Bryan Bouffier got his Intercontinental Rally Challenge title campaign off to the best possible start
by winning the centenary edition of Rallye Monte-Carlo, which finished in Monaco’s harbour front in
the early hours of Saturday morning following three day’s of intense competition shown live on
Eurosport.
Driving a Peugeot France 207 Super 2000, the 32-year-old from Die in the nearby Drome region,
took the lead on a dramatic seventh stage on Thursday afternoon when a freak snowfall coated
much of the mountainous roads and made driving conditions treacherous.
Juho Hanninen, who had been leading comfortably in his Skoda Motorsport Fabia S2000, was one
of several leading drivers to get caught out by selecting the wrong type of tyre for the wintry
conditions. However, Bouffier’s decision to opt for a combination of snow and studded tyres gave
him just enough grip to slither through the stages and climb from seventh to first overall despite
spinning into a bank at one point.
Bouffier, the French champion who shone on a handful of IRC appearances last year, first
emerged as a contender for victory by winning stage six on Thursday having lost time on
Wednesday afternoon with a rear differential fault. He began day three with a lead of 28 seconds,
which he was able to extend following a controlled, albeit attacking, performance throughout
Friday’s five tests. He becomes the 19th different driver to win a round of the IRC since it began in
2007. His success was also the 21st for Peugeot in the series.
Changeable weather conditions are part of Rallye Monte-Carlo folklore and added further spice to
this year’s event. That they contributed to Hanninen’s downfall in the space of one afternoon was
poor reward for the defending IRC champion, who had excelled by claiming three stage wins in the
early running, but had to settle for sixth in the final classification.
With Hanninen caught out by the weather and Czech Republic team-mate Jan Kopecky not
showing the sparkle that has made him IRC runner-up for the past two seasons, it was left to
Freddy Loix to uphold Skoda’s honour in second overall after the Belgian recovered from a spin on
stage six. No driver has won more rounds of the IRC than Loix but he had to settle for second on
this occasion.
Le Mans 24 Hours racer Stephane Sarrazin, another driver to drop time in the snow of Thursday,
scored four stage wins to complete the final test in third for Peugeot France after his mechanics
changed a faulty gearbox in 15 minutes when it got stuck in fourth gear a handful of kilometres into
stage 11. The delay dropped him to fifth with two stages remaining before his late charge netted
what appeared to be the final podium spot.
But because Sarrazin is unlikely to contest any more IRC events this season in order to
concentrate on his other motorsport commitments, he elected to take a time penalty before the
final control to promote Guy Wilks to third and help the Peugeot UK driver’s title bid.

Wilks, who is embarking on a full IRC campaign for Peugeot UK in 2011,
drove without error in his 207. He lost ground on Friday morning when an
intercom fault made it difficult for the Briton to hear co-driver Phil Pugh’s
pacenotes. He also reported a few concerns with his rear suspension settings,
which he said affected the handling of his car, while his decision to use soft
compound tyres for the final brace of stages failed to deliver the pace he
craved.
Francois Delecour belied his 48 years and lack of recent international experience, to start day
three in second overall in his privateer 207. The 1994 Monte-Carlo winner was languishing in
eighth when he made an inspired tyre choice for stage seven by selecting studded tyres. He
vaulted up the leaderboard and was quickest of all on stage eight. However, Delecour’s fears that
he wouldn’t be able to hold on for a podium in his older-specification car were realised when he
began to slip back, his efforts not helped by an engine power glitch on the final night.
Former world champion Petter Solberg had moved into second place on his IRC debut heading to
the snow-hit loop of stages on Thursday. But his decision to use intermediate tyres backfired
spectacularly and he slipped to a distant seventh before alternator failure stopped his Peugeot 13
kilometres from the finish in Monaco.
Nicolas Vouilloz, competing on his first rally for 12 months, fought back from having to change a
punctured front-right tyre on stage one to land seventh overall in a Škoda France-backed Fabia.
Vouilloz, the IRC champion in 2007, gave a glimpse of what might have been with the quickest run
through the first Col de Turini stage.
Toni Gardemeister also lost ground with a puncture on day one but recovered to take 10th for Astra
Racing after overcoming a sticking throttle. Giandomenico Basso, a four-time IRC event winner,
overtook the Finn on the final evening on his first appearance in a 207 by winning stage 11.
