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Global Rallycross Confirms 2013 Schedule Featuring International Expansion

Los Angeles, Calif. (June 11, 2013) Global Rallycross (GRC) confirms its 2013 schedule will total nine rounds including races on three different continents in conjunction with Global X Games events in Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil), Barcelona (Spain) and Munich (Germany). As one of the fastest growing forms of motorsport, rallycross combines the best aspects of circuit racing, off-road racing and rally competition. The series is made up of four Global X Games events and five GRC events to total nine rounds that will culminate in the crowning of both a driver’s champion and manufacturer’s champion. The 2013 championship features live broadcasts on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 available in over 198 countries. With more than 15 hours of primetime live content on major networks, the telecast package comprises the most expansive television coverage that the sport of rallycross has ever seen. The series’ star drivers include Ken Block, Brian Deegan, Travis Pastrana, Scott Speed and 2011 and 2012 GRC Champion Tanner Foust. The 2013 Global Rallycross schedule: April 21: GRC at X Games: Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil May 19: GRC at X Games: Barcelona, Spain June 29 & 30: GRC at X Games: Munich, Germany* July 11: New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon NH July 20: Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol TN August 04: GRC at X Games: Irwindale Speedway, CA August 10: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Atlanta, GA September 22: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Charlotte, NC November 07: Las Vegas, NV *Barcelona rainout makeup race on June 29 For more information: http://www.global-rallycross.com/news/press-releases/global-rallycross-confirms-2013-schedule-featuring-international-expansion/

Second Rallycross Race Added to X Games Munich A second medal race has been added to the X Games Munich competition schedule on June 29th. The race will serve as Round 2 of the Global Rallycross (GRC) season, replacing last month’s rain cancelled event in Barcelona. Round 3 will be contested on the same circuit on June 30th and each event will feature its own practice and qualifying sessions. Both events will count for full points in the GRC standings and X Games will award medals for both rounds. The weekend schedule will be as follows: SATURDAY, JUNE 29, 2013 2:00 - 3:00 Practice & Seeding 3:00 - 3:30 Track prep 3:30 - 5:00 Heats, LCQ, Finals SUNDAY, JUNE 30, 2013 2:20 - 3:00 Practice 3:00 - 3:15 Track prep 3:15 - 4:00 Seeding 4:00 - 5:00 Track prep 5:00 - 7:00 Heats, LCQ, Finals Please tune in to ESPN and www.global-rallycross.com for full coverage and broadcast times.

Sebastien Loeb Confirmed for Pikes Peak 2013

Sebastien Loeb pictured here with Ken Block during his last visit to the USA, Loeb walked away with the Gold at XGAMES 2012. Picture Neil McDaid

Colorado Springs, April 3 One of the world’s most decorated auto racing stars is coming to Pikes Peak this summer.
Nine-time WRC World Rally Championship winner Sebastien Loeb of France has entered the 2013 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, adding more international luster to the nation’s second-oldest motor sports event behind the Indy 500 and helping to make the field the best in the race’s storied history..
The 91^st running of the race will be held on Sunday, June 30 with the help and support of title sponsors Discount Tires, Hankook Tire USA and TCI Tire Centers.
Loeb will be behind the wheel of a Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak which is being built for the Race to the Clouds, and details of the high-powered auto will be released later this month. He’ll be entered in the powerful Unlimited division.
His entry in the 12-driver Unlimited division means that he will up against the legendary Rhys Millen, who established the all-time speed record on the Peak last year with a clocking of 9:46.164 in the Time Attack division. Millen has moved to the Unlimited field this year in a new purpose-built Hyundai PM580T.
Peugeot’s entry marks its first attempt on Pikes Peak – America’s Mountain, since back-to-back triumphs in its 405 T16 model in 1988 and 1989 by Ari Vatanen and Robby Unser in the Open Rally division, which now is the Unlimited division.
Driving for Citroën’s World Rally Team, Loeb won every World Rally Championship from 2004-2012 and is running in second place in this year’s series. He’s being loaned to Peugeot for Pikes Peak in an attempt to win the famed race, which began in 1916.
Loeb finished second in the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans, and was named the French Sportsman of the Year in 2007 and 2009.

Last summer, he won the Gold medal in Rally Car Racing at the X Games in Los Angeles in addition to his lengthy list of triumphs. He’s won the Monte Carlo rally in seven of the last eight outings, too.
“Pikes Peak is a one-off outing which has the potential to generate extensive media coverage and which meets the constraints of the current context.” said Peugeot CEO Maxime Picat. “It is a legendary race that has inspired all the Brand’s teams who have mobilized behind the project which targets outright victory. It is also a tough, exceptional challenge which leaves no room for error. In other words, it’s exactly the sort of challenge that Peugeot adores.”
Peugeot has maximized its chances of winning by enlisting the support of some of the biggest and best partners for the project, including Total, Red Bull, Michelin as well as nine-time World Rally champion Loeb.
“Our objective is to win,” continued Picat, “so we needed to stack up as many cards as possible in our favor by joining forces with the very best partners for this unique project. Indeed, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Citroën for this one-off ‘loan’ of its exceptional champion. Citroën’s support is emblematic of the cohesion that reigns within the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.”
PPIHC Tickets Available Now
Fans of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb can purchase tickets now for the June 30, 2013 race and assure themselves a spot on the Peak for what promises to be the best in the event’s long and storied history.
General admission seats are priced at $40.00 each, and the popular Family Four-Pack is priced at $135.00 when purchased in advance.
Tickets may be purchased on the PPIHC official website: www.ppihc.com

Source: PPIHC
Picture: Neil McDaid

Global RallyCross Championship Twin Peaks airs Saturday at 4:30 on ESPN

West Hollywood, CA (May 13, 2011 | GLOBAL RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP) -Tune in to ESPN on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Eastern as the excitement of the Global RallyCross Championship returns to television with the DiRT 3 Global RallyCross Championship: Twin Peaks, presented by Best Buy.

