Montréal, Québec — Reigning North American and Canadian Rally Champions, driver Antoine L'Estage (of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec) and his co-driver Nathalie Richard (of Halifax, Nova Scotia) will contest the remaining events of the Rally America series at the wheel of a WRC Mitsubishi Lancer.  In this, the premier American rally championship, it will be the first time a Canadian competes in a modern day World Rally Car that has already contested the World Rally Championship and it is also the first time the British MML Sports team will bring their WRC car to compete in North America.   

After having contested the first two rounds of the 2013 season, including a victory at Michigan's SnoDrift Rally in their Mitsubishi Evo X, Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard will finish off the remaining five Rally America rounds with the WRC Lancer.  « This is big news!  To take part in rallies at the wheel of a car that has been in the World Rally Championship is fantastic and I'm really looking forward to more great battles with Ken Block and David Higgins » explains Antoine, who clarifies : « our hard work has come to fruition in the form of an agreement with MML Sports of the UK, with whom we already tested the car last November in the Czech Republic.  All of our sponsors play a big role in this as well and we are thrilled to have our partners on board ».

The first event that the L'Estage/Richard duo will take part in with the WRC Mitsubishi Lancer will be on the first weekend of May for the Oregon Trail Rally, round 3 of the Rally America series.  An important test session will precede the rally, enabling Antoine to familiarize himself with the car. « Up until now, I've only done a few kilometers with this car, without really pushing it to its maximum capabilities.  We're in the hunt for this year's RA title so it's essential to get more comfortable with the vehicle before the start of Oregon Trail » confides Antoine, who, with Nathalie, sits in second place on the championship leaderboard.  The team will also continue the fight to make 2013 its sixth Canadian Rally Championship title, which will be contested in the Rockstar Energy Drink Lancer Evo X as originally planned at the beginning of the season. More details concerning L'Estage's debut in the WRC car will follow

Antoine L'Estage holds five North American championship titles (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012), five Canadian titles (2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012), one American title (2010), and thirty-eight overall victories in Canada and the US. Nathalie Richard holds eight overall national championship titles (2004, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012 in Canada and 2004, 2005, 2010 in the US), as well as forty-four overall rally wins on both sides of the border. She also holds a record eight North American Co-Driving Championship titles (2004 - 2012, excluding 2006).

Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard participate in the 2013 Rally America and Canadian Rally Championships with the support of Rockstar Energy Drink, Fenetres Concerto, Mitsubishi Canada, Yokohama Tires, Drenth Motorsport Gearboxes, Énergie Cardio, Formica Group,  Alpinestars, VP Racing Fuels, Exe-Tc Suspensions, Driver's Edge Autosport, and Libra Racing.

For more information on the team or on rallying in general, visit antoinelestage.com.

2013 Canadian Rally Championship Calendar
Date	Event	Location
February 2	RALLYE PERCE-NEIGE	Maniwaki, Québec	DNF
June 29-30	RALLYE BAIE-DES-CHALEURS	New Richmond, Québec
September 6-7	RALLYE DÉFI	Ste-Agathe, Québec
October 4-5	PACIFIC FOREST RALLY	Merritt, British Columbia
November 2	ROCKY MOUNTAIN RALLY	Invermere, British Columbia
November 30	RALLY OF THE TALL PINES	Bancroft, Ontario

2013 Rally America Series Calendar
Date	Event	Location
January 25-26	SNO*DRIFT RALLY	Atlanta, Michigan	1st
February 22-23	100 ACRE WOOD	Salem, Missouri	DNF
May 3-4	OREGON TRAIL	Portland, Oregon
May 31-June 1	S.T.P.R.	Wellsboro, Pennsylvania
July 26-27	NEW ENGLAND FOREST RALLY	Bethel, Maine
August 22-23	OJIBWE FORESTS RALLY	Detroit Lakes, Minnesota
October 18-19	LAKE SUPERIOR PRO RALLY	Houghton, Michigan