Alcan 5000 Rally returns with frozen fervour in fortieth anniversary

The Alcan 5000 Rally, which takes place every other year (typically those ending in an even number), elebrated its forty-year anniversary in late February with a two-week adventure from Seattle to Anchorage.

The journey brought the thirty-six-car field through weather conditions where even the chilliest adjectives would be insufficient to describe. Temperatures ran well into the negatives, bottoming out at –32 degrees Fahrenheit (–35.56° C) as competitors made their way through Canada and Alaska. After crossing the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, the climate’s unfriendliness increased upon entering the Northwest and Yukon Territories, inching closer towards the Arctic north.

Upon crossing into Alaska, the rally went through the subarctic city of Fairbanks before heading even further north. This took the grid to Coldfoot, a town of just thirty-four people (as of the 2020 United States census) and part of the Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, which straddles the Arctic Circle.

By the end, in the Alaskan capital of Anchorage, drivers had travelled five thousand miles.

Unlike traditional cross-country rallies, the Alcan 5000 Rally is a regularity rally in which navigation skills and maintaining a certain speed are favoured over simply being the fastest. Such a format is also used at the Dakar Rally’s adjacent Dakar Classic and the Rebelle Rally, the latter also taking place in North America. Much like in golf, the regularity rally competitor with the lowest score wins and points are racked up for mistakes made while going through the route, such as not meeting or exceeding the baseline speed.

Classes are divided by number depending on vehicle type, with 1 referring to passenger cars and 2 for trucks and SUVs, as well as U or S for Unlimited or SOP navigation equipment. “Unlimited” navigation cars may use any type of hardware and software, while SOP (Signals of Opportunity) navigators are limited to items like a factory odometer, a slide rule, and calculator.

The husband and wife duo of Satish Gopalkrishnan and Savera D’Souza recorded the lowest total score in their Subaru Crosstrek, beating the thirty-five other cars including eleven others in the 2U category. It is their second straight victory after claiming the 2022 edition in a Mazda CX-5. Among the 2U entrants they defeated were the Ford Raptor of Dave Cole, the owner of Hammerking Productions that oversees King of the Hammers and Ultra4 USA.

2020 winners Russ Kraushaar, a five-time champion, and Garth Ankeny finished runner-up in their Mercury Capri. Other former winners in the field include Paul Eklund, the 2000 titlist who finished eighth, and Cole’s team-mate Pete Schneider, a three-time victor.

Journalists Andy and Mercedes Lilienthal, another married pair, won in the 2S class in their INEOS Grenadier.

“With temps as low as –32 degrees Fahrenheit, the INEOS Grenadier was a solid performer in every condition we put it in,” said Andy Lilienthal. “Its suspension easily soaked up hundreds of miles of frost heaves and potholes, the turbocharged engine had plenty of power to get by slow traffic, and the interior was comfortable and versatile. It was a champ in the deeper snows on the ice slalom competition too. The Grenadier was an excellent vehicle to have on this long and demanding rally. To have this new vehicle on the fortieth year of the Alcan 5000 and take top honours in our class was amazing.”

Route

Date	Start	Finish
21 February	Kirkland, Washington	Quesnel, British Columbia
22 February	Quesnel	Peace River
23 February	Peace River	Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
24 February	Yellowknife	Yellowknife
25 February	Yellowknife	Fort Nelson, British Columbia
26 February	Fort Nelson	Whitehorse, Yukon
27 February	Whitehorse	Fairbanks, Alaska
28 February	Fairbanks	Fairbanks
29 February	Fairbanks	Valdez, Alaska
1 March	Valdez	Anchorage, Alaska

