A Subaru on the podium at Pacific Forest Rally

Seven Subaru vehicles in the top ten plus a podium finish at Pacific Forest Rally.

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Oct. 16, 2012 /CNW/ - Subaru continues its fight for the Manufacturer's Championship in the 2012 Canadian Rally Championship season with one Subaru on the podium and seven Subaru vehicles in the top ten at the Pacific Forest Rally, held this past October 12-13 near Merritt, British Columbia.

The Vancouver duo of Max Riddle and Aaaron Neumann battled for a spot on the podium and claimed third place in their 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. In total, seven Subaru vehicles placed in the top ten, earning valuable manufacturer points towards the Championship.

Subaru Rally Team Canada driver Pat Richard from Squamish, B.C., and co-driver Alan Ockwell from Toronto, Ontario, were only 13 seconds outside of first place, keeping pace in second place for most of the first day. After coming to the penultimate event with many upgrades, the duo's high expectations were truncated by an engine issue. A last-minute engine replacement put Richard and Ockwell back in the action on the second day until an engine fire during the seventh stage forced the team to retire from the event.

"We've been in this sport a long time and I've had years like this before," said Richard. "You've got to put it behind you and keep your chin up. You've got to keep persevering. We know if we can get to the finish, we're going to have a good result."

For the final event of the season, the Rally of the Tall Pines, Subaru Rally Team Canada will fight for victory to win the Manufacturer's Championship for Subaru. The team is planning to debut a new, rare engine block from Japan, among its recent enhancements to the 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI.

The final event in the Canadian Rally Championship season is the Rally of the Tall Pines, taking place November 23-24 in Bancroft, Ontario.

Pos	Driver	Co-driver	Vehicle		Total Time
1	Antoine L'Estage	Nathalie Richard	2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X		01:31:59.60
2	Hardy Schmidtke	John Hall	2005 Mitsubishi Evo IX		01:41:02.10
3	Max Riddle	Aaron Neumann	2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STI		01:41:09.20
4	Alexandre Beland	Lyne Murphy	2002 Subaru Impreza		01:41:12.60
5	Brandon Semenuk	Jennifer Daly	2002 Subaru Impreza WRX		01:41:44.50
6	Tibor Kertes	Spencer Armstrong	2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X		01:43:18.40
7	Graham Bruce	Martin Burnley	2002 Subaru Impreza		01:46:45.10
8	Taylor Nelson	Remington Edwards	2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STI		01:47:21.20
9	Eric Pehota	Richard Doucet	2003 Subaru Impreza WRX		01:47:46.90
10	Alexandre Kozlov	Martin Matas	1995 Subaru Impreza WRX STI		01:48:24.90

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.

 

Image with caption: "Subaru Rally Team Canada at the 2012 Pacific Forest Rally. (CNW Group/Subaru Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121016_C7385_PHOTO_EN_19423.jpg

Image with caption: " Subaru Rally Team Canada at the 2012 Pacific Forest Rally (CNW Group/Subaru Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121016_C7385_PHOTO_EN_19425.jpg

Image with caption: "Subaru Rally Team Canada at the 2012 Pacific Forest Rally (CNW Group/Subaru Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121016_C7385_PHOTO_EN_19427.jpg

SOURCE: Subaru Canada Inc.

Joe Felstein or Julie Lychak      
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Amyot Bachand
Media Relations, Quebec Region
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