Third consecutive podium for IRC leader
Skoda secures one-two-three finish
Juho Hanninen and Skoda have made it three different winners from three rounds of this year’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge following a dominant victory on Rally Argentina, which finished with a spectacular superspecial stage through the streets of host town Carlos Paz earlier today (Sunday).
The Finn, who drives for the factory Skoda Motorsport team, builds his overall title lead to five points after claiming his first win of the season. Proof of the 28-year-old’s impressive performance on the challenging gravel event was underlined by the fact he won 11 of the 15 special stages, despite having to run first on the road on the final day of the rally.
Hanninen’s win also marked Skoda’s maiden victory of the 2010 IRC and has given the Czech firm a 22-point lead in the IRC manufacturers‘ standings after three rounds.
Briton Guy Wilks finished runner-up after a strong drive, which helped him to cement his second place in the drivers‘ table. Wilks started Sunday’s final leg intent on closing on overnight leader Hanninen but a minor brake problem on his Fabia S2000 cost him valuable time and meant he had to settle for second.
Kris Meeke, in a Peugeot 207, was also hamstrung by mechanical problems, an electronic issue contributing to an intermittent throttle glitch, which led to a fraught midday service while his Peugeot UK mechanics worked to rectify the problem. He looked set to hold on to third place until disaster struck on the penultimate stage of the event when a steering bolt broke and forced him to retire. Meeke’s misfortune let in Jan Kopecky for third place to complete a one-two-three for Skoda.
Gabriel Pozzo finished as the top Argentine driver in fourth overall after edging ahead of countryman Federico Villagra on Sunday’s fourth stage to secure the first IRC manufacturer championship points for Subaru. Pozzo’s performance meant he also secured his second win in a row in the Argentinean championship, which ran alongside the main IRC event.
Villagra reported that his M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000, which he was using in competition for the first time, lacked outright pace on the sandy stages although he conceded he was still getting to grips with his car.
Bruno Magalhaes scored points for the third time this season in his Peugeot Portugal 207. He reported his car had struggled for power on the higher altitude stages but said he was satisfied at the progression he had made throughout the weekend.
Argentine Nicolas Madero held onto his overnight seventh place at the wheel of his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X. Paraguay’s Diego Dominguez claimed the final point in eighth place in a similar Lancer with Alejandro Cancio and Juan Marchetto rounding out the top 10 in ninth and 10th respectively.
Claudio Menzi started the final day in ninth but incurred a 50-second penalty for leaving first service late after he missed his alarm call and failed to wake up in time. A front-right puncture, caused by hitting a rock on stage 11, added to his woes and dropped him to 11th.
Nasser Al-Attiyah’s IRC debut ended in retirement when his Skoda Fabia ingested too much water going over a river crossing and triggered a misfire. Daniel Oliveira retired his Peugeot 207 with suspension damage after going off on stage 11.
Brazilian Rafael Tulio took the IRC 2WD Cup laurels in his Peugeot 206. He had trailed Argentine Pablo Pelaez initially but moved in front on stage five on Saturday when Pelaez damaged the front of his Honda Civic going through a water splash, which caused the engine to overheat.

Juho Hanninen was fastest on 11 of the 15 stages in Argentina

DRIVER QUOTES

Juho Hanninen (Finland), Skoda Fabia S2000, first overall: "I’m very happy but a little bit surprised how good everything has been for me on this rally. There was a lot of fog on the first stage but I knew I didn’t need to push. I took it easy to avoid the rocks but I also had to keep my rhythm to avoid making any mistakes. It’s been safe and fast you could say and I have had a very good feeling. I would like to have the same feeling on every rally."
Guy Wilks (United Kingdom), Skoda Fabia S2000, second overall: "We’ve had a fantastic two rallies in South America with two second places and Skoda UK Motorsport has done a magnificent job. Juho drove very well and we maintained a fast and safe pace. I’m looking forward to fine tuning the set-up and challenging for victory on our next event."
Jan Kopecky (Czech Republic), Skoda Fabia S2000, third overall: "I’m very happy to be on the podium after quite a difficult rally but I think without Kris having the problem it would not have been possible. It was bad luck for him but good for me."

