David Higgins Masters Ice at Sno*Drift 2012 to take Victory for Subaru

With frozen fingers drivers and co-drivers try to pry the tops off the bubbly relived to have finished a very challenging Sno*Drift 2012. Photo: Neil McDaid / Rally World News

Atlanta MI, Manx Ace, David Higgins and Subaru Rally Team USA take a dominant overall victory at the 2012 Sno*Drift Rally. Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew mastered the extremely challenging conditions to keep Canadian Antoine L’Estage in his Rockstar Energy Drink sponsored Mitsubishi in second place. Rounding out the podium was “Crazy Leo” Urlichich, Leo, a highly entertaining character and driver who was making his first appearance on the Rally America circuit. 
This the 36^th running of the Sno*Drift rally was the opening round of the 2012 Rally America Championship.

As with many northern U.S. states, Michigan has had limited snow falls in 2012, with higher than normal temps during the daylight hours, what little snow that did fall on the stage roads would melt during the day and freeze hard over night, leaving a thick layer of ice.

This year’s Sno*Drift Rally would see drivers tackle 24 special stages which were located mainly in the Atlanta and Lewiston area of northern Michigan.

Team Subaru driver David Higgins and his Co-driver Craig Drew on their way to a deserving victory at Sno*Drift 2012. Photo: Neil McDaid / Rally World News

SS1 “Eberly Road” would dish up a taste of things to come on day-one, ice, ice, and more ice. Running first on the road David Higgins would opt for the cautious approach easing his way through the tighter sections, an approach that would reward him with the stage victory.  Antoine L’Estage who was though by many to have the edge coming into Sno*Drift would make a rare mistake by cutting a snow bank on SS1 then spinning , thus costing him valuable seconds.

Many more including Crazy Leo would be caught out on the very challenging opening test.

As we moved through the early stages on day-one, no one seemed to have an answer for the pace or grip of Higgins in his Team Subaru STI, David took victories on all 6 opening stages. As cars returned to Lewiston for the first service of the rally, service crews scrambled with tires and setup in an effort to find grip on this very challenging surface. Unlike the WRC, studded tire are not allowed on the Rally America Champion.

Into the night, L’Estage launches his attack on SS7.

Photo: Neil McDaid/Rally World News

After the opening six stages Antoine L’Estage was already down by almost 2 minutes to Higgins, a deficit that he would find difficult to recover from on the icy stages of northern Michigan.  Into the night and the first of the stages in the dark, L’Estage would take the bit between his teeth charging hard on the longest and most challenging stage on day-one, SS7 “The Ranch” where he would finally eke out a stage victory over Higgins. David and Antoine would go on to swap times over the final six stages on day one, with Crazy Leo Urlichich grabbing the final stage victory.  

At the end of day-one and twelve very challenging stages behind them, Antoine L’Estage was still holding second place, he had also managed to reel back a little time from Higgins, narrowing the gap now to 1:34.

Despite some hairy moments along the way Crazy Leo Urlichich would hold third overall. 

Despite a damaged steering arm from an off on SS13, Crazy Leo would push on to capture 2^nd overall. Photo: Neil McDaid/Rally World News

In 2WD Chris Duplessis the defending 2011 2WD Rally America National Champion was off to a flying start in his quest to retain his 2WD title. Driving the newly developed Team O’Neill Ford Fiesta R2, Chris and his Irish co-driver Karl Atkinson held a commanding lead over the 2WD field, showing a sizable gap to fellow Fiesta driver Dillon Van Way and Jake Blattner at the close of day-one.

After some overnight snow crews were again faced with the guessing game regarding the optimal tire choice.  After the first two stages on day-two it was soon clear that the snow and ice experience of L’Estage and his crew chief, rally legend John Buffum rose to the top. The pair had selected the prime tire for the conditions, Antoine opted for  Yokahama A034s.

L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard would dominate in the RockStar Mitsubishi on the opening stages of day-two as the snow continued to fall. But unfortunately for L’Estage the gap from day-one was a bridge to far. With Higgins on a better tire for the snowy conditions after the mid-day service, Antoine would have to concede victory as he once again struggled to answer the pace of team Subaru and made the choice to maintain his second place podium position over Crazy Leo.

Joseph Burke and Paddy Robinson stayed within the top five throughout the rally despite Burke’s lack of experience on the Ice. Photo: Neil McDaid / Rally World News  

"We may not have won but the outcome of this first rally in 2012 is still pretty positive. On one hand, the new car had no mechanical issues and doesn’t have a scratch on it and on the other hand, we earned second place points in what is promising to be a hotly contested championship" confides Antoine L'Estage, who adds: "the 2012 edition of the SnoDrift Rally was without a doubt the toughest driving conditions I’ve ever been faced with. The icy roads were comparable to an extremely smooth ice rink and it was practically impossible to find any grip. The first loop of stages was especially tough for me before I was able to better adapt to the new car on ice. I also made a mistake by cutting a corner where I shouldn’t have, resulting in a flat tire and another big loss of time" adds the Rockstar Energy Drink driver.

