The Eastern Canadian Rally Championship (ECRC) held the second round of its 2026 season this Saturday with the Rally of the Voyageurs. Created in the mid-1970s, the event was originally known as the Barum Rally Sprint, attracting renowned drivers such as John Buffum, Taisto Heinonen, and Randy Black. It later moved to Owen Sound as a full rally under the name Peninsula Rally, before becoming the Muskoka Rally and, by the late 1980s, the Rally of the Voyageurs. After further relocations, it was held in Mattawa and then Parry Sound until 2002. Revived in 2017, it is now contested on the Parnell Quarry Road in the Catchacoma region of Ontario.

This year’s edition was the second since 2025 to count toward the ECRC championship, and after 70 kilometres of timed stages spread across eight special stages, Ontario’s Michael Dimkovski, co-driven by Quebec’s Simon Levac in a Subaru WRX STI, claimed victory. After a dramatic battle that lasted right to the finish line, the duo won by just two tenths of a second; the closest margin ever recorded in the series.

Run on somewhat dusty gravel and dirt roads under sunny spring conditions, the 2026 Rally of the Voyageurs was initially led by Sébastien Clark and co-driver Yvan Joyal in the Ford Fiesta R5 purchased last year from former Canadian and ECRC champion Jean-Sébastien Besner. However, Clark and Joyal’s fastest time in the opening stage was short-lived, as they were forced to retire with a transmission issue in the following stage, opening the door to a three-way battle for victory.

Marc-André Drouin and Marc-André Briand (Subaru WRX STI) moved into the lead after Stage 2 before Dimkovski and Levac took control. Many expected them to gradually build a gap over their rivals, but Jonathan Drake and Ian Lantz, also driving a Subaru, had other plans. Sitting just two seconds behind at the start of Stage 6, they surged into the lead with relentless pace. Heading into the final stage, only 1.9 second separated Drake/Lantz from Dimkovski/Levac. Just 8.52 km later, Michael Dimkovski and Simon Levac secured victory by a mere 0.2 second over Drake and Lantz.

Never far off the lead but unable to break the dominance of the two Ontario drivers, Samuel Joyal, co-driven by Marie-France Desmarais-Trépanier, completed the overall podium just 9.2 seconds behind the winners. Joyal and Desmarais-Trépanier finished ahead of Drouin and Briand, making it an all-Subaru top four.

Fifth overall and winners of the two-wheel-drive class, Ontario’s Mark Toufanov and David Bell once again impressed aboard their Toyota GT86. They finished ahead of another two-wheel-drive entry, the Mitsubishi Lancer of Simon Bauman and Daniel Kelly. Philippe Dubé and Matthieu Toupin (Subaru WRX STI), Michal Gielas and Jacek Gielas (Subaru Impreza RS), and the third classified two-wheel-drive car, the Mazda RX-8 of Eric Vanderwal and Patrick Hooper, rounded out the overall positions 7 to 9. The top 10 of this 2026 Rally of the Voyageurs is completed by Alton and Mark Gonsalves (Subaru Impreza WRX). In total, 16 of the 18 starters completed this 2026 edition.

The 2026 Eastern Canadian Rally Championship features eight events this season, split between Quebec (4), Ontario (3), and Nova Scotia (1). The next round will take place on June 27 as part of the Rallye International Baie-of the-Chaleurs, one of North America’s most popular performance rally events, held in New Richmond, Gaspé, Quebec.

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

Photo credit

• Overall Podium: © Test Racing
• Overall winners: © Facebook Canadian Rally Championship

2026 ECRC Calendar