Magalhaes vows to hit back in the Azores

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Bruno Magalhaes has vowed to hit back from the disappointment of
retiring from the GEKO Ypres Rally last week by winning his home
event, Sata Rallye Acores next month.
The Peugeot Sport Portugal ace was fourth overall after the opening
stage in Belgium only for engine failure to force his retirement on
the very next stage. The Lisbon-based Portuguese driver’s
retirement means he slips to 10th position in the Intercontinental
Rally Challenge drivers’ standings after five rounds.
Magalhaes claimed a dramatic final-stage win on Sata Rallye Acores
last season aboard his 207 Super 2000. He hopes to banish the memories
of Ypres by emulating his victory of one year ago when the IRC resumes
on the Atlantic archipelago from 14-16 July.
“For sure we will be strong in the Azores and I really want to
do a good result after Ypres,” said the 30-year-old. “I
know it will be difficult to win again because the pace in the IRC is
fantastic and many drivers have good experience of the roads there
now. But I have good confidence, I am very motivated, I won there last
year and I know I can win again.”
Loix rewarded with Czech rally outing
Freddy Loix has received the ultimate reward for winning the GEKO
Ypres Rally: another outing in his SKODA Fabia Super 2000.
Less than a week after winning the Intercontinental Rally Challenge
round on his home soil, Belgian Loix will be heading to Czech Republic
to contest the national championship Rally Bohemia with the factory
SKODA Motorsport team.
The current IRC leader has been called up to replace Jan Kopecky who
has been prevented from taking part after his co-driver Petr Stary
broke his collarbone in a crash during the pre-event shakedown for the
Ypres Rally. It will be Loix’s first appearance on the Mlada
Boleslav-based rally, which runs from 1-3 July.
“I have heard that the profile of Rally Bohemia is similar to
that of the Barum Rally and that it is a great but difficult
rally,” said the 40-year-old Loix, who will be co-driven by
regular navigator Frederic Miclotte. “I am sorry for Jan and
Petr, we could have made a strong team together. Anyway, we are going
to do our best, and although my unfamiliarity with the [stages] will
be bit of a disadvantage for me, Frederic and I want to fight for the
top ranks.”
SKODA is based in Mlada Boleslav and is also a partner of the event.
The company’s motorsport head Michal Hrabanek said: “I am
sure that the appearance by the current IRC leader Freddy Loix will
make this rally highly attractive and will be a good reason for fans
to come to this event.”
Rally Bohemia features 15 all-asphalt stages over a competitive
distance of 193 kilometres.
Weijs needs funds for more IRC runs
Hans Weijs hopes that his run to third overall on the GEKO Ypres
Rally last week won’t signal his last appearance in the
Intercontinental Rally Challenge this season.
The 24-year-old from Netherlands had only completed a brief test in
his SKODA Fabia Super 2000 before the start of the asphalt event but
drove virtually without error to claim the final podium place and
secure the prestigious Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy in the
process.
“Of course I want to do more events in the IRC and build on
this result but for now we have no sponsors and I can only do more
events if I find extra budget,” said Weijs. “I’ve
shown my speed here and shown what I can do so maybe sponsors will
take an interest in me.”
Eurosport Events completes Scotland visit
Preparations for RACMSA Rally of Scotland, which will form the
penultimate round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge from 7-9
October, stepped up a gear earlier this month when a delegation from
Eurosport Events, the IRC’s promoter, visited part of the
competitive route.
The six-strong team was finalising camera locations and helicopter
positions on the Errochty and the new-for-2011 High Corrie stages that
will be included on the all-gravel event later this season.
Xavier Gavory, the IRC’s General Co-ordinator, said:
“Scotland has an incredible landscape with the most challenging
roads for the competitors. This gives us great images for the
television and exciting competition.”
Jean-Pierre Nicolas, the IRC Motorsport Development Manager, added:
“This is one of the most beautiful rallies in the
IRC. Errochty is the best stage: fast, quite wide, it flows and
the surface is just perfect. High Corrie is a slower stage, it is very
tricky and technical and because of this there is lots of
possibilities to make mistakes.”
Details of the RACMSA Rally of Scotland television package will be
announced in due course.

NEUVILLE HEADS CLOSE YALTA IRC BATTLE

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The battle for victory on the Prime Yalta Rally is tightly poised following the opening two stages in
Ukraine’s Crimea region today (Thursday). Thierry Neuville, driving a Team Peugeot Belgium-
Luxembourg 207 Super 2000, leads overall with Guy Wilks, in a Peugeot UK 207, just 0.1s behind
heading into Friday’s six stages.
Day one of the all-asphalt Intercontinental Rally Challenge qualifier consisted of two short stages
close to the rally base in Yalta. Held in warm and dry conditions, the tests were considered a
‘taster’ of the action expected tomorrow when the rally begins in earnest with demanding stages
characterised by their bumpy nature and inconsistent surface.
Early leader Neuville began the event on a high following his victory on the previous IRC round in
Corsica. Considered a favourite for a second win in Ukraine by many of his rivals, Neuville
underlined his billing by winning the rally’s first stage, a 2.12-kilometre sprint.
Although he was beaten on the next stage by Wilks, whose 207 S2000 is run by the same Kronos
Racing operation from Namur in Belgium, Neuville was second quickest to maintain a slender
advantage at the completion of Thursday’s opening exchanges.
Behind the pacesetting Peugeots, Patrik Sandell heads the Skoda challenge in his Skoda Swedenbacked
Fabia in third place. The Swede has vowed to make up for his lacklustre showing in
Corsica and impressed with the second quickest run through the first stage.
Andreas Mikkelsen is fourth overnight in his Skoda UK Motorsport entered Fabia with Toni
Gardemeister completing the top five in his TGS Worldwide-entered Skoda. Mikkelsen said his
pace was compromised slightly by his decision to carry two spare tyres to counter the possibility of
rain. Gardemeister was one of the few drivers who managed to test in Ukraine before the rally and
was buoyed by his upturn in form following changes to his car’s rear differential and damper
settings.
Bryan Bouffier is sixth after two stages in his Peugeot France 207 with Jan Kopecky seventh in the
lead Skoda Motorsport-entered Fabia. Kopecky reckoned he could have been higher up the order
had he not opted to run a softer set-up in the mistaken belief it might rain.
Giandomenico Basso heads the three-strong PROTON Motorsports assault in his Satria Neo
S2000 with Estonian teenager Karl Kruuda ninth on his first competitive drive in his Fabia on
asphalt. Basso’s PROTON team-mate PG Andersson completes the top 10.
It was a frustrating start for defending IRC champion Juho Hanninen, who is making his return to
the IRC after missing the previous round in France. Despite setting top three times on both stages
today, the Finn was handed a 10-second time penalty for being adjudged to have jumped the start
of stage two.
“It seems we went too soon and got a penalty, which I don’t think will be removed,” said the Finn. “I
don’t remember anything special happening, maybe there was a problem somewhere. But I don’t
think 10 seconds will decide this rally because there is still such a long way to go.”

