Navigating a maze of sharp turns, a local 麻豆社国产driver pulled out a surprise win, beating even a several-time Canadian champion at the latest installment of the Canadian Rally Championship events.
Brandon Semenuk and his co-driver John Hall took the win at the Rocky Mountain Rally, besting Antoine L鈥橢stage, who had Alan Ockwell riding shotgun. L鈥橢stage and Ockwell, who are sponsored by Subaru Canada, were heavily favoured to win the event.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something I enjoy,鈥� said Semenuk. 鈥淚t鈥檚 cool, I really enjoyed the terrain at this event. A lot of the downhill stages were good for me.鈥�
For much of the race, Semenuk was tailing L鈥橢stage.
Over time, however, the terrain took its toll on L鈥橢stage鈥檚 vehicle, which became sidelined due to mechanical failure.
The terrain can be a significant challenge. Rallies are broken into multiple segments, or stages. In this particular race, entire stages could just be either an uphill climb or a steep descent, which pushes the cars hard. Rocky, gravel roads are also prevalent for parts of the course and frequent hairpin turns can keep drivers and their cars on edge for long periods of time.
In the case of L鈥橢stage鈥檚 vehicle, it was more than it could take, as his car eventually encountered a strut problem.
Trailing L鈥橢stage by only two minutes for much of the race, Semenuk managed to seize the opportunity and take the lead, allowing him to finish first.
Semenuk was somewhat of an underdog during the race, given that he was a private competitor who managed to best even a professional driver who had sponsorship dollars and a better car.
In terms of dollar figures, he was outspent threefold, said Patrick Richard, the owner of Rocket Rally Racing, the 麻豆社国产company that put together Semenuk鈥檚 vehicle.
While Semenuk鈥檚 $80,000 vehicle is certainly not cheap, the car of the L鈥橢stage, who was favoured to win the race, rings in at about $250,000, said Richard, whose company built both of the vehicles.
鈥淵ou get 95 percent of the performance at 30 per cent of the price,鈥� Richard said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what makes Brandon鈥檚 win at the Rocky Mountain Rally all the more compelling.鈥�
Semenuk鈥檚 ride is a modified Subaru Crosstrek, which is a crossover vehicle 鈥� a hybrid between a car and a sports utility vehicle.
The team at Rocket Rally made a number of alterations to the stock design, adding in items such as a roll cage to protect the driver, a revamped suspension, and a Subaru turbo engine.
鈥淚t completely transforms the car,鈥� said Richard.
