Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell
commandeered a lead of over five minutes heading into the final
stages of the 2008 Rally of the Tall Pines. In an event that has
punished many, even those still in the hunt had to fight to make it
to the end.

The Lower Hastings stage garnered
notoriety three years ago when it was run as the very first stage of
the rally. That year, the 14 jumps spread over it's length helped in
claiming over a dozen competitors on the first pass. Since then,
crews have known the threat that particular stage presents.

“It's a really rough stage in there
with those jumps. It's still dangerous, so we're going to slow down a
bit now.” said Pat Richard.

Craig Henderson had complained earlier
in the day about feeling a little sick to his stomach. Coming in for
the third service, and Craig couldn't even comment on how he felt.
Co-driver Lynn Murphy explained how things were going.

“Craig is very sick, and we had to
stop on stage for him to be sick. We will try to continue and see if
we can finish, even if only in third or fourth.”

Andrew Comrie-Picard has been well down
the order ever since he had an off this morning, and has spent the
rest of the rally working to develop the new Mitsubishi EVO X.

“I'd be surprised if we're in the top
ten,” said ACP, correctly. “Still, we're learning a lot and the
car is getting better and better.”

Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard
ended their rally and season earlier than they had hoped.

“We sheared off our wheel studs on
one wheel. It was just like Calgary, so that's it.” said Antoine. A
disappointing ending to a season that has failed to live up to
expectations. “It's good we won the North American Rally Cup, but
it would be nice to have had a good finish here.”

Nick Mathew had been holding third
place through most of the day until dropping down to fourth behind
Irishman Seamus Burke. This is Nick's first run at Tall Pines and it
hasn't been a clean run for he and co-driver – his sister Kelly.
The two slid wide at one point and struck a few trees. Thankfully,
damage was cosmetic and the pair have been continuing to set fast
times through the day.

“When we started today, I had no idea
we'd be where we are. I like driving at night, and I find it easier
to stay focused, so we'll see how these last few stages go.” said
Nick Mathew.

Peter Kocandrle and Jimmy Brandt have
been flying all day, and were sitting in the top ten heading into the
final three stages. The pair were within striking distance of Randy
Zimmer and Dave Shindle.

Dave Mirra and Lance Smith were forced
to retire after a particularly rough run through the Lower Hastings
stage. Up to that point, the pair had been running consistently, with
Mirra really enjoying the conditions and variability of the event.

“It's just awesome how the conditions
always change. I don't really like the super tight technical stuff,
but there's such a mix here, it's amazing.” said Mirra.

Heading into the darkness, the crews
all took to the Super Special stage, new this year. Short, but smooth
and fast, fans got a good chance to watch the cars at full chat.
Following those two short stages, there was one more service before
the final three treacherous stages. Tall Pines was not done dishing
out punishment just yet.

Over the final few stages, the R32 of
Peter Reilly and Ray Felice left the road, forcing the retirement of
the experienced crew in their new car.

Teams returned to service and the final
Parc Ferme of the year, to await the podiums. As the scores were
tabulated, the results came clear. Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell had
built on their massive lead to finish first overall, closing out the
year with a final win – something Pat has never managed to do at
Tall Pines.

“It's a really fantastic finish,
after such a tricky event. This finish is a great way to lead into
next year.” said Pat Richard.

Craig Henderson had battled through his
earlier illness to finish up second overall. The result meant a lot
in the bigger picture as well.

“We wanted to finish this high
because it means we've finished the season third in the Canadian
Rally Championship, and we've also won the Subaru contingency
program.” said the pleased Henderson.

Third place went to Irishman Seamus
Burke. Visiting from Georgia, USA, Burke has landed a podium finish
on his first visit to Tall Pines. Though short on comments, he was
clearly happy with the result.

“Tall Pines is a great event with
some great competition. There are lots of gotchas on these roads, so
you really need to be careful,” explained Burke. Seamus had driven
with a cool calm maturity and was rewarded as other competitors fell
away through the event.

Perhaps one of the most exciting
stories of the event belongs to Nick and Kelly Mathew. 2008 marks
Nick's first run at Tall Pines, and Kelly's second. The pair have
been blazing fast this season, but have punctuated various events
with retirements. As the sun set over Bancroft today, the question
remained as to whether Nick could maintain his composure and position
through the final stages. Watching the pair pull into the final time
control, the result was clear, they had finished fourth overall, and
second place in the regional podium.

“We're very very very happy,”
smiled Nick Mathew. “It's way better than we could have hoped for
at the start of the event. It's just a fantastic finish.”

Rounding out the top five was Martin
and Patrick Losier in fifth. Further down the order, and the highest
finishing two wheel drive car was Peter Kocandrle and Jimmy Brandt.
The pair wrapped up the day in eighth place in their diminutive
Suzuki Swift Group Two car. It should also be noted that they were
the first non open class car, beating out many open and all wheel
drive cars.

To describe how cold this Tall Pines
has been, Seamus Burke complained on the podium that he couldn't open
his bottle of champagne. The problem – the bottle had frozen shut!

Flatovercrest.com was pleased to bring
you the 2008 Canadian Rally Championship. We've had a great year and
are certain 2009 will be a thrilling one for rally fans.

Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell have
claimed a massive lead over the early stages of the 2008 Rally of the
Tall Pines. Their biggest competition, in the form of Antoine
L'Estage in his Hyundai Tiburon and Ken Block of the Subaru Rally
Team USA, both suffered problems in the early stages.

At the Parc Expose this morning,
spirits were high, and Ken Block was very open about his feelings
towards the rally.

“I'm feeling really confident, and
the car is great. I've had a rough time at Tall Pines and this time I
am ready to finish and do it all,” said Ken. Despite this attitude,
Ken knew he would need to push in order to beat Antoine for the North
American Rally Cup.

The first stage was blazing fast, and
Antoine, Ken and Pat tied to the second. Each would need to find a
little bit more to best their opponents. That little bit more would
end in problems for two of the three.

On the second stage Ken Block and
co-driver Alex Gelsomino drove off into the trees and broke the rear
suspension. They were able to continue but shortly after slid wide,
broke the front suspension and slid off the road, his rally ended.

Antoine L'Estage was also a victim of
the second stage, the legendary Peanut. He flatted a tire on the
rough and tight section of the stage and lost over three minutes. The
conditions have been very hard on tires and each team running the mix
condition winter rally tires were suffering extreme wear on the
frozen gravel and sand roads.

Andrew Comrie-Picard and Chrissie
Beavis are in the brand new Mitsubishi EVO X. The pair have been
battling some brake issues and spent a little time off the road,
dropping down the order. “On throttle the car is great, but we're
fighting rear brake bias problems. We've adjusted everything, even
removed the swaybar, but nothing's really solving it.”

For Dave Mirra, who had his rally debut
at Tall Pines one year ago this is an anniversary of sorts. “This
event is just so amazing, with constantly changing conditions, it's
just awesome.” Mirra is being co-driven by Vermont SportsCar owner
Lance Smith. Smith offered an observation on the tire wear being
experienced higher up the order.

“The tires they use have very few
treadblocks, but the whole weight is still on the tire, so the wear
is concentrated on these few blocks, like pinpoints.” Mirra and
Smith have been running on more conventional ice tires, with a much
larger contact patch and far less wear.

Rejean Losier has retired from the
event after a big roll ending roof down in water. Both driver and
co-driver escaped unharmed, but the event is over. John Vanos has
also retired from the event. Co-driver Ryan Huber started getting
sick, and could no longer read notes. Vanos also had problems with a
brake pedal sticking and eventually lost a few lugnuts. On closer
inspection, the wheel studs had started to fail, so the crew parked
the car.

Peter Reilly is having a great event,
debuting his new R32 VW Golf. “The long wheel base is much more
stable and smooth than the old car, and the power is definitely in
the back.”

Teams are leaving from the second
service of the day, with Antoine a minute and a half behind second
place. While it's likely he will make that time up, there is no way
he'll catch Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell, who sit over five minutes
ahead, unless that pair suffer problems.

We're heading back out to the stages to
get more of the action from the 2008 Rally of the Tall Pines.

“I've only had four hours of sleep,
and I was feeling like crap yesterday, so this isn't exactly the best
conditions for this.” These are the words out of Ken Block as we're
on our way for a ride on the shakedown stage. It's about ten degrees
below zero, and we're riding on gravel tires. It's not very
confidence inspiring.

Last year, Alan Ockwell sat in with Ken
Block to help guide him through the shakedown stage, and told me that
Ken was perhaps the most committed driver he'd ever co-driven with
before. This was going to be a treat. Despite the conditions, the
tires were actually a good choice, as the surface of the stage was
like sandpaper. As the marshal counted us down at the start line, the
car bounced off the launch control, ready to go.

We pounced forward from the line,
diving into the first corner. Ken, who'd said he was only going to
drive at about seven tenths, was already driving hard, and his
commitment was plain to see. We launched over the first jump, totally
airborne, and practically catapulted over the second. We barreled
towards a left three at the end of the straight, Ken with the car
sideways, just waiting for the corner to catch up.

We got to the end of the stage almost
before I knew it, and the ride was done. It was easily one of the
most exhilarating rides on that stage I'd ever had, and the list
includes rides with Frank Sprongl and Tom McGeer. For Rally Radio
host Erik Ockwell, it was his first ride in a fully prepped, top end
car.

Here are Erik's thoughts on a ride with
2008 Canadian Rally Champion, Subaru Rally Team Canada driver Pat
Richard.

