CARS - Exceptional Starting Grid for Defi!
Sep-04 2007 / 23:14 EDT | posted by RallyJGD

Fourth round in the Canadian Rally Championship presented by Subaru and Castrol, Defi Ste-Agathe/Duhamel will take place Friday and Saturday September 7 and 8. With 43 teams entered, including two Canadian overall champions, the rally promises to be exciting to the thousands of fans expected to watch the event on Friday in Sainte-Agathe in the Laurentians, and in the Petite-Nation area on Saturday (special stages in and around Ripon, Montpellier and Duhamel).

Leading the championship with wins at Rocky Mountain and Baie-des-Chaleurs rallies in May and June, and winner of the last two editions of Defi, defending 2006 Canadian champion Antoine L’Estage, from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC, will again be the crowd’s favorite. Driving a Hyundai Tiburon 4WD, he is teamed with co-driver Nathalie Richard.

Second in the championship, only two points behind, Andrew Comrie-Picard (Toronto, ON) and American co-driver Marc Goldfarb, in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 RS, wants to add to his Perce-Neige win this season to regain command of the championship.

But these two won’t be the only ones aiming for a win. About ten teams can seriously look for victory at Defi this year, starting with 2005 Canadian champion Peter Thomson (Toronto, ON) and American co-driver Rod Hendricksen in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8, making their comeback to national competition. Also coming back are Jon Nichols (Lachine, QC) and Carl Schenk (Montréal, QC). They are moving up from their famous FWD VW Golf to a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6.

Third in the overall championship and leading Production 4 class after a podium finish in Baie-des-Chaleurs rally, Martin Gauvin and co-driver Daniel Duchesneau (both from New-Richmond, QC) in a Subaru Impreza WRX, are entering Defi for the first time. A very talented driver, Gauvin is considered the underdog in this event. Also to be watched are Mathieu L’Estage/Yannick Napert (Subaru Impreza WRX), Rejean Losier/Philippe Poirier (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 5), Peter Reilly/Phil Assad (VW Gold 4WD), John Cassidy/Dave Getchell (Subaru Impreza WRX), Mathieu Dubé/Éric Losier (1st in the Novice standings with their Subaru impreza WRX), as well as Group 5 champions Zbigniew Szewczyk and Tomasz Karzinski (Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart), from Calgary, AB.

Rally Defi Ste-Agathe/Duhamel will run its first stage on Friday at 2:15 PM, to be followed in early evening with the famous Palomino stage. The 43 teams will run the stage three times. On Saturday, all the teams move west and south of Ste-Agathe to the Petite-Nation area. The finish is scheduled for 5:00 PM in Ripon.

For more information on the event, visit its official website at www.rallydefi.com. The official program of the event, including maps and schedule, can be found in Pole-Position Magazine presently in newsstands throughout Quebec. The TV production of the show is ensured by ATV Productions. Information on the Canadian Rally Championship and the various Canadian rally competitions is available at www.carsrally.ca.