Subaru Rally Team Canada Leads Canadian Rally Championship; Six Subaru Vehicles Finish in Top Ten at Rallye Défi

• Subaru Rally Team Canada (SRTC) remains in first position for all three Canadian Rally Championship titles: driver, co-driver and manufacturer after midway point of the season.
• After completing 16 of 23 stages, and winning 13 of those stages, SRTC continues to exemplify the strength of the Subaru WRX STI rally vehicle built by Rocket Rally Racing.

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Sept. 15, 2015 /CNW/ - Subaru Canada, Inc. (SCI) is proud to announce that six Subaru vehicles finished among the top ten at Rallye Défi, held in Ste-Agathe, QC, on September 11 – 12, 2015. Leading the pack of Subaru finishers was Karel Carré and Philippe Poirier in their Subaru WRX STI, finishing second overall, securing Subaru points for the Canadian Rally Championship (CRC) manufacturer title.

Subaru Rally Team Canada (SRTC), piloted by Antoine L'Estage and co-driven by Alan Ockwell, had a very strong event before an unforeseen fuel pressure issue caused the team to retire early. Their pace in the 16 completed stages in the Rocket Rally Racing prepared Subaru WRX STI proved to be impressive as they were able to gain a 1 minute and 17 second lead after winning 13 of 16 completed stages. The Subaru WRX STI ran running flawlessly for 70 percent of the event before the issue transpired. The first day of the event was extremely tight as SRTC was able to finish the day with only a 12-second lead while dealing with very rough road conditions. Early on in the second day of the event SRTC was able to gain some ground after winning every completed stage that day with a constant rain making for very slick surfaces.

"It's not the way we wanted the rally to end, but sometimes this is how motorsports goes," said Antoine L'Estage, SRTC driver. "There are positives to take away from this event and we showed great pace – we will regroup and prepare for two good events out west in October. We continue to lead all three Canadian Rally Championships with two wins in three rallies, myself and Alan leading the driver and co-driver championships and Subaru leading the manufacturer championship."

"We were well positioned and had a good lead to close out the rally," said Alan Ockwell, SRTC co-driver. "Rocket Rally Racing is going to look into the issue we had in detail and ensure that we come back to the next event, Pacific Forest Rally, stronger than ever."

"The gruelling road and weather conditions took a toll on many cars and to have that many Subaru vehicles place so well speaks volume to the performance and durability of our products," said Brian Hyland, Director of Aftersales – Parts Operations for Subaru Canada, Inc.

With two out of three event wins, SRTC still has an advantage in the 2015 CRC titles for driver, co-driver and manufacturer championship and now looking forward to the two western Canadian events. First is Pacific Forest Rally, held on October 23-24 in Merritt, BC, followed by Rocky Mountain Rally the very next weekend in Invermere, BC.

2015 Rallye Défi Results
Position	Driver / Co-Driver	Vehicle	Time
1	Joël Levac / Stéphanie Lewis	Mini Countryman JCW	1:37:54.2
2	Karel Carré / Philippe Poirier	Subaru WRX STI	1:41:58.6
3	Jean-Sébastien Besner / Yvan Joyal	Mitsubishi Lancer	1:42:46.1
4	Sylvain Vincent / Simon Vincent	Subaru Impreza	1:45:49.6
5	Marc Bourassa / Daniel Paquette	Subaru WRX STI	1:45:58.3
6	Jeremy Norris / John Hall	Subaru WRX STI	1:46:11.4
7	Martin Bruneau / Anthony Bruneau	Subaru WRX	1:56:39.2
8	Nicolas Laverdière / Jean-M Tremblay	Honda Civic	2:05:03.5
9	Nick Mathew / Kelly Mathew	Subaru WRX STI	2:11:46.0
10	Simon Dubé / Aaron Crescenti	Volkswagen Golf GTI	2:30:15.5

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 showed impressive pace in the Subaru WRX STI at Rallye Défi. © Copyright 2015 Rocket Rally Racing - by Phil Ericksen. (CNW Group/Subaru Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150915_C6618_PHOTO_EN_497451.jpg

Image with caption: "Subaru Rally Team Canada showed impressive pace in the Subaru WRX STI at Rallye Défi. © Copyright 2015 Rocket Rally Racing - by Phil Ericksen. (CNW Group/Subaru Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150915_C6618_PHOTO_EN_497453.jpg

Julie Lychak, [phone], [email protected]; Daniel Ponzini, [phone], [email protected]; Amyot Bachand, Media Relations, Quebec Region, [phone], [email protected]