Antoine L'Estage Makes it 100 with a Victory at Rallye Baiedes-Chaleurs

New Richmond (Québec), July 4th 2011.-
Driver Antoine L'Estage of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, QC) and his co-driver Nathalie Richard (of Halifax, NS) won this past weekend’s Rallye Baiedes-Chaleurs in New Richmond, Québec. At the wheel of their Rockstar Royal Group

Mitsubishi Evo X, the duo overcame multiple obstacles at this event to eventually walk away

with their sixth consecutive victory in the Canadian Rally Championship, increasing their lead in

the series, as well as in the North American Rally Cup. This win is extra special for Antoine

L’Estage as this past weekend’s event marked the 100

Already winners at the Rallye Perce-Neige and the Rocky Mountain Rally earlier in the season,

Antoine L'Estage, Nathalie Richard and the entire Rockstar Concerto team worked extremely

hard to claim this victory. "We just experienced a crazy rally. Friday night we built up a

significant lead right from the first stage before losing two and a half minutes with our rear

differential problems, which dropped us into second place by nine seconds" explains Antoine, «

we took back the lead on Saturday morning but just before the final stage of the rally, we were

forced to change the gearbox, causing us to check out of service later than the allotted time, and therefore incurring a penalty.

Luckily, we had a big enough gap ahead of second place that the

penalty and another frustrating problem on the last stage were not enough to knock us off of the

top spot. This was a roller coaster ride of emotions, one I’d rather not repeat! » adds the

reigning champion.

This success goes to a driver celebrating his 100

and especially to the Rockstar Royal Group team of mechanics who can be extremely proud of

their accomplishments this weekend, as explained by Nathalie Richard : "this is a really big

team victory because without the fast and efficient work of John Buffum and our mechanics Paul

and Mathieu, we are fairly certain that we would not have just won our sixth Canadian rally in a

row".

The road conditions were equally difficult for this edition of the event thanks to hard rainfall on

the days leading up to the rally, leaving the surface extremely slick and muddy. Antoine

L’Estage emphasizes that this was not a concern of his : « my mechanics prepared a very

reliable car for me, we were the fastest team, and with my Yokohama tires, we had a great

selection of possibilities. For these conditions, we opted to start the rally on a soft compound

tire, which was the right choice for Friday night’s stages ».

This 2011 edition of the Rallye Baie-des-Chaleurs was a challenge for all the top teams, each of

which suffered their fair share of major mechanical problems. This win marks Antoine and

Nathalie’s third victory in New Richmond, and makes it almost impossible for any other team on

the continent to claim the North American Rally Cup. The team is now preparing to head to the

New England Forest Rally in less than two weeks for the final round of the Rally America

Championship. Antoine and Nathalie currently sit in second place in that series.

Photo: Matt Janiak, World Rally Sport

TEA AND HOONING - KEN BLOCK RETURNS TO GOODWOOD

June 27th, New York, New York: Monster World Rally Team driver, Ken Block, will be returning to the Goodwood Festival of Speed this coming weekend to attempt to recapture the Veuve Clicquot “Most Thrilling Driver” award, a title he was given during last year’s event for hooning up the famed hill. 2010 marked the World Rally Championship driver’s first-ever visit to one of motorsports’ most prestigious and well-known motoring events, where drivers from all forms of racing convene and run their respective cars up the 1.2-mile long driveway of host Lord March’s estate in Chichester, England. 

“I had an incredible time at Goodwood last year,” said Block. “The Festival of Speed is such a great event and I can’t wait to get back. The fans, the cars, the runs up the hill, the forest rally stages, the whole experience is dope. Plus, I managed to take home an award for hooning last year, which was basically given to me for destroying Lord March’s lawn. To me, that’s awesome, so I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure I secure that title again this year.”

To double his odds of securing the Veuve Clicquot “Most Thrilling Driver” award once again, Block will be bringing out two cars to this year’s Festival of Speed. His Gymkhana THREE Ford Fiesta and his Ford Fiesta RS WRC that he currently runs in the World Rally Championship. 

This year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed runs from July 1st through July 3rd. Follow Ken Block during his visit to the event at monsterworldrallyteam.com, facebook.com/KenBlockRacing and facebook.com/MonsterWorldRallyTeam.