Co-driver Mikko Markkula and Juho Hanninen celebrate victory

TOP TEN IRC POSITIONS AFTER LEG TWO

1 Juho Hanninen/Mikko Markkula Skoda Fabia S2000 2h30m38.1s
2 Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh Skoda Fabia S2000 +51.0s
3 Jan Kopecky/Petr Stary Skoda Fabia S2000 +2m20.1s
4 Gabriel Pozzo/Daniel Stillo Subaru Impreza STI +5m03.9s
5 Federico Villagra/Jorge Perez Companc Ford Fiesta S2000 +5m14.2s
6 Bruno Magalhaes/Carlos Magalhaes Peugeot 207 S2000 +6m11.0s
7 Nicolas Madero/Guillermo Piazzano Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X +6m47.5s
8 Diego Dominguez/Edgardo Galindo Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X +7m39.3s
9 Alejandro Cancio/Santiago Garcia Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X +8m38.3s
10 Juan Marchetto/Gustavo Franchello Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X +9m17.6s
Leading IRC 2WD Cup finishers: Rafael Tulio/Cesar Valandro (Peugeot 206)

IRC STANDINGS

Drivers after round three of 12
1 Juho Hanninen (Finland) 24pts
2 Guy Wilks (United Kingdom) 19pts
3 Jan Kopecky (Czech Republic) 15pts
4 Kris Meeke (United Kingdom) 10pts
= Mikko Hirvonen (Finland) 10pts
6 Bruno Magalhaes (Portugal) 9pts
7 Nicolas Vouilloz (France) 6pts
8 Gabriel Pozzo (Argentina) 5pts
= Stephane Sarrazin (France) 5pts
10 Federico Villagra (Argentina) 4pts etc
Manufacturers after round three of 12
1 Skoda 46pts
2 Peugeot 24pts
3 M-Sport 14pts
4 Ralliart 6pts
5 Subaru 5pts
IRC 2WD Drivers after round three of 12
1 Kris Princen 10pts
= Marcos Tokarski 10pts
= Rafael Tulio 10pts
4 Pierre Campana 8pts
= Luis Gius 8pts
= Pablo Pelaez 8pts
= Luis Tedesco 8pts
8 Thomas Barral 6pts
= Ulysses Bertholdo 6pts
= Alicia Reina 6pts etc
IRC 2WD Manufacturers after round three of 12
1 Peugeot 36pts
2 M-Sport 22pts
3 Abarth 19pts
4 Honda 8pts
5 Skoda 5pts

STAGE WINNERS

Friday 19 March
SS1: Super Special Stage Carlos Paz 1 (3.30kms): Kris Meeke
Saturday 20 March
SS2: Las Bajadas-Villa del Dique 1 (16.57kms): Juho Hanninen
SS3: Amboy-Santa Monica 1 (20.43kms): Juho Hanninen
SS4: Santa Rosa-San Agustin 1 (21.53kms): Guy Wilks
SS5: San Agustin-Villa General Belgrano 1 (16.46kms): Juho Hanninen
SS6: Las Bajadas-Villa del Dique 2 (16.57kms): Juho Hanninen
SS7: Amboy-Santa Monica 2 (20.43kms): Juho Hanninen
SS8: Santa Rosa-San Agustin 2 (21.53kms): Juho Hanninen
Sunday 21 March
SS9: La Cumbre-Agua de Oro (15.06kms): Juho Hanninen
SS10: Ascochinga-La Cumbre (22.40kms): Juho Hanninen
SS11: Valle Hermoso-Casa Grande 1 (11.34kms): Juho Hanninen
SS12: Cosquin-Villa Allende 1 (19.18kms): Juho Hanninen
SS13: Valle Hermoso-Casa Grande 2 (11.34kms): Jan Kopecky
SS14: Cosquin-Villa Allende 2 (19.18kms): Juho Hanninen
SS15: Super Special Stage Carlos Paz 2 (3.30kms): Jan Kopecky
Stage winners in 2010
Juho Hanninen: 19
Kris Meeke: 7
Sebastien Ogier: 7
Mikko Hirvonen: 3
Jan Kopecky: 2
Stephane Sarrazin: 2
Nicolas Vouilloz: 1
Guy Wilks: 1

TV TIMES

Eurosport, Europe’s largest television channel, will show highlights of each day of the rally. Highlights will also be available at www.rally-irc.com
Monday 22 March
06:30-07:00: Day two highlights repeated (Eurosport Asia-Pacific)
08:30-09:00: Day two highlights repeated (Eurosport)
Tuesday 23 March
23:30-24:00: Magazine (Eurosport and Eurosport Asia-Pacific)
Wednesday 24 March
03:30-04:00: Day two highlights repeated (Eurosport Asia-Pacific)
09:00-09:30: Magazine repeated (Eurosport)
All times are CET