Despite my 25 years of rally
experience, I've never ridden in a top spec rally car. That's right,
I'm a noob. Never caught air, never heard anti-lag from the inside,
rarely witnessed proper left foot braking. Vanos is pretty good, so
he's excluded, but nothing else compares.

After getting my belts adjusted, (Alan
may be a bit smaller than me, who knew?), we rolled out of service.
Chatting on the way, Pat mentioned that he was on gravel tires, not
the ice tires that were the correct ones for the conditions, so the
experience would be lame. I can tell you, it was not lame. It was
awesome.

As we were about to take off, Pat
showed me how to start the timer on the Coralba rally computer/tons
of buttons that make no sense. He said to start it when we took off,
and stop it at the finish. I figured I'd be too terrified to hit the
stop button at the end, but I kept that to myself. Start button
pressed, we were off. I wish I could tell you about his expertise in
weight transfer, correct damper settings and diff mapping, but it
was over before I knew it. And who'd of thought, I actually hit the
stop button.

We slid, we locked up the tires (gravel
tires suck on frozen surfaces, remember), we drifted, we accelerated.
And we jumped. After hearing me exhale on the landing of a jump that
was a good 3 feet off the ground, he said “Are you okay?” I said
“Yeah man, I wanna go higher”.

I have a new respect for how much my
brother has to cope with in that car. All we see on TV is him
talking, as trees blur by, but you don't realize the forces acting
upon him as he tries to read the pace notes. Think of it as trying to
read your favorite book while on a roller coaster. Alan is my hero.
And Pat is awe-inspiring. To control that beast on the wrong tires,
on frozen roads, in the dark takes a pretty amazing skill. And I
leave impressed, not terrified. These dudes know what's up.

The stage is set for the final round of
the Canadian Rally Championship – the Rally of the Tall Pines. The
teams have been out on their recce passes and are due into the
service area any moment. Cold temperatures in the Bancroft, Ontario
area mean that roads are frozen, some consisting of frozen gravel,
others covered in ice and snow. The 2008 edition of Tall Pines is
living up to its reputation of a rally with winter roads and summer
ditches!

“I think there will lots of crashes
tomorrow,” offered John Vanos, sixth on the road at the start
tomorrow. “the forest stages are all snow covered and after a
couple of passes, they'll be all ice.”

“It will be tricky for tire choice,”
explained Antoine L'Estage. “Conditions are always changing, some
gravel, some ice and snow, so your driving always has to change.”

Light snow outside has given way to
sunshine and clear conditions. The current weather conditions are
expected to hold tomorrow, but the sun won't be enough to raise temps
above a forecasted five degrees below zero. This will keep the road
surface hard, and perhaps help to ease the usual uncertainty of tire
choice at this landmark event.

While the Canadian Rally Championship
was won at the Pacific Forest Rally last month by Pat Richard and
Alan Ockwell of Subaru Canada, the North American Rally Cup is coming
down to the wire here at Tall Pines. Ken Block and Antoine L'Estage
are neck and neck in the points standings for the North American
Rally Cup and will be battling tomorrow not only for a top result
here, but also the North American title.

“Antoine has done really well at Tall
Pines, and I have only ever failed,” said Ken Block of the Subaru
Rally Team USA. Block has done over fifty rallies over the last few
years, and is well aware of the challenges this rally presents. “Tall
Pines is probably the most technical rally in North America.” With
over forty competitors due to start tomorrow, teams will all discover
how technical this rally is.

Before drivers left for recce today,
CARS representatives made some unofficial announcements. Next year,
crews will be required to use SFI/FIA rated seats and seat belts in
their cars. Each will be date checked, and this will also mean no OEM
seats will be allowed. To increase safety further, use of a HANS
device will be mandatory. Door numbers will also be changed to a
smaller horizontal format, much like the ones used in the WRC.

In addition, the Canadian Rally
Championship will be getting more exposure. The entire 2008 and 2009
Canadian seasons have been picked up by a European motorsport program
and will be aired throughout Europe.

Finally, beginning next year, the
Production One, Two and Three classes will be merged into one, and
there will be the addition of a Two Wheel Drive championship.

Flatovercrest.com is live from Bancroft
with all the news from the 2008 Rally of the Tall Pines. We'll be
bringing you all the news from this years event, as it happens!

Four years ago, a brand new driver
arrived at the Rally of the Tall Pines for his rally debut. After an
off road excursion that ended his event, the driver left Bancroft and
didn't return until 2007. In the years between events, that driver
went from an unknown to one of the top names in North American rally.

Ken Block has been a fan of rallying
since first seeing it as a kid. The experience galvanized his
interest in the sport and set the stage for the development of his unique rally career.

