Subaru Canada Rally Team driver Patrick Richard and his co-driver Alan Ockwell made an impressive start in their campaign to win their third consecutive Canadian Rally Championship, at the 2010 Rallye Perce Neige, held this past weekend near Maniwaki, QC, Canada. Overcoming an early deficit, the pair clearly demonstrated that they were the fastest team in the field, but an unknown mechanical issue on the events 9th stage forced the team to withdraw, meaning the defending Canadian champions failed to score any points at the first event of the 2010 championship season.

“We were running pretty strong, and we were getting ready to re-claim the lead,” explained co-driver Alan Ockwell, of Toronto, ON. “But on a road section we noticed an odd sound coming from the engine bay. Despite that, we started the stage, but when the warning lights came up on the instruments, we pulled over and that was that. We still dont know what caused the problem but the mechanics will be going over it when we get back.”

Despite retiring from the event, Richard and Ockwell both remained buoyant for the remainder of the season. Driving a Subaru Impreza STI prepared by Rocket Rally Racing, of Squamish, BC, the team was able to dramatically claw back an early deficit, putting on a great show for fans and specatators lining the ice covered roads. An off-road excursion on the first stage of the event saw the team momentarily lie in 50th position out of a total of 55 entires. Once repairs were effected, the team dominated the remainder of the event, winning every stage but one, and at times being nearly 2 seconds per kilometer faster than their nearest championship rivals. This raw demonstration of speed put the team firmly into a podium position and in contention for the lead of the event when they had their problem.

“As usual, if I put myself in a position where I need to respond with really fast times, its not a problem, but it puts a lot of stress on the equipment, and the co-driver,” joked four time Canadian Champion Patrick Richard. “Its too bad we couldn’t finish the event, as we had already reclaimed all of the time we had lost at the beginning, and we were having a lot of fun in the process.”

It was also a fantastic debut for the team’s new tire supplier, Yokohama Tire Canada. Having recently signed a deal with Yokohama to run ADVAN Motorsport tires for the entire 2010 Canadian Rally Championship, the driver was adamant that running their tires was the right choice. “In Canada, unlike in most other rally championships world-wide, drivers must compete on ice covered roads without using any studs, meaning tire choice and selection is critical. On the ice and snow, the Yokohama product clearly gave us an advantage over the rest of the field, and we wouldn’t have been the fastest car out there without them.”

Despite not scoring any points at this seasons’ opening event, the team’s primary championship rivals also did not fare very well, with the 2009 Championship runner up also failing to score points due to an off-road excursion. “With all the championship contenders falling to finish, the championship is basically going to re-start at the next rally, and with the speed we’ve shown we’re confident for the rest of the season.”

The next round of the 2010 Canadian Rally Championship will be the Rocky Mountain Rally, held in Calgary, AB. All events of the 2010 Canadian Rally Championship are televised nationally in English on TSN and TSN2, and in French on RDS. The Canadian Rally Championship is also internationally broadcast in Europe/Asia on MotorsTV, please check your local listings for details.

Rocket Rally Racing is based in Squamish, BC, Canada and operates the Subaru Rally Team Canada on behalf of Subaru Canada, with associate sponsors Yokohama Tire, Gulf Lubricants, Vision-X Lighting, Crawford Performance and ACT providing product support for the 2010 championship campaign.

Photo: Andrew Harvey / www.andrewharvey.ca

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BC based team overcomes adversity to claim 2009 Canadian Rally Championship title, and claim manufacturer’s championship for Subaru Canada

Subaru Rally Team Canada driver Patrick Richard and his co-driver Alan Ockwell are the new 2009 Canadian Rally Champions, by virtue of their win at the Rally of the Tall Pines held this past weekend near Bancroft, ON. Their top finish also secured the 2009 Canadian Rally Championship manufacturer’s title for Subaru Canada.

Their stunning victory marked the fourth win of the season for rally driver Patrick Richard, of Squamish, BC, and his co-driver Alan Ockwell, of Toronto, ON. As reigning 2008 Canadian Rally Champions, this is their second consecutive overall rally championship win driving their Subaru Impreza WRX STI.