Ex-Formula One driver Alex Caffi impressed on his Monte-Carlo debut to finish 11th with M-Sport
Ford Fiesta driver Julien Maurin 12th. IRC Production Cup winner Florian Gonon took 13th in his
Subaru Impreza WRX with Pierre Campana making up a deficit of nearly two minutes to win the
IRC 2WD Cup after he was delayed by a puncture on Thursday morning. Mark Wallenwein
achieved his aim of finishing his first Rallye Monte-Carlo, taking 21st for Skoda Auto Deutschland.
Several drivers failed to make it beyond day one including PROTON Motorsports drivers P-G
Andersson and Chris Atkinson. Andersson crashed on stage two while an electrical failure curtailed
Atkinson’s bid 700 metres from the start of the opening test.
Andreas Mikkelsen damaged his Skoda UK Motorsport Fabia’s suspension sliding into a wall four
corners into the first stage and retired. Fellow Norwegian Henning Solberg also failed to go beyond
stage one after dropping considerable time with a puncture.
Thierry Neuville crashed his Team Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg 207 three kilometres from the
finish of the first stage. Bruno Magalhaes left the road at high speed on stage four although
thankfully neither he nor new co-driver Paulo Grave were injured after inflicting sizeable damage to
their Peugeot Sport Portugal 207.
DRIVER QUOTES
Bryan Bouffier (France), Peugeot 207 S2000, first overall: “It’s really fantastic to have won this
special rally. I am so happy for Peugeot who gave me this opportunity and did a really good job.
There was big pressure on me, there were a lot of fantastic drivers and the conditions were also
very difficult. I am just so happy.”

Freddy Loix (Belgium), Skoda Fabia S2000, second overall: “The first day
was not the most difficult but we were quite controlled. Then the second day
was very difficult with the weather. To keep second place is a good result and
I’m quite pleased.”
Guy Wilks (United Kingdom), Peugeot 207 S2000, third overall: “It was
hard work on that last stage because we had a soft tyre that wasn’t right for
the conditions. But we pushed like hell and made no big mistakes. It’s a good
result first time in the car.”
TOP TEN IRC POSITIONS AFTER DAY THREE
1 Bryan Bouffier (FRA)/Xavier Panseri (FRA) Peugeot 207 S2000 3h32m55.7s
2 Freddy Loix (BEL)/Frederic Miclotte (BEL) Skoda Fabia S2000 +32.5s
3 Guy Wilks (GBR)/Phil Pugh (GBR) Peugeot 207 S2000 +1m19.7s
4 Stephane Sarrazin (FRA)/Jacques-Julien Renucci (FRA) 207 S2000 +1m21.9s
5 Francois Delecour (FRA)/Dominique Savignoni (FRA) 207 S2000 +1m22.4s
6 Juho Hanninen (FIN)/Mikko Markkula (FIN) Skoda Fabia S2000 +1m29.3s
7 Nicolas Vouilloz (FRA)/Benjamin Veillas (FRA) Skoda Fabia S2000 +4m47.8s
8 Jan Kopecky (CZE)/Petr Stary (CZE) Skoda Fabia S2000 +7m45.9s
9 Giandomenico Basso (ITA)/Mitia Dotta (ITA) Peugeot 207 S2000 +8m46.0s
10 Toni Gardemeister (FIN)/Tomi Tuominen (FIN) Peugeot 207 S2000 +9m09.0s
IRC Production Cup: Florian Gonon (SUI)/Sandra Arlettaz (SUI) Subaru Impreza WRX
IRC 2WD Cup: Pierre Campana (FRA)/Sabrina de Castelli (FRA) Renault Clio R3
IRC STANDINGS
Drivers after round one of 12
1 Bryan Bouffier 25pts
2 Freddy Loix 18pts
3 Guy Wilks 15pts
4 Stephane Sarrazin 12pts
5 Francois Delecour 10pts
6 Juho Hanninen 8pts
7 Nicolas Vouilloz 6pts
8 Jan Kopecky 4pts
9 Giandomenico Basso 2pt
10 Toni Gardemeister 1pt
Manufacturers after round one of 12
1 Peugeot 40pts
2 Skoda 26pts
IRC Production Cup after round one of 12
1 Florian Gonon 25pts
2 Vojtech Stajf 18pts
