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" he added.
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.
Photo Credit : Aaron Kathman