“We came into this event knowing that we needed a win to claim the championship title,” explained Ockwell. “The heavy rain and muddy conditions ensured it was going to be a very tough event.” During the final practice before the rally start, the team snap rolled the car into a swamp on a slippery left hand corner, and the car was unable to drive under its own power. “After Friday night, we didn’t even know if we could make the start of the event, and winning the championship seemed far, far away.” A frantic battle ensued for the team’s service crew from Rocket Rally Racing in Squamish, BC. “After three hours of gruelling work by our crew, the car was ready to drive, and in fact it was almost impossible to tell that we had rolled it – a new windshield, hood, fenders, radiator, you name it, they fixed it.”

And fixed it they did. Richard went on to take the lead of the rally by the event’s second stage, ultimately winning 8 of the 15 individually timed stages.

“With no options for us except to win, and no second chances if we had crashed or broken, we made sure that we were going as fast as we needed to in order to stay in front,” said Richard. At the start of the event’s 10th stage, Richard and Ockwell had a 13 second lead over their second placed rival, and were looking firm for the win. “We didn’t have to push too hard, but we were slowly ratcheting up the pace, and by the ninth stage we were putting in about a second per kilometer on our main rivals. We were feeling confident about the win.”

But it all came apart on the 10th stage, where a transmission problem forced the team to first slow, then ultimately stop on the stage. “We lost about a minute on that stage, and with that, the championship faded before our eyes.”

The team’s BC based service crew sprung into action, and performed a miracle 17 minute transmission change which kept the pair in the rally. “Our crew was amazing. After staying up all night repairing the roll damage, they then came through with a 17 minute transmission change. Incredible.” Despite having a new transmission installed, it was in fact a standard, production gearbox. Richard and Ockwell’s other racing gearbox was installed in the team’s second car, which was being driven by six-time Canadian Champion Frank Sprongl, who was also entered into the event to secure manufacturer points for Subaru Canada. Sprongl went on to eventually finish third.

“We won every stage after the transmission swap, and had whittled down the time lost with the transmission problem to just 25 seconds, with one 25km stage to go. It was going to be an epic finish.” But alas, the team’s primary rivals had a clutch problem on the very last stage of the event, handing the event and the championship title to Richard and Ockwell.

“We had a roller coaster of an event. From the roll, to comfortably leading the event, to losing the lead – and the championship – with the transmission issue, to fighting back and leading it again. All this in a 24-hour period!”

After taking a two year hiatus from the sport, Richard is now a four-time Canadian Rally Champion (2002, 2004, 2008 and 2009) and is now poised to break the all-time championship record of six, jointly held by Frank Sprongl and Tom McGeer. Richard has also previously won the Rally America Championship several times, including the overall North American Rally Championship.

“Aside from driver-induced damage the car ran flawlessly and I have to credit both Subaru Canada and all of our associate sponsors including Vision-X Lighting, Crawford Performance, ACT, and our Squamish, BC based Rocket Rally crew,” exclaimed Richard.

Rocket Rally Racing is based in Squamish, BC, Canada and operates the Subaru Rally Team Canada on behalf of Subaru Canada, with associate sponsors Vision-X Lighting, Crawford Performance and ACT providing product support for the 2009 championship campaign. “Everything ran perfectly and I can’t wait to do it all over again in 2010.”

All rounds of the Canadian Rally Championship are televised nationally on TSN, TSN2 and RDS, and internationally. For television times, please check your local listings. More information about the Canadian Rally Championship can be found at the Canadian Association of Rallysport’s website www.carsrally.ca. Photos, videos and more information about the team can be found at the team’s website www.rocketrally.com.

Photos by Andrew Harvey

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Richard sets all-time victory record while Block crashes out

Subaru Rally Team Canada driver Patrick Richard took a hard-fought victory at the Rallye Baie des Chaleurs, held this past weekend near New Richmond, QC, beating the entire field of 48 cars and solidifying his overall lead in the 2009 Canadian Rally Championship.

Driving a Subaru Impreza WRX STi, Squamish, BC based Richard and his co-driver Alan Ockwell, of Toronto, ON, took the lead after the fourth stage and never looked back, marking Richard’s second overall win in a row, and third overall win at this particular event. Three victories by a single driver is a new record for this classic event which has been held for 32 years.

