Press Release - February 5th - 2023.

Jean-Sébastien Besner and Yvan Joyal
Photo credit : © Clément Tavernier / poleposition.ca
Jean-Sébastien Besner and Yvan Joyal Launch Their Season with a Rallye Perce-Neige Maniwaki Victory
February 5th, 2023.- Returning to its traditional date in the heart of winter, the Rallye Perce-Neige Maniwaki, held in the Haute Gatineau region of Québec, kicked off the Canadian national rally season this past weekend. Competing in the Eastern Canadian Rally Championship (ECRC) portion of the rally, this season-launching event was won by two-time series champion (2016, 2028) Jean-Sébastien Besner, in a Mitsubishi Evo Lancer. Co-driven by Yvan Joyal, the Montreal driver was consistent on the icy and snowy roads that made up this challenging rally.
Showcasing excellent speed while avoiding any mishaps, Besner and Joyal claimed victory by a margin of just over 2 minutes and 15 seconds over Simon Aubé and François Joanisse. At the wheel of their Subaru WRX STI, the novice team of Aubé and Joanisse passed the majority of the favoured and more experienced teams by finished second in ECRC and first amongst the novice competitors. Their performance in such a tricky rally contested on very difficult road conditions that left no room for error, demonstrates that this duo has a very promising season ahead of them.