Oleksiy Tamrazov is the leading Ukrainian driver in 14th overall aboard his MSport
Ford Fiesta S2000. His countryman Valeriy Gorban tops the IRC
Production Cup classification in 15th position at the wheel of his Ralliart
Mitsubishi Lancer, while Oleksandr Saliuk Sr is 18th in his PROTON, which is
being co-driven by Evgeny Chervonenko, the president of Ukraine’s
automobile federation and co-chairman of the Yalta Rally organising
committee.
Belgian newcomer Cedric Cherain heads the IRC 2WD Cup driving a Megane RS. Frenchman
Jean-Michel Raoux is second.
DRIVER QUOTES
Thierry Neuville (Belgium), Peugeot 207 S2000, first overall: “It felt very comfortable on the
good smooth roads. Tomorrow will be bumpy and difficult so I tried to make a difference today and
it seemed to work. I know it won’t be so easy tomorrow.”
Guy Wilks (United Kingdom), Peugeot 207 S2000, second overall: “It was very difficult
because sometimes I was lifting when I should have been flat and other times thinking I should
have lifted because the grip is changing so much. But it felt good in a lot of places.”
Patrik Sandell (Sweden), Skoda Fabia S2000, third overall: “I feel I am back in the game now. It
was a bit difficult to make the right tyre choice in case it started to rain so maybe I did not have the
best choice all of the time. But I’ve done two good stages.”
TOP 10 IRC POSITIONS AFTER DAY ONE
1 Thierry Neuville (BEL)/Nicolas Gilsoul (BEL) Peugeot 207 S2000 4m30.6s
2 Guy Wilks (GBR)/Phil Pugh (GBR) Peugeot 207 S2000 +0.1s
3 Patrik Sandell (SWE)/Staffan Parmander (SWE) Skoda Fabia S2000 +2.1s
4 Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR)/Ola Floene (NOR) Skoda Fabia S200 +2.2s
5 Toni Gardemeister (FIN)/Tapio Suominen (FIN) Skoda Fabia S2000 +3.2s
6 Bryan Bouffier (FRA)/Xavier Panseri (FRA) Peugeot 207 S2000 +3.5s
7 Jan Kopecky (CZE)/Petr Stary (CZE) Skoda Fabia S2000 +5.5s
8 Giandomenico Basso (ITA)/Mitia Dotta (ITA) PROTON Satria Neo S2000 +5.6s
9 Karl Kruuda (EST)/Martin Jeovoja (EST) Skoda Fabia S2000 +6.7s
10 PG Andersson (SWE)/Emil Axelsson (SWE) PROTON Satria Neo S2000 +8.5s
IRC Production Cup: Valeriy Gorban (UKR)/Vadim Chernega (UKR) Ralliart Lancer Evolution IX
IRC 2WD Cup: Cedric Cherain (BEL)/Cedric Pirotte (BEL) Renault Megane RS
DAY TWO ITINERARY (FRIDAY 3 JUNE)
Special stages: Six
Special stage distance: 137.52kms
Liaison distance: 204.61kms
Total distance: 342.13kms
Service B: Yalta (0:15hrs), 08:06hrs
SS3: Ai-Petri 1 (17.26kms), 08:49hrs
SS4: Plato 1 (22.55kms), 09:17hrs
SS5: Orlinoje 1 (28.95kms), 11:00hrs

Service C: Yalta (0:30hrs), 11:55hrs
SS6: Ai-Petri 2 (17.26kms), 13:13hrs
SS7: Plato 2 (22.55kms), 13:41hrs
SS8: Orlinoje 2 (28.95kms), 15:24hrs
Service D: Yalta (0:45hrs), 16:19hrs
TV TIMES
The Intercontinental Rally Challenge’s media partner Eurosport, Europe’s leading sports
entertainment group, will show highlights from the opening day of the Prime Yalta Rally as follows:
Friday 3 June:
23:45-24:10: Day one highlights (Eurosport)
Saturday 4 June:
03:30:04:00: Day one highlights replayed (Eurosport Asia-Pacific)
Daily highlights will also be shown at www.rally-irc.com and via the IRC iPhone and iPad App. All
times are CET.

Local heroes set for Prime Yalta Rally

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More than 50 crews are set to start next week’s Prime Yalta Rally, round four
of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, including one of Ukraine’s most
famous rallying partnerships.
Oleksandr Saliuk Sr and Evgeniy Chervonenko, the event promoter, will team up in a PROTON
Motorsports Satria Neo Super 2000. They will form one of 15 crews competing in the headline
S2000 category on the asphalt event from 2-4 June.
Saliuk Sr and Chervonenko won the USSR rally crown two decades ago ago and were regarded
as being among the region’s fastest of their era. Although they have stopped competing regularly
since landing that historic title, Saliuk’s son Oleksandr Jr has begun his own promising driving
career while Chervonenko is the driving force behind the Prime Yalta Rally. Saliuk Jr had been due
to drive for PROTON on the Crimea-based event only to suffer a broken arm.
“The original plan was for my son to drive the PROTON, but since his injury I have stepped in to
take his place behind the wheel,” said Saliuk Sr at a press conference in Yalta. “It means a great
deal to me and to Evgeniy to compete together 20 years after we won the title in the USSR. This is
a very important rally in the Ukraine and one which will attract the IRC’s fastest drivers to our
beautiful part of the world. Evgeniy and I are very excited about competing with these drivers and
teams in front of the home crowd.”
In addition to Saliuk Sr’s factory PROTON, the Malaysian manufacturer will enter two further Satria
Neos for PG Andersson and Giandomenico Basso. There will also be four Peugeot 207s, six
Skoda Fabias plus one M-Sport Ford Fiesta competing in the S2000 class. In addition, seven
Subaru Imprezas and nine Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancers will battle for IRC Production Cup honours
while the IRC 2WD Cup has received 20 registrations with Honda and M-Sport among the makes
represented.
Neuville steps up IRC bid with Yalta entry
Thierry Neuville has stepped up his bid to win the Intercontinental Rally Challenge drivers’ crown
by confirming his participation on the Prime Yalta Rally.
Neuville shot to equal second in the IRC classification with his stunning maiden victory on Tour de
Corse-E.Leclerc in mid-May.
His original schedule of events did not include the all-asphalt round in Ukraine from 2-4 June but
the 22-year-old will now compete in Yalta at the expense of his planned entry on Barum Czech
Rally Zlin in late August.
“Upon reflection, we felt it was better to send Thierry and Nicolas [Gilsoul, his co-driver] to Ukraine
rather than Czech Republic,” said a team spokesperson. “To all IRC competitors, the Yalta Rally
will be a discovery and we believe Thierry can be particularly competitive there. This will maximise
his chances of winning and also allow him to accumulate more kilometres on asphalt before the
Ypres [Rally, his home event].”
Yalta press conferences to be streamed live
Prime Yalta Rally organisers have announced details of an exciting initiative for their
Intercontinental Rally Challenge qualifier.

They have made arrangements to provide live streaming over the internet of
the pre-event press conference at 15:00hrs on Thursday 2 June, the end of
day press conference at 19:00hrs on Friday 3 June and the post-event press
conference on Saturday 4 June.
All press conferences will be streamed via www.yaltarally.com where further
details can be found.
Praise for Al Rajhi from team boss van Dalen
Kronos Racing head Marc van Dalen has praised driver Yazeed Al Rajhi following the Saudi
driver’s run to 14th overall on Tour de Corse-E.Leclerc earlier this month.
Al Rajhi had only tackled two sealed-surface rallies before making his Tour de Corse debut at the
wheel of a Peugeot 207 Super 2000.
“He was very surprised to be four seconds per kilometre slower at first and couldn’t understand
why,” said van Dalen. “But I told him the level in the IRC is very high with lots of experienced
drivers and Tarmac specialists. After that he started to learn slowly and improved on each stage
and realised the best option was to be at the end of the rally.”
Al Rajhi said: “My last time on Tarmac was in 2009 so I was in Corsica to learn. My next IRC rally
will be in Madeira where I hope to improve some more.”
Maurin ups IRC schedule with four more events
Julien Maurin will take part on at least four more rounds of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in
his M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000.
The Frenchman, 26, bagged his first IRC points on Tour de Corse-E.Leclerc in seventh overall. He
will now contest the Geko Ypres Rally in late June, July’s Sata Rallye Acores, August’s Rali Vinho
Madeira before he chooses between the Mecsek Rallye in September or the Cyprus Rally in early
November.
“I make five or six rounds in the IRC because it is a very nice championship,” said Maurin, who
also entered Rallye Monte-Carlo back in January. “I had a good result in Corsica for my first time
and I am excited about the other rallies.”
Maurin, who is is using the latest specification M-Sport Fiesta, is relishing the prospect of
contesting the gravel-based IRC round in the Azores. He said: “I debut on gravel and it’s my
favourite surface. I made Azores in 2009 and it’s for this I want to go back, it’s beautiful.”

