Bocholt, Belgium -- Canadian Rally Champion Patrick Richard, of Vancouver BC, took first place in the Group N class at the Sezoens Rally in Belgium this weekend. Patrick and Norwegian co-driver Ola Flöene were also placed fourth overall amongst a field of 55 drivers.

The Sezoens Rally, held in Bocholt on Saturday May 31st, is an annual event in the Belgian Championship. In addition to the leaders in the Belgian championship, known for tarmac/asphalt specialists, entries included drivers from The Netherlands, Great Britain and Canada. The one-day event consisted of nine stages and was run over 146km of mostly asphalt roads. Patrick, driving an Impreza WRX for Subaru Rally Team Canada, beat his nearest Group N rival by one minute and nine seconds. He completed all stages in one hour and twenty eight minutes and was just two minutes and fourteen seconds behind the overall leader.

The Sezoens Rally is not part of Patrick's regular 2003 schedule. Patrick and Subaru Rally Team Canada attended the event in order to gain further experience and testing time on asphalt roads in preparation for the ADAC Rallye Deutschland in July

"It was great to have someone with Ola's experience in the car with me. He really helped with making better pace notes" said Patrick. "As far as the driving part went, I was mostly focusing on finding out how much grip there actually is and how late you can brake into corners. I am amazed that you can take blind corners on a narrow one lane road at over 200km/h and the car just sticks like glue. I can't wait for Germany!"

Patrick will be returning to Canada this week in preparation for the fifth leg of the Canadian Rally Championship at the Pacific Forrest Rally in Merritt, BC, on June 13th and 14th. Patrick's next WRC event is at Limassol, Cyprus on June 20th.

For further information about Patrick Richard go to: http://www.patrickrichard.com

Press inquiries: Tim Gage
timgage@patrickrichard.com
604 737 2531