Originally scheduled for April 5 but postponed due to weather issues, the Rally of the Voyageurs took place this past Saturday in the Catchacoma region of Ontario. It served as the second round of the 2025 Eastern Canadian Rally Championship (ECRC), a series celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and, for the first time ever, welcoming the Voyageurs rally, a revived event that was once among the most hotly contested rallies in Eastern Ontario.
The date change affected the availability of several competitors who had entered for the April event and, this time, 14 teams took the start, nearly evenly split between two- and four-wheel-drive cars. After eight special stages, the victory went to Ontarians Trevor Pougnet and Ryan Rouleau in their Subaru WRX STI. Third-place finishers at the season-opening Rallye Perce-Neige, the pair now move into the overall lead of the championship after two of nine rounds.
Pougnet and Rouleau started the rally in dominant form, winning the first three stages, though they never managed to extend their lead beyond 10 seconds. In the second loop of four special stages, the same pattern repeated, with the Ottawa-based driver and his co-driver again setting the fastest time in three out of four stages.
At the end, the duo claimed overall victory and first-place in the Prepared 4WD class, with a 21.5-second lead over Michael Dimkovski and Sam Roxon, who also finished second in the same class and were the only other crew to win any stages during this 2025 edition of the Rally of the Voyageurs.
Rounding out the overall podium were Jeremy Drake and Deric Jackson (also in a Subaru), who took the win in the Open 4WD class. The top three crews were separated by just 28.9 seconds at the finish.
Following this Ontario team sweep in front of their home crowd, Quebecers Marc-André Drouin and Nancy Frigon (Subaru) finished second in Open 4WD class, in front (in overall standings) of the Open 2WD class winners, Ontarians Mark Toufanov and David Bell.
Veterans of major national rallies and the ECRC series, this crew brought their Toyota GT86 to the class win, in fifth overall, ahead of four other two-wheel-drive cars that finished sixth through ninth overall: Eric Vanderwal/Alton Gonsalves (Mazda RX8, winners in Prepared 2WD), Simon Bauman/Crawford New (Mitsubishi Lancer, 2WD Open), Chris Krepski/Colin Wolfson (Volkswagen Golf, Prepared 2WD), and Jeff Lantz/Ian Lantz (Ford Capri).
Among the favourites at the start, Sébastien Clark and co-driver Leah Brisset (Subaru) had to settle for tenth overall due to mechanical issues. They completed the list of classified finishers for this 2025 edition.
The Eastern Canadian Rally Championship (ECRC) consists of nine events this season, spread across Quebec, Ontario, and Nova Scotia. The next round will take place on May 30-31 as part of the second edition of the Rallye Vallée de Beauce, now known as Rallye Beauce Appalaches.
For more information, please visit www.ecrc-crec.ca.
- From ECRC/Service de Presse