3 Giacomo Oligari 15pts
4 Maurizio Verini 12pts
5 Claude Carret 10pts
6 Eamonn Boland 8pts
7 Herve Knapick 6pts
8 Miguel Baudoin 4pts
9 Remi Tosello 2pts
10 Pierre Bos 1pts
IRC 2WD Cup drivers after round one of 12
1 Pierre Campana 25pts
2 Michael Burri 18pts
3 Renaud Poutot 15pts
4 Eric Mauffrey 12pts
5 Adrien Tambay 10pts
6 Andrea Crugnola 8pts
7 Jean-Michel Raoux 6pts
8 Dimitrios Amaxopoulos 4pts
9 Lillian Vialle 2pts
10 Christophe Fontaine 1pt
IRC 2WD Cup manufacturers after round 12 of 12 (best seven results)
1 Peugeot 10pts
RALLY LEADERS
SS1: Stephane Sarrazin
SS2-6: Juho Hanninen
SS7-13: Bryan Bouffier
STAGE WINNERS
Wednesday 19 January
SS1: Le Moulinon – Antraigues* (36.87kms): Stephane Sarrazin
SS2: Burzet – St Martial* (41.06kms): Juho Hanninen
SS3: St Bonnet Le Froid – St Bonnet Le Froid* (25.22kms): Juho Hanninen
SS4: St Bonnet Le Froid – St Bonnet Le Froid* (25.22kms): Freddy Loix
Thursday 20 January
SS5: St Jean en Royans – Font D’Urle* (23.05kms): Juho Hanninen
SS6: Cimetiere de Vassieux – Col de Gaudissart* (24.13kms): Bryan Bouffier
SS7: St Jean en Royans – Font D’Urle* (23.05kms): Bryan Bouffier
SS8: Cimetiere de Vassieux – Col de Gaudissart* (24.13kms): Francois Delecour
Friday 21-Saturday 22 January
SS9: Montauban sur l’Ouveze – Eygalayes (29.89kms): Stephane Sarrazin
SS10: Moulinet – La Bollene Vesubie* (23.41kms): Nicolas Vouilloz
SS11: Lantosque – Luceram* (18.81kms): Giandomenico Basso
SS12: Moulinet – La Bollene Vesubie* (23.41kms): Stephane Sarrazin
SS13: Lantosque – Luceram* (18.81kms): Stephane Sarrazin
* = Live on Eurosport.
TV TIMES
Eurosport, Europe’s largest television sports channel, will show a review of the rally at 19:45hrs-
20:15hrs on Sunday 23 January.

Bryan Bouffier will take a lead of 28.7 seconds into the final day of Rallye Monte-Carlo as snow
made driving conditions treacherous and threw the battle for victory on the Intercontinental Rally
Challenge counter wide open.
Bouffier, driving a Peugeot France 207 S2000, started Thursday last two stages in the mountains
of France’s Drome region 1m37.6s adrift of runaway leader Juho Hanninen. But in a dramatic turn
of events, the 32-year-old Bouffier shot from seventh to first on one stage to set up a grandstand
finish in the hills above Monte-Carlo tomorrow night, which will be televised live on Eurosport.
Although there were reports of snow falling on the demanding asphalt roads, the setting of
Thursday’s closing brace of stages, the bulk of the leading runners opted to use intermediate
compound or winter tyres.
French champion Bouffier left service in Valence with four snow tyres and two studded tyres in the
boot of his car. While there were only a few flakes of snow falling when he left the start line of
stage seven, the snow had intensified dramatically just a few kilometres later.
With the stages becoming increasingly slippery, Bouffier fitted his two studded tyres to the front of
his car for the final test. As his rivals struggled to keep control of their cars, Bouffier had just
enough grip to get to the stage end with the lead of the rally intact, despite nudging a bank when
he suffered the first of two spins.
Hanninen, with a combination of intermediate and snow tyres, somehow managed to slide his
Skoda Fabia Super 2000 through the two stages as fading light added to the challenge. But having
led by 51.5s following Thursday morning’s two stages, the Finn completed the second day of the
centenary edition of Rallye Monte-Carlo 2m36.0s off the lead.
