{{short description|Russian-Canadian rally driver|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Infobox WRC driver | name = "Crazy Leo" Urlichich | image = File:Happy Crazy Leo -cropped-col-cor.jpg | image_size = | caption = Urlichich at the 2012 Rallye Perce-Neige | nationality = Russian / Canadian | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1985|02|02|df=y}} | birth_place = Moscow | years = 2014, 2021 | codriver = | teams = | races = 6 | championships = 0 | wins = 0 | podiums = 0 | stagewins = 0 | points = 0 | first_race = 2014 Rally de Portugal | first_win = | last_win = | last_race = 2021 Acropolis Rally | medaltemplates= }} '''Leonid "Crazy Leo" Urlichich''' (born 2 February 1985 in Moscow, USSR) is a Russian-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.<ref>{{cite web | title="CRAZY" LEO URLICHICH | work=Yokohama Canada | url=http://yokohama.ca/motorsports/drivers/crazy-leo-urlichich/ | accessdate=2014-01-29 | archive-date=2014-06-24 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140624040312/http://yokohama.ca/motorsports/drivers/crazy-leo-urlichich/ | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title='Crazy Leo' tackles the Tall Pines | work=Toronto Star | url=http://thestar.blogs.com/autoracing/2011/11/crazy-leo-tackles-the-tall-pines.html | accessdate=2011-11-25 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129012213/http://thestar.blogs.com/autoracing/2011/11/crazy-leo-tackles-the-tall-pines.html | archivedate=2011-11-29 }}</ref>
Urlichich is notable for winning the second gravel rally he has ever finished.<ref>{{cite web | title=2008 Black Bear Rally General Results | work=Maple Leaf Rally Club | url=http://www.mlrc.ca/blackbear2012/results/BlackBear2008Press0.htm | accessdate=2008-07-20 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201161005/http://www.mlrc.ca/blackbear2012/results/BlackBear2008Press0.htm | archivedate=2014-02-01 }}</ref>
==Career==
===Early career=== At the age of 17 Urlichich enrolled in Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, where he pursued a Business Administration degree. He first drove competitively while at university, at the local rally cross events in his daily-driven Subaru WRX STi.<ref>{{cite web | title=2006 Rallycross Championship Standings | work=Maple Leaf Rally Club | url=http://www.mlrc.ca/rallycross/results/2006/2006%20Championship%20Standings%20-%20Final.pdf | accessdate=2014-01-29 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201160354/http://www.mlrc.ca/rallycross/results/2006/2006%20Championship%20Standings%20-%20Final.pdf | archivedate=2014-02-01 }}</ref>
2007 marked his first performance rally, Rallye Perce-Neige Maniwaki, held in Quebec.<ref>{{cite web | title=Rallye Perce Neige 2007, General Results | work=RallyScoring.com | url=http://rallyscoring.com/results/2007/PerceNeige/PerceNeige2007Press0.htm | accessdate=2014-01-29 }}</ref>
===2008-2010=== 2008 Black Bear rally earned Urlichich his first ever performance rally victory. Urlichich and co-driver Dave Shindle won the event after setting the fastest times on all but the last stage against more experienced Peter Thomson and Andrew Comrie-Picard.<ref>{{cite web | title=All stages in detail using FIA progressive results type, 2008 Black Bear Rally | work=Maple Leaf Rally Club | url=https://www.mlrc.ca/blackbear/results/2008/BlackBear2008Press0.htm | accessdate=2014-01-29 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129144451/https://www.mlrc.ca/blackbear/results/2008/BlackBear2008Press0.htm | archive-date=2016-11-29 | url-status=dead }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite web | title=Richard wins Baie after final stage drama | work=Flat Over Crest | url=http://flatovercrest.com/2010/07/richard-wins-baie-after-final-stage-drama/ | accessdate=2014-01-29 | archive-date=2014-02-02 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202114712/http://flatovercrest.com/2010/07/richard-wins-baie-after-final-stage-drama/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> Urlichich finished fifth overall in the 2010 Canadian Rally Championship.<ref>{{cite web | title=2010 Canadian Rally Championship, Final Point Standings | work=Rally Racing News | url=http://www.rallyracingnews.com/cars/10crc-standing.html | accessdate=2014-01-29 }}</ref>