CORSICA IRC JOY FOR RISING STAR NEUVILLE

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Thierry Neuville has claimed his maiden victory in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge after
winning Tour de Corse-E.Leclerc, which finished in Ajaccio this evening (Saturday).
Co-driven by Nicolas Gilsoul in a Team Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg 207 Super 2000, Neuville
belied his 22 years to triumph on one of the world’s most legendary and demanding events, billed
locally as the Return of the Myth.
In the process he becomes the youngest winner in the five-year history of the IRC, beating the
record set by Anton Alen, who was 24 when he won Rally Russia in 2007.
Neuville started day three, the longest of the asphalt rally at 138.44 kilometres, with an overnight
advantage of 23.4s. Although he dropped precious seconds on the opening stage after reporting a
slight lack of handling precision due to his decision to carry two spare tyres, he hit back with the
fastest time on the next three sun-baked stages, which was enough to put him out of reach of the
chasing pack.
Jan Kopecky narrowed Neuville’s lead to 14.5s after winning Saturday’s first stage, by making the
most of the smoother and wider roads on day three, as well as benefitting from changes to his
car’s rear differential settings and overall balance. Although he posted a series of top two stage
times thereafter he wasn’t able to dislodge Neuville from first place and took the runner-up spot for
the second rally in a row in his Skoda Motorsport Fabia S2000.
Freddy Loix finished third in his BFO Skoda Rally Team Fabia to move five points clear in the race
for the IRC drivers’ title. However, the Belgian conceded that he didn’t have the “right feeling” with
his car to challenge for a seventh IRC career victory.
In fact Loix had trailed Andreas Mikkelsen in fourth place, only for the young Norwegian to pick up
a front-right puncture on stage 12 and drop more than three minutes after delays replacing the
damaged tyre, which promoted Loix to third as a result.
Mikkelsen, whose Skoda UK Motorsport mechanics had completed an extensive overhaul of his
Fabia at midday service including fitting a replacement gearbox, driveshafts, propshaft and
steering following a torque link bolt failure on stage 10, was on course for his first podium of 2011
had he not hit trouble.
“I’ve never been so disappointed on a rally as I am now,” said the 21-year-old, who eventually took
sixth place by winning the event-closing special stage. “We were taking the same lines as before
and driving at the same speed. Suddenly I could feel there was no air in the front-right tyre [even
though] we hadn’t hit anything.”
Peugeot France’s Bryan Bouffier, who briefly led on Friday morning only to drop back with a
puncture, began the final day in sixth overall but fought his way to fourth with a succession of
impressive stage times. However, his challenge came unstuck when he crashed out on the final
stage.

Pierre Campana set the second fastest time on Saturday’s opening test in his
Munaretto Peugeot. But after losing ground on the next stage with an intercom
glitch, the Corsican elected to focus on preserving a strong finish on his home
rally, rather than risk going off the road on his first appearance in the IRC in a
Super 2000 car. However, a front-right puncture five kilometres into the final
stage looked to have scuppered those hopes. But with Bouffier crashing,
Campana was able to clinch a hugely impressive fourth.
Frenchman Julien Maurin overcame brake and tyre wear problems to secure his first IRC points
aboard his M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000 in a strong seventh overall. Brake problems also slowed
Bruno Magalhaes on day two but the Peugeot Sport Portugal ace was able to improve his
confidence behind the wheel as the event progressed to clinch a solid fifth.
Finn Toni Gardemeister, in a TGS Worldwide Skoda Fabia, scored points for the third event
running in eighth, having spent much of the event experimenting with different set-up options. The
Finn had to limp through the final stage with a broken gearbox. Patrik Sandell took ninth on his IRC
debut with Skoda Sweden with Corsican Jean-Mathieu Leandri fighting back from a front-right
puncture on stage nine to clinch the final point.
Sandell, a favourite for a podium finish before the start, was never able to find an optimum set-up
although his efforts weren’t helped by a broken rear differential on Saturday morning. He also
admitted to struggling to adapt to the tight and twisty Corsican stages. He started the final day in
11th but snatched two championship points.
Toshi Arai brought Subaru’s R4-specification Impreza to the finish in 13th overall on its first
competitive outing. Florian Gonon landed IRC Production Cup honours in his N4 Impreza with
Corsican Pierre-Antoine Guglielmi winning the IRC 2WD Cup in a Clio R3.
Guy Wilks slid off the road from third overall on Saturday’s second stage, where the Peugeot UK
driver remained stranded. Saudi Arabian Yazeed Al Rajhi, in a Kronos Racing 207, finished an
encouraging 14th on only his third asphalt rally.
DRIVER QUOTES
Thierry Neuville (Belgium), Peugeot 207 S2000, first overall: “This is an incredible result after
such a long rally. I never imagined I could win in the IRC so soon and never dreamed that I would
win here in Corsica. But Nicolas and I have done a great job together and the car has always been
good. I’m very happy.”
Jan Kopecky (Czech Republic), Skoda Fabia S2000, second overall: “Of course I am happy to
be on the podium because that’s good for the championship. It’s been a difficult rally and I was not
always happy with the set-up. But I am pleased to be at the finish.”
Freddy Loix (Belgium), Skoda Fabia S2000, third overall: “The others were too quick for me so
I played the championship card this weekend. I don’t know why but I did not have the right feeling
on this rally. It was nothing wrong with the car but I couldn’t battle for the win.”

TOP 10 IRC POSITIONS AFTER DAY THREE
1 Thierry Neuville (BEL)/Nicolas Gilsoul (BEL) Peugeot 207 S2000 3h20m51.0s
2 Jan Kopecky (CZE)/Petr Stary (CZE) Skoda Fabia S2000 +15.5s
3 Freddy Loix (BEL)/Frederic Miclotte (BEL) Skoda Fabia S2000 +1m02.6s
4 Pierre Campana (FRA)/Sabrina de Castelli (FRA) Peugeot 207 S2000 +3m59.1s
5 Bruno Magalhaes (POR)/Paulo Grave (POR) Peugeot 207 S2000 +4m28.2s
6 Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR)/Ola Floene (NOR) Skoda Fabia S2000 +4m30.1s
7 Julien Maurin (FRA)/Olivier Ural (FRA) M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000 +4m33.3s
8 Toni Gardemeister (FIN)/Tapio Suominen (FIN) Skoda Fabia S2000 +6m33.3s
9 Patrik Sandell (SW)/Staffan Parmander (SWE) Skoda Fabia S2000 +8m28.8s
10 Jean-Mathieu Leandri (FRA)/Pierre Marien Leonardi (FRA) Peugeot 207 S2000 +9m41.5s
IRC Production Cup: Florian Gonon (SUI)/Sandra Arlettaz (SUI) Subaru Impreza WRX
IRC 2WD Cup: Pierre-Antoine Guglielmi (FRA)/Jean-Francois Porcu (FRA) Renault Clio R3
IRC STANDINGS
Drivers after round three of 12
1 Freddy Loix (Belgium) 45pts
2 Jan Kopecky (Czech Republic) 40pts
= Thierry Neuville (Belgium) 40pts
4 Juho Hanninen (Finland) 33pts
5 Bryan Bouffier (France) 31pts
6 Guy Wilks (United Kingdom) 25pts
7 Andreas Mikkelsen (Norway) 16pts
8 Bruno Magalhaes (Portugal) 14pts
9 Pierre Campana (France) 12pts
= Stephane Sarrazin (France) 12pts
Manufacturers after round three of 12
1 Skoda 106pts
2 Peugeot 104pts
3 Subaru 32pts
4 M-Sport 23pts
5 PROTON 16pts
6 Honda 12pts
7 Ralliart 6pts
8 Abarth 4pts
IRC Production Cup after round three of 12
1 Florian Gonon (Switzerland) 50pts
2 Jose Barrios (Spain) 25pts
3 Vojtech Stajf (Czech Republic) 18pts
4 Giacomo Ogliari (Italy) 15pts
5 Maurizio Verini (Italy) 12pts etc
IRC 2WD Cup drivers after round three of 12
1 Pierre Campana (France) 25pts
= Pierre-Antoine Guglielmi (France) 25pts
= Joan Vinyes (Spain) 25pts
4 Gorka Antxustegi (Spain) 18pts
= Michael Burri (Switzerland) 18pts

