User:Mprice444/sandbox
| "Crazy Leo" Urlichich | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Canadian /  Russian |
| Born | February 2, 1985 |
| Current team | Can-Jam Motorsports |
Leonid "Crazy Leo" Urlichich (born 02 February 1985 in Moscow, USSR) is a Russian-born Canadian rally driver currently competing in the Canadian and the US national championships. He drives for a Toronto-based team Can-Jam Motorsports and has expressed ambitions to compete in the World Rally Championship.[1]
Urlichich is notable for his impressive speed from the time he first stepped into a rally car, as he won the second gravel rally he has ever finished.[2] He is well known for his aggressive driving style, which earned him the name Crazy Leo, and comparisons to Colin McRae.
Career
[edit]Early career
[edit]At the age of 17 Urlichich enrolled in Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, where he perused a Business Administration degree. His first competitive outings took place while at university, at the local rally cross events in his daily-driven Subaru WRX STi. Notably Urlichich still uses that same Subaru as his reconnaissance car.
A freak accident led Urlichich to Can-Jam Motorsports, which owners noted his daring/reckless driving style and his indifference to the visual appearance of the car.[3] He stated that he only cared about “going fast”.[4] He could count, though, on the understanding of the team, which have won multiple championships preparing cars for the Subaru Canada factory team.
2007 marked his first performance rally, Rallye Perce-Neige Maniwaki, held in Quebec.[5]
2008-2009
[edit]In the years 2008-2009 Urlichich has competed irregularly in the Ontario regional and the Canadian national events, while working full time in a Toronto-based media company. 2008 Black Bear rally earned Urlichich his first ever performance rally victory. Urlichich and co-driver Dave Shindle dominated the event, winning all but the last stage against the experienced Peter Thomson and Andrew Comrie-Picard.
2010
[edit]The 2010 season was Urlichich’s full season in the Canadian Rally Championship. Rally Baie-des-Chaleurs delivered his first national podium, as he finished second.[6] Urlichich and Can-Jam Motorsports have lent their rally-prepped recce car to a rival driver Antoine L'Estage, because the transmission on his Mitsubishi Evo X has failed during the pre-rally shakedown. Urlichich and a US co-driver Chrissie Beavis finished third overall in the 2010 championship.
2011
[edit]2011 season saw Urlichich team up with an Irish co-driver Martin Brady. The team has competed in eight events across Canada. Urlichich lost Rallye de Charlevoix to Antoine L’Estage and John Buffum (who was co-driving at this event) by one second.[7] At the end of the season Urlichich and Brady won prestigious Rally of the Tall Pines and finished second in the championship.[8] David Higgins, who finished second in the event noted that the rally was one of the most difficult in his career due to the nature of stages.[9]
2012
[edit]2012 is Urlichich’s inaugural season in the Rally America championship in the United States. Partnered with an experienced Welsh co-driver Carl Williamson, Urlichich has won a stage at the debut Sno*Drift rally and finished the event third, later to be penalized to sixth place due to the substrate of the catalytic converter missing.[10] [11] At the second rally of the year Urlichich crashed heavily into a telegraph pole, but despite serious damage to his Subaru ‘Beast’ was able to finish second overall. The video of the accident went viral on YouTube getting over a million views in the first two weeks.[12] [13]
Urlichich had a successful season and with the help of his co-driver was able to increase the pace. The pair finished second in the Canadian Championship, beating Subaru Canada factory team, and fifth in the Rally America National Championship.
References
[edit]- ^ "'Crazy Leo' tackles the Tall Pines". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
- ^ "2008 Black Bear Rally General Results". Maple Leaf Rally Club. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ "About Crazy Leo". CrazyLeo.net. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
- ^ "Crazy Leo Talks Going Viral, His Year So Far, And Why He Hates Jemba Pacenotes". CDN Rally. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ^ "Crazy Leo's Career Log". CrazyLeo.net. Retrieved 2011-09-23.
- ^ "2010 Rally Baie-des-Chaleurs General Results". Rally Scoring. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
- ^ "2011 Rallye de Charlevoix 2011 General Results". Rally Scoring. Retrieved 2012-02-06.
- ^ "Historic Tall Pines Brings My First National Win". CrazyLeo.net. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
- ^ "David Higgins and Subaru Rally Team USA finish 2nd Overall at 2011 Rally of the Tall Pines". Subaru.com. Retrieved 2012-04-12.
- ^ "2012 Sno*Drift Rally Results, Stage 12 - Fishlab Again". Rally America. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ "Travis Hanson Podiums at Sno*Drift Rally, Beats Deep Super Production Field". Rally America. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ "Rally car slams into pole, continues on to finish second". Autoblog. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ "Crazy Leo Turns One Million". Flat Over Crest. Retrieved 2012-04-17.