Montpellier, Québec — Quebec driver Antoine L’Estage (of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu) and his co-driver Nathalie Richard (of Halifax, Nova Scotia) brought their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X to a second place finish at the Rallye Défi, the fourth round of the Canadian Rally Championship, contested in the Laurentians and the Outaouais regions of Quebec. With this strong result, the Rockstar Energy Drink duo increases their lead in their quest for additional Canadian and North American overall titles.

Six-time winners of the Rallye Défi, Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard were looking forward to this event with the intention of improving the record for the number of wins at this rally, a record that they already hold. But, winning the championship this season is always their priority and with Ken Block and his World Rally Championship spec car, they knew it would be a very tough order. « We had a really good day of competition on Friday. The roads were tough but everything went well for us. The entire Rockstar Energy Drink Rally Team did a fantastic job of preparing such a great car for us and the Yokohama tires were amazing in the super rough sections of the morning’s stages » explains Antoine L'Estage.

At the end of the day, the L'Estage/Richard duo was in second place, 58 seconds behind Ken Block/Alex Gelsomino. « Ken arrived here without any pressure – it’s his only rally in Canada this year and he could therefore push his machine as hard as it could be pushed. And what a machine it is! I love my car but his is on a whole other level. They did a great job this weekend and we congratulate them both » confides Antoine.

During the second day of competition, after the rain had already began to pour, L’Estage and Richard started the day swapping stage wins with Block and co-driver Gelsomino until the Rockstar Energy Drink team suffered from two left punctures after hitting a rock in the road. « In total, we set the fastest time on six of the twenty-three timed stages of the rally. Our flats didn’t have much consequence on the standings other than increasing the gap between us and first place but we didn’t lose a position. Second place points still increases our lead in the Canadian Rally Championship so it’s a positive result for us » explains co-driver Nathalie Richard.

In a good position to claim yet another North American championship title and in a comfortable lead for the Canadian title, Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard head to British Columbia for the Pacific Forest Rally in October, without too much pressure. Before that, the team will compete at the Olympus Rally in Olympia, Washington for the final round of the Rally America series. They will once again be up against Ken Block in addition to their usual series competitors. L’Estage and Richard leave next week with the rally taking place on September 22nd and 23rd.

Antoine L’Estage holds four North American championship titles (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011), four Canadian titles (2006, 2007, 2010, 2011), one American title (2010), and thirty-six overall victories in Canada and the US. Nathalie Richard holds seven overall national championship titles (2011, 2010, 2007, 2004 in Canada and 2010, 2005, 2004 in the US), as well as forty-two overall rally wins on both sides of the border. She also holds a record seven North American Co-Driving Championship titles (2004 – 2011, excluding 2006).

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard participate in the 2012 Rally America and Canadian Rally Championships with the support of Rockstar Energy Drink, Formica Group, Fenetres Concerto, Mitsubishi Canada, Yokohama Tires, Drenth Motorsport Gearboxes, Énergie Cardio, VP Racing Fuels, Exe-Tc Suspensions, Hawk Performance Brake Pads, Driver's Edge Autosport, and Libra Racing.

For more information on the team or on rallying in general, visit antoinelestage.com.

Canadian Rally Championship 2012 Calendar
Date	Event	Location
February 4-5	RALLYE PERCE-NEIGE	Maniwaki, Québec	1st
May 25-26	ROCKY MOUNTAIN RALLY	Calgary, Alberta	1st
June 29-30	RALLYE BAIE-DES-CHALEURS	New Richmond, Québec	1st
September 6-8	RALLYE DÉFI	Ste-Agathe, Québec	2nd
October 12-13	PACIFIC FOREST RALLY	Merritt, British Columbia
November 23-24	RALLY OF THE TALL PINES	Bancroft, Ontario

Rally America Series 2012 Calendar
Date	Event	Location
January 27-28	SNO*DRIFT RALLY	Atlanta, Michigan	2nd
February 24-25	100 ACRE WOOD	Salem, Missouri	DNF
May 4-6	OREGON TRAIL	Portland, Oregon	DNF
June 1-2	S.T.P.R.	Wellsboro, Pennsylvania	1st
July 13-14	NEW ENGLAND FOREST RALLY	Bethel, Maine	1st
September 22-23	OLYMPUS RALLY	Olympia, Washington