Guy Fiori (France) 18pts
7 Harry Hunt (United Kingdom) 16pts
8 Stefano Albertini (Italy) 15pts
= Renaud Poutot (France) 15pts
= Angel Marrero (Spain) 15pts etc
IRC 2WD Cup manufacturers after round three of 12
1 Peugeot 90pts
2 Honda 67pts
3 Abarth 58pts
4 M-Sport 33pts
RALLY LEADERS
SS1-3: Thierry Neuville
SS4: Bryan Bouffier
SS5-14: Thierry Neuville
STAGE WINNERS
Day one (Thursday 12 May):
SS1: Le Fangu – Notre Dame de la Serra (27.53kms): Thierry Neuville
SS2: Le Fangu – Notre Dame de la Serra (27.53kms): Thierry Neuville
Day two (Friday 13 May):
SS3: Erbajolo-Pont d’Altiani (25.15kms): Guy Wilks
SS4: Barchetta-La Porta (23.26kms): Bryan Bouffier
SS5: Taverna-Pont de Castirla (15.28kms): Thierry Neuville
SS6: Barchetta-La Porta (23.26kms): Jan Kopecky
SS7: Taverna-Pont de Castirla (15.28kms): Thierry Neuville
SS8: Erbajolo-Pont d’Altiani (25.15kms): Thierry Neuville
Day three (Saturday 14 May):
SS9: Sarrola-Plage du Liamone (26.70kms): Jan Kopecky
SS10: Marato-Acqua Doria (22.47kms): Thierry Neuville
SS11: Bocognano-Bastelica (20.05kms): Thierry Neuville
SS12: Marato-Acqua Doria (22:47kms): Thierry Neuville
SS13: Bocognano-Bastelica (20.05kms): Jan Kopecky
SS14: Sarrola-Plage du Liamone (26.70kms): Andreas Mikkelsen
KEY STATISTICS
IRC rally wins in 2011 (drivers)
Bryan Bouffier: 1
Juho Hanninen: 1
Thierry Neuville: 1
IRC rally wins in 2011 (manufacturers)
Peugeot: 2
Skoda: 1

IRC stage wins in 2011 (drivers)
Jan Kopecky: 8
Thierry Neuville: 8
Juho Hanninen: 7
Stephane Sarrazin: 4
Bryan Bouffier: 3
Guy Wilks: 3
Giandomenico Basso: 1
Francois Delecour: 1
Freddy Loix: 1
Andreas Mikkelsen: 1
Nicolas Vouilloz: 1
Stage wins in 2011 (manufacturers)
Peugeot: 20
Skoda: 18
TV TIMES
Highlights of Tour de Corse-E.Leclerc will be shown on Sunday 15 May as follows:
22:15-22:40: Magazine – Rally Review (Eurosport)
22:30-23:00: Magazine – Rally Review (Eurosport Asia-Pacific)
23:00-23:25: Magazine – Rally Review (Eurosport France)
Daily highlights are also available at www.rally-irc.com and via the IRC iPhone and iPad App. All
times are CET.

IRC Tour de Corse day one report

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IRC star Neuville in control in Corsica
Thierry Neuville will take an advantage of almost nine seconds into day two of Tour de Corse-
E.Leclerc following his dominant start to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge event around the
town of Calvi on Corsica’s picturesque north west coast today (Thursday).
Driving a Team Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg 207 Super 2000, the 22-year-old was fastest on
both runs through the 27.53-kilometre Le Fangu-Notre Dame de la Serra test, which overlooked
the Mediterranean Sea and formed the opening day of the legendary three-day rally, billed as the
Return of the Myth.
Held in bright sunshine in ambient temperatures approaching 30 degrees centigrade and with
ground temperatures peaking at 38 degrees, stages one and two provided an early test for the IRC
contenders.
Despite reporting that his car’s set-up was not entirely to his liking on the bumpy section of the
opening stage, little troubled Neuville and co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul, particularly following a spate of
changes to his machine at mid-afternoon service, which included adjusting the suspension and ride
height.
Jan Kopecky is second overnight in his Skoda Motorsport Fabia S2000, 8.9s adrift of Neuville but
3.5s ahead of Bryan Bouffier, who moved into third place at the expense of Andreas Mikkelsen
with a faster time than the Norwegian through stage two.
Bouffier was troubled on stage one by a loose steering wheel in his Peugeot France 207 S2000,
while Mikkelsen admitted to adopting a low-risk strategy on stage two.
Freddy Loix is fifth at the end of day one in his BFO Skoda Rally Team Fabia. The Belgian veteran
made his customary cautious start to an event but soon rediscovered the pace that has taken him
to six IRC victories with the second fastest time on stage two after stiffening his car’s rear
suspension settings.
Guy Wilks completes the top six at the wheel of his Peugeot UK 207. The Briton was fifth after
stage one, despite suffering a spin approximately eight kilometres into the stage, but fell behind
Loix on the next test after admitting he wasn’t able to commit in some sections as he would have
liked.
Corsican driver Pierre Campana will start day two in seventh overall following a solid, risk-free run
in his Munaretto Peugeot, the first time he has driven a Super 2000 car on a round of the IRC.
Bruno Magalhaes reported a bout of understeer in his Peugeot Sport Portugal 207, in which he
occupies eighth place overnight. The 30-year-old from Lisbon said attacking fifth and sixth-gear
corners at full speed was difficult but added he was confident that he could make improvements for
day two.
Toni Gardemeister, who combines driving his Skoda Fabia Super 2000 with running his own TGS
Worldwide operation, holds ninth spot. The Finn said that his car’s set-up is currently too soft to
enable him to challenge higher up the order.