"Congrats to our British rivals David Higgins and Craig Drew – they had an excellent weekend" adds Antoine L'Estage, who concludes: "thanks to Nathalie for another perfect co-driving job, to my entire Rockstar team, and to our sponsors, which now also includes Formica for the 2012 season."

After fighting the extreme conditions of Sno*Drift 2012, David Higgins is off to an excellent start in defending his 2011 Rally America title. Higgins was quick to point out that this was no easy victory,

"The icy roads combined with lack of spiked tires makes this one of the toughest rallies and a challenge I think that is unique in rallying anywhere in the world," explained Higgins. "Mentally it's very draining, as you are constantly on the edge all weekend with the knowledge that any small mistake could just end the rally. The grip levels would go from variable to non-existent in a flash."

Rounding out the overall podium was Crazy Leo, taken into considering the amount of time he lost after a spin on the opening stage of day-two in which his Subaru [AKA “Beast”] sustained steering damage; it truly was a remarkable charge back for the Russian to grab the last podium spot. Unfortunately for Leo, his victory on the stages was stripped due to a technical rules infraction on his car. Leo has appealed the ruling and the final result is pending.

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There is little to no doubt that Chris Duplessis [right] is the top 2WD rally driver competing in the USA today. Duplessis with his new co-driver Karl Atkinson[left] were an astounding 5 minutes ahead of their nearest rival at end of Sno*Drift 2012. Photo: Neil McDaid / Rally World News

In 2WD it was total domination by Chris Duplessis and Karl Atkinson in the R2 Fiesta winning a total of 18 of the 24 stages, despite a few spins along the way there never really was a threat from any of the other 2WD cars on Duplessis. Andrew Comrie-Picard and Jeremy Wimpey in the 2011 Scion xD grabbed second away from Ford Racing’s Dillon Van Way in the final stages to round out the 2wd podium.



Crews are already looking forward to round number two of the 2012 Rally America Championship in Missouri, Rally in the 100 Acre Wood. There is much speculation that we will see the return of Ken Block and his Monster World Rally Team Fiesta. Polish Rally legend Krzysztof Holowczyc fresh of an 11^th place finish on this year’s Dakar Rally, Krzysztof will be an interesting addition to what’s already shaping up to be a very competitive top 10.

Stay tuned, and for the most up to-date news check in with http://www.rally-america.com/



Full Sno*Drift Rally results: www.rally-america.com/events/2012/SNODRIFT/results/

Subaru Rally Support Program, for the 2012 Rally America National Championship

Subaru of America, Inc. announced today the continuation of their contingency program, the Subaru Rally Support Program, for the 2012 Rally America National Championship. The Subaru Rally Support Program is managed by Subaru of America Inc., partner Vermont SportsCar and continues to be the most lucrative contingency program in North American rallying, with over $20,000 available at each Rally America National Championship event for Subaru drivers to earn. The program focuses support on the popular Super Production class (SP) within the Rally America National Championship where the top finishing eligible Subaru SP driver will earn $7,000 at each round while second through 10th placed SP drivers receiving generous payouts as well.

Finish Position** (among registered program entrants)	First	Second	Third	Fourth	Fifth	Sixth - 10th
SP - Plan "A"	$7,000	$4,000	$3,000	$2,500	$1,500	$500
SP - Plan "B"	$1,500	$1,200	$1,000	$700	$600	$500

The Super Production (SP) class was created in 2009 by Rally America to offer an enticing compromise between the top-tier Open class and the more restrictive Production GT (PGT) class. The SP class provides a means for cost-effective competition for Subaru models such as the WRX and WRX STI to compete not only head-to-head with but also be capable of challenging the top of the leader board at any Rally America National Championship event.

SP class driver Travis Hanson drove this point home with an impressive 2011 season at the wheel of his SP class Subaru WRX STI becoming the first SP class driver to win a national rally outright (2011 Sno*Drift Rally) and leading the championship points standings for nearly half the season. Hanson went on to finish third overall in the season standings after consistently battling the top Open class cars on each round.

One of the key attractions of the SP class for Subaru drivers is the allowance of several key modifications to Subaru WRX and WRX STI model rally cars to make them more affordable and competitive to prepare and run as compared to meeting compliance for the PGT class. This includes but is not limited to: allowing vehicles to be updated or backdated within a body style of the model, fitting of hydraulic handbrakes, and granting broader brake system modifications. The SP class also features a larger 34mm turbo inlet restrictor versus the 32mm in the PGT class.

"Subaru as a brand, and our WRX and WRX STI models in particular, are widely recognized as having rally-DNA and being associated with performance and rallying in general," said James Han, motorsports marketing manager for Subaru of America, Inc. "By announcing a continuation in the [Subaru] Rally Support Program, Subaru reaffirms our commitment to privateer entrants campaigning our products in Rally America events and to the growth of rally in the United States."

In addition to this continued support to SP class participants at Rally America National Championship events Subaru of America Inc. will also offer a $200 'start fund' to any eligible Subaru entered in a Rally America Regional rally that runs concurrent to a national event weekend.

**Eligibility rules apply. Please read complete program rules and regulations here: vtcar.com/rally/subaru-contingency-program/

For more information about the Rally America Super Production class please refer to the Rally America rule book and rule bulletins found at rally-america.com/rules.php.

About Subaru Rally Team USA
Subaru Rally Team USA is proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT), BFGoodrich Tires, RECARO, PIAA, Motul, VP Fuels, and Vermont SportsCar. For more information on Subaru Rally Team USA, as well as exclusive photo and video galleries, visit subaru.com/rally and for the latest news follow the team on Twitter: twitter.com/srtusa.

Follow the Subaru of America Facebook page and subaru_usa on Twitter.

About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information visit www.subaru.com.

L'Estage and Richard Tackle the Ice and Snow at Round One of The 2012 Rally America Championship.

Montréal (Québec), January 25th, 2012. – Reigning Canadian 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 as the 2012 Rally America series kicks off with its only winter event on the calendar.

The SnoDrift Rally, the first of six rounds in the American series, will celebrate its 46th anniversary on the snow and ice-covered roads in and around Atlanta, Michigan. L’Estage and Richard, who narrowly missed out on a second consecutive Rally America title in 2011, will debut their brand new Mitsubishi Evo X this weekend.
Rockstar Energy Drink team driver Antoine L’Estage is looking forward to getting back to competition after a two-month hiatus since the final round of the 2011 Canadian Rally Championship and the North American Rally Cup. John Buffum, rally legend and owner of Vermont-based Libra Racing, just completed the build of a brand new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X for the Rockstar duo and with a successful test a few days ago, the entire team eagerly awaits Friday’s rally start.

"Antoine and I both love competing in winter conditions. This year, we are expecting less snow in Michigan than we’ve generally had in the past, which can make for an extremely challenging two days. He’s a fantastic driver and that definitely holds true on snow and ice " shares co-driver Richard. 
"And regardless of what conditions we are faced with, we have a great selection of Yokohama tires to choose from" she adds.

With the start of a new season and the debut of a new car, the team is also pleased to announce their new partnership with Formica Group, an industry leader in the design, manufacture, and distribution of innovative surfacing products. " I’m thrilled that Formica will be joining our already impressive line-up of committed partners and we expect this to be the start of a long and strong relationship " confides L’Estage. " We have had such a successful past two years, winning the Canadian and North American titles both years and the Rally America title once. With this new car and our devoted partners and fans, we’re ready to start yet another amazing season".

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-one overall victories in Canada and the US. Nathalie Richard holds seven overall national championship titles (4 Canadian and 3 American), as well as thirty-seven 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, Garrett Turbos, 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. Source : Coyote Rallye Media Services, (514) 825 - 4332

Valentino Rossi Shows Some Great Rally Skills At Monza Rally Show

Valentino Rossi and Monster Energy put together a 3 car team and partnered up to shoot VR's exploits at the wheel of a WRC Fiesta for the 2011 edition of the Monza Rally Show. The MotoGP GOAT doesn't get a load of time to throw a rally car round with a co-driver barking out calls but let's face it, he's got a knack of being super fast on in any kind of race format. Over the course of the weekend, Valentino come a close second (in 2 race formats) to multiple WRC champ Seb Loeb and even beat the ace in the 2 stages he topped. Behind him sat last year's winner Dindo Capello and WRC great Dani Sordo.

Ken Block World Tour 2011

Monster World Rally Team and driver Ken Block release a 6-minute tire-destroying, action-packed recap video of the 2011 Gymkhana World Tour.

November 29th, New York, New York: A few months removed from the completion of his first-ever Gymkhana World Tour, Monster World Rally Team driver Ken Block is pleased to announce the release of an all-encompassing highlight video that showcases the best World Tour action from all three stops of the 2011 schedule (Vienna, Los Angeles, Melbourne). “I had an amazing summer,” said Block. “The Gymkhana World Tour was such a great time for me.

We managed to hit three continents and three great cities where the fans were totally wild. Obviously not everyone that would have wanted to make it to one of the stops was able to go however, so what this video does is basically give a taste of what went down to everyone that missed the 2011 stops. This tour was great, but I’m already working to make the 2012 one even better!” While Block and his Gymkhana World Tour completed a 3-stop schedule in 2011, for 2012 the Monster World Rally Team driver is looking to hit 5 all-new cities for the Tour. For more information and a list of 2012 Gymkhana World Tour stops, please check back frequently to: http://www.gymkhanaworldtour.com/