Slick roads greet crews at Baie-des-Chaleurs

Posted on 27. Jun, 2008 by Dean in Baie-des-Chaleurs 2008

Though the action on the stages is set to
start tomorrow, teams ventured out on the roads of the 2008 Rallye
Baie-Des-Chaleurs to conduct recce, and prepare notes for the next two days of
competition. The rally is the third stop on the Canadian Rally Championship and
has the deepest field of entries this year.

Rain over the last 24 hours has turned the
roads into a mire of mud and made the roads extremely slippery. Roads at this
event can be very fast and smooth, but the conditions have changed their nature
a considerable amount. Rough and slippery roads can make tire choice difficult. 

“Either you take a mud tire and you’re
really brave with all the rocks, or you take a gravel tire and have no grip in
the muddy corners,” explained Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard. ACP is running his
Mitsubishi EVO IV at this event. The EVO IX he typically drives is busy being
prepped for use at X Games in August, and with only a month before that event,
Andrew does not want to risk damaging the newer car, saving it for the X Games. 

Other dramas unfolded when a bridge on one
of the stages collapsed, ending the recce early for some teams. At the moment,
there is no news on how this will impact the schedule and route tomorrow and
Saturday, though an announcement is expected tomorrow. 

Simon Losier promised to show up at Baie
with a new car, and has delivered. Rather than the mostly stock Mitsubishi EVO
VIII he ran at Rocky Mountain Rally in May, he has brought a totally different
EVO VIII to use here. The car is fully built, very light with “all the good
bits,” offered Losier. The whole team is known for their brightly coloured
cars, and this one should be no exception – we’ve been promised green and
chrome! 

Tomorrow morning, teams have a few final
hours to finish prepping the cars before heading into scrutineering and then
Parc Ferme. 

The weather is forecast to continue raining
through the night, clearing during the day tomorrow. Some teams hope this will
mean dry stages, but local knowledge suggests the roads may need more time to
dry out. Only “Crazy” Leo Urlichich seems to have the answer. “I pulled a
favour from the big guy,” smiled Leo, as he looks to the sky. “The roads will
be dry tomorrow.” 

Stages start tomorrow afternoon, and are
scheduled to wrap up just before midnight. We’ll be on hand with words, photos,
audio and video showing all the news from the 2008 Rallye Baie-Des-Chaleurs in
New Richmond, Quebec.

Tags: Antoine L'Estage, Baie-Des-Chaleurs, Canadian Rally Championship, Crazy Leo Url, EVO, Impreza, Mitsubishi, Simon Losier, Subaru