David Higgins and Team Subaru Storm the Mountain and Smash the Record

Sunday June, 26th, 2011- The course record at the Mt. Washington Hillclimb, one of Americas oldest auto races, was smashed today in convincing fashion by professional rally driver David Higgins at the wheel of a Vermont SportsCar prepared 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI.  Higgins, from the Isle of Man, broke the course record, which stood for thirteen years, by over thirty seconds at the revived 'Climb to the Clouds', which was last held in 2001. The new time to beat to the summit of the 7.6 mile sinuous asphalt and gravel Mt. Washington Auto Rd. is 6 minutes and 11.54 seconds, nearly thirty seconds faster than the outgoing record.  The Climb to the Clouds featured nearly seventy competitors driving an eclectic mix of modern rally cars, purpose built hillclimb cars and a small group of vintage racecars steeped in motorsports history.

Weather conditions had been less than ideal throughout the two practice days on Friday and Saturday, with intermittent rain showers that blanketed the Auto Road in clouds.  The weather kept the competitors from having a chance to practice on the upper half of the course thus adding to the challenge.  On Sunday however the weather cleared and two full course timed runs were held, although dense fog engulfed the summit for parts of the day.

Higgins was the last driver to launch off the start line which helped to build the anticipation of a possible record breaking run amongst the fans in attendance.  Higgins set a blistering pace on his first run, breaking the record by over twenty seconds, but had even more speed on tap on his second run where he lowered his new record by a further eight seconds. The previous record of 6 minutes and 41.99 seconds was set by Mt. Washington Hillclimb ace Frank Sprongl in 1998. 

"It was a very big challenge because the road was still wet in spots and would turn very slick suddenly. With the clouds the visibility was so low I could hardly see past the hood of my car," explained Higgins. "Our Subaru is setup perfectly for a road like this but I have never raced here before and it was a lot of work to try to learn the course. It's fantastic to have the record at such a prestigious event."

In second place was Todd Cook of Tempe, Arizona in an open-wheeled TCE/Wells Coyote hillclimb car and in third place was Paul Tingaud in his crowd favorite Audi "Super Chicken" Hillclimb Special.  Tingaud held off former Mt. Washington Hillclimb record holder Paul Choiniere, driving a Hyundai Tiburon all-wheel-drive rally car, by just one-second for the final podium position.

A new speed record of 114mph, measured at the Quarter Mile section of the course, was attained by veteran hillclimber Jerry Driscoll at the wheel of "The Patriot", his bespoke hillclimb car.  Driscoll, of East Randolph, Vermont, set the outgoing Speed Record of 113mph on the Mt. Washington Auto Rd. course in 1998 driving the very same car.

The Mt. Washington Auto Road welcomed for the first time a truck to race up its narrow serpentine course as daredevil Mike Ryan of Santa Clarita, California raced his purpose-built Freightliner Cascadia  race-truck, with an amazing 1,950HP, in the Hillclimb Special Class. Ryan was an impressive 27th Overall and commented that, "it was a terrifying and challenging ride to the top and at the finish I truly felt like I accomplished something."

Winning the all-wheel-drive Rally class (R1) was Robert Martai with his co-driver Fabian Sannet in their 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X.  While the two-wheel drive (R2) class was won by local rally driver Chris Duplessis and his co-driver Sarah Trask, both of Littleton, New Hampshire in their 2011 Ford Fiesta. 

Of the four Hillclimb classes, meant for regional hillclimb racers and their cars, the Hillclimb-1 class was won by Sherman Baumen, while the Hillclimb-2 class was won by Jamie Melhuish in his 2003 BMW M3. Melhuish, of Newtonville, Massachusetts finished an impressive 7th Overall.   The Hillclimb-3 class was won by Tim Mather in a Nissan Sentra and Hillclimb-4 class was won by Nick Wheelock at the wheel of his 2004 Subaru STI.

The Vintage Class featured a lineup of prestigious racing cars from the 1930's and 1950's. Although all the entered vehicles are steeped in motorsports history none as much so as an extremely rare 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 that won Le Mans with legendary Grand Prix driver Tazio Nuvolari at the wheel. The 8C was shipped across the Atlantic, and in 1937 it raced and won the Mt. Washington Hillclimb.  It was raced on Sunday by current owner Peter Sachs.   Also competing was a 1934 Reuter Special known as "The Old Grey Mare," and a 1951 Jaguar XK120 known as "The Beast" which Sherwood Johnston piloted in the 1953 to a record-breaking run of 10 minutes, 47.6 seconds. The Vintage Class roster also featured a 1931 Studebaker factory Indy car, one of only three that were built, that won the pole at the 1931 Indianapolis 500  as well as raced and won the Pikes Peak Hillclimb the same year.