Results

Finish	Number	Driver	Co-Driver	Vehicle	Class	Total Points	Margin
1	5	Satish Gopalkrishnan	Saverra D’Souza	Subaru Crosstrek	2U	24.4 points	Leader
2	3	Russ Kraushaar	Garth Ankeny	1973 Mercury Capri	1U	49.6 points	+ 25.2 points
3	11	Jeff Lebesch	Ryan Trail	Porsche 911 Dakar	1U	64.8 points	+ 40.4 points
4	25	Rebecca Ruston	Ryan Haines	BMW 325iX	1U	69.1 points	+ 44.7 points
5	13	David Green	Tom Pastore	Porsche Cayenne	2U	135.6 points	+ 111.2 points
6	1	Dave Cole	Peter Schneider, Mary Byrnes	Ford Raptor	2U	185.8 points	+ 161.4 points
7	20	Daniel Merkins	Ryan Smiley	BMW M3 Competition	1S	189.0 points	+ 164.6 points
8	4	Paul Eklund	Yulia Smolyansky	Subaru Forester XT	2U	198.3 points	+ 173.9 points
9	22	Wim van der Poel	Phil van der Poel	Land Rover Discovery	2U	223.7 points	+ 199.3 points
10	15	Andy Lilienthal	Mercedes Lilienthal	INEOS Grenadier	2S	294.6 points	+ 270.2 points
11	17	Shane Bowman	John Williams	Jeep Wrangler Rubicon	2S	304.9 points	+ 280.5 points
12	30	Edward Heil	Sean O’Shea	GMC Sierra 1500	2S	363.3 points	+ 338.9 points
13	34	Christopher Agocs	Rey Abolofia	Porsche Cayenne T	2U	383.1 points	+ 358.7 points
14	35	Aaron Pufal	Taylor Lawson	Toyota FJ Cruiser	2U	404.1 points	+ 379.7 points
15	19	Marcus Neff	Jennifer Holland	Ram 1500	2S	469.2 points	+ 444.8 points
16	29	Cory Grunwald	E.J. Fillman-Sullivan	BMW X5	2U	477.7 points	+ 453.3 points
17	6	Ed Millman	Mike Chandler	1988 BMW 325iX	Historic	512.0 points	+ 487.6 points
18	24	Jim Saulino	Tim Saulino	Lexus GX 470	2U	530.5 points	+ 506.1 points
19	36	David Coker	Nolan Channon, Joseph Martin, Caroline Martin	Toyota Tacoma	2S	544.4 points	+ 520.0 points
20	12	Miles McEwing	Tracey Martin	Porsche Cayenne	2S	637.2 points	+ 612.8 points
21	21	Hartley Hershenhorn	Jeremiah Jackson	Land Rover Discovery	2U	766.2 points	+ 741.8 points
22	7	Patrick Keightley	Jeff Zurschmeide	Chevrolet Silverado 1500	2S	837.1 points	+ 812.7 points
23	23	Robert Dove	Brian Dove	Ford F-150 Raptor	2S	884.5 points	+ 860.1 points
24	40	Cristian Anton	Sebastian Pozzi, Fausto Carreno	Ram 2500	2S	1071.6 points	+ 1047.2 points
25	16	Conrad Myers	Dean Scheel	Chevrolet Silverado	2S	1140.6 points	+ 1116.2 points
26	14	Nathan Hayashi	Mitchell Leong	Porsche Cayenne	2S	1267.1 points	+ 1242.7 points
27	9	Marc Getty	Al Brennan	Volkswagen Rabbit	1S	1285.4 points	+ 1261.0 points
28	26	Asa Farquhar	Morgan Farquhar	Toyota Tacoma	2S	1339.5 points	+ 1315.1 points
29	2	Dan Goodwin	Rod Sorenson	Porsche Cayenne	2U	1363.1 points	+ 1338.7 points
30	32	Jeff Campbell	Marie Campbell	INEOS Grenadier	2S	1371.5 points	+ 1347.1 points
31	31	Steve Greer	David Bush	Subaru Outback	1S	1423.2 points	+ 1398.8 points
32	33	Ryan Baldwin	Jesse Coyne	Porsche Cayenne T	2U	1436.3 points	+ 1411.9 points
33	18	George Witman	Jay Witman	Mini Cooper S	1S	1473.0 points	+ 1448.6 points
34	27	John Shyne	Oscar Valenzuela	Jeep Wrangler	2S	1583.4 points	+ 1559.0 points
35	28	John Nelson, Adam Nelson	Kemp Gilts	GMC Sierra 1500	2S	1675.7 points	+ 1651.3 points
36	8	Ohio Knox	Joe Harper	BMW X3 M	2S	1946.5 points	+ 1922.1 points