RDS (French) – December 13th 19:00
TSN (English) – December 19th at Noon (Check local listings to confirm)

To tide you over until then, check out this awesome bumper cam shot of ACP blitzing SS01 Upper Old Hastings at last weekend’s Rally of the Tall Pines! Thanks TV2GO!

After a day long battle, Pat Richard
and Alan Ockwell of Subaru Rally Team Canada fought back following
transmission problems to win the 2009 Rally of the Tall Pines and
repeat as Canadian Rally Champions.

Before the final service, Richard had
problems that nearly cost him the rally.

“The gearbox stuck in fifth, and Alan
was running back to put out the triangle,” said Richard. “Then it
came unstuck and we could continue, but without fifth or sixth.”

The crew swapped in a standard synchro
gearbox, and the team left for the last four stages of the rally more
than a minute behind Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard.

“It’s a fantastic way to finish the
season,” said Pat Richard. “We were pushing hard and might have
caught Antoine, but we’ll never know.”

For L’Estage and Nathalie Richard, the
rally would be heartbreaking. The pair entered the final four stages
in the lead when partway through the second of the four stages,
L’Estage encountered a problem with the clutch.

“It was rock hard, there was no way
to work it,” said L’Estage. “It wasn’t a big deal on the stage
because we have a dogbox, but the transits and controls were almost
impossible.”

The transits would prove so impossible that L’Estage and Richard
were stranded on the start of the final stage, unable to get the
starter motor to pull the car into motion. The team lost significant
amounts of time, and finished the rally in fifth place after fighting
to make up time on the final Egan Creek stage.

The finish also meant that L’Estage
would be unable to retain his North American Rally Cup title, though
Nathalie had locked up that title at the Pacific Forest Rally.

“We get nothing,” said L’Estage.

Andrew Comrie-Picard and Jeremy Wimpey
pushed hard all day in their NOS Mitsubishi EVO X, and were rewarded
with a second place finish, enough to earn Comrie-Picard the North
American Rally Cup driver’s title.

“You know, we’re pushing really
hard,” said Comrie-Picard. “The handling is great, but we just
don’t have the power, and the car is a bit heavy. It’s been an
absolutely great day!”

Frank and Dan Sprongl were brought on
as hired guns for Subaru Rally Team Canada to help secure the
Canadian Rally Manufacturer’s Championship for the marque, and
finished third.

“We got a little bit quicker over the
last few stages,” said Frank. “Dan got up to speed really
quickly, and it was great because this is the first time we’ve been
in a car together since 2006.”

The top two wheel drive car was the VW
TDI Golf of Michael Hordijk and Jessie Amend, up from the U.S. The
pair have rallied in the states before, but made Tall Pines their
first Canadian rally together.

“I really like the roads, and
co-drove here once a few years ago,” said Hordijk. “We figured it
was time to give it a try.”

Martin Walter and Ferdinand
Trauttmansdorf were the top Canadian 2wd entry in their Nissan 240
SX.

We really had a tough time with some of
the rough stuff,” said Walter. “We had to reattach the guard over
our fuel tank, after it started to work loose.”

Jan and Jody Zedril pushed their
Mitsubishi Lancer hard in the two wheel drive class, almost past the
brink.

“It’s been a tough rally,” said
Jan. “We’ve just started to run out of luck with the car. The
suspension is shot and we had some electrical problem that killed all
power out on stage.”

The pair had been driving hard through
the morning, but lost significant time to their problems.

Peter Kocandrle and Jimmy Brandt had
put on a show here in 2008, were slower this year, largely owing to
the conditions.

“This car is all about momentum,”
said Brandt, pointing to the Suzuki Swift. “These conditions are
just so tough, and the car just bogs down in the soft stuff, there’s
nothing we can do.”

Chris Martin and Phil Narini were
hoping to seal up an Ontario Performance Rally Championship. Nagging
boost issues all day, and a tough time fighting the muddy ruts on
stage made it hard going for the team.

“We really got kicked around by this
event,” said Narini. “We just kept going though, and we’ve locked
up the title.”