===2011=== 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.<ref>{{cite web | title=2011 Rallye de Charlevoix 2011 General Results | work=Rally Scoring | url=http://www.rallyscoring.com/results/2011/Charlevoix/RallyeCharlevoix2011Ordre0.htm | accessdate=2012-02-06 }}</ref> At the end of the season Urlichich and Brady won Rally of the Tall Pines and finished second in the Championship.<ref>{{cite web | title=Crazy Leo Captures Tall Pines Rally Victory! | work=Autoblog Canada | url=http://ca.autoblog.com/2011/11/27/crazy-leo-captures-tall-pines-rally-victory/ | accessdate=2014-01-29 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219041946/http://ca.autoblog.com/2011/11/27/crazy-leo-captures-tall-pines-rally-victory/ | archivedate=2014-02-19 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=CRC Standings 2011 Final | work=Canadian Association of Rallysport | url=http://www.carsrally.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=43%3Acurrent-crc-results&catid=14%3Astandings&Itemid=8&lang=en | accessdate=2014-01-29 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web | title=Higgins / Subaru Rally Team USA Finish 2nd at Tall Pines Rally | work=Race-Dezert.com | date=29 November 2011 | url=http://www.race-dezert.com/home/higgins-subaru-rally-team-usa-finish-2nd-at-tall-pines-rally-25079.html | accessdate=2012-04-12 }}</ref>
===2012=== 2012 was Urlichich's inaugural season in the Rally American 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.<ref>{{cite web | title=2012 Sno*Drift Rally Results, Stage 12 - Fishlab Again | work=Rally America | url=http://www.rally-america.com/events/2012/SNODRIFT/stages/stage/12 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053420/http://www.rally-america.com/events/2012/SNODRIFT/stages/stage/12 | url-status=usurped | archive-date=March 4, 2016 | accessdate=2012-04-17 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Travis Hanson Podiums at Sno*Drift Rally, Beats Deep Super Production Field | work=Rally America | url=http://www.rally-america.com/news/entry/ra_1084 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621081534/http://www.rally-america.com/news/entry/ra_1084 | url-status=usurped | archive-date=June 21, 2013 | accessdate=2012-04-17 }}</ref> At the second rally of the year Urlichich crashed heavily into a telegraph pole, but despite serious damage to his car, he was able to finish second overall. The video of the accident went viral on YouTube getting over 1.4 million views.<ref>{{cite web | title=Rally car slams into pole, continues on to finish second | work=Autoblog | url=http://www.autoblog.com/2012/04/25/rally-car-slams-into-pole-continues-on-to-finish-second/ | accessdate=2012-04-17 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Crazy Leo Turns One Million | work=Flat Over Crest | url=http://flatovercrest.com/2012/04/crazy-leo-turns-one-million/ | accessdate=2012-04-17 | archive-date=2016-03-03 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303212528/http://flatovercrest.com/2012/04/crazy-leo-turns-one-million/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>
Urlichich and Williamson finished second in the Canadian Championship, second in the North American Rally Cup, and fifth in the Rally America National Championship.<ref>{{cite web | title=2012 CRC Standings 2012 Final, 2012 NARC Standings | work=Canadian Association of Rallysport | url=http://www.carsrally.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=14&Itemid=8&lang=en | accessdate=2014-01-29 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=2012 Overall Championship Standings | work=Rally America | url=http://ra_2012.rally-america.com/champ_standings2?Endo=1&Class=0&Champ=0&yr=2012 | accessdate=2014-01-29 | archive-date=2014-02-19 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219123459/http://ra_2012.rally-america.com/champ_standings2?Endo=1&Class=0&Champ=0&yr=2012 | url-status=dead }}</ref>
===2013=== Urlichich was absent from full-time competition in 2013, spending time in Europe working on a program to compete in one of the Support Categories of the World Rally Championship in 2014.<ref>{{cite web | title=Rally: "Crazy" Leo Urlichich working on WRC program | work=Auto123.com | date=9 September 2013 | url=http://www.auto123.com/en/news/rally-crazy-leo-urlichich-working-on-wrc-program?artid=159670 | accessdate=2014-01-29 }}</ref>
===2014=== Debut season in the WRC, in the high profile ‘Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy’.