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Juho Hanninen will start the final leg of the 30th Personal Rally Argentina with a lead of more than half a minute following a dominant performance at the wheel of his Skoda Motorsport Fabia Super 2000 today (20 March).
The 28-year-old Intercontinental Rally Challenge leader from Finland was fastest on six of Saturday’s seven special stages, despite insisting he was not going flat-out in his efforts to claim his first victory of the season alongside co-driver Mikko Markkula. Although Hanninen could lose time by running first on the road on Sunday, his pace during this afternoon might be enough to minimise any disadvantage he could face.
Guy Wilks, driving for the Skoda UK Motorsport team, moved into second place on the sixth stage of the event when he demoted fellow British driver Kris Meeke into third overall. Wilks claimed his first stage win of the campaign when he went fastest on the fourth test of the gravel rally. Apart from regretting his decision to raise the ride height of his Fabia and experiment with his suspension settings in the afternoon, the Englishman said he was satisfied with his performance.
Meeke, the defending IRC champion, rued his choice of the harder compound tyre for the afternoon’s loop of three stages, which he said was not suited to the conditions, which remained dry, albeit slightly colder than in the morning. The Peugeot UK ace, who was hindered by an electronic glitch on stages four and five, lost more ground when he picked up a front-right puncture two kilometres from the end of the day’s final stage.
Czech Republic’s Jan Kopecky, in the second factory Skoda, makes no secret of his lack of gravel prowess although a fourth-gear spin on stage three did little to help his confidence. He had hoped to find more speed by running with only one spare wheel to carry less weight during the morning loop of stages but that gamble made no difference to his outright pace. Nevertheless, he is on course for a healthy haul of points in fourth overall.
Fifth-placed Federico Villagra is the leading Argentine heading into day two in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta. The eight-time national champion was mystified that he wasn’t closer to the leading pace and suggested his car’s engine had lacked grunt on the sandy stages.
Gabriel Pozzo completes the top six in his Subaru Impreza WRX, despite being handed a 10-second time penalty for leaving morning service late while his mechanics worked to repair damaged rear suspension.
Bruno Magalhaes blamed his lowly starting position of 11th for his failure to run at the sharp end of the leaderboard. But the Peugeot Portugal driver has refused to be disheartened and battled his way to eighth overnight, behind leading Argentine Group N driver Nicolas Madero, in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X.
Nasser Al-Attiyah has made a steady start to his IRC career at the wheel of a Rene Georges Rally Sport-run Fabia. Although the Qatari has extensive experience of competing in Argentina, he’s still lacking knowledge of his car, although his main cause of complaint, particularly in the morning, was running first on the road. Hopes of a reversal of fortune in the afternoon were shattered when he picked up two right-side punctures on stage six.
Daniel Oliveira was in the top 20 when an off on stage three left him stranded in thick mud for more than 10 minutes until spectators helped to haul his Peugeot 207 back onto the road. The delay dropped the young Brazilian into last position at one stage but he has fought back to within touching distance of the top 30 heading into Sunday’s final leg.
Despite heavy rain in the build-up to the rally, it remained dry throughout Saturday’s leg. Rain is expected tonight, however, while fog is expected to add to the challenge facing the crews on Sunday’s early stages.

Juho Hanninen is on course for victory on Rally Argentina

DRIVER QUOTES

Juho Hanninen (Finland), Skoda Fabia S2000, first overall: "It’s been a good day with no problems. I pushed a bit more this afternoon to keep my lead good for tomorrow even though there were some deep ruts. I plan to keep my gap tomorrow although I know the boys behind will still be pushing. I will just see what I can do."
Guy Wilks (United Kingdom), Skoda Fabia S2000, second overall: "The stages have been tricky today but we’ve got to keep the pressure on tomorrow because you never know what will happen. Juho has been flying today, particularly this afternoon."
Kris Meeke (United Kingdom), Peugeot 207 S2000, third overall: "The water splash on stage four seemed to affect the gear shifting systems, which cut the engine, but we got it fixed at service. It’s been impossible to live with Juho today but it’s not over yet."