Frenchman Julien Maurin, driving the latest specification M-Sport Ford Fiesta
S2000, which boasts an uprated engine, completes the top 10 after reporting
problems with his brakes and steering on the opening stage.
Skoda Sweden’s Patrik Sandell completed the opening day of his IRC debut in
13th place behind Jean-Mathieu Leandri and Jean-Francois Succi respectively.
Sandell had targeted a podium finish prior to the start but said he simply
hadn’t gone fast enough on stage one. A new steering rack for stage two
allowed him to up his pace, however. Toshi Arai is 16th after stage two on his
debut in Subaru’s new R4-specification challenger.
In the battle for IRC Production Cup honours, Florian Gonon, driving a Subaru Impreza WRX,
heads Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer driver Jean-Marc Sanchez by 51.3s, with Yannick Rossi third in
his Lancer. Irishman Eamonn Boland had been expected to challenge in his Lancer but stopped on
stage one with a mechanical failure.
Two stage wins for Pierre-Antoine Guglielmi has powered the Clio R3 to the top of the IRC 2WD
Cup classification by more than one minute ahead of Stefano Albertini in his Megane R4.
Defending champion Harry Hunt is in fifth place.
DRIVER QUOTES
Thierry Neuville (Belgium), Peugeot 207 S2000, first overall: “It’s been a very good day. We did
a good job on the recce and I was confident to go faster for the second stage. We worked a lot on
the set-up after the first stage with changes to the suspension and the ride height and this helped a
lot today.”
Jan Kopecky (Czech Republic), Skoda Fabia S2000, second overall: “We made some changes
to the car after the first stage and it wasn’t any better so I think we will go back to the previous setup.
But the car is fine [mechanically] and we’re at the finish.”
Bryan Bouffier (France), Peugeot 207 S2000, third overall: “The steering wheel was a problem
on the first stage but it could have been worse. The car was moving a bit but it’s okay and we can
improve.”
TOP 10 IRC POSITIONS AFTER DAY ONE
1 Thierry Neuville (BEL)/Nicolas Gilsoul (BEL) Peugeot 207 S2000 32m08.3s
2 Jan Kopecky (CZE)/Petr Stary (CZE) Skoda Fabia S2000 +8.9s
3 Bryan Bouffier (FRA)/Xavier Panseri (FRA) Peugeot 207 S2000 +12.4s
4 Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR)/Ola Floene (NOR) Skoda Fabia S2000 +13.8s
5 Freddy Loix (BEL)/Frederic Miclotte (BEL) Skoda Fabia S2000 +19.2s
6 Guy Wilks (GBR)/Phil Pugh (GBR) Peugeot 207 S2000 +19.6s
7 Pierre Campana (FRA)/Sabrina de Castelli (FRA) Peugeot 207 S2000 +25.0s
8 Bruno Magalhaes (POR)/Paulo Grave (POR) Peugeot 207 S2000 +39.6s
9 Toni Gardemeister (FIN)/Tapio Suominen (FIN) Skoda Fabia S2000 +54.6s
10 Julien Maurin (FRA)/Olivier Ural (FRA) M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000 +1m19.5s
IRC Production Cup: Florian Gonon (SUI)/Sandra Arlettaz (SUI) Subaru Impreza WRX
IRC 2WD Cup: Pierre-Antoine Guglielmi (FRA)/Jean-Francois Porcu (FRA) Renault Clio R3

Special stages: Six
Special stage distance: 127.38kms
Liaison distance: 401.74kms
Total distance: 529.12kms
Service D: Corte Aerodrome (0:15hrs), 08:40hrs
SS3: Erbajolo-Pont d’Altiani (25.15kms), 09:10hrs
SS4: Barchetta-La Porta (23.26kms), 10:58hrs
SS5: Taverna-Pont de Castirla (15.28kms), 12:06hrs
Regroup: Corte Citadelle (0:40hrs), 12:46hrs
Service E: Corte Aerodrome (0:30hrs), 13:41hrs
SS6: Barchetta-La Porta (23.26kms), 15:09hrs
SS7: Taverna-Pont de Castirla (15.28kms), 16:17hrs
SS8: Erbajolo-Pont d’Altiani (25.15kms), 17:40hrs
Service F: Corte Aerodrome (0:45hrs), 18:25hrs
TV TIMES
The IRC’s media partner Eurosport, Europe’s leading sports entertainment group, and France 3
Corsica-Via Stella, will show three stages of Tour de Corse-E.Leclerc live on Friday as follows:
Friday 13 May:
09:00-10:00: LIVE SS3 Erbajolo-Pont d’Altiani (Eurosport and Eurosport France / France 3
Corsica-Via Stella)
12:00-13:00: LIVE SS5 Taverna-Pont de Castirla (Eurosport 2)
17:30-18:30: LIVE SS8 Erbajolo-Pont d’Altiani (Eurosport France and Eurosport Player / France 3
Corsica-Via Stella)
Daily highlights will also be shown at www.rally-irc.com and via the IRC iPhone and iPad App.
All times are CET.

IRC Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Ingles day two

Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Ingles
Day two, 16 April 2011
Thrilling Canarias victory for IRC champion Hanninen
•First IRC win on asphalt for Skoda’s flying Finn
•Peugeot’s Thierry Neuville shines in third overall

Hanninen160411final

Neuville160411final

Defending Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion Juho Hanninen has moved to the top of the
IRC drivers’ standings with a sensational victory on a thrilling Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Ingles,
the second round of the 12-event series, today (Saturday).
Hanninen, at the wheel of a Skoda Motorsport Fabia, started the second day of the all-asphalt rally
in third overall, albeit a scant 8.6s behind team-mate Jan Kopecky as nine seconds covered the
top four drivers. Despite going fastest on Saturday’s opener, Hanninen remained in third as Thierry
Neuville shot ahead of Kopecky into the lead.
But when Neuville lost vital seconds on the next stage, Hanninen took a second successive fastest
time and powered into first place. With Kopecky 0.1s behind starting the final two stages, the battle
of victory remained tightly poised only for Hanninen to open up a slender advantage that he would
never relinquish by winning the penultimate stage.
Hanninen’s success, which marked his first IRC victory on asphalt, puts him joint top with Freddy
Loix, who finished fourth, on the list of all-time IRC event winners with six victories. It was also
Skoda’s first win of 2011, the Czech manufacturer’s 110th year of motorsport participation and
means Skoda now heads the makes’ classification ahead of Peugeot.
Kopecky made it a Skoda Fabia one-two and suggested he could have repeated his Rally Islas
Canarias win from 2010 had his pacenotes been more precise, particularly on Saturday’s first
stage when he lost the lead of the rally he had held since stage two.
Neuville claimed a hugely impressive third place in his Team Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg 207
S2000, his first IRC event with new co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul. The 22-year-old from Belgium
reported losing precious ground on stage 10 after partly wearing out his tyres on the previous run
in the high ambient temperatures. As well as causing his car to understeer, Neuville reckoned they
contributed to his spin on a hairpin right.
However, it was Neuville’s best performance in the IRC so far and earned him the prestigious Colin
McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy. Awarded in memory of the late rally legend, the accolade is
presented on all rounds of the IRC to the driver who best embodies the spirit of the former world
champion.
Loix was the highest-placed Canarias rookie in fourth. The BFO Skoda driver was in the fight for
victory until he lost time on Friday’s final test when his Fabia’s side windows misted up and
restricted his vision.
Guy Wilks was one of four drivers to hold the lead of the rally but dropped out of contention with a
slow time through stage two on Friday, which he said was caused by a lack of confidence in the
set-up of his Peugeot UK 207. He started Saturday in seventh after a spin on Friday’s final stage
but fought back up to fifth with a series of impressive times.

Andreas Mikkelsen started the event under orders from his Skoda UK
Motorsport team to reach the finish following his crash on the season-opening
Rallye Monte-Carlo. Although his approach masked his outright speed, he was
nevertheless satisfied to have achieved his pre-rally aim. Finishing sixth
overall he received a further boost when he was able to fend off Rallye Monte-
Carlo winner Bryan Bouffier after a close battle.
Bouffier, who started the event at the top of the IRC drivers’ standings, was never
100 per cent confident with the handling of his Peugeot France 207 and his lack
of knowledge of the island’s demanding and abrasive stages held him back.
However, his haul of six points means he remains firmly in contention for the IRC
drivers’ title.
Bruno Magalhaes also lacked confidence at the wheel of his Peugeot Sport Portugal 207, a legacy
of the high-speed crash he suffered on Rallye Monte-Carlo. However, the IRC event winner
reached the finish in a solid eighth overall.
Giandomencio Basso bagged PROTON’s first points of the season in ninth overall on his debut
with the Malaysian squad. Toni Gardemeister, making his debut for his own TGS Worldwide team,
claimed the final drivers’ point in his Skoda, which he was using in competition for the first time.
PG Andersson dropped out of contention in the second PROTON when he suffered two punctures
in the same stage on Friday. He soldiered to the finish in 16th overall, scoring more manufacturer
points for his employer.
Joan Vinyes won the IRC 2WD Cup following a dominant display over Suzuki team-mate Gorka
Antxustegi. Angel Marrero was third to bag top IRC 2WD Cup manufacturer points for Honda.
Defending IRC 2WD Cup champion Harry Hunt recovered to sixth after being delayed by a fuel
pump fault and a puncture. He finished one place ahead of former IRC drivers’ champion Enrique
Garcia Ojeda in an M-Sport Ford Fiesta R2.
Canary Islander Jose Barrios claimed IRC Production Cup success in his Subaru Impreza after
Gustavo Sosa retired his Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer.
Huge crowds flocked to the stages to the extent Friday’s final test had to be cancelled due to
concerns over spectator safety and their vociferous support was widely praised by the leading IRC
crews.
DRIVER QUOTES
Juho Hanninen (Finland), Skoda Fabia S2000, first overall: “It has taken a long time but finally,
without any snow or nothing like that, I have won my first Tarmac rally and of course I am happy
with that but also because it was a big fight for the whole rally. You really needed to keep your
concentration on this rally because nobody was making mistakes.”
Jan Kopecky (Czech Republic), Skoda Fabia S2000, second overall: “It was a nice battle until
the end. Juho was flying and was lucky on the second to last stage because he hit a barrier with
the back of his car pushing so hard. My pacenotes were not good on this rally in places and I think
I lost first place because of this but Juho deserved to win.”
Thierry Neuville (Belgium), Peugeot 207 S2000, third overall: “Juho and Jan were in the end
too fast but we tried to follow, enjoyed it and learned a lot. Sometimes I was never sure if I could go
on the same the pace but now I am sure. I only need some more tests with the car and then it will
be perfect. This is really good for the future.”

