MISSISSAUGA, ON, Nov. 2, 2015 /CNW/ - Subaru Canada, Inc. (SCI) is thrilled to announce that after the fifth Canadian Rally Championship (CRC) national event of the season, Rocky Mountain Rally in Invermere, B.C., Subaru Rally Team Canada (SRTC) has clinched the manufacturer's title for an 11th time. This now ties Subaru for most CRC marque titles in history, placing the brand at the forefront of one of the most gruelling and extreme motorsports. Finishing at the top of the podium after the two-day event (October 31 and November 1), SRTC held a strong 4 minute and 28 second lead after very rough conditions were experienced throughout the weekend. To end the rally, the event organizers were forced to cancel the final three stages due to extreme weather and a blizzard rolling through the mountains of Invermere. The win also clinches the CRC driver and co-driver championships for Antoine L'Estage and Alan Ockwell, respectively.
Every rally event has its fair share of obstacles to overcome and it seemed that SRTC started off with their first obstacle of the event on the first stage. The team experienced a driveline issue that caused the vehicle to run in two-wheel drive. At first service the Rocket Rally Racing crew quickly fixed the encountered issue and the team was back on the road to win the remaining stages. As weather conditions worsened near the end of the first day, event organizers canceled one of the stages and decided to rerun a different stage for a third pass, making for tricky road conditions.
The second day of the rally continued with unfortunate weather conditions that made for extremely dangerous roads. After much deliberation the final three stages of the event were cancelled, ending the rally with SRTC at the top of the podium for the second time in the span of a week.
"Winning the Canadian Rally Championship manufacturer title for a record tying eleventh time solidifies our strength in rally motorsport and is a testament to the durability, quality and reliability of our vehicles," said Shiro Ohta, chairman, president and CEO of Subaru Canada, Inc. "The Subaru WRX STI has a pedigree for being a champion and I'd like to thank and congratulate Antoine L'Estage and Alan Ockwell for bringing the manufacturer title back to Subaru for an 11th time."
"Winning Subaru the manufacturer championship is so meaningful because it is a great group of passionate people that continue to propel our amazing results throughout the season," said Antoine L'Estage, SRTC driver. "It is a great moment for the team. It is my eighth driver's championship and the first one with the Subaru team. We are really happy with the results!"
SRTC clinched the 2015 CRC manufacturer championship after winning four of five events out of the season thus far. The season finale will take place November 27 and 28 in Bancroft, ON at Rally of the Tall Pines.
| 2015 Rocky Mountain Rally Results | |||
| Position | Driver / Co-Driver | Vehicle | Time |
| 1 | Antoine L'Estage / Alan Ockwell | 2015 Subaru WRX STI | 1:13:27.7 |
| 2 | Hardy Schmidtke / John Hall | 2005 Mitsubishi Evo | 1:17:55.6 |
| 3 | Boris Djordjevic / Chris Kremer | 2008 Mitsubishi Evo | 1:21:13.3 |
| 4 | Josh Shewchuk / Adam Vokes | 2008 Subaru WRX STI | 1:23:21.7 |
| 5 | Stu Ford / Robin Chapelski | 2006 Subaru WRX | 1:26:01.2 |
| 6 | Justin Bayliff / Christine Bayliff | 2007 Mitsubishi Evo | 1:26:20.4 |
| 7 | Vilnis Dimpers / Liga Kotane | 2005 Mitsubishi Evo | 1:27:40.6 |
| 8 | Eric Grochowski / Bill Dubreil | 1987 Toyota Corolla GTS | 1:31:28.1 |
| 9 | Voytek Stywryszko / Spencer Armstrong | 1986 Toyota Corolla | 1:37:25.7 |
| 10 | Taisto Heinonen / Leanne Junnila | 2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS | 1:37:28.9 |
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 90 authorized dealers across Canada. For more information, please visit www.subaru.ca or www.pr.subaru.ca or follow @Subaru_Canada on Twitter.
SOURCE Subaru Canada Inc.
Image with caption: "Subaru Rally Team Canada clinches their 11th Canadian Rally Championship manufacturer title after winning Rocky Mountain Rally in the Rocket Rally-prepared Subaru WRX STI. © 2015 Rocket Rally Racing by Philip Ericksen/Radikal Videos. (CNW Group/Subaru Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151102_C9157_PHOTO_EN_44378.jpg
Image with caption: "Subaru Rally Team Canada clinches their 11th Canadian Rally Championship manufacturer title after winning Rocky Mountain Rally in the Rocket Rally-prepared Subaru WRX STI. © 2015 Rocket Rally Racing by Philip Ericksen/Radikal Videos. (CNW Group/Subaru Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151102_C9157_PHOTO_EN_44380.jpg
Image with caption: "Subaru Rally Team Canada clinches their 11th Canadian Rally Championship manufacturer title after winning Rocky Mountain Rally in the Rocket Rally-prepared Subaru WRX STI. © 2015 Rocket Rally Racing by Philip Ericksen/Radikal Videos. (CNW Group/Subaru Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151102_C9157_PHOTO_EN_44382.jpg
Julie Lychak
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Daniel Ponzini
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Amyot Bachand
Media Relations, Quebec Region
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