By clinching the 2012 edition of the New England Forest Rally, fifth and second to last round of the Rally America series, Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard have made it three for three and NEFR.
But they were still disappointed, coming off a perfect win, the reason being they lost their title bid to Dave Higgins, second in New England. His lead cannot be overcome anymore by the Canadian duo, who in turn, stretched a lead of its own, in the North American standings.
"I want to congratulate David Higgins, his co-driver Craig Drew, and their entire team for their 2012 Rally America title," acknowledged L'Estage. "They are great competitors and our battles are always intense but remain fun and very sportsmanlike."
Canadian rallyman Ugo Desgreniers reached the overall podium, after his fellow Canadian Rally Championship competitor Crazy Leo, third for most of the rally, landed his Subaru in a swamp.
In Super Production (SP), victory went to Ramana Lagemann et co-driver Christine Beavis. Australian Will Orders, from Melbourne, took top honours in the two-wheel drive (2WD) class.
New England Forest Rally results – Rally America
1. Antoine L’Estage / Nathalie Richard – 1h10min11.2s
2. David Higgins / Craig Drew + 21.0s
3. Ugo Desgreniers / Erik Kirby + 6min34.1s
4. Ramana Lagemann / Christine Beavis + 6min39.2s
5. Will Orders / Toni Feaver + 6min26.1s
6. Christopher Duplessis / Alexander Kihurani + 9min07.7s
7. David Sterckx / Karen Jankowski + 10min34.2s
8. Lauchlin O'Sullivan / Scott Putnam + 11min07.7s
9. Evan Cline Grzegorz Dorman + 11min57.6s
10. Andrew Comrie-Picard / Jeremy Wimpey + 12min08.0s
But they were still disappointed, coming off a perfect win, the reason being they lost their title bid to Dave Higgins, second in New England. His lead cannot be overcome anymore by the Canadian duo, who in turn, stretched a lead of its own, in the North American standings.
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| Antoine L'Estage, Mitsuhishi Lancer (Photo: Neil McDaid) |
"I want to congratulate David Higgins, his co-driver Craig Drew, and their entire team for their 2012 Rally America title," acknowledged L'Estage. "They are great competitors and our battles are always intense but remain fun and very sportsmanlike."
Canadian rallyman Ugo Desgreniers reached the overall podium, after his fellow Canadian Rally Championship competitor Crazy Leo, third for most of the rally, landed his Subaru in a swamp.
In Super Production (SP), victory went to Ramana Lagemann et co-driver Christine Beavis. Australian Will Orders, from Melbourne, took top honours in the two-wheel drive (2WD) class.
New England Forest Rally results – Rally America
1. Antoine L’Estage / Nathalie Richard – 1h10min11.2s
2. David Higgins / Craig Drew + 21.0s
3. Ugo Desgreniers / Erik Kirby + 6min34.1s
4. Ramana Lagemann / Christine Beavis + 6min39.2s
5. Will Orders / Toni Feaver + 6min26.1s
6. Christopher Duplessis / Alexander Kihurani + 9min07.7s
7. David Sterckx / Karen Jankowski + 10min34.2s
8. Lauchlin O'Sullivan / Scott Putnam + 11min07.7s
9. Evan Cline Grzegorz Dorman + 11min57.6s
10. Andrew Comrie-Picard / Jeremy Wimpey + 12min08.0s