NEWRY, ME -- Canadian Antoine L�Estage took the lead at the Maine Forest Rally on Friday, winning two of the race�s fast and smooth stages outright early in the race.

�The car�s running well, I�m pleased with that,� said L�Estage, who is running an older Hyundai Tiburon model that has given him problems in the past. �If the car stays in once piece, it should be good.�

But with three-quarters of the race still to go -- including the typically rough and treacherous stages that have given this race a reputation as a car-breaker � the rally was still anyone�s to win.

L�Estage had just a nine-second lead on Subaru Rally Team USA driver Ken Block, while Italian Alfredo �Dedo� DeDominicis was another nine seconds back, in third overall.

Both L�Estage and DeDominicis were among the top drivers expected to challenge here for a qualifying spot in the first-ever X Games Rally. Two top finishers who have not already been selected will earn an invitation to the early August contest.

In fourth and fifth place overall after three stages � and just two seconds apart - were Canadian Andrew Comrie-Picard and eight-time U.S. champion Paul Choiniere.

Choiniere is always considered a favorite at this, his home event and he said Friday his rally was going precisely according to plan.

�After we get done tonight there are going to be 10 cars within a half-minute of each other,� he said. �Tomorrow we�re going to see a lot of rougher stages and I have a feeling the rally�s going to be decided on the last one.�

He was leading last year when mechanical trouble forced him out of the race.

Block, meanwhile, said he was driving conservatively for the finish. With series leader Andrew Pinker unexpectedly absent from this contest, both he and Subaru Rally Team USA teammate Travis Pastrana stand to gain championship points at this valuable mid-season race.

The typically rough Maine Forest Rally saw nearly 60 drivers take the start Friday. A sudden downpour of rain dampened the stage roads and eliminated the dust that was expected to be a factor.

Now in its 12th year, the rally offers plenty of technical demands for competitors as they howl through the picturesque forest. It covers a range of medium-fast two-lane gravel logging roads to narrow and twisty one and a half lane trails.

Teams made a single pass of the course ahead of the race to refine their route notes, an element Dedo said is a bonus for his team. Although reconnaissance is a rarity in North America, it is the accepted practice in Europe where the Italian has

Next up on the U.S. rally calendar is the X Games Rally in Los Angeles. Among those selected to compete are WRC veteran Colin McRae, motocross superstar turned Subaru Rally Team USA driver Pastrana, Block, Choiniere and 2005 Rally America champion Pat Richard.

Although Rally America had originally expected that only one driver would qualify into the games at this rally, the selection committee opted to open another spot.

The Rally America national championship is a challenging, all-season series comprised of nine events across the country, beginning with Sno*Drift in January and wrapping up 12 months later with the Reno Rally in Reno, Nevada.

The annual X Games is the premier action sports event in the world, featuring athletes from across the globe competing for medals and prize money in sports including BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard, Surfing and Rally. X Games 12 will be telecast live on ESPN and ABC.

Rally America, a Minneapolis, MN, based corporation, holds the sanctioning and marketing rights to the Rally America Championship. The company was founded in 2002 by rally driver and CPD Rally Team owner Doug Havir.