MQRC: Sanair Rally preview

Sanair Rally this Saturday
A Promising Second Round!

Montreal (Quebec), April 20, 2004.- After a two month hiatus, the Motul Quebec Rally Cup, presented by DMS, will see action this coming weekend with the presentation of the 19th Edition of the Sanair Rally. Entirely run on a road racing circuit, the second round of the 2004 season is set for action as more than 30 teams are registered and many candidates line up for a place on the victory podium.

Winner of the first event in February, Rallye Perce-Neige, Montreal Yohan Tessier is the new kid on the block. Tessier is the reigning 2002 Rally-Sprint champion, the first rung of the performance rally ladder in Canada. This time, if Tessier wants to step on the podium, he will have to fight off seasoned drivers such as Sylvain Erickson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo.4), a hard charger in national rallies, who will be a serious contender.

Three members of the L'Estage family will be on hand. 2003 Canadian Rookie of the Year, Mathieu L'Estage will debute a new Volkswagen Golf as he aims for the Quebec title. On the other hand, his father Jacques will be at the helm of a hot BMW M3, co-driven by daughter Laurence-Fanny.

More veterans will be returning to compete in what has become the only two-wheel drive rally championship in North America. Among them, Marc Racine from Rawdon, Quebec will be back with his Honda Civic. Eastern Quebec hotshoe Sylvain St-Pierre, driving his winning Nissan NX2000, will also make the trip to the Sanair facility. Finally, spectators can expect a strong performance from Patrick Leonard (VW Golf), quick on any type of surface.

Sanair will draw again an array of exceptional cars, from the Audi Quattro A4 of former winner Yvan Joyal (1992) to the many Golf GTi's and Subaru Impreza. Both the road racing section and the trioval will be used for special stages for the delight of the expected crowd of 2000. First car will start at 10 AM next Saturday while the Pole-Position Super Special will take place around 4 PM. The new format will have two cars leave at the same time, similar to World rally events.

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