Hardy Schmidtke

The top rally car drivers from across Western Canada descended on the Cochrane area for a race March 7, but it was a local man who stole the show.

Hardy Schmidtke, the two-time defending Western Canadian rally champion, kicked off his 2010 title in fine fashion, driving his 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX to a nine-minute victory in the Cochrane Rally, an enduring backwoods race through the Fallen Timber forestry area northwest of Cochrane.

“It’s awesome,” Schmidtke said after the race. “This is the first rally that I did three years ago when I started and it’s my hometown event.”

Cochrane's Hardy Schmidtke steers his 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX through a sharp turn as he went on to win the Cochrane Rally by more than nine minutes with the help of co-driver John Hall. The event was first on the 2010 Western Canada Rally Championship circuit of which Schmidtke is the two-time defending champion. Photo by Kristofer Schofield

The experienced Cochrane wheelman was a little uncertain of how he would fare at the season-opening event, as it was his first with co-driver John Hall. In rally car racing, the vehicle travels so fast that a driver relies almost entirely on his navigator to provide directions as they fly down narrow trails often packed with ice, gravel and other savage terrain.

“It’s a new relationship and we have to do well, there’s a lot of pressure,” Schmidtke said. “It takes a long time to build that trust relationship. It’s not one rally, it’s a year or two.”

Nevertheless, the Cochrane driver handled his hometown race with poise and celebrated the victory with his wife, Tania, and two kids.

“A lot of people think (rally car racing) is crazy but you have good equipment, you have the stuff made for certain conditions and when you go through what’s called scrutineering before a race, safety comes first.”

Schmitdke hopes events like the Cochrane Rally will help his high-octane sport continue to gain popularity.
“Cochrane’s such a good rally place but the problem is that it’s such a small community,” he said. “We are trying to do things to make it grow.”

Next up for Schmidtke on the six-race Western Canadian Rally Championship circuit will be the Rocky Mountain Rally, which runs through the Calgary area and Kananaskis Country, May 28-29.

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