Reigning champions Antoine L'Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard are going home empty handed from the Canadian Rally Championship (CRC) season-opener, Rallye Perce-Neige in Maniwaki, Québec.
L'Estage and Richard have earned four wins at the event over the years.
The pair was heading for a fifth when the crankshaft of its Mitsubishi EVO X rally car's engine let go, putting a definitive end to the weekend after only two competitive stages.
It was a particularly sad ending, considering L'Estage and Richard won in similar conditions last week, at the Sno*Drift rally – the opening round of the Rally America season.
"We were on a high coming off our win at Sno*Drift," L'Estage told Auto123.com.
"We're still wondering what happened. The engine was almost new."
L'Estage and Richard have earned four wins at the event over the years.
The pair was heading for a fifth when the crankshaft of its Mitsubishi EVO X rally car's engine let go, putting a definitive end to the weekend after only two competitive stages.
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| Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard, in Sno*Drift action (Photo: Scott Rains) |
It was a particularly sad ending, considering L'Estage and Richard won in similar conditions last week, at the Sno*Drift rally – the opening round of the Rally America season.
"We were on a high coming off our win at Sno*Drift," L'Estage told Auto123.com.
"We're still wondering what happened. The engine was almost new."