2010 Canadian Rally Championship Year-in-Review show from TSN, courtesy TV2GO and CARS.

“We’ve done it, I’m so happy,” exclaimed L’Estage at the end of the final stage. “To be a private team and to beat the big factory team is fantastic. It has been a great season. We have won everything that is possible to win in North American rally.”

The success has come after years of competition in Canada, including two national titles in 2006 and 2007, but 2010 was their first complete season in the Rally America series. The team also went to X Games and earned a bronze medal in Rally Car Racing.

Though minor problems struck the team through the day – losing rear brakes on the final stage – nothing could slow their pace enough to threaten their lead.

Second place went to Craig Henderson, who has DNF’d at Pines in the previous two years after getting sick on the Mayo Lake stage. Though the same issue struck again, Henderson willed himself to finish the rally, earning second place. The result also secured a tie with Pat Richard for second place in the championship, and as top Subaru, Henderson locked up the manufacturer’s title for the brand.

“We made it,” said a tired Henderson.

Swap Shop teammate Bruno Carre finished third. The driver surprised fans across the country by taking command of the championship at the opening round of the series and holding his points lead through the first half of the series.

“Tall Pines has been a tough rally, with a lot of little problems,” said Carre. “The Swap Shop team did a great job to fix the car at each service to keep us going.”

The rally was especially hard on Subaru Rally Team Canada. Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell had mechanical problems after a jump early in the day and took heavy penalties checking out of service late. From there, there was little else to do but try to cut back into L’Estage’s lead.

Though the team won stages later in the rally, making up the time was impossible and the flat out pace took it’s toll on the car, breaking the rear suspension and causing the car to swerve off the road, crashing over a rock and forcing the team to retire.

“We started the last stage and the car just went squirrely,” said Richard after the rally. “I think the rear wishbone may have been cracked from a jump earlier and basically sheared right through on the last stage. I did my best to hand onto the car, but it was all over the place.”

Martin Rowe, 2003 Production WRC Champion was brought in to drive a second Subaru Canada car, but also had mechancial problems, which prevented him from ever really finding his pace.

“It’s been a struggle, not a good day,” said Rowe at the end of the last stage. “We’ve lost third and fourth gear.”

Despite the issues, Rowe finished fourth, not far back from third place.

Nicola and Massimo Narini finished fifth overall, clinching the Ontario Performance Rally Championship in the process and winning the regional of the event.

Simon Losier took sixth place after problems mid day threatened to knock him out of the rally. Broken suspension, intermittent driving lights and ECU problems all hit the team at the same time, but the crew was able to make repairs and keep Losier going. Just behind in seventh place, Ugo Desgreniers beat out Steeve Hobbs for the Novice title. The two had been in a tight battle, as close as one second after seven stages, but Desgreniers found some extra speed and put more than a minute on Hobbs, who finished eighth.

Peter Kocandrle, in his first outing in an open class car, put the HotBits VW Golf into a secure ninth place.

“We had a plan about where to push, and we stuck to it,” said Kocandrle. “I’ve got a lot to learn in this sort of car, so I wanted to be smart and make sure I got the best possible finish for the team.”

The top ten was rounded out by Marc Bourassa and Daniel Paquette.

The top 2wd car was that of Martin Walter and Ferdinand Trauttmansdorf in a Nissan 240SX. The team had stayed steady all event, often a challenge at Pines, and put the group 5 car ahead of a struggling Simon Dube.

In Production GT, Warren Haywood and Ray Felice took the top spot ahead of Alan Ryall and Bruce Leonard.

Some teams were forced out of the event later in the day with mechanical problems, including Peter Thomson, who was forced out on the second last stage after ongoing brake issues.

Just before the end of the regional portion of the event, Ryan Huber and John Vanos retired after clipping a rock at 160km/h and damaging a strut. Chris Martin and Brian Johnson, who had been in the running for the OPRC title dropped out with a blown turbo.

Teams now have just a few short months to prepare for the start of the 2011 Canadian Rally Championship, the Rallye Perce Neige. With a bolstered organizing committee, the event looks to have a secure future, and some interesting additions to the event promise to improve upon Canada’s dedicated winter rally.

“Things are going well, we’re pushing hard, and Pat is driving well,” said L’Estage as he waited to enter the second service of the day. “There are a few little things about how the car handles under hard braking, maybe it’s just the surface, but it’s not perfect.”

Difficulties aside, after four stages, L’Estage had built a 26 second lead over Richard, but the drama was set to unfold in the service park.

Richard split a wheel  five km from the end of the fourth stage of the day, destroying both the tire and brake caliper. Driving out also damaged the steering rack, though the issue wasn’t discovered until midway through service. The team was forced to replace the part and checked out of service 14 minutes late, incurring 2:20 in penalties.

Martin Rowe also suffered problems, with a flat resulting in a bent shock and gearbox problems forcing the service crew to do a transmission swap in a short service. Unfortunately, Rowe was also late leaving service, taking penalties as well.

For L’Estage, who knows about the issues Richard and Rowe are having, the rally must now be about driving with a mix of speed and caution. Last year, both Richard and L’Estage were facing the same circumstances, but a late issue for L’Estage resulted in a dramatic finish where Richard won the event and the Canadian Championship.

Crazy Leo suffered a spin on the second stage, his engine catching fire. The crew are both ok, but their rally is over.

Secodn place is still unknown as Bruno Carre fights brake problems while also fighting off Swap Shop teammate Craig Henderson.

Peter Thomson also had brake issues that cost him time over SS3 and 4, dropping him out of the top 10. For westerner Hardy Schmidtke, the goal is to make this a “third time lucky” scenario after failing to finish the first two attempts at this event. He’ll have to watch for a hard charging Simon Losier, who has been fast, aside from time lost to help Leo. Losier is expecting to be given that time back in a decision by the organisers.

Simon Dube is leading the 2WD field, though misses the chance for a good battle with other top 2WD drivers who are absent from the event.

“The roads are beautiful, and not so rough,” said Dube, who is here for “fun and experience.”

Peter Kocandrle, who has typically been one of the drivers to fight Dube in 2WD, is competing in an Open class VW, and has been careful about his pace in the event so far.

“We took it easy in the first few stages to get used to the car and each other,” said Kocandrle, who is being co-driven by Alex Kihurani. “For me, the rally has just started.”