Contact: Terry Epp Canadian Association of RallySport Tel: 905-640-6444 Email: rally.cars@sympatico.ca		Date: September 5, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Stouffville, Ontario – The Canadian Rally Championship is about to launch into the second half of its season this coming weekend, with the Rallye Defi Ste- Agathe/Duhamel to be presented in the Laurentians and Petite-Nation regions.

The winner of Perce-Neige and Rocky Mountain Rallies, and victim of mechanical failure at Rallye Baie-des-Chaleurs Rally, Quebecker Antoine L’Estage (Hyundai Tiburon 4WD) is still leading, but only one point stands between him and Sylvain Erickson (co-driven by daughter Chloé, in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo4). This duel between the two Canadian star drivers will reach a peak at Défi, an event each of them has already won once. For this event, Antoine L’Estage will be co-driven by Canadian and North-American champion Nathalie Richard.

Winner of the last Baie-des-Chaleurs Rally, American driver Matthew Iorio (Subaru Impreza WRX), with co-driver Ole Holter, will also be worth watching as he sits in third place, only three points from L’Estage and two from Erickson. It is fairly reasonable to say that one of these three drivers will be the winner of the rally and most probably the 2006 Canadian Rally Championship.

Rallye Défi Ste-Agathe/Duhamel has always been full of surprises and, with the numerous teams entered (about 40), this edition shouldn’t be any different. Among the top teams present, will be Americans Pat and Bernard Farrell (Subaru Impreza WRX), Ontarian Frank Sprongl (co-driven by American Rod Hendricksen, in a Suzuki Swift +), Western Canadians Norm LeBlanc and Keith Morison (Subaru Impreza WRX), as well as Quebecers Mathieu and Laurence-Fanny L’Estage (third at Baie in their Subaru Impreza WRX), and Jean-Paul Pérusse and Marcel-Paul Raymond (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo6). For Pérusse, winner of the Canadian Championship in 1975-76, Défi is a new event, because for the past few years, he has been running only the winter events.

Rallye Défi Ste-Agathe/Duhamel 2006 will kick off on Friday, September 8 at 2:00 PM. The official start will take place a little later in the town of Ste-Agathe. At 6:00 PM spectators are invited to go to Palomino Road, a gravel road on the outskirts of town which became famous with the presentation of many WRC rounds in the 70’s. On Saturday, action will move to the region of Parc Papineau-Labelle, north of Montebello. As early as 8:00 AM, two stages in the town of Montpellier will show a lot of action for the early birds. Later on, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, the timed stages around Duhamel will determine the winner.

The official program of the event is available in Pole-Position Magazine, presently on sale. ATV Productions will film the event. Information on the Canadian Rally Championship and other rally competitions in Canada can be found at www.carsrally.ca. For information on this event, visit www.rallydefi.com and to get live results during the weekend, check www.rallyscoring.com.