Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell have finished the 2008 Pacific Forest Rally in third place after starting from last place this morning. The finish has secured the 2008 Canadian Rally Championship for Subaru Rally Team Canada in their first season back to rallying in Canada. Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard have won the event, putting them in a strong position for the North American Rally Cup.

This morning, teams headed up to the Thynne Mountain and Brook Creek stages. On recce just days prior, there had been three to four kilometres of ice-covered roads at the highest point of the stage.

Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell had suffered problems the night before after a flat that caused cascading problems to the car. The first run of Tynne Mountain saw the pair dead last in the standings, with a lot of ground to make up.

The sun had come out on the Thynne Mountain stage, and while the ice was gone, the stage proved to be muddy with traction that was intermittent.

“It’s really slippery, and while we’re not taking risks, we are making up some time,” said Pat Richard.

Antoine L’Estage, who was leading the event into today’s action looked to be in trouble when a trail of gear oil was seen leading to his car. Both he and co-driver Nathalie Richard looked very serious as they explained the circumstances.

“The centre diff broke on the first stage,” said Antoine, “so we only have rear wheel drive, and two more stages to service.”

The pair were right to be concerned, with a hard charging Norm LeBlanc in second place. However, unbeknownst to L’Estage, LeBlanc was also having trouble, having bent a control arm on the first pass through Brook Creek.

“The car really doesn’t like left hand corners,” said LeBlanc.

Rejean Losier started the day in seventh, the position that Richard and Ockwell needed to secure their championship. Losier was certain on one thing – “Pat will catch me very soon.” The veteran driver went on to explain that “when I have grip, I am ok, but when it is slippery, I am too old for that.” On the very next stage, Rejean lost control of the car and slid off the road in a muddy section, ending his rally there.

Simon Losier never made it to the start of today’s action. A failing clutch could not be repaired and Simon traded his racing suit for a pair of jeans and got out to spectate instead.

Two stages later – second runs through Thynne Mountain and Brook Creek – and teams began to arrive at the service park in Merritt. Relief was written across the face of Antoine L’Estage.

“We worked really hard on those last stages, and I am really happy we made it to service. We lost time, but the crew have the parts and are ready to repair the diff, so it’s ok,” said Antoine.

Pat Richard was busy gaining time and positions, working his way back up the order. “It’s gonna be a squeaker still, and will come down to the last two stages.” Co-Driver Alan Ockwell was busy comparing times with other teams to try to determine Richards progress.

Norm LeBlanc had by now moved into second place, and only needed to stay conservative to make it to the finish. Scott Trinder had been sitting in third, when on the second pass through the Active Mountain Spectator stage, Trinder damaged the rear strut tower on the car, and opted to retire, rather than risk a more catastrophic failure.

Gord Olsen and Zebe Szewczyk had been running consistently all day, and had moved into second and third respectively. For both teams, these positions, if they could be held, would repeat the finish at the Rocky Mountain Rally in May of this year. Szewczyk was busy trying to adapt to a new dogbox he had purchased for the car, and felt he was still trying to learn to drive.

Eric Grochowski and Leanne Junnila were pushing hard in their Group 2 VW Golf. The pair were hoping to make up time on Kris Schofield, their main rivals in the regional Group 2 championship. Both teams had been fast yesterday, and started today only two seconds apart.

“We got a flat on the last stage, maybe two kilometres from the finish and drove it out. I know we lost a lot of time, so we’ll have to see how Kris drove.” said Grochowski.

Schofield took some time to arrive at the time control, and on arriving, his car had mud all over it, as did Kris’ driving suit.

“My co-driver got lost in the notes, and what should have been a right two was called as a right six. We were in third gear at seven grand. It didn’t work.” The pair got high centred off the road and lost over ten minutes before getting back out. “At least the car drives straight.”

Heading into the Active Mountain spectator stage, it became immediately apparent that there were problems for the lead car of Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard. The pair arrived to the stage start well behind their check in time, running the spectator stage once before being able to offer an explanation.

“We were nineteen minutes late checking out of service, and took 190 seconds in penalties, so now we’re almost fifty seconds behind Norm LeBlanc,” started Nathalie. Antoine continued, “We had to replace a shaft in the transfer case, so we put it in the spare case, but for some reason the spare case didn’t fit in the car, so we had to rebuild the broken one. It should have been simple, but it just didn’t go well.”

A rally the pair had lead from the first day was suddenly in jeopardy, but the car seemed to be functioning fine again, so the pair would just have to carve back time over the remaining four stages.

Following the Active Mountain stages, things took a turn for the better for Antoine and Nathalie, when Norm LeBlanc suffered a transmission failure. That put the Hyundai crew back at the top of the order with a one minute lead over Gord Olsen and Todd Patola.

Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell had worked their way back up the order, and were sitting a little under two minutes behind the third place Zebe Szewczyk. Though they had by that point moved up high enough to secure the championship, Pat was blunt about what came next.

“We’re here, so we might as well give’r”

From this last service, teams left for two passes of the legendary Helmer Lake stage. Earlier in the day, Helmer is where Pat Richard had said he would make up time on the competition.

For L’Estage, who was still in a healthy lead, the goal was to drive safe to ensure the win. He kept it textbook, showing why he is the two time defending champion, and said there was absolutely no drama – a welcome change for the crew.

Next on the road was the Subaru Rally Team Canada pairing of Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell.

“I had a rough time on this stage,” said Pat, creeping the car forward to keep the red hot brakes from seizing up.

Craig Henderson, who had retired last night after ripping most of the wiring harness out of his car, had rejoined the action in the regional rally after his crew spent most of the night rewiring the Subaru.

“We’ve had some dust here, but not too bad, and we’ve been having a great day so far, it’s good to be running,” said Henderson.

Zebe, who was in third overall came through the finish control, happy with his time, but certain it wouldn’t be enough to keep Richard at bay. In comparing the times, Richard had taken approximately a minute and a half out of Zebe on the first pass at Helmer, making a podium finish for the Subaru factory driver almost a given.

After the second pass of Helmer, teams only had to return to Merritt for Parc Ferme and the podium.

At the end, Craig Henderson took top honours in the regional event, followed by Gord Olsen and Zebe Szewczyk.

Nationally, Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard won the event.

“We’re very happy. Pat has the championship, but this is very good for us for the North American Rally Cup. Also now it will be great to have a full on fight with Pat at Tall Pines.” said Antoine.

Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell finished third, behind Gord Olsen in second. The finish was more than enough to secure the 2008 Canadian Rally Championship for Richard and Ockwell.

“We made up huge time on Helmer, but it was really hard. There was a lot of dust on the second pass, and it would have been nice to have two minute windows, but we did what we needed to get to the podium. It’s great to have the championship, we’re really thrilled, and it’s awesome for Subaru.”

For Gord Olsen, this is a tie of his career best finish, and also pushes him into third place in the Canadian Rally Championship. “We’ve never been that high up in the standings, so that’s new for us.”

Warren Currie finished fourth overall, and took the top spot in Production 4, beating out Hardy Schmidtke. Eric Growchowski and Leanne Junnila won Group 2 and will head to the Kananaskis Rally to try to secure the Group 2 regional championship.

The Pacific Forest Rally also plays host to the PIAA Eco Challenge. A voluntary contest where top honours are given to the team that goes the fastest with the least fuel, this year, the award went to Jan and Jody Zedril in their Production 3 Mitsubishi Lancer.

The next event on the Canadian Rally Championship will also be the last for 2008. The Rally of the Tall Pines, held in Bancroft, Ontario takes place in late November, and this year both Ken Block and Travis Pastrana will be making the trip up. Block represents a strong challenge in the North American Rally Cup against Antoine L’Estage, so there is sure to be plenty of excitement. Be sure to check back to Flatovercrest.com in the coming weeks to see new coverage leading up to the Rally of the Tall Pines.

Friday’s stages at the 2008 running of the Pacific Forest Rally have wrapped up, though for some teams the day ended much earlier. Most crews have been able to make it through the rough stages.

Craig Henderson was third on the road from the start and then on the first pass of Princeton Cutoff, Henderson clipped a rock and flatted. The shredded tire cut through the fender liner and ripped the wiring harness apart, stopping the car dead.

Fellow Quebec driver and defending 2007 Canadian Rally Champion, Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard have had a much better event.

“We’re having a great event, and had a small lead over Pat. Then Pat had problems, so that is good for us.” L’Estage also commented that he was happy to have today’s stages over and done with. “There is no room for error and you have to be so careful, it’s good to have that part behind.”

That observation would be critical for Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell of Subaru Rally Team Canada. The two hit the same rock that claimed the Henderson car, and also flatted. The tire shredded off the rim and wrapped around the front driveshaft. When they stopped to change the tire, the rubber was so tightly wound that it took them ten minutes to change the tire. In doing so, the pair also discovered that the damage had gone further, bending the control arm, and damaging the front diff.

Moving up the order are Norm LeBlanc and Gord Olsen. LeBlanc has had a largely trouble-free run. He is having to hold his shifter linkage to keep it from popping out of place. Olsen was smiling, enjoying the trying conditions as much as he was amazed at the rough nature of the roads.

