Skip to content

Underdog victory for Squamish Rally racer

Brandon Semenuk beats out a several-time Canadian champion to take the win
Rally Race
Brandon Semenuk, in the centre wearing white, pops a bottle of champagne next to his navigator, John Hall.

Navigating a maze of sharp turns, a local Squamish driver pulled out a surprise win, beating even a several-time Canadian champion at the latest installment of the Canadian Rally Championship events.

Brandon Semenuk and his co-driver John Hall took the win at the Rocky Mountain Rally, besting Antoine L’Estage, who had Alan Ockwell riding shotgun. L’Estage and Ockwell, who are sponsored by Subaru Canada, were heavily favoured to win the event.

“It’s something I enjoy,” said Semenuk. “It’s cool, I really enjoyed the terrain at this event. A lot of the downhill stages were good for me.”

For much of the race, Semenuk was tailing L’Estage.

Over time, however, the terrain took its toll on L’Estage’s vehicle, which became sidelined due to mechanical failure.

The terrain can be a significant challenge. Rallies are broken into multiple segments, or stages. In this particular race, entire stages could just be either an uphill climb or a steep descent, which pushes the cars hard. Rocky, gravel roads are also prevalent for parts of the course and frequent hairpin turns can keep drivers and their cars on edge for long periods of time.

In the case of L’Estage’s vehicle, it was more than it could take, as his car eventually encountered a strut problem.

Trailing L’Estage by only two minutes for much of the race, Semenuk managed to seize the opportunity and take the lead, allowing him to finish first.

Semenuk was somewhat of an underdog during the race, given that he was a private competitor who managed to best even a professional driver who had sponsorship dollars and a better car.

In terms of dollar figures, he was outspent threefold, said Patrick Richard, the owner of Rocket Rally Racing, the Squamish company that put together Semenuk’s vehicle.

While Semenuk’s $80,000 vehicle is certainly not cheap, the car of the L’Estage, who was favoured to win the race, rings in at about $250,000, said Richard, whose company built both of the vehicles.

“You get 95 percent of the performance at 30 per cent of the price,” Richard said. “That’s what makes Brandon’s win at the Rocky Mountain Rally all the more compelling.”

Semenuk’s ride is a modified Subaru Crosstrek, which is a crossover vehicle — a hybrid between a car and a sports utility vehicle.

The team at Rocket Rally made a number of alterations to the stock design, adding in items such as a roll cage to protect the driver, a revamped suspension, and a Subaru turbo engine.

“It completely transforms the car,” said Richard.

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks