According to coordinator Bruce Leonard there were surprises in store.
“We had the drama. Jerome Mailloux on Hastings Road took a big jump and it just landed wrong and he was off into the trees. Antoine L’Estage who had led the entire rally up to that point, he hit a rock on Old Detlor Road and took out the suspension and he was done. Which left Jean-Sebastian Besner battling against the Scotsman, Max McRae, who he beat by 53 seconds after an hour and a half of rallying.”
Another twist of the day came when drivers Marc-Andre Brisebois and co-driver Marie Desmarais-Trepani rounded a corner on Old Hastings Road and crashed, after triple flipping the car.
Fortunately the occupants were unharmed.
“The safety equipment in these cars is amazing.” said Leonard. “The cage did its job. The seat, the harnesses, the helmet, the Hans device, all those things work. Because they rolled, I believe, three times. I think they landed on their wheels.”
A crowd pleaser of the day came in the form of a 1973 Ford Capri, bringing up the rear of the race, driven by Lantz and co-driver Hooper.
Talking to Leonard about the excitement of the day, he went on to say that events like Tall Pines don’t always attract big crowds due to the fact that Rally Car racing can be less spectator-friendly than watching at a traditional race track.
“It’s, you know, one of the best kept secrets, unfortunately, in motorsports”
Despite this challenge, Leonard said that road crews reported seeing more people at this year’s rally than they had in ‘many, many years’.
Almost half a million views of the event racked up on social media throughout the weekend.