“This was billed as the North American showdown of the season,” explained Richard, “we had the fastest drivers in North America at this event and it didn’t disappoint in terms of action for the fans.” The entry list included the top ranked teams from the American national championship including Ken Block, who won the last round of the Rally America series and is a 2 time X Games medalist. Despite a flat tire on the second stage, Richard and Ockwell shared the best stage times with Block, who eventually crashed out on stage 4. “After Ken crashed out we pretty much paced ourselves to the end. It was one of those rallies where you either broke or crashed trying to keep up.”

The team’s event wasn’t without some drama, however. “We decided to try some different suspension settings, which didn’t really work out,” explained Ockwell. “Once we reverted back to the original setup, the only issues we had were with the tires.” Despite leading the event from the fourth stage, the team endured a total of four flat tires. “It wasn’t like we were pushing, we had several minutes of advantage, but we kept pulling tires off the car. In the end, the car ran flawlessly but we’ll have to look at what we can do about our tire situation before the next event.”

The Rallye Baie des Chaleurs is considered the toughest round of the Canadian Rally Championship, and normally teams fight to stay in the event with engines, transmissions and suspension components pushed to the limit in this tough test of speed and endurance. “I have to give credit where credit is due – the car was absolutely flawless. Aside from the tires we didn’t have anything go wrong at all, and that is despite the fact that we were leading the toughest event in the championship. Our Squamish, BC-based Rocket Rally crew did a fantastic job.” Rocket Rally Racing is based in Squamish, BC, Canada and operates the Subaru Rally Team Canada on behalf of Subaru Canada, with associate sponsors Vision-X Lighting, Crawford Performance and ACT providing product support for the 2009 Canadian Rally Championship.

This victory puts Richard and Ockwell solidly in the lead of the 2009 Canadian Rally Championship, now at the halfway point of its season. Richard and Ockwell are the defending champions from 2008. All rounds of the Canadian Rally Championship are televised nationally on TSN, TSN2 and RDS, as well as internationally. For television times, please check your local listings. More information about the Canadian Rally Championship can be found at the Canadian Association of Rallysport’s website www.carsrally.ca. Photos, videos and more information about the team can be found at the team’s website www.rocketrally.com.

Photo by Andrew Harvey, www.andrewharvey.ca

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With a dominating win at the 2009 Rallye Baie-des-Chaleurs, Pat Richard (Squamish, B.C.) and Alan Ockwell (Toronto, Ont.) of Subaru Rally Team Canada leap into the lead of the Canadian Rally Championship presented by Subaru and supported by Yokohama.

Richard and Ockwell came into the event fresh from a win at the Rocky Mountain Rally in Calgary in May, and were tied for the championship lead. The team suffered multiple flat tires through the weekend, but still managed to set the fastest overall time.

“This is great for the championship, and it’s also my third career win here,” said Richard. “We had some troubles, but we were able to set competitive times.”

A career-high second place went to the local team of Martin Gauvin and Daniel Duchesneau of New Richmond, Que., who consistently perform well at their home event.

“This event is very rough, and you have to drive clean and fast to do well,” said Gauvin. “We pushed very hard and never hit anything that would cause a problem. This is also the best finish for a Gaspesie team, so we’re very proud of that.”

Third place went to Craig Henderson and Lyne Murphy, also of New Richmond. “We had some real problems over the last two stages with smoke coming into the cabin, and losing power steering,” said Henderson. “We found the problem and pushed very hard on the last stage – maybe 150% – and knew we had the podium.”

Top contenders Ken Block (Encinitas, California) and Alex Gelsomino (Los Angeles) of Subaru Rally Team USA crashed out of the event late Friday. Championship contenders, Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec suffered mechanical problems and dropped down the order, clawing back to fourth place at the finish for valuable points.

In the two wheel drive class, a tight battle formed between the Mitsubishi Lancer of Jan and Jody Zedril (Winnipeg, Man.) and the Suzuki Swift of Peter Kocandrle (Acton, Ont.) and Jimmy Brandt (Michigan, U.S.). The veteran Zedril brothers traded times with the rookie Kocandrle, and managed to keep a lead to the end for the class win. Alberta competitors, Hardy Schmidtke and Adam Vokes brought their Subaru WRX to a top ten overall finish and a class win in Production GT. “It was a great competition with Peter,” said Jan Zedril. “We saw how much time we lost on the second last stage and knew we were going to have to really fight to keep the lead.”

Rally organizer Marc-Andre Leblanc was excited about the quality of the event. “I’m very proud of the quality of the entry and of course the results for the local teams,” said Leblanc. “I am also proud of the level of this event in Canada and in North America.”

