TOP RALLY TEAMS DESCEND ON RALLY IN THE 100 ACRE WOOD

Round 2 of the Rally America National Championship Set for February 24-25, from Salem, MO

WILLISTON, VT (February 10, 2012) -- Round two of the 2012 Rally America National Championship takes place in the majestic Ozark foothills of the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood on February 24-25^th in Salem, MO. Up to 70 of the top national and international rally competitors will challenge the fast, hard-packed dirt roads following a very slippery opening round at Michigan's Sno*Drift Rally in January.

The Rally in the 100 Acre Wood promises more great battles across all car classes. The roads are fast, tight and twisty and the conditions are extremely variable, creating an excellent playing ground for teams to compete for National Championship points.

 Subaru Rally Team USA and 2011 Rally America National Champions, David Higgins and Craig Drew, got off to a great start winning the season opener to lead the Series over the Rockstar Energy Drink Rally Team Canadian duo of Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard. At last year's Rally in the 100 Acre Wood, L'Estage and Richard secured an important overall win, and in the process beat their Subaru Rally Team USA rivals.

"I'm really looking forward to 100 Acre Wood," said L'Estage. "I love these fast roads! The competition will be tough, but I'm going there to win!"

Both L'Estage and Higgins will need to pay close attention to a slew of new talent entering the fray who could play spoiler to their Rally America National Championship dreams.

A powerful new entry, Krzysztof Holowczyc (pronounced Kristoff Holovich) of Olsztyn, Poland, will join the Art Logistics Racing Team with co-driver Maciej Wislawski in a 2006 Mitsubishi EVO IX for his American debut. Holowczyc brings a deep racing resume having won three Polish Rally Championships, 1997 European Championship title and has placed as high as 6^th overall at a World Rally Championship event. This year Holowczyc drove a factory BMW X-Raid in the Dakar Rally to place 10^th overall.

Canadian Rally Championship (CRC) regulars, Leonid Urlichich and Carl Williamson, made a splash in their Sno*Drift debut proving that they are podium contenders on the American circuit. Urlichich is carrying momentum off his best CRC ever after making 7 podiums in 8 events and a Tall Pines overall victory last November. The team is now challenging for the Rally America National Championship crown and looks to improve their Sno*Drift standings and place even more pressure on other top-tier teams.

The competition in the Super Production (SP) class promises to be much tighter on Missouri's fast gravel than on the treacherous frozen stages in Michigan last month. Travis Hanson and Terry Hanson won this class at Sno*Drift in dominant fashion with a 15-minute lead over second place. Hanson is expected to enter the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood to continue his defense of his 2011 Super Production title following significant engine repairs that threatened to force his exit from Sno*Drift.

Hanson will face a contingent of SP top talent. Ex-factory Mitsubishi Rally Team driver, Lauchlin O'Sullivan with co-driver Scott Putnam switched back to a 2003 Mitsubishi EVO at the beginning of the year. Though unfamiliar with his ride he sits second in class and within striking distance of assuming the SP lead early in the season.

In the National Two-Wheel Drive class, fan favorites Chris Duplessis and Karl Atkinson in their 2011 Ford Fiesta R2 seek to build upon their class lead after an impressive Sno*Drift outing where they finished 15 minutes ahead of the Scion xD Rally Team of Andrew Comrie-Picard and Jeremy Wimpey. Duplessis is always favored to win, but Comrie-Picard displayed a special tenacity coming back from fifth in class to a 2^nd place finish.

The Rally in the 100 Acre Wood will begin at 12:00pm on Friday, February 24, with a Parc Expose. Fans can attend the Parc Expose to seek autographs and pick up spectator information before heading to various spots in the woods to watch the exciting rally action.

Another Parc Expose will kick off the action on Saturday, February 25th in downtown Salem at the intersection of 4th & Main Street at 8:00am. Two Super Special stages will take place that day at the Potosi Lions' Park beginning at 2:40pm. All Parcs Expose and race viewing are free to attend.

Fans who cannot attend in person can catch some live event streaming and video recaps, as well as regularly-updated stage times and results, at Rally-America.com.

For a complete schedule of the event, please visit Rally-America.com. A spectator guide with driving instructions to viewing areas will be available on the website soon.

The 2012 Rally America National Championship is proudly supported by VP Racing Fuels - the Official Fuel of Rally America, Exedy Racing Clutches, Hawk Performance Brakes, ParkNBlend and RECARO seats.

About Rally America:

Based in Williston, VT, Rally America, Inc. sanctions the Rally America National Championship, the premier performance rally series in the United States. In 2012, Rally America will be conducting six National Championship events at venues across the country, from Seattle, Washington to Newry, Maine. Rally America competitors reach speeds of well over 100 mph in modified street cars on natural-terrain courses consisting of gravel, dirt or snow. More information about the Rally America National Championship and the sport of rally can be found at http://www.rally-america.com.

