Yazeed Al Rajhi will return to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in 2011, only
this time the Saudi Arabian will embark on an expanded programme of events.
Al Rajhi made a one-off appearance in the IRC on Rally dItalia-Sardegna last June in a
Kronos Racing Peugeot 207 Super 2000. He will continue with the Belgian squad in the
IRC this season but is planning to tackle six rounds, starting with Mays Tour de Corse.
Marc van Dalen, the joint boss of Kronos Racing, is delighted to be welcoming Al Rajhi back to his
team for a third consecutive season.
He said: Yazeed wants to learn asphalt rallies because his experience on this surface is not so
big. Its also great for us to have him in the team again because its the third year in a row that he
has been with us. Hes a good guy and will have the latest specification Peugeot available.
Al Rajhi will be co-driven by Frenchman Matthieu Baumel. His exact schedule of events has yet to
be finalised, however.
Tour de Corse runs from 13-15 May. Kronos will also be running 207 S2000s for team regulars
Thierry Neuville, from Belgium, and Briton Guy Wilks. Neuville runs under the Team Peugeot
Belgium-Luxembourg banner while Peugeot UK enters Wilks.
Magalhaes stars at Eurosport Portugal function
Bruno Magalhaes was one of the star guests when Eurosport Portugal hosted a media reception in
Lisbon on Tuesday to promote some of its programme highlights for 2011.
Magalhaes, who drives a Peugeot Sport Portugal 207 Super 2000 in the Intercontinental Rally
Challenge, joined World Touring Car Championship regular Tiago Monteiro at the event in the
Portuguese capital.
Eurosport is the host broadcaster of the IRC and shows comprehensive coverage of the series
throughout Europe and the Asia Pacific region.
Magalhaes recently confirmed that he would tackle at least seven more rounds of this years IRC
as he aims to emulate his achievements of 2010 when he won Sata Rallye Acores on his way to
fifth in the final drivers standings.
Im very happy to get this opportunity to come back to the IRC, said Magalhaes. I have some
good chances this year because I know some of the rallies, which was not the case before.
The 30-year-old, who lives close to Lisbon, will resume his IRC bid on Rally Islas Canarias El Corte
Ingles from 14-16 April. Fellow Portuguese Paulo Grave will co-drive.
Hunt finalises 2011 IRC schedule
Reigning Intercontinental Rally Challenge 2WD Cup champion Harry Hunt has confirmed the
remainder of his IRC schedule for 2011.
The London-based Briton, who beat Kevin Abbring and Rafael Tulio to the IRC 2WD Cup title in
2010, will contest Tour de Corse, Geko Ypres Rally, Sata Rallye Acores, Barum Czech Rally Zlin,
Rallye Sanremo, RACMSA Rally of Scotland and the Cyprus Rally.
Hunt, who began his IRC 2WD Cup defence on Rallye Monte-Carlo in
January, will drive a Citroen DS3 R3 alongside co-driver Sebastian Marshall.
The Welsh I Cars Motorsport operation will prepare and maintain Hunts car.
After winning the IRC 2WD Cup last year Im really excited about the
challenge Ill face trying to defend my title, said Hunt. Obviously its going to
be more difficult this year because Im stepping up in terms of car performance
and Im going to face even more rivals. But Im doing a good spread of events
and Ive got a good chance to learn even more. Ill certainly be doing my best
to get some good results and build my experience.
This year, all drivers in any two-wheel-drive rally car built to Group A, Group N and Group R
regulations are eligible for the IRC 2WD Cup drivers‘ title. Only those car makes registered as an
IRC manufacturer are permitted to score IRC 2WD Cup manufacturers‘ points.
Mikkelsen makes early visit to Corsica
Andreas Mikkelsen will get an early taste of the twisty and narrow Corsican roads he will sample
on round three of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in May when he contests a national event on
the island this weekend (5-6 March).
Mikkelsen and fellow Norwegian co-driver Ola Floene will enter the Ronde de la Giraglia in their
Skoda UK Motorsport Fabia S2000.
While Mikkelsens outing is primarily to increase his experience of driving his Fabia on asphalt, this
weekends event will give him an opportunity to get reacquainted with the demanding and
undulating Corsican passes.
Ive rallied in Corsica twice before, said the 21-year-old. Its quite abrasive asphalt, so a very
good place to test for Gran Canarias [venue of round two of the IRC in April]. I got a lot of test
miles in the Fabia S2000 before the season started, so I feel comfortable in the car, and to get
more competition miles on a proper rally before the next round of the IRC will be really good.
The Ronde De La Giraglia is based in Bastia, on the northeast coast of the picturesque
Mediterranean island, but away from the area the IRC-counting Tour de Corse will cover from 13-
15 May.