Carsrally.ca Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard (middle/below) celebrate their fifth CRC title together at the 2012 Pacific Forest Rally.
l’esTaGe and RiChaRd ClinCh 2012 TiTle TRifeCTa W
reiGninG champions lock up Driver, co-Driver anD manufacturer titles at pacific forest rally By Dean CampBell
ith one event still remaining in the Canadian Rally
Championship, Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard were victori- ous at the 2012 Pacific Forest Rally. In doing so, the pair have earned their fifth national titles as driver and co-driver, and a second national manufacturer's title for Mitsubishi. Te two locked up the champi-
onship after their only rivals, Leo Urlichich and Carl Williamson, crashed out just six kilometres into the first stage of the rally. From that point forward, L'Estage and Richard only had to fight for the manufacturer's title. “It was a good rally for us,” said
L'Estage. “After we won the cham- pionship, I just wanted to have fun and drive fast. Everything was per- fect, not a scratch on the car.” Urlichich and Williamson had
come into the event with a mathe- matical chance at the titles, but would have required not only a vic- tory, but also bad luck to strike L'Estage and Richard. Taking first
10
WWW.tallpinesrally.com
on the road, Urlichich had hoped to gain an advantage by not having to contend with dusty conditions. Once “Crazy” Leo had crashed
out, L'Estage, who had been second on the road was able to inherit a dust-free position. “It's unfortunate in the first stage
that Leo went off,” said L'Estage. “We had a clean run, we won all
three stages. It's a very good way to start the rally and a good way to win the championship.” By the end of the first day,
L'Estage and Richard were leading the rally, just ahead of Subaru Rally Team Canada's Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell. Tough Richard and Ockwell have won two titles in the past,
2012 has been cruel to the team, who have suffered problems at every rally while trying to battle with L'Estage and Richard of the Rockstar team. Bad luck continued at the Pacific
Forest Rally with engine failure striking late on day one for the Subaru team. Te crew rushed an
engine from the Rocket Rally Shop Continued on Page 12
Carsrally.ca
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32