===2016=== Champion, Class Four, MLRC Rallycross Championship
===2017=== Canadian Rally Champion (P4WD)
===2018=== 1st P4WD, Rallye Perce-Neige
===2019=== Canadian Rally Champion (P4WD)
1st P4WD, Rallye Perce-Neige
1st Overall, Rally of the Tall Pines <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://carsrally.ca/crc-news/crazy-leo-and-co-driver-nikolaeva-win-rally-of-the-tall-pines/|title=Crazy Leo and co-driver Nikolaeva win Rally of the Tall Pines|website=CarsRally|language=en|access-date=2019-12-16}}</ref>
==Co-drivers and pacenotes== Over the years Urlichich has competed with nine different co-drivers, including a Welsh co-driver Carl Williamson, who has co-driven for Jari-Matti Latvala in the Stobart Ford World Rally Team.<ref>{{cite web | title=Miikka Anttila, co-driver | work=JMLatvala.com | url=http://www.jmlatvala.com/fi/tietoa/miikka.html | accessdate=2012-05-22 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013030818/http://jmlatvala.com/fi/tietoa/miikka.html | archive-date=2013-10-13 | url-status=dead }}</ref>
Urlichich has claimed on multiple occasions that he recognizes the importance of Pacenotes in modern rallying. According to Williamson, Urlichich has developed a "rather unique Pacenote system", which was designed from scratch and uses some Finnish words.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=July 2012 |title=Crazy Leo's passion |work=Inside Track}}</ref>
==Personality and social media== Urlichich is known for his passion about rallying and his quirky behavior that shows through his interviews. His public persona matches his personality, which has gained Urlichich a sizeable social media following, larger than that of any other rally driver in North America, except Ken Block and Travis Pastrana.<ref>{{cite web | title=Crazy Leo: Living The Dream | work=Stance is Everything | date=5 December 2011 | url=http://www.stanceiseverything.com/2011/12/crazy-leo-living-the-dream/ | accessdate=2014-01-29 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Rally star Crazy Leo revs up social media presence to attract fans | work=The Globe and Mail | url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/new-cars/auto-news/rally-star-crazy-leo-revs-up-social-media-presence-to-attract-fans/article4420033/ | accessdate=2012-08-03 }}</ref>
==Other disciplines== On July 22 and 23, 2011 Urlichich competed in the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship race at the legendary Mosport International Raceway, where he struggled and had to use his skills of driving on dirt during his off track excursions.<ref>{{cite web | title=Crazy Leo can't stay away from the dirt, even at Mosport | work=The Garage Blog | url=http://thegarageblog.com/garage/crazy-leo-cant-stay-away-from-the-dirt-even-at-mosport/ | accessdate=2012-09-15 | archive-date=2012-10-20 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020051634/http://thegarageblog.com/garage/crazy-leo-cant-stay-away-from-the-dirt-even-at-mosport/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Career results==
===WRC results=== {| class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;" |- ! Year ! Entrant ! Car ! 1 ! 2 ! 3 ! 4 ! 5 ! 6 ! 7 ! 8 ! 9 ! 10 ! 11 ! 12 ! 13 ! {{Tooltip|WDC|Championship position}} ! Pts |- | 2014 ! Leonid Urlichich ! Ford Fiesta R2 | MON | SWE | MEX | style="background:#CFCFFF;"| POR<br /><small>55</small> | ARG | ITA | style="background:#EFCFFF;"| POL<br /><small>Ret</small> | style="background:#EFCFFF;"| FIN<br /><small>Ret</small> | style="background:#EFCFFF;"| GER<br /><small>Ret</small> | AUS | FRA | style="background:#CFCFFF;"| ESP<br /><small>50</small> | GBR ! NC ! 0 |- | 2021 ! Saintéloc Junior Team ! Citroën C3 R5 | MON | ARC | CRO | POR | ITA | KEN | EST | BEL | style="background:#CFCFFF;"| GRE<br>{{small|20}} | FIN | ESP | MNZ | ! NC ! 0 |}
===Drive DMACK Cup results=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;" |- ! Year ! Entrant ! Car ! 1 ! 2 ! 3 ! 4 ! 5 ! Pos. ! Points |- | 2014 ! Leonid Urlichich ! Ford Fiesta R2 | style="background:#dfffdf;"| POR<br /><small>8</small> | style="background:#EFCFFF;"| POL<br /><small>Ret</small> | style="background:#EFCFFF;"| FIN<br /><small>Ret</small> | style="background:#EFCFFF;"| GER<br /><small>Ret</small> | style="background:#dfffdf;"| ESP<br /><small>9</small> ! 10th ! 6 |}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==Further reading== * {{cite web | url=http://gearboxmagazine.com/crazy-leo-so-crazy-it-might-work-2/ | title=Crazy Leo: So Crazy It Might Work | publisher=Gearbox Magazine | date=February 1, 2011 | accessdate=11 February 2014 | author=Driggs, Brian}}
==External links== *[http://www.ewrc-results.com/profile.php?p=13321&sct=1&t=Leonid-Urlichich Profile at eWRC-results.com] *https://carsrally.ca/competitors/leonid-urlichich/
Category:Russian emigrants to Canada Category:Canadian rally drivers Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:Saintéloc Racing drivers Category:World Rally Championship drivers Category:Racing drivers from Moscow Category:Russian rally drivers