“I remember seeing rally on TV and
being amazed by how fast they would go, flat out over fast roads.
That's what has been ingrained in me,” explained Block. The Subaru
Rally Team USA driver is known for his flat out speed. Excelling on
fast, open courses, Ken has worked this style to win some of the
fastest rallies in North America, including the 100 Acre Wood three
years in a row.

Since getting started at Tall Pines in
2004, Block has run over fifty rallies, including select WRC events
and other international events in New Zealand and the UK and Mexico.

“I love driving rally cars, I mean, I
just love it! I love being in the rally car. I just show up to win,
not just podium. I want to be at the top.”

While Block has proved to be amazingly
fast, he has never won an outright championship. That could all
change this weekend at the Rally of the Tall Pines, where Ken Block
and Antoine L'Estage are vying for the North American Rally Cup.

“It's all about the battle with
Antoine, the challenge,” says Block. “Antoine has had great
success at Pines, and I have only failed there. It's probably the
most technical rally in North America.”

Block has been working hard to become a
better driver, developing his driving technique as well as the
supporting skills of writing pacenotes and learning how to recce. He
has traveled to events in New Zealand, Mexico and Great Britain to
gain experience in these areas. He has also come north of the border,
most recently for Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs in June where he won the
event. Ken has done almost every rally with co-driver Alex Gelsomino,
and the pair have a great relationship in the car.

“Two pass recce is the biggest
challenge for me, because I don't have much chance to do that in the
US. Really, the understanding of the road is the difference between a
good driver and a great driver.”

While in New Zealand in 2007, Block
took his rally car to Snow Park, a massive snowboard park where he
sessioned the jumps and slopes alongside DC sponsored athletes. Block
has also pushed the limits of what a rally car can do, jumping 171
feet for a the Stunt Junkies TV show and most recently performing a
simultaneous double jump with teammate Travis Pastrana backflipping
over his Subaru. Gymkhana is his latest interest – a sport requiring
the utmost in car control. To see what Ken can do, just check out his
latest video below!

Ken Block is also one of the brains
behind the DC Shoe Company. A huge brand in extreme sports, the brand
covers skateboarding, snowboarding as well as lifestyle and
motorsport. A co-founder and now Chief Brand Officer, Block has
played a role in the creation and growth of the company since day
one. Working to make sure that the design and marketing of their
products fits their target audience, Ken knows a thing or two about
how to build a brand. So for a guy who has this sort of
understanding, one might wonder what rallying in North America needs
to do to continue it's growth.

“I get asked that a lot,” laughs
Block, “but there's no magic crystal ball for that. In North
America, stadium sports seem to do really well. Just look at
football, basketball or NASCAR. For rallying, which isn't a stadium
sport, a quality TV show is critical. Rallying is a very unique,
youthful, touchable sport.”

Block has also had some great success
in the stadium format of rally held each year at X Games. Asked if
this could be the future of the sport to make it more accessible for
North American audiences, he replies, “It's an interesting idea,
but I am in rally because I want to drive two hours each weekend, not
one minute. Still, a few of those events as part of a bigger series
could make things pretty interesting. The X Games event is great
exposure for the sport and for sponsors of the sport.”

It was at X Games 2006 that Ken Block
first met the late Colin McRae. The two battled in 2007, with Block
beating out the former world champion.

“That was one of my favourite rally
memories, going head to head with McRae, and pressuring him into a
roll.”

A little over a year later, in
September of 2008, Block and co-driver Alex Gelsomino crossed the
Atlantic to participate in the Colin McRae Forest Stages rally. A
who's who in world rallying was on hand to run the event in tribute
to McRae. Block joined many of the others who had chosen historic
vehicles, and entered a Ford Escort. He had no time to test the car
before the event, only getting a couple rides in similar cars.

“I got a ride with one of Colin's
best friends in a open class Escort, so it had a bigger engine and
better brakes and suspension,” started Block. “We were flying,
and I was scared. I just couldn't believe how fast we were going, I
couldn't understand it. Afterwards, I went for a ride in a historic
Escort, driven by Alistair McRae. It took a lot more finesse, but was
still really fast. It's amazing to see the skills, I can't even
fathom it.”

When it came time to drive one of these
cars, Block got off to a rough start, rolling the car before the
start of the event, and then suffering problems throughout the rest
of the rally.

“I'd really like to go back and do
well at that event. This time, I really sucked,” laughed Block. “I
still had a smile ear to ear through the event!”

Looking into the future, Block hopes he
and Gelsomino can continue to improve and become even more dominant. 

“Continuing to learn and develop as a
driver is a really fun process for me. My goal is very personal –
to be the best rally driver I can be. It's one of the best motorsport
skills in the world.”

But first, Block is hoping his skills
have developed enough that he can beat out his competition at the
Rally of the Tall Pines and win the North American Rally Cup. One
thing is certain, Ken Block will be pushing all the way.