Canadian RallySport cars break new ground
at Challenge Sur Glace, Quebec !
 

 

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:

  # 1 Randy Zimmer Subaru
  # 2 John Cassidy Subaru
  # 3 Sylvain Erickson Mitsubishi
  # 4 Jean-Paul Perusse Mitsubishi
  # 5 Andrew Comrie-Picard Mitsubishi
  # 6 Julien Pilon Subaru
  # 7 Antoine L'Estage Hyundia
  # 8 Patrick Richard Subaru
  # 9 David Legault Ford
  # 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.

 

 

 


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.

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.

           
Saturday Competition          
  # Driver Make Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Total
1 Randy Zimmer Subaru 0:17:29 0:08:10 0:07:59 0:33:38
4 Jean-Paul Perrusse Mitsubishi 0:17:39 0:08:15 0:08:08 0:34:02
8 Patrick Richard Subaru 0:17:42 0:08:21 0:08:06 0:34:09
5 Andrew Comrie-Picard Mitsubishi 0:17:40 0:08:40 0:08:40 0:35:00
2 John Cassidy Subaru 0:17:57 0:08:35 0:08:37 0:35:09
7 Antoine L'Estage Hyandia 0:18:30 0:08:27 0:08:16 0:35:13
6 Julien Pilon Subaru 0:18:10 0:08:39 0:08:37 0:35:26
9 David Legault Ford 0:18:54 0:09:20 0:12:30 0:40:44
3 Sylvain Erickson Mitsubishi 0:22:09 0:12:30 0:08:22 0:43:01
10  10 Bertrand Lambert Toyota 0:25:23 0:09:08 0:12:30 0:47:01
           
Sunday Competition          
# Driver Make Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Total
1 Randy Zimmer Subaru 0:08:12 0:08:22 0:08:02 0:24:36
8 Patrick Richard Subaru 0:08:27 0:08:19 0:07:58 0:24:44
4 Jean-Paul Perrusse Mitsubishi 0:08:19 0:08:21 0:08:12 0:24:52
5 Andrew Comrie-Picard Mitsubishi 0:08:37 0:08:41 0:08:25 0:25:43
2 John Cassidy Subaru 0:08:37 0:08:39 0:08:38 0:25:54
6 Julien Pilon Subaru 0:08:42 0:08:41 0:08:42 0:26:05
3 Sylvain Erickson Mitsubishi 0:09:26 0:08:30 0:08:11 0:26:07
10 Bertrand Lambert Toyota 0:09:28 0:09:47 0:09:34 0:28:49
9 David Legault Ford 0:11:06 0:09:43 0:09:02 0:29:51
10  7 Antoine L'Estage Hyandia 0:09:19 DNF DNF DNF

 

Planning for the future...  
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."

Some of the cars in action... (photos from www.challengecanada.com)
  # 3 Sylvain Erickson
  # 4 Jean-Paul Perusse
  # 5 Andrew Comrie-Picard
  # 6 Julien Pilon
  # 7 Antoine L'Estage
  # 8 Patrick Richard
     
  # 10 Bertrand Lambert

 

 


 

  1. DATA SGP
  2. TOGEL HARI INI
  3. KELUARAN SDY