TOP TEN IRC POSITIONS AFTER DAY TWO
1 Juho Hanninen (FIN)/Mikko Markkula (FIN) Skoda Fabia S2000 1h40m38.1s
2 Jan Kopecky (CZE)/Petr Stary (CZE) Skoda Fabia S2000 +1.5s
3 Thierry Neuville (BEL)/Nicolas Gilsoul (BEL) Peugeot 207 S2000 +8.2s
4 Freddy Loix (BEL)/Frederic Miclotte (BEL) Skoda Fabia S2000 +16.7s
5 Guy Wilks (GBR)/Phil Pugh (GBR) Peugeot 207 S2000 +48.3s
6 Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR)/Ola Floene (NOR) Skoda Fabia S2000 +55.6s
7 Bryan Bouffier (FRA)/Xavier Panseri (FRA) Peugeot 207 S2000 +1m00.6s
8 Bruno Magalhaes (POR)/Paulo Grave (POR) Peugeot 207 S2000 +1m49.8s
9 Giandomenico Basso (ITA)/Mitia Dotta (ITA) PROTON Satria Neo S2000 +2m37.8s
10 Toni Gardemeister (FIN)/Tapio Suominen (FIN) Skoda Fabia S2000 +2m38.2s
IRC Production Cup: Jose Barrios (ESP)/Amaranto Martel (ESP) Subaru Impreza WRX
IRC 2WD Cup: Joan Vinyes (ESP)/Jordi Mercader (ESP) Suzuki Swift S1600
IRC STANDINGS
Drivers after round two of 12
1 Juho Hanninen (Finland) 33pts
2 Bryan Bouffier (France) 31pts
3 Freddy Loix (Belgium) 30pts
4 Guy Wilks (United Kingdom) 25pts
5 Jan Kopecky (Czech Republic) 22pts
6 Thierry Neuville (Belgium) 15pts
7 Stephane Sarrazin (France) 12pts
8 Francois Delecour (France) 10pts
9 Andreas Mikkelsen (Norway) 8pts
10 Nicolas Vouilloz (France) 6pts etc
Manufacturers after round two of 12
1 Skoda 73pts
2 Peugeot 67pts
3 Subaru 18pts
4 PROTON 16pts
5 M-Sport 13pts
6 Honda 8pts
7 Ralliart 6pts
8 Abarth 1pt
IRC Production Cup after round two of 12
1 Jose Barrios (Spain) 25pts
= Florian Gonon (Switzerland) 25pts
3 Vojtech Stajf (Czech Republic) 18pts
4 Giacomo Ogliari (Italy) 15pts
5 Maurizio Verini (Italy) 12pts etc
IRC 2WD Cup drivers after round two of 12
1 Pierre Campana (France) 25pts
= Joan Vinyes (Spain) 25pts
3 Gorka Antxustegi (Spain) 18pts
= Michael Burri (Switzerland) 18pts
5 Renaud Poutot (France) 15pts
= Angel Marrero (Spain) 15pts

IRC 2WD Cup manufacturers after round two of 12
1 Peugeot 53pts
2 Honda 49pts
3 Abarth 33pts
= M-Sport 33pts
RALLY LEADERS
SS1: Guy Wilks
SS2-8: Jan Kopecky
SS9: Thierry Neuville
SS10-12: Juho Hanninen
STAGE WINNERS
Day one (Friday 15 April):
SS1: Gran Canaria 1 (1.50kms): Guy Wilks (Peugeot)
SS2: Santa Lucia 1 (24.57kms): Jan Kopecky (Skoda)
SS3: Ingenio 1 (14.19kms): Guy Wilks (Peugeot)
SS4: Gran Canaria 1 (1.50kms): Jan Kopecky (Skoda)
SS5: Santa Lucia 1 (24.57kms): Jan Kopecky (Skoda)
SS6: Ingenio 1 (14.19kms): Juho Hanninen (Skoda)
SS7: Vallesco (13.22kms): Jan Kopecky (Skoda)
SS8: Tejeda (23.07kms): Stage cancelled due to crowd safety concerns
Day two (Saturday 16 April):
SS9: San Mateo 1 (23.42kms: Juho Hanninen (Skoda)
SS10: Artenara 1 (13.47kms): Juho Hanninen (Skoda)
SS11: San Mateo 2 (23.42kms): Juho Hanninen (Skoda)
SS12: Artenara 2 (13.47kms): Jan Kopecky (Skoda)
KEY STATISTICS
IRC rally wins in 2011 (drivers)
Bryan Bouffier: 1
Juho Hanninen: 1
IRC rally wins in 2011 (manufacturers)
Peugeot: 1
Skoda: 1
IRC stage wins in 2011 (drivers)
Juho Hanninen: 7
Jan Kopecky: 5
Stephane Sarrazin: 4
Bryan Bouffier: 2
Guy Wilks: 2
Giandomenico Basso: 1
Francois Delecour: 1
Freddy Loix: 1
Nicolas Vouilloz: 1
Stage wins in 2011 (manufacturers)
Skoda: 14:
Peugeot: 10

