreza WRX + 04m 47,9s 07) S. Losier/P. Poirier Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII + 05m09,0s 08) G. Bruce/L. Junnila Subaru Impreza WRX + 09m44,2s 09) M. Jennings-Bates/J. Daly Subaru Impreza WRX + 10m 00,1s 10) I. Crerar/R. Felice Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI + 11m 06,4s
every team as massive snow dumped onto the stage roads leading up to and during the event. Some roads at altitude in the Porcupine Hills region of Alberta had up to 30cm of snow, mixing with mud and water to create a slippery, diffi cult and unpredictable surface. Leo Urlichich/Christine Beavis drove a disciplined rally to fi nish fourth overall. Craig Henderson fi nished third at the season opener, Rallye Perce Neige, but struggled to fi nd his pace on Friday. A blown head gasket slowed his progress on Saturday, but he and co-diver Lyne Murphy continued to fi nish a hard earned fi fth. Jan and Jody Zedril opened a minute lead on the fi rst day, and drove conservatively to manage the lead. The strategy nearly failed when hard charging Kris and Jaclyn Schofi eld made up all but 11sec by the end of the fi nal stage. The Zedrils fi nished 13th overall, also the top ranked two-wheel drive car. The Schofi elds came in 14th overall, second in their class. “We had a few big moments, but it was a lot of fun to be back in the car after a year and a half out of competition,” said Kris Schofi eld. Conditions created challenges for rally organisers. Saturday’s schedule EVENTS had to be completely redesigned when the road surface proved impassible on the southern stage roads. Organisers created a new schedule with the remaining roads, and teams tested themselves on fi ve stages, fi nishing the rally late Saturday afternoon. “It was a collaborative effort,” said Shabir Haji, organiser of the Rocky Mountain Rally, of the decision to rewrite the schedule. “We knew when the forecast was bad we may have to change the route. This morning when marshals were getting stuck, the decision was quick. We had to develop a format to get the stage distances for the teams.” The championship battle continues at the Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs in New Richmond, Quebec. Thrilling roads and huge jumps combine with some of the biggest spectator crowds on the calendar, making Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs an event not to be missed. The Canadian Rally Championship is comprised of six events held nationwide in a season that extends from February to November.
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Page 23: Driver Standings: 01) A. L’Estage

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