Kris Meeke (left) dropped valuable time with a puncture

TOP TEN IRC POSITIONS AFTER LEG ONE, SECTION TWO

1 Juho Hanninen/Mikko Markkula Skoda Fabia S2000 1h16m55.0s
2 Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh Skoda Fabia S2000 +32.2s
3 Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle Peugeot 207 S2000 +51.0s
4 Jan Kopecky/Petr Stary Skoda Fabia S2000 +1m26.2s
5 Federico Villagra/Jorge Perez Companc Ford Fiesta S2000 +2m57.7s
6 Gabriel Pozzo/Daniel Stillo Subaru Impreza STI +3m11.1s
7 Nicolas Madero/Guillermo Piazzano Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X +3m34.6s
8 Bruno Magalhaes/Carlos Magalhaes Peugeot 207 S2000 +3m45.9s
9 Claudio Menzi/Diego Cagnotti Subaru Impreza STI +3m56.8s
10 Diego Dominguez/Edgardo Galindo Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X +4m03.4s

LEG TWO ITINERARY (SUNDAY 21 MARCH)

Service D: Carlos Paz, 06:40hrs; SS9: La Cumbre-Agua de Oro (15.06kms), 08:13hrs; SS10: Ascochinga-La Cumbre (22.40kms), 09:13hrs; SS11: Valle Hermoso-Casa Grande 1 (11.34kms), 10:08hrs; SS12: Cosquin-Villa Allende 1 (19.18kms), 10:40hrs; Service E: Carlos Paz, 12:10hrs; SS13: Valle Hermoso-Casa Grande 2 (11.34kms), 14:08hrs; SS14: Cosquin-Villa Allende 2 (19.18kms), 14:40hrs; SS15: Super Special Stage Carlos Paz 2 (3.30kms), 16:23hrs; Service F: Carlos Paz, 16:33hrs; Finish: Carlos Paz, 16:53hrs.

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LEG ONE, SECTION ONE REPORT: Personal Rally Argentina, 19-21 March, 2010
Intercontinental Rally Challenge, round three of 12

MEEKE TOPS SUPERSPECIAL TO LEAD IN ARGENTINA

Kris Meeke will take a slender lead of 1.4 seconds into the second section of leg one of the 30th Personal Rally Argentina after topping the times on the opening superspecial stage through the streets of Carlos Paz on Friday (19 March).
In front of a capacity crowd of 12,000 fans, Meeke completed the all-asphalt 3.30-kilometre course, held in wet conditions, in a time of 2m32.8s at the wheel of his Peugeot UK 207 Super 2000.
Bruno Magalhaes, in his Peugeot Portugal 207, was second fastest having recovered from illness in the lead up to the rally. Guy Wilks completed the top three as the highest-placed Skoda Fabia driver.
Intercontinental Rally Challenge leader Juho Hanninen, who was paired against Meeke on the street course, was fourth fastest in the first of two factory Fabias. His time was identical to that of team-mate Jan Kopecky, who was classified fifth.
Juan Manuel Marchetto was the leading Argentine driver in sixth overall in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, with countryman Federico Villagra seventh. However, Villagra will face an anxious wait to learn if his M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000 can be restored to full working order after he reported a problem with his car’s gearbox at the end of the stage.
Along with Uruguayan veteran Gustavo Trelles, Miguel Baldoni was the first driver to tackle the stage and ended up eighth quickest, marginally faster than Brazilian Daniel Oliveira, who finished the stage with slight damage to the right-rear corner of his Stohl Racing Peugeot 207 after nudging a straw bale.
Saturday’s action features seven stages with the opening 16.57-kilometre Las Bajadas-Villa Del Dique stage getting underway at 08:13hrs local time. However, the results of the superspecial won’t alter the road positions for the second section of leg one, which were determined earlier today. Nasser Al-Attiyah, who is tenth overnight, will be the first to tackle the stages in his Fabia. Hanninen will go second with Wilks third, Villagra fourth and overnight leader Meeke fifth. The overnight forecast is for heavy rain.

Kris Meeke holds a slender overnight lead on Rally Argentina

DRIVER QUOTES

Kris Meeke (United Kingdom), Peugeot 207 S2000, first overall: "It was a good enough run through but it’s one of those stages when you can lose everything, particularly when the rain came in. It was impossible to judge the grip so we might have been a bit wrong to have shaved our tyres so much. The fans were incredible, I really enjoyed it."
Bruno Magalhaes (Portugal), Peugeot 207 S2000, second overall: "It was very difficult and very slippery, especially with gravel tyres on wet Tarmac. I was very cautious because of this. I think the car is better now after Brazil."
Guy Wilks (United Kingdom), Skoda Fabia S2000, third overall: "I tried to keep it as neat as possible but what a welcome that was to Rally Argentina with greasy Tarmac, gravel tyres and rain. It got a bit close at times."