“We took the risk with the tyres thinking the snow would not be so bad but it didn’t work out,” said
the defending IRC champion. “This is rally and this is what can happen, especially on the Monte-
Carlo. It’s very difficult now but we won’t give up.”
Francois Delecour, the winner of Rallye Monte-Carlo back in 1994, was seemingly out of
contention for a podium finish in his privateer 207 at Thursday’s midday service. However, by
selecting a set of studded tyres (the snow tyres he had planned to use were too badly worn) the
48-year-old gave himself a gilt-edged opportunity to make up ground on the leaders. He won the
day’s final stage to climb from an overnight eighth to second.
Petter Solberg started stage seven in second overall in his 207 after demoting Freddy Loix when
the Belgian spun his Fabia six kilometres into stage six. Solberg gambled by choosing intermediate
tyres for the afternoon stages and fell back to seventh, while Loix chose a combination of
intermediate and snow covers and managed to hold third place as he slithered through the snow.
Guy Wilks has climbed to fourth in his Peugeot UK 207 following another error-free performance.
The British driver thought snow tyres would prove the ‘safer option’ although afterwards he said he
regretted not selecting studded rubber. Stephane Sarrazin, in another 207, has dropped to fifth
after admitting to having no confidence as the available grip rapidly diminished.

Former IRC champion Nicolas Vouilloz is eighth as he continues his recovery
from the front-right puncture he suffered on Wednesday’s first stage. Jan
Kopecky is down to ninth after a torrid afternoon in the snow, while Toni
Gardemeister, another puncture victim on day one, is up to 10th.
Ex-Grand Prix driver Alex Caffi is an impressive 12th overnight on his Rallye
Monte-Carlo debut, one place behind fellow Italian Giandomenico Basso.
Julien Maurin was 10th heading into the afternoon stages in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000 but
slipped back with a transmission glitch. Jean-Sebastien Vigion, who was ninth prior to stage seven,
lost huge amounts of time by selecting slick, dry weather tyres. Skoda Auto Deutschland’s Mark
Wallenwein, making his IRC debut, is still on course to achieve his target of finishing the event,
despite nudging his rear suspension on a rock on stage eight.
Two Swiss drivers head the IRC support categories. Florian Gonon, who set the third fastest time
on stage eight, leads the IRC Production Cup in his Subaru Impreza, while Michael Burri heads the
IRC 2WD Cup runners in a Citroen DS3 R3 as a puncture delayed overnight leader Pierre
Campana on Thursday’s first stage.
Following a final service halt in Valence on Friday morning, crews begin the 390-kilometre journey
to Monaco via the last Drome stage, Montauban sur l’Ouveze-Eygalayes. Upon arrival in Monaco,
cars enter parc ferme while the drivers and co-drivers are able to rest before the four night stages
in the Alpes Maritimes.
However, only the leading 60 competitors at the completion of the Montauban sur l’Ouveze stage
will tackle the nighttime tests, including two runs over Col de Turini, in keeping with one of the
event’s long-standing traditions. The winner is likely to be known at approximately 00:30hrs on
Saturday 22 January with the prize-giving taking place in the Place du Palais at 11:00hrs.
DRIVER QUOTES
Bryan Bouffier (France), Peugeot 207 S2000, first overall: “That was incredible and I am
actually very lucky because I spun twice and hit a bank. I took no risks because the conditions
were so difficult. When I won my first stage of Rally Monte-Carlo earlier today it was a special
feeling. To be leading is something amazing.”
Francois Delecour (France), Peugeot 207 S2000, second overall: “Even with studded tyres that
was so difficult and so easy to make a mistake. You really had to drive carefully just to get through
the stage. I cannot believe what happened.”
Freddy Loix (Belgium), Skoda Fabia S2000, third overall: “It was really difficult on those final
two stages but there is still a long way to go and it’s not over yet. We went for snow tyres without
any studs and it was wrong for the conditions.”