www.rally-irc.com

KOPECKY HEADS FOUR-WAY BATTLE FOR IRC GLORY

Jan Kopecky’s bid to make it two wins out of two on Rally Islas
Canarias El Corte Ingles remains on course after the Skoda Motorsport
driver completed the opening day of the all-asphalt competition with a
lead of 5.7s over rising star Thierry Neuville.
Kopecky, from Czech Republic, moved in front on Friday’s second
stage and remained in the lead despite the close attentions of the
chasing pack. Kopecky, in a Fabia Super 2000, is one of four drivers
covered by a margin of nine seconds heading into Saturday’s
final quartet of stages such is the intensity of the competition in
the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.
Second-placed Neuville has impressed throughout day one in his Team
Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg 207. The 22-year-old hasn’t put a
wheel wrong on his first IRC event with new co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul.
His only cause for concern came on the first loop of stages when he
reported a bout of oversteer, which he put down to his decision to
carry two spare tyres rather than one as part of a set-up experiment.
Juho Hanninen, the defending IRC champion, admitted to spending much
of the day trying to avoid making mistakes in order to remain in the
thick of the battle for top spot. He was fastest overall on stage six
to underline his continued emergence on asphalt and moved ahead of
Freddy Loix into third overall on stage seven.
Loix made his customary hesitant start to a rally and was down in
eighth overall after the first stage on the Gran Karting Club circuit
in the south of the island. But changes to his pacenotes for the
second loop of stages helped the BFO Skoda driver increase his pace.
He started the first night stage in second spot but slipped to fourth
after the run. With the second night test cancelled on safety grounds
he remains fourth overnight.
Guy Wilks was fastest on stages one and three but his lethargy
through the two passes of the Santa Lucia test has dented his hopes of
victory. “I lost confidence because the car was sliding at the
rear and I couldn’t commit in the fast corners,” said the
Peugeot UK driver who slipped from fifth to seventh on stage seven.
“We’ve been a bit too up and down and that has been the
frustrating part.”
Andreas Mikkelsen began Friday by winning a charity fun run in aid of
the people of Japan. He started the rally intent on landing his first
finish of the IRC season following his early exit on Rallye
Monte-Carlo in January. As a result, the Norwegian adopted a low risk
strategy in his Skoda UK Motorsport Fabia and holds fifth overnight,
one place ahead of Monte-Carlo winner Bryan Bouffier.
The Frenchman made several changes to the settings of his Peugeot
France 207 S2000 at first service in a bid to close the gap to the
leaders. He said the changes had helped his cause but he faces the
prospect of starting the final day almost 40s adrift of leader
Kopecky.
While Thursday’s pre-event shakedown took place in bright
sunshine and high ambient temperatures, Friday was largely overcast
with fog and even a small sprinkling of rain adding to the challenge
facing the crews. Bruno Magalhaes, who was actually fastest in
shakedown in his Peugeot Sport Portugal 207, was one of several
drivers to drop time in the heavy fog that coated parts of stages
three and six. He also suffered from understeer at one point and is
eighth overnight.
Giandomenico Basso, making his debut for PROTON Motorsports, is ninth
at the completion of day one. The Anglo-Malaysian outfit is using
Basso’s extensive experience to hone its fleet of Satria Neo
S2000s, which it is continuing to develop.
Team-mate PG Andersson was just outside the top 10 when he was forced
to stop to change a punctured front-right tyre on stage five. He also
picked up a slow rear-right puncture on the same test. But with only
one spare available he had to crawl through stage six on the damaged
rubber. The Swede also lost ground with a half spin on the first Gran
Canaria stage.
Toni Gardemeister completes the top 10 on his first outing for his
new TGS Worldwide operation and his first event behind the wheel of a
Fabia S2000. Spaniard Jonathan Perez is 11th with Joan Vinyes the
leading IRC 2WD Cup runner in 12th overall.
Vinyes holds a margin of almost one minute over his nearest 2WD Cup
rival, his fellow Spaniard Gorka Antxustegi. Angel Marrero is third in
class and 15th overall in a Honda Civic Type R, one place ahead of IRC
Production Cup leader, the Subaru Impreza driver Jose Barrios.
DRIVER QUOTES
Jan Kopecky (Czech Republic), Skoda Fabia S2000, first overall:
“It’s been a very good day and the car was perfect, no
reason to change any details. Of course it’s nice when we have
this battle and with four cars in the fight it’s really
interesting for us the drivers and of course for the
spectators.”
Thierry Neuville (Belgium), Peugeot 207 S2000, second overall:
“I’m really, really happy with how today has been. The car
is working very well and Nicolas and me also did a very good job for
our first time together in this car. It’s also really nice to be
on the pace with the fastest guys even if we are near to the limit for
now.”
Juho Hanninen (Finland), Skoda Fabias S2000, third overall: “It
was important not to make any mistakes today because when that happens
you lose so much time. Because it is so close it is very difficult to
make that time up. The car has been good all day.”
TOP 10 IRC POSITIONS AFTER DAY ONE
1 Jan Kopecky (CZE)/Petr Stary (CZE) Skoda Fabia S2000 55m56.3s
2 Thierry Neuville (BEL)/Nicolas Gilsoul (BEL) Peugeot 207 S2000
+5.7s
3 Juho Hanninen (FIN)/Mikko Markkula (FIN) Skoda Fabia S2000 +8.6s
4 Freddy Loix (BEL)/Frederic Miclotte (BEL) Skoda Fabia S2000 +9.0s
5 Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR)/Ola Floene (NOR) Skoda Fabia S2000 +37.6s
6 Bryan Bouffier (FRA)/Xavier Panseri (FRA) Peugeot 207 S2000 +38.6s
7 Guy Wilks (GBR)/Phil Pugh (GBR) Peugeot 207 S2000 +40.7s
8 Bruno Magalhaes (POR)/Paulo Grave (POR) Peugeot 207 S2000 +1m03.8s
9 Giandomenico Basso (ITA)/Mitia Dotta (ITA) PROTON Satria Neo S2000
+1m31.7s
10 Toni Gardemeister (FIN)/Tapio Suominen (FIN) Skoda Fabia S2000
+1m40.3s
IRC Production Cup: Jose Barrios (ESP)/Amaranto Martel (ESP) Subaru
Impreza WRX
IRC 2WD Cup: Joan Vinyes (ESP)/Jordi Mercader (ESP) Suzuki Swift
S1600
DAY TWO ITINERARY (SATURDAY 16 APRIL)
Special stages: Four
Special stage distance: 73.78kms
Liaison distance: 164.40kms
Service D: Plaza de Canarias (0:15hrs), 07:30hrs
SS9: San Mateo 1 (23.42kms), 08:35hrs
SS10: Artenara 1 (13.47kms), 09:22hrs
Service E: Plaza de Canarias (0:30hrs), 10:46hrs
SS11: San Mateo 2 (23.42kms), 12:06hrs
SS12: Artenara 2 (13.47kms), 12:53hrs
Service F: Plaza de Canarias (0:10hrs), 13:57hrs
Finish: Plaza de Canarias, 14:30hrs
TV TIMES
The IRC’s media partner Eurosport, Europe’s leading
sports entertainment group, will show coverage of Rally Islas Canarias
El Corte Ingles on Saturday 16 April as follows:
05:00hrs-05:30hrs: Day one highlights (Eurosport Asia-Pacific)
24:00hrs-24:30hrs: Day two highlights (Eurosport)
24:30hrs-25:00hrs: Day two highlights (British Eurosport)

54TH EDITION OF THE TOUR DE CORSE – E.LECLERC

* “The Return of the Myth” with live television coverage on Eurosport

Tour_de_Corse_launch_image
Tour de Corse organiser the ASACC and Eurosport Events, the promoter of the
Intercontinental Rally Challenge, have unveiled exciting details of the 2011 Tour de Corse –
E.Leclerc, round three of the IRC, which will take place from 12-14 May.
Affectionately known as the Rally of 10,000 Corners due to the proliferation of twists and turns on
challenging mountain roads, the legendary event will return to its original spirit, as it will be run
around the picturesque Mediterranean island and will benefit from live television coverage.
The all-new route, which was presented in Paris yesterday (Thursday), will consist of 14 special
stages over a competitive distance of 320 kilometres. The 2011 Tour de Corse will start in the town
of Calvi on Corsica’s north west coast on Thursday 12 May. Friday’s action will be based around
the town of Corte with the final day’s competition on Saturday 14 May run around Ajaccio in the
south west of the island. A detailed itinerary is available on the event’s website at www.asacc.fr.
Christian Leca, the President of the Tour de Corse organiser ASACC, said: “After two years of
absence from the international scene, the Tour de Corse comes back in the best way by joining the
IRC calendar to build again the mythical trio of Monte Carlo, Corsica and Sanremo. The itinerary
going from Calvi, through Corte to Ajaccio will contribute to renew a real boost in the popularity of
this legendary event, to which the local communities and the private partners, being local or
national, have brought a strong support.”
The Tour de Corse will benefit from unique international media coverage including live broadcasts
of six stages on Eurosport’s network that will reach over 123 million homes across 59 countries in
Europe, on Eurosport 2 and on Eurosport Asia-Pacific. This will be complemented by
comprehensive coverage on Eurosportnews and the eurosport.com websites.
“We are very happy to welcome the Tour de Corse, an iconic name in the motorsport world, which
decided like Rallye Monte-Carlo, to join the IRC. In close co-ordination with the ASACC organisers,
we have decided to set up an ambitious live production plan that will allow viewing fans to enjoy
the action directly as it happens, with the beautiful Corsican countryside as a background,” said
Géraldine Filiol, the Managing Director of Eurosport Events.
A number of personalities attended the presentation in Paris: among them, Bryan Bouffier the
current leader of the IRC drivers’ standings and winner of the 2011 Rallye Monte-Carlo, as well as
Miss France, Laury Thilleman, who will open the road of the Tour de Corse as co-driver of a
Peugeot RCZ.
Eurosport’s LIVE TV coverage of Tour de Corse:
Thursday 12 May:
25:00-25:30: Highlights of day 1 (Eurosport)
Friday 13 May:
09:00-10:00: LIVE SS3 Erbajolo-Pont d’Altiani (Eurosport)
12:00-13:00: LIVE SS5 Taverna-Pont de Castirla (Eurosport 2)
17:30-18:00: LIVE SS8 Erbajolo-Pont d’Altiani (Eurosport Player)

