础听picture can be worth a thousand words.
In the case of the Squamish-backed victory of Subaru Rally Team Canada, one photo, in particular, stands out.聽
It鈥檚 a shot taken by co-pilot Alan Ockwell of himself and driver Antoine L鈥橢stage.聽
In the photo, which was posted last month after their victory at the Pacific Forest Rally, both of them have calm, subdued smiles.
Calm and subdued 鈥� that鈥檚 the demeanour necessary to navigate an event that would put many drivers in a panic.
And it鈥檚 an attitude that has allowed Subaru to clinch the manufacturer鈥檚 title while putting the L鈥橢stage in the lead for the best driver category in this year鈥檚 Canadian Rally Championship circuit.
For this event, the pair blew past the 28 other teams that competed in the national category, clocking in a time of one hour, 14 minutes and 59 seconds.聽
While L鈥橢stage and Ockwell aren鈥檛 from town, the victory still holds a special significance for 蜜桃视频appbecause local company Rocket Rally Racing made the vehicle that carried them past the finish line.
To sweeten the deal even further, the team that clinched second place is also part of Rocket Rally.
The silver-winning team is composed of local driver Brandon Semenuk and co-pilot John Hall, who completed the race in one hour, 16 minutes and 21 seconds 鈥� just under a minute and a half behind the leaders.
For L鈥橢stage, the win can be credited in part to what seems to be a special relationship he has with the course.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always been good to me,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ever had mechanical problems, never went off on that course.鈥�
Indeed, the course appears to have been more than just 鈥済ood鈥� to him 鈥� this has been the 10th time that L鈥橢stage has won the event.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 the only event in my career in the Canadian championship that I鈥檝e never DNF鈥檇,鈥� he said.
In other words, since he started racing the course in 2004, he鈥檚 always finished it.
This can be a feat in of itself, as the course has punishing terrain that can cause mechanical failures.
Much preparation was needed leading up to the event.聽
L鈥橢stage said he and Ockwell spent a significant amount of time reviewing videos from past years at the event.
He said the team makes sure to have onboard cameras rolling each time they take on the race, so they can keep adjusting their game plan.
But no battle plan survives contact with the enemy.
In this case, the enemy happened to be a shift in weather.
鈥淲e ended up with snow conditions without really knowing,鈥� said L鈥橢stage.
There wasn鈥檛 any of the white stuff in the service area, and faulty weather information was being relayed to the team.
As a result, when L鈥橢stage went up to the race course and saw the conditions, it was a bit of a surprise.
鈥淲e ended up with the wrong tires in very difficult conditions,鈥� he said.
鈥淥nce you show up there and it鈥檚 not like they said, then it鈥檚 just harder,鈥� L鈥橢stage added.
鈥淵ou just have to stay calm and just try to do the best you can with what you have, and, hopefully, try to avoid big mistakes and try to avoid losing a lot of time,鈥� he continued.
鈥淚n these situations, it鈥檚 more a question of trying to not lose too much, instead of trying to gain a lot of time.鈥�
