Other rally
Rallye Perce-Neige preview
Canadian Rally Championship on the road again for the 50th year! Stouffville, ON, February 1, 2006 -- The 50th edition of the Canadian Rally Championship will be launched this week-end with Rallye Perce-Neige Maniwaki, taking place in Maniwaki ...
Published: Feb 9, 2006, 1:31 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Canadian Rally Championship on the road again for the 50th year!
Stouffville, ON, February 1, 2006 -- The 50th edition of the Canadian Rally Championship will be launched this week-end with Rallye Perce-Neige Maniwaki, taking place in Maniwaki (Quebec), north of Ottawa.
The only winter event of the year, Perce-Neige is bound to be an epic battle with about 40 entries and no less than 10 teams competing for victory.
Number one contender will be Torontonian Peter Thomson (with co-driver Rod Hendricksen), standing champion and winner of last year's edition. Perce-Neige was his first national win, and he went on to win two more events to clinch the championship.
Runner-up is Antoine L'Estage, who had been leading last year's event until mechanical failure sidelined him. Having lost the 2005 Canadian Rally Championship in the last event of the year, L'Estage is back with his John Buffum-prepared 4WD Tiburon looking to win the title. This year, though, he will team up with American co-driver Mark Williams. Well known for his flamboyant driving style, L'Estage will need to score as many points as possible, because this year all results will count toward the championship, as opposed to last year's four best out of six.
Another point of interest this year will be the return of Sylvain Erickson and Andrew Comrie-Picard, each in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4. Winner of the Sno*Drift Rally last week in Michigan, Comrie-Picard, co-driven by Marc Goldfarb, is still looking for his first overall win in the Canadian championship. Very spectacular on snow, he will be a strong competitor for Thomson and L'Estage.
On the other hand, Sylvain Erickson, with daughter Chloe in the co-driver's seat, is also a favorite of the crowd, since he was born in Maniwaki and has won the Perce-Neige twice with his Lancer. Perce-Neige has never had a triple winner-- so Erickson is also going for the win and the hat trick.
Other contenders are double champion Jean-Paul Perusse, in a Lancer Evo 6, with co-driver Marcel-Paul Raymond and 2WD expert Jon Nichols in his VW Golf Gti, with co-driver Carl Schenk, with a well-deserved reputation for driving in the snow. Last but not least, six times champions Frank and Dan Sprongl are also back in their Suzuki Swift+.
With its short stages in town and long forest stages, including a 50-km stage, the 2006 Perce-Neige will be quite a challenge for every competitor. The first car will start at 9:30 AM on Saturday, February 4. And the finish should be clocked around 10:30 PM.
The official event program is presently in the stands, in Pole Position Magazine. The rally will be filmed by ATV Productions, for television broadcasting later in the year. Information on the Canadian Rally Championship can be obtained at www.carsrally.ca. Information on the Perce-Neige is at www.rallyeperceneige.com, while results will be posted live at www.rallyscoring.com.
-cars-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article RAmer: DFL Rally Team SnoDrift summary
Next article Giel Nel teams up with Johan Smalberger
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Sylvain Erickson
Baie Des Chaleurs: Series round three preview
Other rally
Other rally
Baie Des Chaleurs: Series round three preview
Rallye Defi: Series round four summary
Other rally
Other rally
Rallye Defi: Series round four summary
Perce-Neige: Series round one summary
Other rally
Other rally
Perce-Neige: Series round one summary
More from
Williams
Fernando Alonso blasts driving standards of bottom half of F1 grid
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Fernando Alonso blasts driving standards of bottom half of F1 grid
Williams has better cooling vests than anyone – Alex Albon
Formula 1
Formula 1
Williams has better cooling vests than anyone – Alex Albon
Latest news
The mistakes that cost Lewis Hamilton a podium at F1’s US GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
16 min
The mistakes that cost Lewis Hamilton a podium at F1’s US GP
HMD Motorsports confirms Leonardo Escorpioni to 2027 Indy NXT roster
Indy NXT
IndL Indy NXT 28 min
HMD Motorsports confirms Leonardo Escorpioni to 2027 Indy NXT roster
“I couldn’t disappear” – Oliver Bearman rues “crazy” penalty for Pierre Gasly clash
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
1 h
“I couldn’t disappear” – Oliver Bearman rues “crazy” penalty for Pierre Gasly clash
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe