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Sherbrooke, Quebec -
February 27
Canadian
rallying took on a new image at Sherbrooke when Rally Sport Quebec was
invited to participate in the ASN Canada FIA sanctioned 7th Challenge Sur
Glace FIA-listed International Ice race, an event featuring the European
Andros Series cars. Canadian drivers in European cars this year
included Alex Tagliani, Andrew Ranger, Bertrand Godin, Marc-Antoine Camirand,
Didier Schranen, Yves Legris and Marek Friedl.
The
race track is situated on an old horse race track property which
is now a municipal sports complex. About 75% of the horse race track
is used and is linked to the normal roads used around the complex.
The
track lights are maintained and the event schedule includes Friday and
Saturday nights creating a winter carnival atmosphere.
The race track is prepared
starting in December with barriers installed to outline the track.
Water is sprayed twice per
day until an ice depth of 24-inches is achieved around the circuit.
Imagine a skating rink. The track surface and banks are groomed
between track session with municipal-size graders and snowblower.
10
of some of the best Canadian rally stars from the CARS National
Rally Championship were selected to compete in a "stage" rally over the
weekend.
The entries:
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# 1 Randy Zimmer |
Subaru |
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# 2 John Cassidy |
Subaru |
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# 3 Sylvain Erickson |
Mitsubishi |
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# 4 Jean-Paul Perusse |
Mitsubishi |
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# 5 Andrew Comrie-Picard |
Mitsubishi |
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# 6 Julien Pilon |
Subaru |
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# 7 Antoine L'Estage |
Hyundia |
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# 8 Patrick Richard |
Subaru |
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# 9 David Legault |
Ford |
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# 10 Bertrand Lambert |
Toyota |
RallySport garnered a lot of publicity with the cars and drivers
featured in the Sherbrooke and Montreal newspapers and TV. From ASN
Canada FIA's perspective the drivers and crews displayed a high level of
professionalism, talent and skill in the paddock, on the track and when
dealing with the media. Well done!
The cars were equipped with
conventional tires using street studs... which eventually proved to present
a car-control challenge for the drivers in their efforts to keep their cars
between the banks.
Practice and qualifying set
the starting order for the first of three stages with the winners determined
by the least time taken to complete the three stages.
The event...
On Friday, Patrick Richard
agreed to put his car on the track for a special session to make promotional
event videos for morning TV broadcast in Sherbrooke and Montreal.
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After completing 3 laps with a videographer on-board, Patrick remarked
"... Wow.. the track is much like a Quebec winter rally on icy roads,
very exciting... however the banks come up quickly... it is going to be
a challenge for everyone!"
It was a challenge indeed for the
drivers. In the 30-minute practice sessions studs were
disappearing and it came close to being a rubber-to-ice situation.
In order to keep things under control, the sessions (stages) were
shortened to 15-minutes and the drivers were pleased.
The cars started each session at 5
second intervals but were soon in close company. The officials
used conventional road-racing flag signals - yellow for caution and blue
to indicate that a driver wanted to pass. The cooperation among
drivers was excellent and car-to-car contact was avoided.
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During the stage sessions
all laps were scored and the five fastest laps generated the finishing
positions. If a driver failed to complete the minimum required laps, a
default time was used.
After the Friday practice
and qualifying, there were two competitions, one on Saturday and one on
Sunday.
Three stages were run on
Saturday to determine the first set of winners.
Again on Sunday, three
stages were run to determine the second set of winners.
