June 30, 2024.- Highly regarded as one of the most popular and appreciated rallies by North American competitors and fans alike, the Rallye Baie-des-Chaleurs, was presented this past weekend in New Richmond, in the Gaspé region of Quebec. The event also marked the 2024 Eastern Canadian Rally Championship midway point.  Always a tough and tricky weekend, by the end of Saturday’s stages that counted towards the ECRC, the rally victory was claimed by Mikael Arsenault and co-driver Amélie Bélanger in a Subaru WRX STI.

Returning to competition after taking a two-season break, Mikael Arsenault and Amélie Bélanger spent the first special stages in the wake of the young Vincent Lalande, co-driven by Matthieu Toupin (Subaru WRX STI), winners of two of the first four rounds of the year. Lalande’s crash opened the door for a new leader as of the fourth stage but Arsenault still had to fight off pressure from other teams hungry for the win. On the Baie-des-Chaleurs gravel roads, Arsenault/Bélanger, were able to manage their lead in front of their local fans, and finished with a small margin of 10.9 seconds ahead of Vincent Trudel and Michelle Miller, also in a Subaru STI.

Right from the beginning, and again after Trudel/Toupin’s exit, it was Mathieu Leblanc and Éric Dubé who were the closest challengers to Arsenault/Bélanger for the top spot in the ECRC. They were forced to dial it back towards the end of the rally, still finishing in fifth place and winning 2 wheel-drive in their Honda Civic. It’s their first ECRC 2WD victory this season.

The overall ECRC podium is completed by Sébastien Clark and Patrick Lévesque (Subaru WRX STI), just 43 seconds behind the winners. They finished in front of William Pardiac and Manuel Arsenault, also in a Subaru STI and very competitive in front of their fans, who showed up in mass as their do every year at the roadside spectator zones of this 46^th edition of the Rallye Baie-des-Chaleurs.

At the wheel of their Subaru Impreza RS, Maritimers Cal Vandaalen and Meg Grandmaison finished in seventh place overall and first in Production 4 wheel-drive. They finished ahead of Simon Aubé and Gabrielle St-Jacques (Subaru WRX STI) and David Gagné/Pierre-Charles Babin, who finished second in 2 wheel-drive cars and first in Production 2WD in their Honda Civic. The Top 10 ECRC overall standings were rounded out by rookies Frédéric Gagné and Alexandre Bessette, consistent throughout the event in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8.

With their Nissan Sentra, Mathieu Royer and Alyssa Voyzelle-Montminy, evolving as a driver from circuit racing (Super Production Challenge), finished second in 2 wheel-drive Open class ahead of French Pascal Besse, co-driven by Nicolas Tousignant in a Porsche 911 SC.

In total, 23 of the 28 ECRC registered teams finished the event, which also counted towards the FIA NACAM North American Cup and the Canadian Rally Championship. 41 teams took the start of the rally, with the overall victory going to Mexicans Alejandro Mauro and Adrian Pérez in a Škoda Fabia Rally 2 Evo.

The Eastern Canadian Rally Championsip (ECRC) is comprised of nine rounds this season, spread out between Ontario and Quebec. The next event will take place on August 10^th, in Ontario, as part of the Black Bear Rally.

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

Photo credit © Danny Bujold / poleposition.ca

2024 ECRC Calendar