The Saturday broadcast features drivers from the top ranks of action sports and rallycross in the United States and Europe as they take on a second-round battle for the inaugural Global RallyCross Championship title - and a chance to earn an invitation to X Games 17 Rally competitions held in downtown Los Angeles this summer.

Top drivers including Tanner Foust, BMX and rally pro Dave Mirra, and Formula DRIFT drivers Rhys Millen and Stephan Verdier tear it up on the inventive industrial course near Seattle. Action includes a huge gap jump where cars fly 70-feet through the air - a feature seen only at X Games and Global RallyCross competition - and racing through an industrial warehouse, with the sound of high-power engines ricocheting off the walls.

The show will be rebroadcast Saturday evening at 9:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2.

Rallycross combines the best aspects of circuit racing, off-road racing and rally competition to deliver intense action in a variety of fan-friendly environments. The series benefits from a multi-year programming relationship with ESPN. 

Competitors will next travel to Colorado at the Pikes Peak International Raceway for Round 3: Last Chance (June 17-18). Ticketing and other information will be available soon at http://www.global-rallycross.com/. Invitations for X Games 17 Rally events will be announced soon after the conclusion of the third round of the 2011 series.

Fans can also find the series on Facebook (www.facebook.com/GlobalRallyCross) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/GlobalRallyX) to sign up for a chance to win tickets and other prizes.

The RallyCar organization sanctions the Global RallyCross Championship events. 

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard - Ready to Defend Their Canadian Title

Montréal (Québec), February 3rd, 2011. – The 2010 Canadian, American, and North American Rally Champions, Antoine L’Estage of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Qc and Nathalie Richard of Halifax, NS will return to competition this weekend to contest Maniwaki’s Rallye Perce-Neige, the first round of the 2011 Canadian Rally Championship.

L’Estage, the Rockstar Royal Group team driver, is looking for his fourth victory at the Rallye Perce-Neige after winning this challenging winter event three times in the past five years. «The Rallye Perce-Neige is an event that I always enjoy and the time I’ve had in my Mitsubishi Evo X in the past two weeks has left me really excited to contest this rally » indicates Antoine L’Estage, who adds : « even with a such a fantastic season last year, Perce-Neige was the only rally that we didn’t score points at. I want to redeem myself this year and come away with top points. Winning is obviously a main objective but the priority, as always, remains our need for important championship points ».

The Perce-Neige rally is known for its tricky snow and ice-covered roads, something that does not stress Antoine L’Estage, who relies on his Yokohama tires : « having this lineup of Yokohama tires available to us is key, including the best intermediate winter tire for performace rallying » he indicates.

At the wheel of his Rockstar Royal Group Evo X, Antoine L’Estage knows that repeating his record-breaking 2010 season will be difficult, but anything’s possible : « winning the “Triple Crown” (Canadian, American, and North American titles) does not come by easily. I’d like to do it again but my priority is the Canadian championship. My entire team is geared up and highly looking forward to the Perce-Neige rally » he explains.

Last weekend in the United States…

The Rockstar Royal Group team took part in last weekend’s Sno*Drift Rally in Michigan, Round 1 of the 2011 Rally America season, the premier American series that was won last year by the L’Estage/Richard duo. After winning the first three competitive stages of the rally and building up a 20 second lead, the team’s rally was ended early in a small snowbank. The contact resulted in a damaged radiator, causing the motor to overheat once the team got going again. « It was a very positive start to the rally because we were able to show our speed but we couldn’t risk continuing after the car started overheating » shared the Quebec driver. L’Estage’s main rival in the Rally America series also retired early from the rally, denying either team a points advantage in their hunt for the title. Antoine and Nathalie return to the American season at the end of February for Missouri’s Rally in the 100 Acre Wood.

Antoine L’Estage holds three North American championship titles (2007, 2008, 2010), three Canadian titles (2006, 2007, 2010), one American title (2010), and twenty-five overall victories in Canada and the US. Nathalie Richard holds six overall national championship titles (3 in Canada and 3 in the USA), as well as thirty-one overall rally wins on both sides of the border. She is also a six-time North American Co-Driving Champion (2004 – 2010, excluding 2006).

Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard participate in the 2011 Rally America and Canadian Rally Championships with the support of Rockstar Energy Drink, Royal Group, Yokohama Tires, Mitsubishi Canada, Drenth Motorsport Gearboxes, Garrett Turbos, Énergie Cardio, Libra Racing, Driver's Edge Autosport (OMP), and VP Racing Fuels. For more information on the team or on rallying in general, visit antoinelestage.com