Saturday 14 May:
09:00-10:00: LIVE SS9 Sarrola-Plage du Liamone (Eurosport)
15:00-16:00: LIVE SS12 Marato-Acqua Doria (Eurosport 2)
20:00-21:00: LIVE SS14 Sarrola-Plage du Liamone (Eurosport)

Sunday 15 May:
23:00-23:30: Magazine – Rally Review (Eurosport)

www.rally-irc.com

Al Rajhi back in the IRC with Kronos Racing

Alrajhi030311

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 d’Italia-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 May’s 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. It’s also great for us to have him in the team again because it’s the third year in a row that he
has been with us. He’s 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 year’s 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.
“I’m 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 Hunt’s car.
“After winning the IRC 2WD Cup last year I’m really excited about the
challenge I’ll face trying to defend my title,” said Hunt. “Obviously it’s going to
be more difficult this year because I’m stepping up in terms of car performance
and I’m going to face even more rivals. But I’m doing a good spread of events
and I’ve got a good chance to learn even more. I’ll 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 Mikkelsen’s outing is primarily to increase his experience of driving his Fabia on asphalt, this
weekend’s event will give him an opportunity to get reacquainted with the demanding and
undulating Corsican passes.
“I’ve rallied in Corsica twice before,” said the 21-year-old. “It’s 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.

Night stages for Rally Islas Canarias

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Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Ingles will feature night stages when it hosts the
second round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in April.
The event, which is based on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, will take place
from 14-16 April. To accommodate the night-time runs, organisers have made
several changes to the event itinerary with day one’s action getting underway on
Friday at 13:00hrs local time and not finishing until the early hours of Saturday
morning (16 April).
Crews and their teams will then get a short rest before the rally continues at 07:30hrs on Saturday.
The finish is scheduled for 14:30hrs later that day.
In total the rally will feature 12 special stages with a competitive distance of 190.59 kilometres.
The bulk of the stages on Friday 15 April will focus on the south of the island initially before crews
head to the north of the island for the two night stages, Valleseco and Tejeda, which start at
22:16hrs and 22:49hrs respectively.
Sunday’s stages are based in the north of the island and are the same as those used on Friday
night, albeit run in reverse.
More event information is available at www.rallyislascanarias.com.
Neuville gets new co-driver for IRC bid
Thierry Neuville has acknowledged the efforts of his former co-driver Nicolas Klinger after
confirming that he would be linking up with fellow Belgian Nicolas Gilsoul for the balance of his
Intercontinental Rally Challenge campaign with Team Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg this year.
Neuville and Klinger, who co-drove Nicolas Vouilloz to the IRC title in 2008, teamed-up for the
2010 season and scored a best result of third place on the Geko Ypres Rally in June.
However, Neuville has decided to change navigators and has recruited Gilsoul, a 29-year-old
fellow Belgian: “I would like to thank Nicolas Klinger. He is an excellent co-driver and his taking and
reading of pacenotes were always perfect. Through his experience and connections I made a lot of
progress in understanding rallies with him but I no longer need a big brother with me – he is 35 and
I am 22. He lives in southern France, me in Belgium, and we cannot meet each week but with
Nicolas [Gilsoul] we can.”
Neuville and Gilsoul’s programme of rallies will be revealed tomorrow (Friday 18 February). They
will drive a Peugeot 207 Super 2000 run by the Belgian Kronos Racing team.
Settembrini set for more IRC events
Massimiliano Settembrini will tackle three more rounds of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in
2011 following his run to 23rd overall on Rallye Monte-Carlo last month.
Settembrini, a 41-year-old from Italy, will drive a Peugeot 207 Super 2000 for the Munaretto Power
Car Team alongside co-driver and fellow Italian Corrado Bonato.
They will contest Rally Islas Canarais El Corte Ingles (14-16 April), Tour de
Corse (13-15 May) and Rallye Sanremo (22-25 September).
“This is an ambitious challenge for which I wish to improve our very good
overall result on Monte-Carlo,” said Settembrini. “For the upcoming rounds, we
decided to limit competitions to all-asphalt rallies so to get a very good feeling
with our Peugeot. I am really looking forward to taking part on the next IRC
rounds being backed by such a great and professional team.”
Wilks turns to karting to keep sharp
Guy Wilks will prepare for the upcoming asphalt rounds of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge by
racing go-karts near his home in the north east of England.
Wilks, who is driving a Peugeot UK 207 Super 2000 in the IRC this year, has taken over the
running of a go-kart circuit and plans to get behind the wheel of his go-kart on a regular basis
ahead of the next IRC event of the season, the all-asphalt Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Ingles in
April.
Rally drivers frequently use go-karts to hone their reflexes and in order to keep fit. Wilks said: “It’s
great for some Tarmac practice as I already have a Rotax Max go-kart. I can see some serious
practice going on.”
The 30-year-old Wilks also intends to keep fit by riding trials bikes and his Peugeot-built bicycle.
He is currently third in the IRC drivers’ standings following his capture of the final podium spot on
Rallye Monte-Carlo last month.

Bouffier wins Monte-Carlo centenary Peugeot ace takes maiden IRC triumph Eurosport shows 12 epic stages live

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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.

Bouffier leads after dramatic snow-hit day two

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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)

Hanninen dominates Rallye Monte-Carlo day one

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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)

2011 IRC calendar updated

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:

01 18-22 January, Monaco: Rallye Monte-Carlo (Asphalt)
02 14-16 April, Spain: Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Inglés (Asphalt)
03 13-15 May, France: Tour de Corse (Asphalt)
04 02-04 June, Ukraine: Prime Yalta Rally (Asphalt)
05 23-25 June, Belgium: Geko Ypres Rally (Asphalt)
06 14-16 July, Portugal: Sata Rallye Açores (Gravel)
07 04-06 August, Portugal: Rali Vinho Madeira (Asphalt)
08 26-28 August, Czech Republic: Barum Czech Rally Zlín (Asphalt)
09 09-11 September, Hungary: Mecsek Rallye (Asphalt)
10 22-24 September, Italy: Rallye Sanremo (Asphalt)
11 14-16 October, Scotland: RACMSA Rally of Scotland (Gravel)
12 03-05 November, Cyprus: Cyprus Rally (Asphalt/gravel)

www.rallyirc.com

SimulCam technology for live IRC Rallye Monte-Carlo coverage

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. 

Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo, Monaco 18-23 January 2010
SimulCam technology for live IRC Rallye Monte-Carlo coverage

www.rally-irc.com