This year's event marks the first time that rally cars have been included at the X Games, regarded by many as the "Olympics" of extreme sports. Richard, who has won both the American and Canadian national rally titles multiple times, is the current reigning rally champion in the United States. Richard was one of the original invitees hand-picked for inclusion in the 2006 Summer X Games, along with former World Rally Champion Colin McRae, from the UK.
"Rally cars in the X Games is a perfect fit for our brand," explained Trey Cobb, founder and CEO of COBB Tuning, the market leader in aftermarket automotive performance parts for Subarus and other import vehicles. "We approached Patrick as soon as it was announced that he was on the short list of drivers for the X Games. He is well known in automotive circles, and his successes on the rally circuit combined with the popularity of the X Games made this a no-brainer for us to move forward. We are proud to be able to announce that the support from Cobb Tuning confirms that Patrick will be attending the 2006 Summer X Games."
Richard will be partnered at the 2006 X Games by his sister, Nathalie Richard, who has co-driven Patrick to his most recent North American Rally titles. Nathalie, a strong rally co-driver in her own right, is currently the host of the Rally America television programs, broadcast internationally on both ESPN and OLN. Most recently, she hosted the televised broadcast of the International Pikes Peak Hillclimb for ESPN2.
"This is great news for the team," she explained. "COBB Tuning's participation ensures that we will be at the X Games, but what we really want is to go for the medals. We're working hard on expanding our sponsorship portfolio so we can make that happen." Although the brother and sister duo are ranked as North America's top driver and co-driver pair for the X Games Rally event, funding challenges have prevented them from competing since winning the 2005 Rally America title, defeating former World Rally Champion Stig Blomquist in the process.
"The X Games puts rallying into the mainstream mindshare of every young man in America. We will be up against some the world's best on a global stage, and we're hoping that additional sponsorship on top of COBB Tuning's fantastic support will create every opportunity possible to finish in the medals."
The 2006 X Games Rally Car event will take place from August 2nd through the 5th in front of over 40,000 live fans at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, California. Featuring a live telecast in prime-time on August 5th on ABC, one of America's premier broadcast networks, the X Games will also be broadcast internationally through ESPN and its worldwide affiliates.
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