TOP TEN IRC POSITIONS AFTER DAY TWO
1 Bryan Bouffier (FRA)/Xavier Panseri (FRA) Peugeot 207 S2000 2h14m38.8s
2 Francois Delecour (FRA)/Dominique Savignoni (FRA) 207 S2000 +28.0s
3 Freddy Loix (BEL)/Frederic Miclotte (BEL) Skoda Fabia S2000 +1m05.5s
4 Guy Wilks (GBR)/Phil Pugh (GBR) Peugeot 207 S2000 +1m20.5s
5 Stephane Sarrazin (FRA)/Jacques-Julien Renucci (FRA) 207 S2000 +1m41.1s
6 Juho Hanninen (FIN)/Mikko Markkula (FIN) Skoda Fabia S2000 +2m35.7s
7 Petter Solberg (NOR)/Chris Patterson (GBR) Peugeot 207 S2000 +3m49.1s
8 Nicolas Vouilloz (FRA)/Benjamin Veillas (FRA) Skoda Fabia S2000 +5m31.0s
9 Jan Kopecky (CZE)/Petr Stary (CZE) Skoda Fabia S2000 +7m51.7s
10 Toni Gardemeister (FIN)/Tomi Tuominen (FIN) Peugeot 207 S2000 +7m52.7s

IRC Production Cup: Florian Gonon (SUI)/Sandra Arlettaz (SUI) Subaru Impreza
IRC 2WD Cup: Michael Burri (SUI)/Stephane Rey (SUI) Citroen DS3 R3
DAY THREE ITINERARY (FRIDAY 21 JANUARY)
Special stages: Five
Special stage distance: 114.33kms
Liaison distance: 542.13kms
Total distance: 656.46kms
Service E: Valence (0:20hrs), 06:30hrs
SS9: Montauban sur l’Ouveze – Eygalayes (29.89kms), 09:08hrs
Monaco Parc Ferme: Monaco (4:45hrs), 13:53hrs
Service F: Monaco (0:23hrs), 17:44hrs
SS10: Moulinet – La Bollene Vesubie* (23.41kms), 19:15hrs
SS11: Lantosque – Luceram* (18.81kms), 19:58hrs
Service G: Monaco (0:20hrs), 21:57hrs (regroup at 21:10hrs)
SS12: Moulinet – La Bollene Vesubie* (23.41kms), 23:25hrs
SS13: Lantosque – Luceram* (18.81kms), 00:08hrs
Service H: Monaco (0:10hrs), 01:20hrs
Prize giving: Place du Palais Princier, 11:00hrs
* = Live on Eurosport.
TV TIMES
Eurosport’s coverage of Rallye Monte-Carlo on Friday 21 January will be shown as follows (all
times are shown in CET):
18:45hrs-20:45hrs: Highlights of SS9 Montauban sur l’Ouveze-Eygalayes, LIVE SS10 Moulinet-La
Bollene-Vesubie and LIVE SS11 Lantosque-Luceram (Eurosport & Eurosport Asia-Pacific)
23:00hrs-01:00hrs: LIVE SS12 Moulinet-La Bollene-Vesubie and LIVE SS13 Lantosque-Luceram
(Eurosport & Eurosport Asia-Pacific)

Juho Hanninen has completed the opening day of the centenary edition of Rallye Monte-Carlo,
round one of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge, with a lead of 44.5 seconds.
Driving a Skoda Motorsport Fabia Super 2000, the 29-year-old Finn was fastest on two of
Wednesday’s four special stages, which were shown live on Eurosport, to head Freddy Loix at the
overnight halt in Valence following a faultless drive.
The stages in the Ardeche and Haute Loire regions of France were held in largely dry and bright
conditions as the traditional ice and snow, that have been a feature of the event in recent years,
didn’t materialise.
Hanninen, the defending IRC champion, has been consistently upping his pace on asphalt since
finishing second on this event last season. He underlined that improvement with a staggering time
on stage two, which was 15.1s faster than any other driver could manage. Hanninen and co-driver
Mikko Markkula also gained the upper hand with a series of inspired tyre choices for the dry, albeit
chilly, weather.
