From Canadian Rally Championship
The Canadian Rally Championship is set to start this weekend on the snowy roads of the Rallye Perce Neige Maniwaki. The event has run for over 40 years and has been on the national calendar for close to 35 years.
Canadian Rally Champions Patrick Richard of Squamish, B.C. and co-driver Alan Ockwell from Toronto (photo) finished third at Rallye Perce Neige last year in the debut event for the Subaru Rally Team Canada. This year, they want to win.
This will be no Sunday drive for Richard and Ockwell however. They will face a strong field of experienced competitors. Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard - both of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. - are defending North American Rally Champions, and are set to debut a brand new Mitsubishi EVO X. The pair won this event last year.
Sylvain Erickson of Gatineau, Que., is a legend at Perce Neige and will be paired with his brother Philip Erickson for the event. Erickson has won this event twice, both times with Philip as co-driver. Sylvain has a legendary ability to bend the rules of physics on ice and snow and will be a serious threat this weekend.
The top of the order will be filled out by Andrew Comrie-Picard from Toronto, fresh from a podium finish at the Sno*Drift rally - the season opener in the Rally America series. Multiple Canadian and North American rally champion Frank Sprongl of Georgetown, Ont. will be on hand in a Mitsubishi EVO 6. Sprongl is known to be a star talent in ice and snow and could challenge for the win.
This year, the Canadian Rally Championship is introducing a new two-wheel drive championship. Rewarding the fastest team in any two-wheel drive entry, the championship requires teams to participate in events from coast to coast.
The Rallye Perce Neige is the only winter rally in the Canadian Rally Championship and is home to some of the longest stages on the continent. The event, held Feb. 6-7, 2009, includes 195 kilometers of competitive stages.
photo:Flat Over Crest
The Canadian Rally Championship is set to start this weekend on the snowy roads of the Rallye Perce Neige Maniwaki. The event has run for over 40 years and has been on the national calendar for close to 35 years.
Canadian Rally Champions Patrick Richard of Squamish, B.C. and co-driver Alan Ockwell from Toronto (photo) finished third at Rallye Perce Neige last year in the debut event for the Subaru Rally Team Canada. This year, they want to win.
This will be no Sunday drive for Richard and Ockwell however. They will face a strong field of experienced competitors. Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard - both of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. - are defending North American Rally Champions, and are set to debut a brand new Mitsubishi EVO X. The pair won this event last year.
Sylvain Erickson of Gatineau, Que., is a legend at Perce Neige and will be paired with his brother Philip Erickson for the event. Erickson has won this event twice, both times with Philip as co-driver. Sylvain has a legendary ability to bend the rules of physics on ice and snow and will be a serious threat this weekend.
The top of the order will be filled out by Andrew Comrie-Picard from Toronto, fresh from a podium finish at the Sno*Drift rally - the season opener in the Rally America series. Multiple Canadian and North American rally champion Frank Sprongl of Georgetown, Ont. will be on hand in a Mitsubishi EVO 6. Sprongl is known to be a star talent in ice and snow and could challenge for the win.
This year, the Canadian Rally Championship is introducing a new two-wheel drive championship. Rewarding the fastest team in any two-wheel drive entry, the championship requires teams to participate in events from coast to coast.
The Rallye Perce Neige is the only winter rally in the Canadian Rally Championship and is home to some of the longest stages on the continent. The event, held Feb. 6-7, 2009, includes 195 kilometers of competitive stages.
photo:Flat Over Crest