Welcome Letter

Welcome to Bancroft, Rally Fans

2022 MARKS THE 51ST RUNNING OF THE RALLY OF THE TALL PINES

Story by Bruce Leonard, Lincoln Electric Rally of the Tall Pines Coordinator

n behalf of Maple Leaf Rally Club and our sponsors, welcome to the 2022 Lincoln Electric Rally of the Tall Pines in Bancroft, ON. We are pleased that the Town of Bancroft is our host sponsor again this year. We always enjoy the friendly hospitality and wide range of services that Bancroft has to offer, and encourage all our visitors to enjoy the facilities available in town, not only during the rally, but also during the many other events Bancroft hosts throughout the year. We very much appreciate the support and enthusiasm Bancroft provides to the rally; it is a major part of the success of the Rally of the Tall Pines. In addition to the Town, Lincoln Electric returns as our title sponsor for the fifth year. Lincoln Electric is a leading global supplier of welding and cutting equipment as well as welding consumables. They will have the display trailer on show in the Service Park during the event, so please check out the excellent products and services they have to offer.

After not running in 2020, and then being under Covid-19 restrictions in 2021, being able to return to the “new normal” and welcoming back spectators is exciting. For the competitors, having people on the side of the roads cheering them on is an added boost for them to put on a show.

The Lincoln Electric Rally of the Tall Pines is a part of four Rally Championships: The Canadian National Rally Championship, the North American Rally Championship, the Ontario Regional Rally Championship and the Eastern Canadian Rally Championship. Within the championships are the divisions of Overall Driver and Codriver, Two-Wheel-Drive Driver and Codriver, and the classes of Production 4WD and Production 2WD.

With one event to go after Tall Pines, Jerome Mailloux sits well atop the Overall Driver standings in the Canadian Rally Championship. Could he be overtaken by Jean-Sebastien Besner? The 2-Wheel drive championship is in a similar situation, with Nick Wood from Kamloops, BC holding a commanding lead over newcomer Kurtis Duddy from Quebec. The Production 4Wheel Drive class is much tighter; Trevor Pougnet holds a slim 2-point lead over Matt Ballinger. However, the last event of the year is Big White Rally in Kelowna in two weeks, which CARS has announced will be awarding double points due to the Pacific Forest Rally having been cancelled. Will either Pougnet or Ballinger need to make the trek out west to secure the class win? The same tight battle for the CRC Novice Driver championship exists as well, with Gabriel Monette ahead by 1 point over Pougnet and 4 points over Ballinger and Dave Cyr. This is the battle to watch! Conditions at Tall Pines have always been a challenge. It’s always been advised that a team needs to bring every tire they have to Pines. It could be icy in the morning, mild and sloppy in the afternoon, and freezing again for the night stages.

The tight schedule over this one-day rally will push all teams’ endurance to the limit. Expect to see great competition throughout the field as teams battle for championships, points, and bragging rights on these incredible roads. Tall Pines has been described as the toughest one day rally in North America. 4 Rally of the Tall Pines Program

(Above) The Lincoln Electric Rally of the Tall Pines would not be possible without the effort of many volunteers, sponsors, the organizing committee and the Town of Bancroft, the Townships of Wollaston, Limerick, Faraday, and Tudor & Cashel; the Municipality of Marmora & Lake; and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, who permit the rally to

use their roads. Photo by Rob Sztuka

TALL PINES MERCHANDISE

Be a part of the event with our Rally of the Tall Pines tees, which will be on sale at Rally HQ at the Dungannon Recreation Centre and at the Ironbridge spectator stage. Please stop by and take home a T-shirt, or some Tall Pines stickers or even a Tall Pines licence plate holder. We contribute to support Bancroft’s tree planting program, so there can be more “Tall Pines” in the future and we use compostable products where possible and encourage our suppliers, competitors and spectators to do the same. We are grateful to: the Town of Bancroft, the Townships of Wollaston, Limerick, Faraday, and Tudor & Cashel; the Municipality of Marmora & Lake; and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry for granting us permission to use their roads.

And many thanks to the Watters and Tait families for allowing us to use a portion of their properties for viewing; please respect all the areas that you are spectating at. Thanks also to M&M Esso for allowing us the use of their facility for tech inspection. Of course, we couldn’t put on this event without our sponsors and the 200+ volunteers who make the Tall Pines the special event that it has become. Thanks to them, and to you, the spectator – welcome back! TP

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