Subaru claims second at Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs

Eight Subaru vehicles in the top ten at second event of the season.

MISSISSAUGA, ON, July 2, 2013 /CNW/ - Subaru Canada, Inc. (SCI) is pleased to announce that Subaru Rally Team Canada maintains a five-point lead towards the championship after Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs this past weekend in New Richmond, Quebec. Subaru Rally Team Canada driver Pat Richard and co-driver Rob Fagg drove quickly and consistently into second place without taking big risks in order to focus their efforts on holding a strong lead in the championship.

Coming into Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs, Richard was beginning to rehabilitate a torn Achilles' tendon in his left foot, forcing him to drive slower than usual. Just over halfway through Saturday's stages, transmission problems cropped up - causing the loss of the fifth and sixth gear - yet the crew managed to change the gearbox and shifter mechanism within the 20-minute service with zero penalties.

"My nature has always been to drive flat out everywhere," said Richard. "But really it's a case of needing to drive to the finish to get the points… I was happy to do it because we're leading the [driver's] championship by 10 points."

Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs is a particularly demanding event with challenging conditions causing problems for all of the top teams. Even with the ever-present threat of overheating and punishing terrain, eight Subaru vehicles finished in the top ten.

Pos	Time	Vehicle	Driver/Co-driver
1	1:39:03.0	Mitsubishi EVO X 11	Antoine L'Estage - St-Jean-sur-Richelieu,QC Nathalie Richard - Halifax, NS
2	1:39:56.5	Subaru STi 08	Patrick Richard - Squamish, BC Robert Fagg - Squamish, BC
3	1:45:12.6	Subaru WRX 02	Maxime Labrie - La Prairie, QC Robert Labrie - Montmagny, QC
4	1:46:08.6	Subaru WRX STi 10	Steeve Hobbs - St-Gédéon, QC Jean-Mathieu Tremblay - Saguenay, QC
5	1:47:32.8	Subaru WRX STi 07	Max Riddle - Squamish, BC Garrod Darren - Squamish, BC
6	1:49:28.6	Subaru WRX STi 04	André Leblanc - New Richmond, QC René Leblanc - New Richmond, QC
7	1:50:08.0	Subaru Impreza 94	Sylvain Vincent - Terrebonne, QC Simon Vincent - Terrebonne, QC
8	1:53:09.7	Mitsubishi EVO IX 05	Hardy Schmidtke - Cochrane, AB John Hall - Sherwood Park, AB
9	1:59:06.0	Subaru WRX 01	Mathieu Leblanc - St-Omer, QC Alex S. Litalien Leblanc - St-Omer, QC
10	2:02:34.5	Subaru WRX STi 10	Frank Lognay - Brossard, QC Larissa Lognay - Brossard, QC

The next event in the Canadian Rally Championship season will be Rallye Defi on September 6-7, in Ste-Agathe, Quebec.

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 over 85 authorized dealers across Canada. For more information, please visit www.subaru.ca or www.pr.subaru.ca. 

SOURCE Subaru Canada Inc.

Image with caption: "Subaru Rally Team Canada claims second at Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs. (CNW Group/Subaru Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130702_C4911_PHOTO_EN_28711.jpg

Image with caption: "Subaru Rally Team Canada claims second at Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs. (CNW Group/Subaru Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130702_C4911_PHOTO_EN_28713.jpg

Image with caption: "Subaru Rally Team Canada claims second at Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs. (CNW Group/Subaru Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130702_C4911_PHOTO_EN_28715.jpg