The Eastern Canadian Rally Championship (ECRC) kicked off its 11^th season this weekend as the traditional Rallye Perce-Neige, held in Maniwaki in Quebec’s Haute-Gatineau region, celebrated its 60^th edition. Run in bitterly cold conditions, the event was marked by two clear dominations: Subaru cars locked out the overall Top 6, while Peugeot dominated the two-wheel-drive class, with the French brand occupying all three podium positions. Among the crews, the pairing of Ontario driver Leo Urlichich and his new co-driver, Frenchman Enzo Mahinc, dominated the rally, earning Urlichich his second career victory in the Eastern Canadian Rally Championship (first one was already Perce-Neige, in 2017).

On icy and snow-covered roads following a brief storm the day before the ECRC stages began on Saturday morning, this 2026 Rallye Perce-Neige delivered plenty of surprises. However, at the top of the order, Leo Urlichich and Enzo Mahinc never appeared in danger of losing the win, despite a spectacular off-road excursion (with no impact on their classification) in the Blue Sea stage, famous for previous off-road adventures by the same Urlichich, nicknamed “Crazy Leo” by the rally community.

At the finish, Urlichich/Mahinc put their Can Jam Motorsports Subaru Impreza WRX on top with a commanding lead of 4 minutes and 57.5 seconds over local favorites Olivier Martel and Vincent Hubert. This crew was engaged in a thrilling battle with their Test Racing teammates, Yohan Tessier and Marie-France Desmarais-Trépanier. On roads he was rediscovering — his previous participation in the event dated back to 2007, when he competed in a two-wheel-drive VW Golf — Tessier consistently impressed, finishing just 26 seconds behind Martel/Hubert.

Fourth place went to Ontarians Jonathan Drake and Ian Lantz. Runners-up in the ECRC last year, they finished ahead of Quebec’s Vincent Trudel, partnered with American Michelle Miller, and the duo of Michael Dimkovski/Simon Levac, completing a Top 6 made up entirely of Subaru Imprezas.

Olivier Landreville and Alexandre Marcoux, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, finished seventh overall. They placed ahead of the top two crews in the two-wheel-drive class, both competing in Peugeot 208 Rally4 cars. The revelation of the event — and a winning rally debutant in the ECRC standings two years ago at this same Rallye Perce-Neige — the young Quebec driver Vincent Lalande avoided the many traps of this rally to secure victory in the 2WD class. Alongside his French co-driver Fabien Craen, he won the category by a margin of 44 seconds over Nicolas Laverdière, co-driven for the first time by Marc-Olivier Lamontagne.

The overall Top 10 was completed by Simon Aubé and Gabrielle St-Jacques in their Subaru Impreza WRX, just ahead of Frenchman Maxime Galpin, co-driven by Quebecer Jonathan Desgroseilliers in a Peugeot 208 Rally4. This crew also finished third in the two-wheel-drive class.

Victory contenders Alex Moreau and Ian Guité were forced to retire due to engine failure on their Subaru. They were among five ECRC-registered crews, out of 26 starters, unable to finish the rally, which also counted toward the North American Cup and the Canadian Rally Championship. Leo Urlichich and Enzo Mahinc also claimed victory in those series.

This season, the Eastern Canadian Rally Championship (ECRC) features eight events, split between Quebec (4), Ontario (3), and Nova Scotia (1). The next round will take place on May 9 at the Voyageurs Rally in the Catchacoma region of Ontario.

For more information, please visit www.ecrc-crec.ca

Photo credit: © Clément Tavernier / poleposition.ca

2026 ECRC Calendar