The podium ceremony was on
Sunday afternoon. |
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Saturday Competition |
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# |
Driver |
Make |
Stage 1 |
Stage 2 |
Stage 3 |
Total |
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1 |
1 |
Randy Zimmer |
Subaru |
0:17:29 |
0:08:10 |
0:07:59 |
0:33:38 |
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2 |
4 |
Jean-Paul Perrusse |
Mitsubishi |
0:17:39 |
0:08:15 |
0:08:08 |
0:34:02 |
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3 |
8 |
Patrick Richard |
Subaru |
0:17:42 |
0:08:21 |
0:08:06 |
0:34:09 |
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4 |
5 |
Andrew Comrie-Picard |
Mitsubishi |
0:17:40 |
0:08:40 |
0:08:40 |
0:35:00 |
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5 |
2 |
John Cassidy |
Subaru |
0:17:57 |
0:08:35 |
0:08:37 |
0:35:09 |
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6 |
7 |
Antoine L'Estage |
Hyandia |
0:18:30 |
0:08:27 |
0:08:16 |
0:35:13 |
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7 |
6 |
Julien Pilon |
Subaru |
0:18:10 |
0:08:39 |
0:08:37 |
0:35:26 |
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8 |
9 |
David Legault |
Ford |
0:18:54 |
0:09:20 |
0:12:30 |
0:40:44 |
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9 |
3 |
Sylvain Erickson |
Mitsubishi |
0:22:09 |
0:12:30 |
0:08:22 |
0:43:01 |
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10 |
10 |
Bertrand Lambert |
Toyota |
0:25:23 |
0:09:08 |
0:12:30 |
0:47:01 |
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Sunday Competition |
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# |
Driver |
Make |
Stage 1 |
Stage 2 |
Stage 3 |
Total |
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1 |
1 |
Randy Zimmer |
Subaru |
0:08:12 |
0:08:22 |
0:08:02 |
0:24:36 |
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2 |
8 |
Patrick Richard |
Subaru |
0:08:27 |
0:08:19 |
0:07:58 |
0:24:44 |
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3 |
4 |
Jean-Paul Perrusse |
Mitsubishi |
0:08:19 |
0:08:21 |
0:08:12 |
0:24:52 |
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4 |
5 |
Andrew Comrie-Picard |
Mitsubishi |
0:08:37 |
0:08:41 |
0:08:25 |
0:25:43 |
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5 |
2 |
John Cassidy |
Subaru |
0:08:37 |
0:08:39 |
0:08:38 |
0:25:54 |
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6 |
6 |
Julien Pilon |
Subaru |
0:08:42 |
0:08:41 |
0:08:42 |
0:26:05 |
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7 |
3 |
Sylvain Erickson |
Mitsubishi |
0:09:26 |
0:08:30 |
0:08:11 |
0:26:07 |
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8 |
10 |
Bertrand Lambert |
Toyota |
0:09:28 |
0:09:47 |
0:09:34 |
0:28:49 |
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9 |
9 |
David Legault |
Ford |
0:11:06 |
0:09:43 |
0:09:02 |
0:29:51 |
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10 |
7 |
Antoine L'Estage |
Hyandia |
0:09:19 |
DNF |
DNF |
DNF |
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Planning for the future... |
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During the event, it was
decided to find time on the schedule to test different tires and studs
to measure the
difference
in car control and lap times.
On Saturday and again
on Sunday, Sylvain Ericson's Mitsubishi was fitted with a set of Andros
series tires and suitable rims and tested for several laps.
The
results were startling in that the lap times were reduced by 20 seconds
plus and car control was noticeably improved enabling Sylvain to set-up
the car for each turn while having improved control over steering and
braking.
This sets the stage for the possibility
of including the cars for next year's event under improved tire package
conditions.
Terry Epp,
President of the Canadian Association of Rallysport,
organizers of the Canadian Rally Championship said..."We have positive
feedback from competitors and Rallye Sport Quebec officials at the
Sherbrooke event. Looking ahead, the Canadian Rally Championship
is most interested in exploring the benefits of possibly including this
very special event in our 2006 Championship schedule."
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Some of the cars in
action... (photos from
www.challengecanada.com) |
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# 3 Sylvain
Erickson |
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# 4 Jean-Paul
Perusse |
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# 5 Andrew
Comrie-Picard |
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# 6 Julien Pilon |
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# 7 Antoine
L'Estage |
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# 8 Patrick
Richard |
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# 10 Bertrand
Lambert |
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