Rally car racing is often described simply as “real cars, real roads, real fast.” The all-season motorsport sees drivers and their co-drivers take modified road cars to the limit as they achieve blistering speeds over closed-road courses that typically cover more than 150 kilometers of gravel, dirt or snow-covered roads. Fans can get up close to the cars in the service areas and catch all the action from specially designated spectator points located at the best spots on the route.

The Canadian Rally Championship is comprised of six events held nationwide in a season that extends from February to November. The series is presented by Subaru Canada, supported by Yokohama Canada and features contingency programs from Subaru Canada and Mitsubishi Canada. The Canadian Association of Rallysport (CARS) is the official sanctioning body for rallying in Canada.

The series stays in Quebec for the next round of the championship, the Rallye Defi, in Ste-Agathe-des-Monts and Montpellier, Que., September 11-12, 2009.

Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs Final Results (full results at www.rallyebdc.com)
1-Pat Richard – Alan Ockwell (Subaru Impreza STI) – 1 hours 34 min. 48 sec.
2- Martin Gauvin – Daniel Duchesneau (Subaru Impreza WRX ) – 1:37:10
3- Craig Henderson – Lyne Murphy (Subaru Impreza STI) – 1:38:17
4- Antoine L’Estage – Nathalie Richard (Mitsubishi EVO X) – 1:38:24
5- Andrew Comrie-Picard – Jen Horsey (Mitsubishi EVO X) – 1:40:27
6- Joel Levac – Laurence Fanny L’Estage (Subaru Impreza WRX) – 1:41:54
7- Simon Losier – Francois Morin (Mitsubishi EVO IX) – 1:42:22
8- Bruno Carre – Yvan Joyal (Subaru Impreza) – 1:43:34
9- Hardy Schmidtke – Adam Vokes (Subaru Impreza WRX) – 1:44:09
10- Leo Urlichich – Martin Headland (Subaru Impreza STI) – 1:44:41

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BC-based driver wins almost every stage to finish 6 minutes ahead

Calgary, AB, JUNE 1, 2009 – Subaru Rally Team Canada driver Patrick Richard led from the start at the Rocky Mountain Rally held this past weekend near Calgary, AB, to claim his first victory of the season and the overall lead in the 2009 Canadian Rally Championship.

Winning all but one of the event’s 13 scheduled stages, Squamish, BC based Richard and his co-driver Alan Ockwell, of Toronto, ON, cruised to the win in their Subaru WRX STi with a stunning margin of over six minutes to their nearest competitor, Andrew Comrie-Picard of Toronto, ON.

“This is a great way to rebound after our last event,” explained Richard, referring the previous round of the championship where the team had a win snatched from their grasp when they were forced to retire with just two stages remaining. “This puts the team in a great position for the rest of the season.”

Richard’s victory this weekend puts him and his co-driver at the top of the Canadian Rally Championship overall standings, tied with Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard, both of St-Jean sur Richelieu, QC. For the majority of the event, this Quebec based duo fought hard to keep up with Richard and Ockwell. “With the championship lead on the line, we knew Antoine wanted to win,” explained Ockwell. “He kept us honest until he slowed with mechanical problems.” L’Estage, driving a Mitsubishi Evo X, was over a minute behind Richard when he eventually failed to finish the event with differential failure.

“The car ran flawlessly and I have to credit both Subaru Canada, all of our associate sponsors Motul Lubricants, Vision-X Lighting, Crawford Performance and ACT, and our Squamish, BC-based Rocket Rally crew,” exclaimed Richard. Rocket Rally Racing is based in Squamish, BC, Canada and operates the Subaru Rally Team Canada on behalf of Subaru Canada, with associate sponsors Motul Lubricants, Vision-X Lighting, Crawford Performance and ACT providing product support for the 2009 championship campaign. “Everything ran perfectly and I can’t wait for the rest of the season.”

All rounds of the Canadian Rally Championship are televised nationally on TSN, TSN2 and RDS, and internationally. For television times, please check your local listings. More information about the Canadian Rally Championship can be found at the Canadian Association of Rallysport’s website www.carsrally.ca. Photos, videos and more information about the team can be found at the team’s website www.rocketrally.com.

Photo by Andrew Snucins, World Rally Sport

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