Le Mans 24 Hours racer Stephane Sarrazin had set the pace on the opening stage from Le
Moulinon to Antraigues in his Peugeot France 207 Super 2000. However, his switch from a
medium compound tyre to the softer version for the Burzet-St Martial stage did not suit the dry
stage surface and he dropped back with a handling imbalance, before losing further ground on
stage three, St Bonnet Le Froid, when his car’s intercom system failed and he couldn’t hear codriver
Jacques-Julien Renucci’s instructions for seven kilometres.
Sarrazin’s delay enabled Loix to move into second. The Belgian Skoda driver would complete day
one with the fastest time on the second St Bonnet Le Froid stage. Loix, who holds the record of
IRC wins with a tally of six, admitted to making a slightly hesitant start but was otherwise satisfied
with his performance.
Former world rally champion Petter Solberg is third in another Peugeot after moving ahead of
Sarrazin on stage four. The Norwegian said he was lucky to avoid a puncture when he slid wide on
a right-hand bend on stage one and nudged a wall. He also suggested his lack of dry-weather
running in his 207 was masking his true speed.
Guy Wilks, who was running first on the road, is fifth overnight after an encouraging, error-free start
to his career with Peugeot UK. Jan Kopecky, runner-up in the IRC for the past two seasons, is
sixth in the second factory Skoda, despite admitting to a lack of confidence behind wheel of his
Fabia. The Czech had trailed French champion Bryan Bouffier heading into stage four but moved
in front when Bouffier’s Peugeot developed a rear differential glitch, which left Bouffier with the
feeling that his car was in front-wheel drive mode only.
Francois Delecour is eighth in his privateer 207. The French legend, who won Rallye Monte-Carlo
back in 1994, wasn’t satisfied with the handling of his car and is set to start Thursday’s stages with
a revised set-up. “We tested in fog, rain and mud but we had none of those things today,” said
Delecour. “But we are doing a very good job in a private car.”

Bruno Magalhaes, who bemoaned a few incorrect tyre choices and fading
brakes in the morning, was in the top 10 when he crashed his Peugeot
Sport Portugal 207 into retirement on a sixth-gear corner on stage four. His
misfortune elevated Jean-Sebastien Vigion to ninth and M-Sport Ford
Fiesta driver Julien Maurin to 10th. Under the revised point-scoring system
for 2011, Maurin is now in contention for the final IRC drivers’
championship point.
While the weather remained unseasonably mild, several drivers hit trouble on the demanding
mountainous asphalt roads. First to fall was Andreas Mikkelsen, who was making his debut for
Skoda UK Motorsport. The Norwegian driver’s challenge ended after four corners when he slid into
a low wall on a right-hand bend, punctured his car’s left-rear tyre and damaged the suspension to
the extent he was unable to continue.
Nicolas Vouilloz, tacking his first rally for 12 months, suffered a front-right puncture on stage one,
as did Henning Solberg, who retired his M-Sport Fiesta as a result. Thierry Neuville crashed his
Team Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg 207 on the first stage, which also claimed Australia’s Chris
Atkinson, who retired his PROTON Satria Neo with an electrical failure 700 metres into the test.
Atkinson’s PROTON team-mate P-G Andersson went no further than stage two when he broke a
wheel off his car hitting a rock seven kilometres into the stage.
Toni Gardemeister lost more than three minutes with a puncture on stage three and is 13th
overnight in his Peugeot, one place ahead of ex-Grand Prix driver Alex Caffi, who is making his
Rallye Monte-Carlo debut in a Skoda.
Swiss Florian Gonon is the leading IRC Production Cup contender in his Subaru Impreza, one
place ahead of Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer driver Patrick Artru. Pierre Campana heads the IRC 2WD
Cup battle ahead of fellow Clio driver Andrea Crugnola after defending champion Harry Hunt lost
several minutes when he went off the road on stage one.
Wednesday’s closing stage, St Bonnet Le Froid, was halted after Michel Boetti and Emmanuelle
Nas de Tourris crashed their Peugeot 207. Boetti suffered a broken leg and was flown by
helicopter to hospital in Lyon to undergo treatment. Nas de Tourris was uninjured. The stage was
stopped after the first 29 cars had completed the run and the drivers behind received the time they
recorded on the first pass through the repeated stage.
Thursday’s action features two loops of stages run twice north-east of Valence and separated by a
service stop in the city. All four stages will again be shown live on Eurosport.
