Rocky Mountain: Mitsubishi preview

Rocky Mountain Rally: a brand new start!

Toronto, May 28, 2010 - The second round of the Canadian Rally Championship will be held this weekend in Alberta with the 37th running of the Rocky Mountain Rally, a two-day event held around Calgary on Friday and South of the province on Saturday. For the Mitsubishi teams, this will be a fresh start since none was able to earn valuable championship points in the first round, except for Mathieu L'Estage and Yanick Napert' second place. However, they will not take to the road at the Western event. Winners of the first round, Bruno Carre and Yvon Joyal in their Subaru STi will try to edge the competition.

However, Mathieu's brother, Antoine L'Estage, codriven by Nathalie Richard in their 2009Evolution, will try to up the ante with an outright victory. Since February, L'Estage and Richard have netted a string of podiums south of the border and are leading the Rally America and north-american series. A third win at RMR would spell new life in the Canadian standings.

Synchro Autosport team from Blainville, Quebec, will enter an Evolution VIII RS for Simon Losier and Philippe Poirier. Winner of the Mitsubishi Cup in 2008, Simon clinched a podium finish last year.

Albertans Zbigniew Szewczyk and Tomasz Karzynski are back on home turf in their Group 5 Lancer Ralliart while Two-wheel drive defending Canadian champions, the brother team of Jan and Jody Zedril from Winnipeg, will vie for another class win. Finally, Ian Crerar will steer his Open class Mitsubishi Evolution VI ; Ray Felice will codrive.

"Our Mitsubishi Brigade has a wealth of experience and each team can use it to compete for victory," said Koji Soga, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada Inc.(MMSCAN). "We know how difficult this two-day event is because the road conditions are treacherous. We will follow the Rocky Mountain with great interest. "

Rocky Mountain Rally profile

Second event of the season, Rocky Mountain Rally, will head out of Calgary on May 27 - 29. Friday will be spent in the Kananaskis region and Saturday in the Porcupine Hills at the foot of the Rockies. Rocky Mountain Rally has had a reputation for unpredictable road conditions, from thick fog to dust and even snow! The route will showcase 450 kilometres with 204 of them in special stages. More information is available at www.rockymountainrally.com

-source: mitsuibishi