Antoine Opens 2008 with a Win

Posted on 10. Feb, 2008 by Dean in Perce Neige 2008

After close battles all day long, Antoine
L’Estage and Nathalie Richard have shown they have the pace to continue to be
winners in the Canadian rally Championship by winning the Rallye Perce Neige
Maniwaki.

Catching up with the teams at the first remote service, the
attrition in the event had already started. Andrew Wallbank and Ryan Huber
ended their rally in the service park after their Impreza lost their rear
differential. When the diff failed, the centre differential also failed,
leaving the car with a weak front wheel drive only. In addition, the crew also
lost their oil feed line for the turbo. Until then, they had been enjoying a
good run.

Heading into the longer stages, many teams stuck with snow
tires for their attack on the Tortue and Pythonga stages to the West of
Maniwaki. The stages are some of the longest in Canada and full of drama. Antoine
L’Estage arrived at the end of SS10 without a rear bumper, and spoke of
slippery conditions. Despite the tough conditions, it was here that Antoine
really began to pull away, with over 40 seconds made on Andrew Comrie Picard,
and almost two and a half minutes on Pat Richard.

News that Sylvain had spun was quickly confirmed as more
drivers arrived, and the fourth car to the control was Leo Urlichich. Leo was
able to confirm that Thomson had also spun and was stuck. After being
extracted, Thomson was max late and did not continue in the event.

The action was not just reserved for the front of the pack.
Craig Henderson appeared worn out as he arrived at the control. Henderson explained how
difficult conditions were and added that he “has never been more terrified,” of
any rally stage he’s ever driven.

John Vanos, who is driving an Eagle Talon for this event was
also caught out by the icy conditions, nudging the Subaru parked ahead of him
at the finish control of SS10. “We had a spin at about 140. It was
[terrifying].” Despite the moment, the pair were fine and headed off to
service.

Following the second service at Black Rollway, teams left
for one more pass along the Tortue and Pythonga stages before returning to
Maniwaki for the final time control and podium. Continued snowfall meant that
teams stuck with snow tires. By now, the experience of the Antoine L’Estage and
Nathalie Richard pairing, combined with the reliability of the Hyundai Tiburon
had meant the team had carved out a substantial lead. With almost three minutes
advantage, the pair eased off and played it safe over the last stage, allowing
Pat Richard and Andrew Comrie-Picard to claw back some time. Richard charged
hard on the final stage, clawing back almost two minutes on rally leader
Antoine L’Estage. Andrew Comrie-Picard also made time, slightly more than a
minute and a half.

As final times started to roll in, it became clear how
the three all compared. Antoine had secured the win with one minute and fifteen
second lead over Andrew Comrie-Picard. The hard charge by Pat Richard, though
impressive, was not quite enough to secure any more than third place, just
fourteen seconds behind ACP. The blistering pace set by the top drivers gives a
good example of what can be expected from the rest of the season.

Fourth place looked to be going to Mathieu L’Estage, but on
the final stage, Jon Nichols and co-driver Carl Schenk managed to push hard and
outpace Mathieu to take fourth place, L’Estage and Napert finishing down in
fifth. So-called “Crazy” Leo Urlichich showed that he too can maintain
composure and put in a consistent drive to finish sixth overall.

The top honours in two wheel drive went to the Zedril crew.
The pair have put in plenty of seat time competing both in the US and Canada and were faster than a
number of Open class cars. Running a production class Mitsubishi Lancer, the
pair finished twelfth overall.

Terry Epp, the National Series Manager was thrilled about
how the event turned out, and what we have to look forward to this season. “The
field has never looked any better than here.” The next event in the Canadian Rally Championship is the Rocky Mountain Rally, held in Calgary, Alberta on May 23-24, 2008.

Tags: Andrew Comrie-Picard, Antoine L'Estage, Canadian Rally Championship, Maniwaki, Mitsubishi, Pat Richard, Perce Neige, rally, rallye, Subaru, Sylvain Erickson