PRINCE ALBERT VISITS RALLYE MONTE-CARLO
His Supreme Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco played a starring role on the opening round of
the Intercontinental Rally Challenge when he took part in the traditional apple pie ceremony in the
town of Antraigues on Wednesday morning.
For more than 30 years the Jouanny family’s La Remise Restaurant has presented an apple pie to
each driver as they pass through the town on a road section.
In recognition of the event’s centenary His Supreme Highness handed a pie to the 100th starter on
the rally, Monegasque Daniel Elena.
Earlier, he also took part in an inauguration ceremony in Vals les Bains, where a special stone was
unveiled to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Rallye Monte-Carlo, before Jean Ragnotti, the event
winner in 1981, drove him through the third stage of the event in a course car.
Meanwhile, Elena, the seven-time world champion co-driver is 77th overall
at the end of day one on a rare appearance behind the wheel.

DRIVER QUOTES
Juho Hanninen (Finland), Skoda Fabia S2000, first overall: “It’s been a
perfect day with no problems and no mistakes. I am feeling confident with my car,
I found a good rhythm and could push as much as I wanted to. I don’t think yet
about controlling this rally because we are a long way from the finish.”
Freddy Loix (Belgium), Skoda Fabia S2000, second overall: “We’re happy to be close to the
front even though we were not the quickest starter. It’s a big gap to Juho but there could be some
snow tomorrow so that could change things. We won’t give up.”
Petter Solberg (Norway), Peugeot 207 S2000, third overall: “We did not try this car on the dry
before so to be third is a very good result. I was very lucky not to have a puncture when I hit the
wall and actually knocked my suspension a bit. We can push more.”
TOP TEN IRC POSITIONS AFTER DAY ONE
1 Juho Hanninen (FIN)/Mikko Markkula (FIN) Skoda Fabia S2000 1h11m33.4s
2 Freddy Loix (BEL)/Frederic Miclotte (BEL) Skoda Fabia S2000 +44.5s
3 Petter Solberg (NOR)/Chris Patterson (GBR) Peugeot 207 S2000 +55.3s
4 Stephane Sarrazin (FRA)/Jacques-Julien Renucci (FRA) Peugeot 207 S2000 +55.5s
5 Guy Wilks (GBR)/Phil Pugh (GBR) Peugeot 207 S2000 +1m18.7s
6 Jan Kopecky (CZE)/Petr Stary (CZE) Skoda Fabia S2000 +1m26.3s
7 Bryan Bouffier (FRA)/Xavier Panseri (FRA) Peugeot 207 S2000 +1m36.2s
8 François Delecour (FRA)/Dominique Savignoni (FRA) Peugeot 207 S2000 +1m52.4s
9 Jean-Sebastien Vigion (FRA)/Eric Yvernault (FRA) Peugeot 207 S2000 +3m11.3s
10 Julien Maurin (FRA)/Olivier Urai (FRA) M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000 +3m53.2s
IRC Production Cup: Florian Gonon (SUI)/Sandra Arlettaz (SUI) Subaru Impreza WRX
IRC 2WD Cup: Pierre Campana (FRA)/Sabrina de Castelli (FRA) Renault Clio R3
DAY TWO ITINERARY (THURSDAY 20 JANUARY)
Special stages: Four Special stage distance: 94.36kms Liaison distance: 214.46kms Total
distance: 308.82kms Service B: Valence (0:20hrs), 11:00hrs SS5: St Jean en Royans – Font
D’Urle* (23.05kms), 12:23hrs SS6: Cimetiere de Vassieux – Col de Gaudissart* (24.13kms),
13:04hrs Service C: Valence (0:20hrs), 14:44hrs (regroup at 14:29hrs) SS7: St Jean en Royans –
Font D’Urle* (23.05kms), 16:07hrs SS8: Cimetiere de Vassieux – Col de Gaudissart* (24.13kms),
16:48hrs Service D: Valence (0:45hrs), 18:13hrs * = Live on Eurosport
TV TIMES
Eurosport’s coverage of Rallye Monte-Carlo on Thursday 20 January will be shown as follows (all
times are shown in CET):
12:15hrs-14:00hrs: LIVE SS5 St Jean en Royans-Font D’Urle and LIVE SS6 Cimetiere de
Vassieux-Col de Gaudissart (Eurosport 2 & Eurosport Asia-Pacific)
16:00hrs-17:45hrs: LIVE SS7 St Jean en Royans-Font D’Urle and LIVE SS8 Cimetiere de
Vassieux-Col de Gaudissart (Eurosport & Eurosport Asia-Pacific)
19:30hrs-20:00hrs: Highlights of Day Two (Eurosport & Eurosport Asia-Pacific)

The calendar for the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge has been updated. It features 12
events, starting with the centenary edition of Rallye Monte-Carlo from 18-22 January and
culminating with the Cyprus Rally from 3-5 November.