Full results can be found here: http://climbtotheclouds.com/general-info/results/

About the Mt. Washington "Climb to the Clouds"  Hillclimb:

First opened in 1861 as the Mt. Washington Carriage Road, the Mt. Washington Auto Road, located in Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire is the country's oldest man-made attraction. The 7.6 mile Mt. Washington Auto Road is one of the ultimate challenges for driver and automobile. The serpentine tarmac and gravel road is lined with trees and dramatic drop-offs as it winds its way to the 6,288 foot summit of the Northeast's tallest peak. Considered to be one of the oldest motorsports events in the United States, the Climb to the Clouds was first run in 1904, seven years before the first 500-mile race at the Brickyard in Indianapolis and twelve years prior to the inaugural Pikes Peak International Hillclimb in Colorado. The last time the Climb to the Clouds was run was in 2001.

Organized by Vermont SportsCar and sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of New Hampshire,  the 2011 Mt. Washington Hillclimb  served as one of several  events to help celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Mt. Washington Auto Road as the nation's oldest man-made attraction.

Source: Climbtotheclouds
Photos: Lars Gange

David Higgins Takes Mt. Washington Record.

Sunday June, 26th 2011- David Higgins made Mt. Washington Climb to the Clouds History as he crossed the line in 6 minutes 19 seconds during his first full-length timed run of Sunday morning. Higgins was just over a second faster than his Subaru Rally Team USA teammate Travis Pastrana who ran the Mt. Washington Auto Road in a similar car to promote the return of the hillclimb last fall. The prior record set by Frank Sprongl in 1998 is 6:41.99 and has stood for 13 years.
Jon Kemp followed at 7:06.82 and Todd Cook has the 3rd fastest time with a 7:07.33, less than a second back.
The Mt. Washington Auto Road is one of the ultimate challenges for driver and automobile, the 7.6 mile serpentine tarmac and gravel road is lined with trees and dramatic drop-offs as it winds its way to the 6,288 foot summit of the Northeast’s tallest peak.  The Mt. Washington Auto Road’s history goes well beyond just this Hillclimb as it celebrates its 150^thanniversary this summer.
Source: Climbtotheclouds.com
Picture: Lars Gange

Higgins Sets the Pace on Mt. Washington

June 24, 2011- The Mt. Washington Hillclimb, known affectionately as the "Climb to the Clouds" is making a comeback this weekend after a nearly ten-year hiatus. The event, one of Americas' oldest auto races, features a strong 70-car competition field with some of the best drivers and cars from around the world competing for "King of the Hill" honors. The first day of practice, on the lower half of the 7.6 mile Mt. Washington Auto Road, was conducted this morning with Subaru driver David Higgins, from the Isle of Man, toping the time sheets nearly twenty seconds faster than his closest challenger in rainy and challenging conditions.

The entry list includes two of the past course record holders, former and current rally champions, high-powered open-wheel cars, a vintage class filled with cars steeped in motorsports history and a first for the event; a purpose-built race-truck.

"What a road! Really good fun," said Higgins, who has never competed on the auto road before. "The conditions were really slick and challenging plus I'm still trying to learn the road." Higgins is driving a Vermont SportsCar prepared Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car.

Former Climb to the Clouds record holder Tim O'Neil of Whitefield, New Hampshire, who last competed here nearly twenty years ago, was sixth fastest on the morning practice session. "I don't think the auto road has changed much in twenty years but my memory has gotten worse!"

The Mt. Washington Auto Road will see a truck race up its narrow serpentine course for the first time in its history as daredevil Mike Ryan of Santa Clarita, California takes his purpose-built Freightliner 14.7 liter, 1,950HP turbo-diesel-powered race-truck up Mt. Washington in the Hillclimb Special Class. Ryan was an impressive 31st fastest on the morning practice session.

Evening entertainment kicks off tonight with the Jim Devlin Band performing at 8pm on the Climb to the Clouds stage at the base of the Mt. Washington Auto Road followed by a Fireworks show. A second practice is scheduled for tomorrow and at 8pm Boston-based TAB The Band, who recently toured the US and UK with the Stone Temple Pilots, will perform on stage. Race day is Sunday where all teams will have two full course attempts to the summit.

Grandstand seating will be available for spectators at the start area while several on-course spectating areas will be available. Tickets and schedule information are available at http://www.climbtotheclouds.com/.

Fans will also enjoy car displays, vendors, food and a beer garden. All festivities are located at the base of the Mt. Washington Auto Road in Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire.

Photo/ Mike_Proulx-WorldRallySport