Subaru secures first place manufacturer status after the first event of the 2016 Canadian Rally Championship season

Mississauga, Ontario - After an extremely hard fought battle through harsh conditions, Maxime and Robert Labrie won the 2016 Rallye Perce Neige held in Maniwaki, Quebec, on February 6 in their Subaru WRX. The win also helped to propel the Subaru brand into a series lead in manufacturer points to start the 2016 Canadian Rally Championship (CRC).

Defending 2015 CRC winners, SRTC, have a change for the 2016 season as they compete for their historical 12th manufacturer title. Eight-time CRC driver champion, Antoine L'Estage, continues to pilot the Subaru WRX STI this year, while Darren Garrod will be joining him in the right seat as co-driver. Darren Garrod has an extensive résumé of Subaru rally experience, previously competing in a variety of rally events globally and on Subaru Rally Team China.

New to the CRC technical regulations this year was the allowance of studded tires. Subaru Rally Team Canada (SRTC) made a difficult, but calculated, decision to vie for tractionized ice tires (non-studded). The road conditions became extremely icy as the day progressed, but the team stuck by the decision to run tractionized ice tires and was fighting for the lead until they were forced to retire from the event due to a critical accessory external to the engine failing.

Despite the hard luck for SRTC, Subaru still finished the event with full manufacturer points as Maxime and Robert Labrie went on to win their first ever national rally event in a Subaru WRX.

The 2016 CRC season continues at the Rocky Mountain Rally on June 4 – 5, 2016, in Invermere, BC.

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 91 authorized dealers across Canada. For more information, please visit www.subaru.ca or www.pr.subaru.ca or follow @Subaru_Canada on Twitter.