Racing through sharp turns, skidding through a snowy, icy road bordered by walls of pine trees, Subaru’s Canadian rally racing team rode to victory in a car made by a local business. And the icing on the cake? Beating the American Subaru team, which finished in second place.
“[Subaru USA] is a much more heavily funded team than we are. They have a lot more resources than we have and we managed to beat them,” said Jeff Fielding, project manager of Squamish-based Rocket Rally Racing. “That was a really, really good feeling.”
The Canadian Subaru team beat their American counterparts by more than three minutes during the 2016 Rally of the Tall Pines in Bancroft, Ont., which ran from Nov. 25 to 26.
The race is treacherous, with unforgiving conditions. Of the 30 cars that competed across all categories, only 16 were able to finish the event.
Much effort went into making the car that would win the competition. The team at Rocket Rally Racing stripped down a stock Subaru WRX STI until just the body shell remained, and redesigned just about everything from the ground up.
The highlights of the vehicle, said Fielding, include a reprogrammed engine control unit to push the limits of the car and an improved steering system to help navigate the sharp turns on the snowy, icy race course.
“They prepared me a great car,” said Antoine L’Estage, the driver of Subaru Rally Team Canada. “I can be the best driver in the world, but if I don’t have the right tools there’s not much I can do.”
But while a great car is necessary, the driver and his co-pilot also need to be ready. He and his navigator, Darren Garrod, scouted out the race course while making detailed notes on even the most minute details.
Watching the in-car camera of the race, Garrod can be seen gripping a notebook filled with sticky tabs while constantly yelling out the degree and severity of each turn, surface conditions, road inclines and other special instructions to the driver.
Subaru Rally Team Canada won in the national category under the four-wheel drive open class, which allows for heavily modified cars to be brought into the race. The pair also came out on top overall, irrespective of driving class and geographic category.
L’Estage is favoured to win the best driver award in the Canadian Rally Championship series this year, while Garrod’s victory as best co-pilot is almost a certainty at this point.
Their next race will be at the Big White Winter Rally in Kelowna, which takes place from Dec. 10 to 11.
Rocket Rally Racing was founded 17 years ago by Patrick Richard, a well-respected name in North America’s rally scene. Richard was a prolific racer until 2014, but was forced to retire because of a neurological condition believed to be caused by head injuries.
Since the early 2000s, Subaru has contracted Rocket Rally Racing to manage Subaru Rally Team Canada and build their flagship car.
