“Crazy” Leo Urlichich Takes Overall Victory At 2011 Rally Of The Tall Pines

November 26, 2011; Bancroft, ON, Canada; Driver "Crazy" Leo Urlichich and co-driver Martin Brady finish win the Rally of the Tall Pines, Round 6 of the Canadian Rally Championship in their 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STI.  Credit: Andrew Harvey

BANCROFT, ONTARIO, November 27, 2011 – “Crazy” Leo Urlichich (Thornhill, ON) and co-driver Martin Brady (Meath, Ireland) beat a record breaking number of entries at the 2011 Rally of the Tall Pines, their first win at a Canadian Rally Championship event. Competition was extremely strong, with main CRC rivals Pat Richard (Squamish, BC) and Antoine L'Estage (St Jean Sur Richelieu, QC) as well as 2011 Rally America champions David Higgins (Trefeglwys, Wales) and co-driver Craig Drew (Gloucestershire, England), on hand for their first ever Rally of the Tall Pines.

 “Wow, this is incredible,” said Urlichich, who literally jumped around on the podium in excitement. “All season the whole team has been working hard to get to this point, and so this win really proves how much the team has put into the effort.”

 With the Canadian Rally Championship already decided in favour of L'Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard (Halifax), no teams had to hold back for the sake of strategy, and right from the first stage, each team was attacking.

L'Estage won the first four stages, taking control of the event, until disaster struck at the end of SS5. The transmission in their car shattered with large pieces of the casing falling off.

 “Well, it's too bad. We were leading the rally, and had a good lead, but it's ok,” said L'Estage. “The important thing is we are Canadian Rally Champions.”

 Pat Richard and Alan Ockwell (Toronto) of Subaru Rally Team Canada took over the lead, with David Higgins and Craig Drew (Gloucestershire, England) taking over second place. Both teams would go on to suffer punctures, dropping down the order and handing Urlichich the lead.  Richard and Ockwell would later suffer transmission failures and retire from the event.  

“This was a really tough event, probably the hardest I've done in my entire career,” said Higgins, who went on to finish second. “Primarily, we came here to test the car, but when you're a competitive person, you want to push for the win.”

 Third place went to Bruno Carre (Laval, QC) and Yvan Joyal (Terrebonne, QC). The two were deperately trying to hang on to their podium position, with an overheating car threatening to end their event. With a large margin over fourth placed Ugo Desgreniers (Orford, QC) and Erik Kirby (Sherbrooke, QC), Carre was able to make his car last to the finish.

 “The car started overheating with about five stages left,” said Carre. “We had to stop at lakes to get water to fill up the rad. It's been a difficult end to the rally, so we're very happy and lucky to be on the podium.”

In two wheel drive, the entry was equally impressive. Series regulars Jan and Jody Zedril (Winnipeg) faced off against local talent Peter Kocandrle (Kitchener-Waterloo, ON) and co-driver Alex Kihurani (Philadelphia, PA), as well as Simon Dube (Jonquière, QC) and Pat Lavigne (Montreal). 2011 Rally American 2WD Champions Wyatt Knox (Franconia, NH) and co-driver Ole Holter (Long Beach, CA) entered in a Ford Fiesta R2, while 2009 RA 2WD Champ Dillon Van Way (Baton Rouge, LA) and co-driver Jake Blattner (Salem, OR) were also on hand in a Fiesta.

 Just as it did in all wheel drive, attrition took a toll on the 2WD cars as well. Kocandrle set fast stage times but struggled with half shaft problems that eventually ended his rally. The Zedrils also retired from the event, and Van Way retired with a broken half shaft, the rough conditions especially hard on the 2WD cars.

Dube and Knox traded stage times and the class lead, and heading into the final stage, Dube and Lavigne had a lead of just over one minute, 30 seconds. However, on the final stage, Egan Creek, Dube had an electrical fault that cut the engine, costing the team six minutes and handing the lead to Knox and Holter.

 “This was my first time at this rally, and my first time driving the R2,” said Knox. “It was a really hard event. In the US, we do the same distance, but split over two days, so this really was a marathon. We had a great battle with Dube, and it worked out for us, but we'll see what happens next time.”

“It's been an incredible event,” said organiser Ian Wright. “The record entry isn't just about volume, but of quality, with some really talented teams competing. Everything went really well, and we're happy to introduce Canadian rally to all the first time teams and fans who came out in person or watched at home.”

Production company TV2Go offered fans a home a unique opportunity with a precedent setting high definition live stream to web. Three live shows covered the ceremonial start and first stage, a mid day service and the podium finish. Those who wish to watch the shows on demand can do so on Flatovercrest.com.

The 2012 Canadian Rally Championship season is only a few short months away. Kicking off with the Rallye Perce Neige in Maniwaki, QC teams will take on the classic winter rally February 4-5, 2012. Massive snowbanks offer both help in staying on the road, and a threat in their ability to pull a car off the road. Icy conditions require a special talent as studded tires are not permitted. The Rallye Perce Neige is perhaps Canada's most remote rally with very long and challenging stages.       

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 Tire 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.

Rally of the Tall Pines Final Results

1. Leo Urlichich – Martin Brady – One hour, 59 minutes, 4.8 seconds

2. David Higgins – Craig Drew – 1:59:36.7

3. Bruno Carre – Yvan Joyal – 2:07:51.7

4. Ugo Desgreniers – Erik Kirby – 2:12:25.7

5. Steeve Hobbs – Jean-Mathieu Tremblay – 2:13:19.7

6. Simon Losier – Brian Maxwell – 2:16:24.0

7. Nick Mathew – Kelly Matthew – 2:17:59.1

8. Michelle Laframboise – Dean Hopkins – 2:20:04.8

9. Wyatt Knox – Ole Holter – 2:20:19.7
10. Ryan Huber – John Vanos – 2:21:16.1

Breaking News: Sébastien Ogier joins Volkswagen WRC Team

Breaking WRC News: Sébastien Ogier is out as Mikko Hirvonen jumps from Ford to Citroen

After an exceptional 2011 season with ten victories, the seventh manufacturers’ title for the Citroën Total World Rally Team and Sébastien Loeb’s / Daniel Elena’s eighth drivers’ title*, Citroën Racing is already turning its attention to 2012 with the arrival of a new crew for next season.

Initially contracted until December 2013, Citroën Racing has finally decided to finish their collaboration with Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia at the end of the 2011 season.
In 2012 and 2013, Sébastien Loeb’s and Daniel Elena’s team-mates will be Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen. The Finns, runners-up in the 2009 and 2011 World Championship, have scored 14 victories and 51 podium finishes in 124 starts in the WRC.

Olivier Quesnel, Citroën Racing Team Principal, said, “Seeing Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia leave strikes a particular emotional chord in the whole team. Citroën Racing trained them, first of all in the JWRC and then in the Citroën Junior Team and the Citroën Total World Rally Team. They had a very good season with five victories and third place in the Drivers’ World Championship, and they made a productive contribution to the conquest of the manufacturers’ title alongside Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena who have claimed their eighth consecutive world crown, a unique achievement in motorsport. Now, we’re very happy to welcome Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen. They’ve been our toughest rivals over the last four seasons and we’re really looking forward to our future collaboration. Mikko is a talented driver and his consistency will be a big help in our fight to retain the manufacturers’ title.”

Frédéric Banzet, General Manager Citroën Automobiles, said, “I’d like to take advantage of this occasion to repeat my congratulations to the whole Citroën Racing team for their 2011 titles, as well as Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena for their eighth consecutive crown. I’d also like to thank Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia for their involvement with the make over the last four years and the six victories they’ve added to its results. Today, I’d like to welcome Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen who are joining us to continue Citroën Racing’s sporting adventure and its determination to score more victories starting with the 2012 Monte Carlo Rally.

Ford Celebrate with a Sweep of the Podium at Final Round of the 2011 WRC battle, Rally GB.

WRC Academy: Craig Breen INAUGURAL CHAMPION

Craig Breen has become the inaugural WRC Academy Cup champion by the smallest of margins following a dramatic finale to the season in Wales this evening.

Breen needed to win the event and claim the maximum number of fastest stage times as possible to stand any chance of taking the title from Egon Kaur, who’d led the standings from the opening event of the season.

Although victory on the rally was secured when Breen completed the final Myherin stage with a dominant margin of 4m36.1s over Kaur, he had to wait for the Estonian to complete the 27.88-kilometre run before he could celebrate the title in case Kaur went faster than him and deprived him of the final bonus point he needed to draw level with Kaur in the standings.

With the title decided in favour of the driver with the highest number of fastest stage times during the course of the year, Breen had done enough to take the title and the 500,000 Euros scholarship prize handed out to the winner.

“I can’t find words to describe this moment,” said Breen, who reported a small gearbox problem this morning. “For sure it’s the most amazing feeling to finally get here after all the effort we’ve put in all year, all the ups and downs we’ve made it to the finish. We’ve finished level on points but we’ve got it on stage wins so we’re absolutely thrilled.”

Kaur said he lost time stuck behind a slowing car on the final stage. “We pushed on the last one but we lost time and we lost the title because of this,” he said. “But Craig has done a really good job. He pushed very much, we used a strategy to keep our car safe but it was not enough.”

Northern Ireland’s Alastair Fisher finished third overall to claim third overall in the final standings despite a fraught finish to the event. “We had a broken steering column for the last stage so we had strap the steering column to the roof for the last stage using a ratchet strap,” explained Fisher. “We got through it okay and to be third in the championship is what we deserved after the problems we’ve had this year.”

Christian Riedemann finished fourth with Molly Taylor taking fifth after a slow puncture cost her 40 seconds on Saturday’s third test. Sergey Karyakin was sixth with Valentin Hummel seventh on his WRC Academy debut, although the German is not eligible for points after registering for the series after the deadline.

Andrea Crugnola was next to finish followed by Spaniard Yeray Lemes after a puncture on stage 14 caused a four-minute delay.

SOURCE: WRC.COM