Marking the end of the first half of the season in the Canadian Eastern Rally Championship (ECRC), the Black Bear Rally, held this weekend in the Catchacoma area of Ontario, crowned Ontario driver Michael Dimkovski and Quebec co-driver Simon Levac (Subaru WRX STI) as the winners of a 2026 edition filled with twists and turns. It was their second victory of the season, following their Rally of the Voyageurs triumph in May.

Held exclusively on Saturday and featuring eight timed stages, this rally, which over the years has seen a number of renowned drivers claim victory — including Travis Pastrana in the 2007 edition, which was his very first rally event in Canada at the time — featured a course made up of fast gravel roads where every mistake could prove costly.

The duo of Zachary Bourassa and Éric Dubé (Subaru) were the first leaders of the 2026 edition, setting the fastest time on the opening stage by just seven-tenths of a second before Samuel Joyal, co-driven by Marie-France Desmarais-Trépanier, won Stage 2. At that point, however, Dimkovski and Levac had moved into the overall lead thanks to their consistency.

The duo gradually increased their pace but never managed to build a sufficient cushion over Joyal/Desmarais-Trépanier. The battle was so close that after five of the eight stages, just 0.7 seconds separated the two contenders for victory, with Dimkovski/Levac holding the advantage. Samuel Joyal then managed to take the lead, but on the final stage, he conceded 6.9 seconds to Dimkovski, who consequently won the rally by the narrow margin of 2.5 seconds.

Once again highly consistent at the front, Jonathan Drake and Ian Lantz completed an all-Subaru podium, ahead of Zachary Bourassa/Éric Dubé. Behind these four four-wheel-drive competitors, Andrew Miller and Zach Goldstein completely dominated the two-wheel-drive class with their brand-new Lancia Ypsilon R4. It was Lancia’s first victory in the Canadian Eastern Rally Championship and the second by a European marque in this class, following Maxime Galpin’s Peugeot victory at the most recent Rallye Baie-des-Chaleurs.

Alton Gonsalves and Mark Gonsalves (Subaru) completed the overall Top 6, ahead of Thomas Rogers/Adrian Rogers (Subaru) and Mark Toufanov/David Bell, who also finished second in the two-wheel-drive class with their Toyota GT86. They edged Eric Vanderwal and Alexander Dondish, driving a Mazda RX8, by just 6.7 seconds. That crew finished third in the two-wheel-drive class.

A total of 13 of the 16 crews that started completed the 2026 edition of the Black Bear Rally. Three off-road incidents resulted in retirements, including that of one of the two-wheel-drive class favourites, Mathieu Royer and Alyssa Voyzelle-Montminy (Nissan Sentra).

The Eastern Canadian Rally Championship (ECRC) features eight events this season, spread across Quebec (4), Ontario (3), and Nova Scotia (1). The next round will take place September 11-12 with the Rallye Beauce-Appalaches in St-Victor-de-Beauce, on Quebec’s South Shore. It will be the first time this rally has hosted a ECRC round.

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

2026 ECRC Calendar