Entry is now open for Tarmac Rally New York USA 2012

Entry is now open for tarmac Rally New York USA 2012
that will take place in Rock Hill, New York on April 21 - 22, 2012:

* One of the only two tarmac National Championship rallies in North America, over 100 stage miles, all new special stages
* A unique 20-mile tarmac stage that will be run two times
* Super Specials at private Monticello Motor Club - spectators welcome
* Two-Wheel-Drive United States Rally Championship and All-Wheel-Drive United States Rally Championship - USRC
* Separate classification for Rear-Wheel-Drive cars, Pre-Modern cars, Hillclimb cars and Road Racing cars
* Each day is a separate round of New York Rally Championship - NYRC and and a round the newly introduced Tarmac New York Rally Champ
* Prize fund, two-pass reconnaissance, pace notes and shakedown
* No fee for shakedown or reconnaissance, the entry fee includes Saturday night dinner for competitors and their service crews
* Robert Cella, AC2RC will again generously sponsor three teams - apply to cellamet@citlink.net

Rally NewYork Web Site - http://www.rallynewyork.net/

L'Estage takes the opening round of the 2012 Canadian Rally Championship

2012 Rallye Perce-Neige overall podium. Photo Andrew Harvey

MANIWAKI, QUEBEC, February 5, 2012 - Antoine L'Estage (St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, QC) and Nathalie Richard (Halifax) opened their 2012 season by winning the Rallye Perce-Neige in Maniwaki, QC, the first event in the Canadian Rally Championship, Presented by Subaru and supported by Yokohama. Perce-Neige is just the second event for L'Estage in his new car, and already, he's comfortable, setting the pace from the first stage.

Smart tire choice and road position allowed L'Estage and Richard to open up a small lead over rivals Pat Richard (Squamish, BC) and Alan Ockwell (Toronto) of Subaru Rally Team Canada. Richard and Ockwell landed heavily on a jump on the second stage, damaging the car and losing boost, and then losing brakes. Despite this, the pair was only 27 seconds back from the lead at the first service. They would only run a few more stages before parking their car with driveline problems.

“We led from the first stage, and spun and lost time on the fourth stage, and then got back on track,” said L'Estage.  “We didn't make any other mistakes for the rest of the day and it's a great way to start the season. I don't know [why we're so successful]. Things are clicking and it works.”

For Nathalie Richard, the Rallye Perce-Neige is her 100^th career start, a fact that makes the win even more gratifying. “We both really wanted to come here and win this one,” said Richard. “These weren't easy conditions,  and it's a great way to start the season. We're just doing what we're doing and it seems to work.”

Podium regular Leo Urlichich (Toronto) and co-driver Carl Williamson (Swansea, GB) got off to a rough start. Timing mistakes on the first few stages led to six minutes in penalties, and the pair were pushing to make up time and positions – perhaps a bit too hard. A spin on a fast straight damaged the back end of the car, but the two were luckily able to continue. Incredibly, between a fast pace and misfortunes of rivals, the pair were able to climb up the order, finishing second overall.

“It is amazing. We tried hard,” said Urlichich. “Everyone made mistakes, the car had a few problems, I definitely made mistakes, Carl unfortunately made a mistake, but we all fought back for a second place on the podium.”

Sylvain and Simon Vincent (Terrebonne, QC), who were aiming for a top five finish, also benefitted from other's troubles, and the cagy veteran was well aware of what strategy leads to success. “You have to pace yourself at a rally like this,” said Sylvain at the midday service stop. “It's such a long event, you need to make sure you don't get too tired, too early. You can lose concentration and make mistakes.”  A mistake is exactly what destroyed the podium hopes for Bruno Carré and Yvan Joyal, both of Laval, QC. The pair rolled late in the rally, and though they managed to finish, they dropped from second overall to eighth. That allowed Sylvain Vincent to move up to third overall, earning valuable points towards his goal to rank in the top ten lifetime driver rankings.

“I was aiming for a top five, as that would be perfect,” said Sylvain. “It means good points, which is really important! It is really hard with the competition we have, to get into the top five at a gravel event, but on ice and snow, it is a bit easier.”

A runaway 2WD victory for Peter Kocandrle and co-driver Angela Cosner. Picture Andrew Harvey

In Two Wheel Drive, a battle appeared to be brewing early on between the team of Peter Kocandrle and Angela Cosner, and Thierry Ménégoz and Guillaume Béchard. After two stages, the teams were just 0.1 seconds apart. However, Ménégoz struggled to find grip and dropped down the order before retiring. Kocandrle took advantage of his growing lead and lessened pressure to open a lead of more than 20 minutes over his closest competitor.