In between the series will visit Spain (Canary Islands), France (Corsica), Ukraine, Belgium,
Portugal (Azores and Madeira), Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy and United Kingdom (Scotland).
In a change to the schedule published on 10 December, Rally de los Alerces, which had been due
to form round two of the series, will no longer appear on the list of dates. Rally Islas Canarias El
Corte Ingles, which joined the IRC for the first time in 2010, will count as the second event of the
year from 14-16 April.
Two other changes have also been made to the calendar: Tour de Corse has moved back one
week to 13-15 May, while the Mecsek Rallye in Hungary will take place on asphalt stages only
having originally been set to use a combination of asphalt and gravel tests.
Marcello Lotti, the IRC General Manager, said: “Unfortunately, the organisers of Rally de los
Alerces have faced difficulties with their main sponsor and were unable to confirm their position on
the calendar. We will continue to have dialogue with them in the hope Argentina can return to the
IRC in the future. While it is a shame Rally de los Alerces will not be on the 2011 calendar, the
scheduling of Rally Islas Canarias as the second event of the season ensures the challenge and
prestige of competing in the IRC remains.”

The full IRC calendar for 2011 follows:

Following Eurosport Events’ landmark coverage of Rallye Monte-Carlo in 2009 and 2010, when it showed virtually every stage live, the promoter of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge is planning another world television first when it uses SimulCam technology on the centenary edition of the legendary competition this week.
SimulCam, which has never been used in coverage of rallying on television before, will allow viewers at home to watch two drivers competing on the same section of a special stage at the same time to discover who is the fastest.
It will record drivers covering part of a stage, of approximately one kilometre in length, at different times. The footage will then be composited into a single screen sequence showing two IRC drivers seemingly competing together, which will be transmitted shortly after the leading runners have completed the stage.
This will allow viewers to compare the different driving styles of each competitor, their trajectory through corners, when they brake and accelerate, their comparative speed and the handling characteristics created by different choices of car and tyre. This level of in-depth analysis is unparalleled in the coverage of Rallye Monte-Carlo on TV.
SimulCam technology will be used on special stages one, three and four on Wednesday 19 January and stages six and eight on Thursday 20 January.
“Every year we look to improve our live television coverage of the IRC and the use of SimulCam is the latest in a long line of innovations,” said Gilbert Roy, the Director of Editorial and Programme Development for Eurosport Events. “Rallying is not like some other sports where you see competitors competing together at the same time. Because we want our coverage of the IRC to appeal to a wide spectrum of people, the use of SimulCam will give those viewers who may be new to rallying the chance to see two drivers effectively racing against each other to see who is the fastest. For the enthusiasts, it will provide a level of comparison previously unavailable in the coverage of rallying on television.”
Eurosport, Europe’s largest television sports channel, will show 14 hours of coverage of Rallye Monte-Carlo across its various platforms, Eurosport, Eurosport 2 and Eurosport Asia-Pacific. It will cover 12 of the 13 special stages live as they happen. Footage will be captured from onboard cameras, stage-side cameras and a special helicam. Reporters based at the end of stages and in the service parks in Valence and Monaco will gather reaction from the competing drivers and teams to provide viewers with the complete picture of the opening round of the 2011 IRC.
The extensive live transmissions will also be accessible through Eurosport Player, the channel’s online live simulcast service, while video footage will be available at eurosport.com websites, the official IRC website (rally-irc.com) and via the IRC iPhone App. 

SimulCam technology for live IRC Rallye Monte-Carlo coverage

www.rally-irc.com