Nick and Kelly Mathew had come to Pines
hoping to secure their Ontario Championship, but problems all day
eventually caused the team to park the car and retire.

“The car just kept overheating and
then cooling down,” said Nick. “We got through Middle Hastings,
but then the car just didn’t seem to want to make it. We managed to
start South Hastings, but it started to overheat again so we found a
driveway and parked it.”

]]> http://flatovercrest.com/2009/11/richard-and-ockwell-win-pines-crowned-champions/feed/ 1 http://flatovercrest.com/2009/11/rally-of-the-tall-pines-starts-tomorrow/ http://flatovercrest.com/2009/11/rally-of-the-tall-pines-starts-tomorrow/#comments Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:01:35 +0000 Dean http://flatovercrest.com/?p=9
The Rally of the Tall Pines starts
tomorrow in muddy conditions that have already proven a challenge to
competitors.

“We haven't seen conditions like this
in 20 years,” said Clerk of the Course, Ross Wood.

Mud on the stages slowed recce today,
and all crews reported that conditions were slippery.

“The guys will be up late cutting
tires tonight,” said Frank Sprongl, who along with his brother Dan
will be running a second car for the Subaru Rally Team Canada. The
Sprongls ran recce on Yokohama mud tires, which Frank said filled up
with mud very quickly, causing the car to slide over the top of the
road.

Teams had a chance to try the mud at
full rally pace during shakedown runs, when one crew fell victim to
the muddy conditions.

Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell had a soft
roll when slippery conditions bested the defending Canadian Rally
Champions.

“The car had just cosmetic damage,
nothing major at all,” said Ockwell.

Obviously frustrated with the off,
Richard explained that conditions were far more slippery than
anticipated. The Rocket Rally Subaru Rally Team Canada crew
immediately dove into action to repair the damage to the car and have
it ready for the morning.

Richard and Ockwell will need to go full tilt
tomorrow to hold off Antoine L'Estage and Nathalie Richard in the driver's championship.
L'Estage will win the title by finishing second tomorrow, even if
Richard wins the event. 

“We are ready to fight for the win,
and the car is perfect, ready to go,” said L'Estage.

Leo Urlichich and Martin Headland also had problems when their turbo caught fire. The flames were quickly extinguished, and the car was repaired. 

Stages start just after 9:00 am, when
51 cars will head out into the forest stages outside of Bancroft,
Ontario.

Subaru Canada has enlisted the six time Canadian and four time
North American rally champions to help secure the manufacturers title
for the 2009 Canadian Rally Championship. One Subaru needs to finish in the top three to secure the title for the brand.

“The
manufacturers title is our number one priority,” said Pat Richard. “We have to
approach this just like any other rally, and win again. Having Frank and Dan in the second car will force everyone to drive flat out."

A second Subaru factory car will also put added pressure on Antoine
L'Estage and Nathalie Richard in their battle for the 2009 Canadian
Rally Championship battle. 

The team presently has a lead over Pat Richard
and Alan Ockwell of
Subaru Rally Team Canada, and L'Estage can secure the title with a
second place finish at Tall Pines, even if Pat Richard wins the event.
However, should the Sprongls finish second behind Pat Richard, with
L'Estage finishing third, Richard and Ockwell will win the driver's
title.

"Yes, this could make things tougher for me," said L'Estage. "But I
know we can win and I really like that rally, we've won it three times,
so we will go flat out and beat them."

The Sprongls will be driving the Subaru Canada Targa Newfoundland Impreza STI, rebuilt in full gravel spec over the last week at Rocket Rally in Squamish, B.C.

Frank
and Dan flew to B.C. this weekend to test the car. It was the first
time for the pair to drive together since their crash at Susquehannock
Trail Performance Rally in 2006. Dan has co-driven one event last
season, for Peter Kocandrle. This will be his first time back in an
open class car.

"Dan is jumping in with both feet," said Frank Sprongl. "We haven't been in a car together since the crash."

The deal between SRTC and the Sprongls is currently only for the Rally of the Tall Pines.