Watching Crazy Leo Urlichich pull into service at the 2012 Rally Perce Neige, it was immediately obvious he and co-driver Carl Williamson had a story.

The back of their Subaru STI, dubbed “The Beast,” was heavily damaged, or at least is appeared to be, the hood and wing and rear bumper smashed. However, all of the most important parts were relatively untouched.

The crash that caused the damage was soon visible on youtube, thanks to a fan who had been filming at the corner.

But it was an edited video that Crazy Leo had done, including the in car and official footage from the event that has spread across the internet, well beyond the typical rally community. The video now has over one million hits, achieved in under the first two weeks of having been posted.

We caught up with Crazy Leo to get his take on the success of his latest video.

“So far we’ve done recaps from events,” said Leo, of the videos he’s released so far. “But we haven’t shot a proper video yet.”

American Rally driver Ken Block has built the archetype when it comes to online video success, both in and outside rally, and of course there’s a big difference between Leo’s crash video and Ken’s Gymkhana videos.

“Of course we didn’t plan to crash,” said Leo. “We hadn’t yet had an awesome idea, and we don’t want to just copy Ken Block. There’s a huge difference between doing something for rally fans, and doing something for a bigger audience.”

With the recap videos, Leo has had a good reception in the rally community, and is thrilled at all the comments and interaction he gets. He and Williamson have discussed how they might be able to make a broader impression, but without crashing.

“We’ve discussed how to shoot something cool. We’ve even scripted stuff,” said Leo, who let fans know he’s got a new car in the works this year, a newer style STI sedan, to be debuted sometime this fall.

While fans wait to see more of Crazy Leo in Canada, they can check out his next recap video, for the 100 Acre Wood Rally, which will release this Wednesday, May 2, 2012, or get out to the Oregon Trail Rally this coming weekend.

And of course, if you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the video.

As fans checked in and began asking questions, Leo did his best to answer, taking time to address as many fans as possible. From how he got started in rallying, to what colour he should paint his rallycar, known as the Beast – Lime Green and Orange are leading the way – Crazy Leo also wanted to tell people about his plans for this year.

“Before talking about a new co-driver, I have to say which events we are going to do next. Next one is Rally Tennessee and Rocky Mountain Rally after that,” said Leo, going on to add that “almost likely will to the STPR and Maine, can’t wait for those!!”

Hoping to draw out the tension even further, Leo teased that he was gaining the attention not just of local cops – his ongoing twitter joke – but of those from across the pond as well.

For Rally Tennessee, Leo’s first foray into tarmac rallying, he’ll be co-driven by Karen Alexander Jankowski (nee Wagner) of California. The two will test together before the rally, and Karen has the advantage of having co-driven at Targa Newfoundland, so hopes to bring her tarmac experience to bear in Tennessee, where she won last year.

“Every driver is so different….the good news is I already know Leo and the rally,” said Jankowski. “Leo and I will tackle Rally Tennesee first and then decide from there.”

But that wasn’t all, as Leo also plans to try competing with Irish co-driver Martin Brady, a veteran of the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution championship, and a veteran of the Dublin police force.

“I look forward to a test with Leo first and let’s see if he can understand the Irish accent first and then we can plan many more miles,” said Brady, who signed on well after midnight from home to take part in the chat. “I would love to tackle the CRC events as Canada is one place I have never been. I watch over and over the TSN coverage on my iPad and I love the look of the rallies, especially (Perce Neige)”

Brady even offered to call notes in Russian if that would help Leo.

“I called notes in Norwegian and I wrote V on my left hand for Venstre and H on my right hand for Haireh and that kept me focused and it worked ok.”

So what’s next for Leo? f you have questions, Leo is still taking them. Head on over to his website to find out more or read through the chat if you weren’t able to join.

“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.”

The final event of the 2010 Canadian Rally Championship, L’Estage also comes in the points leader, but with a slim two point margin. If he can secure the Canadian title, he will be the second driver ever to achieve the triple crown, after Pat Richard. Nathalie Richard is the only co-driver ever to accomplish the feat and is hoping to earn her second triple crown.

L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard know that any mistake here could cost them not only the event win, but also the title. Last year, mechanical problems did just that, a failure in the clutch system sidelining the team on the final stage, costing the event win, as well as both the Canadian and North American titles. The Rockstar team has gone to great lengths to ensure nothing like that happens again.

“The car is great, very strong really well prepared for the event,” said L’Estage during shakedown. “Still, being first on the road tomorrow can make things difficult depending on conditions. If we have to brush snow off the surface it’s going to make things slow.”

L’Estage’s chief rival all year has been Pat Richard of Subaru Rally Team Canada, who is defending back to back Canadian Rally Championship titles. Richard is second in the points and needs to beat L’Estage to take his third consecutive title.

“The biggest advantage to starting third on the road tomorrow is that Antoine will find the ice for us,” said Richard. “We’re behind Craig and his lines aren’t great for us, so that won’t be a big advantage, but that will all change with the first reseed.”

Richard is free to push a little harder for the driver’s title after bringing on a teammate for Tall Pines. Martin Rowe, 2003 Production WRC Champion, is driving the second Subaru Rally Team Canada car with a clear mandate to bring home the manufacturer’s title.

“Pat and I know each other from our time in the PWRC, and have stayed in touch. He called me a few weeks ago, and asked if I could drive. It’s been a lot to learn, but things are going well. The car has been really well developed by Pat and we did some testing last week,” said Rowe, following shakedown.  “The roads here are so varied, it’s going to be really interesting. Some are fast and flowing like Finland, while others get very technical. Doing notes is a bit of a challenge. It has relit something inside of me to be driving again.”

There’s plenty of other teams to watch during the rally tomorrow. “Crazy” Leo Urlichich is gunning for another podium finish, but before doing that, he took some time to support local charities in Bancroft by auctioning off two rides on the shakedown stage.

Raising $805 for the Bancroft sled dog races, Leo is excited at the prospect of doing more of these sorts of programs in the future. Tall Pines has worked to contribute to the Bancroft area by making donations to local charities and will continue to do so with another announcement made tomorrow.

Recently, Flatovercrest.com reported that Peter Kocandrle would be driving the open class Hotbits VW Golf at Tall Pines. After the shakedown session the young driver was all smiles at how things had gone.

“The car had a few issues, but we’ve gotten them out of the way, and things should go really well tomorrow,” said Robin Fleguel, who helped bring the deal together to back Kocandrle. Fans will recall the diminutive Suzuki Swift that Peter has driven in the past, this time in the hands of Lance Webb, a newcomer to the sport.

As always, tires will play a critical role in how the event plays out. Conditions today were mixed, with plenty of grip in some sections while some were iced over, and even others were soaking wet, or covered in soft dirt. No one is willing to make any call on tires until they see what conditions are like in the morning.

The 40^th edition of the Rally of the Tall Pines starts tomorrow at 9am, kicking off on the Old Hastings stages. It is also a special weekend for the Sweep Crew, who are participating in their 100^th rally, evidence of their massive commitment and dedication to the sport.

We’ll be keeping you updated throughout the day will everything that is going on here in Bancroft from the 2010 Rally of the Tall Pines.