“Everything was great until the last four stages. I had my first flat on stage, and a bit of an off, but someone helped us out. Then we got stuck behind a car and followed for a while and then backed off, and then they spun and backed right into us, breaking one of our lights,” said Kocandrle.“We came here to set some points in place for the year and try to build things for this year and maybe run the North American championship. The guys at Open Road Motorsports have been awesome,  and they've really looked after us.”

The Rallye Perce-Neige is the first round of the six event Canadian Rally Championship, and is made up of 16 stages, totalling 248km of competitive distance. Canada's only true winter rally, roads are covered in ice and snow, but teams are forbidden from using studded tires, requiring a smooth hand at the wheel for a driver to be successful.

"The roads are fantastic. Tortue is already the biggest challenge in Canadian rally, just to make it to the end is an accomplishment,” said Sylvain Erickson, Clerk of the Course. “This year, teams had to do it twice. The speed of the guys was really great, everything worked out to be very impressive.”

The Canadian Rally Championship is comprised of six events held nationwide in a season that extends from February to November. The series is presented by Subaru Canada, supported by Yokohama Tire Canada and features contingency programs from Subaru Canada and Mitsubishi Canada. The Canadian Association of Rallysport (CARS) is the official sanctioning body for rallying in Canada.

Rally car racing is often described simply as “real cars, real roads, real fast.” The all-season motorsport sees drivers and their co-drivers take modified road cars to the limit as they achieve blistering speeds over closed-road courses that typically cover more than 150 kilometers of gravel, dirt or snow-covered roads. Fans can get up close to the cars in the service areas and catch all the action from specially designated spectator points located at the best spots on the route.

Full coverage of the championship will air on RDS and TSN. Check local listings.

For more information: www.carsrally.ca or www.rallyeperceneige.com

Rallye Perce Neige Final Results

1. Antoine L'Estage – Nathalie Richard – two hours, 45 minutes, 18.8 seconds

2. Leo Urlichich – Carl Williamson – 2:53:56.0

3. Sylvain Vincent – Simon Vincent – 2:59:11.5

4. Mathieu Dubé – Eric Losier – 3:01:01.2

5. Simon Losier – Brian Maxwell – 3:02:43.7

6. Joel Levac – Stéphanie Lewis – 3:02:58.8

7. Steeve Hobbs – Jean-Mathieu Tremblay – 3:03:38.9

8. Bruno Carré – Yvan Joyal – 3:04:17.2

9. Warren Haywood – John Hall – 3:15:07.9
10. Maxime Rochefort-Laframboise – Jerôme Milette – 3:17:47.0

Back to Back Podiums for Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard

Antoine L’Estage and Natalie Richard pictured here last weekend  charging to second overall at Sn*Drift Rally. A quick turaround by Libra Racing and it was onto Rallye Perce-Neige where they claimed the overall victory. Picture: Neil McDaid / Rally World News

Maniwaki (Québec), February 5, 2012.- Quebec driver Antoine L'Estage (of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu) and his co-driver Nathalie Richard (of Halifax, Nova Scotia) won this weekend’s Rallye Perce-Neige, the opening round of the 2012 Canadian Rally Championship. In their brand new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, the Rockstar Energy Drink duo and reigning Canadian and North American champions, start the 2012 national season in the best possible way and set a new record for the most victories at this event. 

        

"It’s a convincing victory, winning the rally with a gap of over eight minutes ahead of second place" confides Antoine L'Estage, who adds : "I felt much more comfortable with the  new car than last weekend in Michigan.  Nathalie once again did a fantastic job co-driving, we didn’t have a single mechanical issue, and our Yokohama tires allowed us to push as much as we needed to throughout this very long rally.  We can really say that it was the perfect scenario for us".

Winners of nine of the sixteen competitive stages in the 2012 Rallye Perce-Neige, Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard once again proved from the beginning how competitively John Buffum has built yet another Lancer Evo X. "Leading the Canadian and North American championships – there’s no better way for us to start our season" concludes Nathalie Richard who was celebrating her 100^th rally, of which she has won no fewer than thirty-eight!

        

The next outing for the Rockstar Energy Drink team is set for the last weekend of February in Missouri, where Antoine L'Estage, Nathalie Richard and the entire team will return to the Rally America series to defend their 2011 victory at the 100 Acre Wood rally.

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-two overall victories in Canada and the US. Nathalie Richard holds seven overall national championship titles (4 Canadian and 3 American), as well as thirty-eight 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.

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.

I

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/