Subaru Sets the Bar High in Perce-Neige

2017 Rallye Perce-Neige (CNW Group/Subaru Canada Inc.)

• Nine Subaru vehicles finish in the top ten to give Subaru an early lead in the Manufacturer's Championship
• Subaru Rally Team Canada's Antoine L'Estage re-unites with co-driver Alan Ockwell

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Feb. 8, 2017 /CNW/ - Subaru Canada, Inc. (SCI) is pleased to announce strong overall results at the Rallye Perce-Neige in Maniwaki, Quebec.  As the American Rally Association and Canadian Rally Championship (CRC) ran their inaugural races side-by-side for the first time, a total of nine Subaru vehicles crossed the finish line in the top ten.  Leading the pack were Subaru Rally Team USA (SRTUSA) teams David Higgins with co-driver Craig Drew and Travis Pastrana with co-driver Robbie Durant, finishing first and second, respectively.  The top Canadian finisher was "Crazy" Leo Urlichich, who along with co-driver Alex Kihurani powered to a third place finish overall in his 2007 STI.

Subaru Rally Team Canada (SRTC) driver Antoine L'Estage and newly re-united co-driver Alan Ockwell had a strong start, winning four stages outright and finishing near the front of the pack in several others.  However, the team ran into some difficulties, and were eventually sidelined deep in the forest stages of the final leg. 

"Preparation before the Rally went really well. Me and Alan felt at home right away," said L'Estage.  "Unfortunately we met some problems and were given some penalties. We kept going hard and gained some ground. We could have won but had to stop because of a terminal failure.  This is not the way we wanted to start the season. We will bounce back and are confident that Rocket Rally and Subaru Canada will be back stronger; we will have a good rest of the season.''

With the 2017 season just underway, there are still many opportunities to make up ground, and the team is already looking ahead to the next race.  They will have plenty of time to prepare, as the next event is the Rocky Mountain Rally in Invermere, BC May 26-28.

Pos	Time	Vehicle	Class	Driver/Co-driver
1	2:19:09.1	Subaru WRX STI 17	4wheel Open	David Higgins - Colchester VT Craig Drew - Colchester VT
2	2:22:56.6	Subaru WRX STI 17	4wheel Open	Travis Pastrana - Colchester VT Robbie Durant - Colchester VT
3	2:30:39.6	Subaru STI 07	4wheel Prod	Leonid Urlichich - Thornhill ON Alex Kuhirani - Reading PA
4	2:36:40.3	Subaru Impreza 08	4wheel Open	William Bacon - Tyngsboro MA Grzegorz Dorman - Chelmsford MA
5	2:38:44.7	Subaru Impreza 01	4wheel Open	Sylvain Erickson - Val-des-Monts QC Patrick Levesque - Pointe-aux-Outardes QC
6	2:41:42.8	Subaru WRX STI 10	4wheel Open	Steeve Hobbs - St-Gédéon QC Philippe Poirier - St-Rédempteur QC
7	2:42:19.4	Subaru Impreza 04	4wheel Open	Jeremy Norris - Kitchener ON Brian Johnson - Bethel CT
8	2:43:54.5	Subaru Impreza 94	4wheel Open	Simon Vincent - Terrebonne QC Aaron Crescenti - Glen Gardner NJ
9	2:47:15.0	Mitsubishi EVO X 09	4wheel Open	Boris Djordjevic - Devon AB John Hall - Sherwood Park AB
10	2:48:34.8	Subaru WRX STI 02	4wheel Open	Adam Vokes - Edmonton AB Angela Cosner - Springville PA

About Subaru Canada, Inc.
Subaru Canada, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of 92 authorized dealers across Canada. For more information, please visit www.subaru.ca or www.pr.subaru.ca or follow @SubaruCanada on Twitter.

SOURCE Subaru Canada Inc.

Julie Lychak, [phone], [email protected]; Naomi Kislanski, [phone], [email protected]; Sebastien Lajoie, Media Relations, Quebec Region, [phone], [email protected]