“There are rocks the size of helmets out there, and you just have to try to steer clear. I hit one like that at Defi and it lifted the whole car off the ground!” Olsen has kept it clean here so far, and is looking forward to the action tomorrow.

Both Rejean and Simon Losier are at this event for the first time. The recce schedule meant that teams had to write notes for Princeton Cutoff in the dark, and this evening it was the same conditions in which teams had to try to go full out.

“Well, really, we didn’t go so hard,” started Simon Losier. “We flatted at the start of Princeton and so we just went slow. People say Defi is rough, but it’s not like this, Defi is much better.”

Simon explained how after slowing down he had pulled over to let his father, Rejean, pull past, but Rejean had been forced to stop because of the dusty conditions, and remained behind.

Battling for the Group 2 Western title, Eric Grochowski and Leanne Junnila were seemingly haunted by the troubles that struck at Defi last month.

“We had fuel pump issues at Defi, and in troubleshooting it, I replaced the fuse, but I guess I didn’t really put it in properly. On Comstock today, We went through the rough hairpin and it knocked loose. We literally coasted all the way down the hill, just past the finish boards and spent a bunch of time after the control trying to figure it out.” A big jump over a cattle guard also brought the team a bent tie rod.

Kris Schofield is the driver Grochowski has to worry about in Group 2, and Schofield has had his own share of troubles. “We bent a driveshaft on the first stage, and flattened our exhaust. We have parts coming from Vancouver tonight, and we should have them by midnight. It’s an easy fix so we’ll be good for tomorrow.

Hardy Schmitdke and Adam Vokes are running their sixth event and have been quite quick in their career so far, contesting the Production 4 class against Warren Currie of Edmonton, Alberta. Schmitdke suffered some damage to a front strut and has been dealing with handling issues as a result, but will be able to make repairs overnight.

Tomorrow teams head out for the remaining 100+ kms of stages, ending the day with two passes of the Helmer Lake stage. The weather has been mixed, and the forecast tomorrow suggests more of the same. L’Estage is in a comfortable lead with over two minutes on Norm LeBlanc, with Scott and Robert Trinder in third overall. Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell lost over ten minutes and sit in last place at the end of today’s action. There is no doubt he’ll make up significant time tomorrow, but whether it will be enough to secure the championship remains to be seen.

Check in tomorrow for all the action from day two of the Pacific Forest Rally in Merritt, British Columbia.

Flatovercrest.com has arrived in Merritt, BC for round five of the Canadian Rally Championship, the Pacific Forest Rally. First run in 2002, the rally takes place throughout the Nicola Valley and is run over two days. Twenty five cars have arrived in town ready to take on the mountain stages.

“It’s my first time to this rally, and the roads are amazing,” said Simon Losier. “We did have to do some of the recce at night, and that was very difficult, but we’re looking forward to the stages.” Losier is currently the top ranked Mitsubishi and his closest three competitors are all absent from this event. Whatever points Losier can find here will extend his lead in the Mitsubishi Cup, a championship open to all Mitsubishi drivers with a cash prize at the end of the season.

Pat Richard and Antoine L’Estage are both on hand. A strong finish by Pat secures the Canadian Rally Championship, but Antoine knows that any mistake by Pat represents an opportunity for L’Estage. “This event has been very good for me in the past, and I hope we can continue that this year,” says L’Estage.

Mitsubishi driver Andrew Comrie-Picard has opted to skip PFR in favour of running the final round of the Rally America series in Michigan, Lake Superior Performance Rally.

Gord Olsen and Norm LeBlanc will also be battling it out in Open class, both in Rocket Rally prepared Subaru Imprezas. Eric Grochowski and Leanne Junnila are hoping to secure the national championship for Group 2 in their VW GTI. The two had hoped to lock up the title last month at the Rallye Defi 2008, but suffered numerous mechanical problems all culminating in a DNF.

Jan and Jody Zedril are here in their Production 3 Lancer Evolution. The two are 2007 and 2008 class champions both in the Rally America Championship, and the North American Rally Championship. Despite their successes, they have yet to secure a Canadian title and last year rolled on the Active Mountain stage.

Pacific Forest Rally is also a unique event on the Canadian Rally Championship for it’s inclusion of the PIAA Eco Challenge. A voluntary competition open to all teams, the challenge monitors fuel usage by teams and rewards the crew who goes the fastest with the least amount of fuel.

The weather in Merritt has cleared after a rainy morning. The forecast remains positive, calling for sun tomorrow. Stages start tonight and include the infamous Princeton Cutoff stage. Not always popular with the drivers, the stage features deep ruts and large Cliffside exposures as it winds along the side of the mountain. At the end of the night, teams will run two passes on the Railyard Mall Super Special, right in the middle of Merritt.