Richard Wins Pacific Forest Rally

Posted on 02. Oct, 2011 by Dean in Canadian Rally Champs, CRC 2011, Event Coverage, Pacific Forest Rally 2011

After a losing streak that has seemed to go on forever, Pat Richard returned to his winning ways by putting Subaru Rally Team Canada on top of the podium at the Pacific Forest Rally, the team’s first win since Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs 2010.

“This feels really good,” said Richard after the event, who has again teamed up with co-driver Alan Ockwell. “We controlled the event from the beginning and I have lots of experience with Alan. We’ve won two Canadian Rally Championship titles together, and we work really well together.”

For the first four rounds of the 2011 season, Richard had teamed up with Leanne Junnila, a veteran co-driver with plenty of national championship experience, and a two wheel drive title of her own. However, the pair struggled with recurring suspension problems and never seemed to gel as a team. Though the two split after Rallye Defi, they were able to score enough points that Richard can still win the Manufacturer’s title for Subaru Canada.

Richard and Ockwell set a comfortable pace, briefly passed in the rankings by Leo Urlichich, though quickly took the lead and held onto it for the rest of the event.

Main rivals Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard took second place, which was enough to comfortably get the Canadian Rally Championship Driver and Co-Driver titles.

“We had to be smart and focus on the championship,” said L’Estage. “It can be very tempting to try to win, but we didn’t need to do that here.” Instead L’Estage maintained a pace that kept him close at hand should anyone else have problems. Ultimately, the team finished second overall, but were clearly happy with the result.

“This is my fourth national title, and it’s even more for Nathalie,” said L’Estage. “I really have to thank John Buffum and my crew for all of their hard work. We’ve had an incredible season. Also I have to thank my sponsors, who make it possible for us to win – Rockstar, Concerto, Mitusbishi and Yokohama have all contributed to this result.”

While L’Estage and Richard have already wrapped up the Driver and Co-Driver titles, there is still the matter of the Manufacturer’s  title. Though Mitsubishi has a points lead, whoever wins the Rally of the Tall Pines will also win the Manufacturer’s crown. With nothing else at stake, both Subaru and Mitsubishi will be flat out to try to win.

“Crazy” Leo Urlichich and Martin Brady struggled with car setup issues and flat tires, finishing third overall. “It sucks to be third,” said Urlichich, who has shown improved pace and reliability this season. “But still, we hit two major landmarks this event. We were leading while Pat and Antoine were both still running, and we’ve finished far closer than to them than we’ve ever been. I can remember even a year ago, being seven or eight minutes behind them, and now we’re two minutes back. I think with more fine tuning and getting the car setup better, we’ll be even faster.”

Behind the top three, a battle was brewing between Max Riddle and Hardy Schmidtke. Schmidtke, who has been competing for the last three years, has earned a ranking that gave him a top five start position on day one, earning an extra “dust minute.” That allowed Schmidtke and co-driver John Hall to take fourth place after day one, with some margin over Riddle. Riddle, who was further back in the start order was slowed by dusty conditions that made it hard to see, especially on the night stages.

“I’ve competed for three years to have earned my road position,” said Schmidtke, referring to his driver ranking that moves him closer to the front of the pack. “But Max is really fast, so I’m not sure I can hold him off.”

Meanwhile, Riddle, who started competing less than a year ago, drove calmly, clawing back the seconds until edging past Schmidtke halfway through day two. “On Friday, our goal was to get into the top five,” said Riddle, a position that gave the team an extra minute gap to help reduce the chances of catching the dust from the car ahead.

“From there, we just drove hard to make up time.” Riddle and Neumann finished fourth, their highest result in a national championship event.

In two wheel drive, brothers Jan and Jody Zedril had a largely trouble free run to the top spot on the two wheel drive podium. The pair have been one of the most consistent competitors in two wheel drive, earning the two wheel drive title for the season.

“We love two wheel drive, said Jody. “But we need more competition. Right now, too many cars break, or don’t even enter, so you can end up on your own.”

Their main rival, Eric Grochowski, who returned this season after a year off. Grochowski was rejoined by co-driver Leanne Junnila for the Pacific Forest Rally. The two already have a national title together, but struggled with a lack of power this weekend.

“I haven’t built our new race motor yet, so we’re running a stock motor,” said Grochowski, of his VW Golf. “The hairpins and hillclimbs really hurt us on Friday’s stages, but the roads on day two were more our style. We do much better on the fast flowing stages where you can get the car going and keep the speed up.”

The lack of power couldn’t be overcome though, and so Grochowski and Junnila finished second in two wheel drive.

In PGT, Azam Deen and Tracy Manspeaker inherited the win after Eric Pehota and Richard Doucet, who had been leading the class, retired late in the event.

The Pacific Forest Rally also includes the PIAA ecoChallenge, an award given based on a combination of fast times and low fuel consumption. Jim Shepard and local Nikki Beverly took the top spot in the ecoChallenge in their Toyota Celica. Though dominated by two wheel drive cars, pro mountain bike rider Brandon Semenuk and Adam Vokes were the top ranked all wheel drive car.

The regional win went to Riddle and Neumann, while Onur Tezcan and Angela Cosner finished second after coming back from problems that dropped the team to last place. Third in the regional went to Mike Goodwin and Martin Burnley.

The next and final event of the 2011 Canadian Rally Championship is the Rally of the Tall Pines, in Bancroft Ontario, November 25-26, 2011. The Manufacturer’s title is up for grabs, as is the two wheel drive national title. The rally has a reputation for very challenging and changeable conditions that have upset the order in dramatic fashion in recent years.