June 28, 2026.– One of the most prestigious events in North American performance rally, the Rallye International Baie-des-Chaleurs, held in New Richmond, Gaspésie (Quebec), once again attracted a strong field of competitors along with thousands of spectators along the stages. The rally counted toward both the continental and national championships and also served as the third round of the 2026 Eastern Canadian Rally Championship (ECRC). No fewer than 35 of the 45 crews that started the event were entered in the ECRC, tackling a route made up of gravel and dirt roads under perfect weather conditions this year.

At the conclusion of Saturday’s stages, which counted toward the ECRC standings, Quebec’s Vincent Trudel, co-driven by American Michelle Miller in a Subaru WRX STI, emerged victorious. Driving a clean and consistent rally, the duo built their lead stage by stage, regularly posting Top 5 stage times to claim victory by 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds over Michael Dimkovski and Simon Levac (Subaru WRX STI), winners of last month’s Rally of the Voyageurs, the previous ECRC round.

Completing the podium was another Subaru WRX STI, driven by Yohan Tessier and co-driven by Marie-France Desmarais-Trépanier. Making his long-awaited return to the event, Tessier was immediately on the pace of the front-runners. The crew finished just 10 seconds ahead of French duo Maxime Galpin and Théo Mallet (Peugeot 208 Rally4), winners of the Two-Wheel Drive (2WD) class. For Galpin, it was a significant victory, achieved less than two years after discovering rallying in North America and learning to compete on gravel.

The 2WD class featured numerous twists and turns throughout the rally, with several favorites encountering problems. That was the case for Vincent Lalande, co-driven by Amélie Bélanger in another Peugeot 208 Rally4, who dropped to 20^th overall after leading the opening stages. Then there was Charles L’Estage, co-driven by his cousin Juliette L’Estage, daughter of multiple Canadian and North American rally champion Antoine L’Estage. While leading the category, their Ford Fiesta R2 was destroyed by fire after they had finished one of the special stages.

Another Fiesta R2 claimed second place in the 2WD class, and an impressive fifth overall in the ECRC standings, with Dave St-Pierre and Pierre-Luc Chouinard behind the wheel. The pair fell just 8 seconds short of Galpin and Mallet for the class win, a remarkable performance for a crew that contests only a very limited number of events each season.

Fans were treated to the final ECRC battles on Saturday evening during the iconic Camp Brûlé stage, where the rally cars thundered through with all auxiliary lights blazing. Among the highlights was the fight for sixth overall, won by rookie Samuel Bhérer, co-driven by Jonathan Lachance (Subaru WRX STI), ahead of pre-event favorites Sébastien Clark and Pat Lévesque in their Ford Fiesta R5. Clark and Lévesque, however, had been hampered by mechanical issues during the opening stages.

The Maritime Provinces crew of Cal Vandaalen and co-driver Meg Grandmaison (Subaru Impreza RS) finished eighth, ahead of Marc-Olivier Leblanc and Jean-François Brière (Mazda Protegé), who also secured third place in the 2WD class. Jonathan Conrad and Timothy Dine (Subaru Impreza RS) rounded out the overall Top 10. In total, 30 of the 35 ECRC entrants successfully completed the event.

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 on Saturday, August 8, with another event boasting a rich history and a roll of honor featuring both international and regional competitors: the Black Bear Rally in Ontario.

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

Photo credit: © Danny Bujold / poleposition.ca

2026 ECRC Calendar