Western Canadian Kananaskis Rally preview

Western Canadian Rally Championship ends with a battle.

On Sunday November 10th, the battle for the Western Canadian rally Championship will come to it's conclusion in Kananaskis Country. The battle for the title will be fought on the rugged gravel roads of Powderface Trail and the Jumping Pound Forest Demonstration loop.

With the right luck for some and the wrong luck for others, the Overall championship is still within the grasp of five competitors. Scott Trinder of BC is currently on the top oaf the pack, having already secured his Class championship in the region. Hot on his heels is Gord Olsen of Brooks Alberta who along with his wife Kathy are also in a position for a class win in the Subaru Canadian Rally Championship presented by Yokohama.

Reigning Western Canadian Champion Janusz Komorowski Jr. is still in the fight, but will need some of the bad luck he experienced earlier in the season to move along to his competitors to regain his title. With a rollover at the Big Horn Rally, an engine failure at the Rocky Mountain Rally, and running out of tires at the Pacific Forest event, Komorowski hopes his fortunes will change.

Western Canadian Rally Championship
Overall Points standings

1 Scott Trinder (BC) 44
2 Gord Olsen (Brooks AB) 40
3 Jim Dewitte (Calgary) 32
4 Janusz Komorowski (Calgary) 30
5 Mehran Arefi (BC) 26
6 Ross Foster (Washington) 24

The Western Canadian rally Championship is a series of 6 performance or 'stage' rallies. These events are contested by teams of a driver and co-driver (navigator) in the car and a supporting service crew. Competitive sections, known as stages, run on closed roads, challenge the driver and co-driver to negotiate the road as quickly as they can, separated from their nearest competitor by one minute. The stages are connected by Transit sections, which are on public roads and the teams are regulated by regular traffic laws.

The season ending Kananaskis Rally, the Cochrane Rally of the Ranchlands in March and the regional section of the Rocky Mountain Rally in May are all Calgary based events in the series. The Regional section of May's Big Horn Rally in Edson AB, and the June Pacific Forest Rally in Merritt and the October Mountain Trials Rally, also in Merritt, complete the series.

The Kananaskis Rally starts at the Shopping centre in Bragg Creek where the cars will head off to the competitive stages in Kananaskis Country at 11:30. Registration and technical inspections will start at 8AM with drivers and cars available to the media and the public until the 10:00 drivers briefing. Rally headquarters at the mall is in the Moose Mountain Diner Restaurant.

Competitive sections of the rally will lead the teams West of Bragg Creek to the Jumping Pound Forest Demonstration Loop on the south side of Highway 68, about 14Km in form the Trans Canada Highway. This spectator stage will see the cars run past spectators a total of four times in two directions, and is also directly across the highway from the service area for the event. The first competitive car is expected on the spectator stage at 12:51.

Safety concerns mandate that we close vehicle access to the spectator area by 12:15. Please plan to be there before this time.

The Kananaskis Rally will finish at Camp Horizon on Highway 66 just east of McLean Creek Trail. The first car is expected to arrive at the finish at about 5:30 PM. Fundraising efforts at the spectator area will help raise funds for Camp Horizon, an effort already supported by Swiftdraft Design and Drafting Services Ltd., ZZ Construction and Heninger Toyota.

Kananaskis Rally -- www.rrunracing.com/kananaskis
Calgary Sports Car Club -- www.cscc.ab.ca
Canadian Association of Rallysport -- www.carsrally.ca
Rally BC -- www.rallybc.com
Camp Horizon - www.esmod.ab.ca/camphorizon/findus/findus.cfm

-kr-