Bruno Magalahes is second overall in his Peugeot Portugal 207

TOP TEN IRC POSITIONS AFTER LEG ONE, SECTION ONE

1 Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle Peugeot 207 S2000 2m32.8s
2 Bruno Magalhaes/Carlos Magalhaes Peugeot 207 S2000 +1.4s
3 Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh Skoda Fabia S2000 +2.2s
4 Juho Hanninen/Mikko Markkula Skoda Fabia S2000 +2.9s
5 Jan Kopecky/Petr Stary Skoda Fabia S2000 +2.9s
6 Juan Manuel Marchetto/Franchello Gustavo Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X +7.2s
7 Federico Villagra/Jorge Perez Companc Ford Fiesta S2000 +7.8s
8 Miguel Baldoni/Jose Luis Diaz Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X +8.4s
9 Daniel Oliveira/Carlos Del Barrio Peugeot 207 S2000 +9.3s
10 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Giovanni Bernacchini Skoda Fabia S2000 +9.4s

LEG ONE, SECTION TWO ITINERARY (SATURDAY 20 MARCH)

Service A: Carlos Paz, 06:10hrs; SS2: Las Bajadas-Villa del Dique 1 (16.57kms), 08:13hrs; SS3: Amboy-Santa Monica 1 (20.43kms), 09:00hrs; SS4: Santa Rosa-San Agustin 1 (21.53kms), 09:41hrs; SS5: San Agustin-Villa General Belgrano 1 (16.46kms), 10:24hrs; Service B: Carlos Paz, 12:14hrs; SS6: Las Bajadas-Villa del Dique 2 (16.57kms), 14:57hrs; SS7: Amboy-Santa Monica 2 (20.43kms), 15:44hrs; SS8: Santa Rosa-San Agustin 2 (21.53kms), 16:25hrs; Service C: Carlos Paz, 18:20hrs.

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Eurosport Events, the promoter of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, has today announced that Rally Islas Canarias ‚Trofeo El Corte Ingles‘ will replace Rally Principe de Asturias on the 2010 IRC schedule.
The event will become the fourth round of the 12-event IRC series and take place from 28 April-1 May.
A one-year agreement has been reached between Eurosport Events and the Canarias Sport Club with an option for a two-year extension.
Confirmation of Rally Islas Canarias‘ inclusion in the IRC is the result of a successful collaboration between Eurosport Events and Real Federacion Espanola de Automovilismo. This was instigated after the organisers of Rally Principe de Asturias decided they could not honour the terms of their agreement with Eurosport Events and declared they would no longer host the IRC round, which had been due to run from 9-11 September.
Marcello Lotti, the General Manager of the IRC, said: "We are grateful to President Carlos Gracia Fuertes, of Real Federacion Espanola de Automovilismo, who supported the IRC in finding a quick and solid alternative solution after Rally Principe de Asturias encountered financial issues. Rally Islas Canarias enjoys a good reputation and benefits from a strong organisational background. We are hopeful this partnership will not be a one-off experience."
Rally Islas Canarias is an all-tarmac event and is one of the most famous rounds of the Spanish asphalt championship. The rally organisers are making special arrangements for IRC international regular teams to transport their cars and equipment to the event.
The revised 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge schedule is as follows:
Round: Event (Country) Date (Surface)
01: Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo (Monaco) 19-23 January (Asphalt)
02: Rally Internacional de Curitiba (Brazil) 04-06 March (Gravel)
03: Rally Argentina (Argentina) 19-21 March (Gravel)
04: Rally Islas Canarias (Spain) 28 April-01 May (Asphalt)    
05: Rally d’Italia Sardegna (Italy) 04-06 June (Gravel)
06: Geko Ypres Rally (Belgium) 24-26 June (Asphalt)
07: Sata Rally Açores (Portugal) 15-17 July (Gravel)
08: Rali Vinho Madeira (Portugal) 05-07 August (Asphalt)
09: Barum Czech Rally Zlín (Czech Republic) 27-29 August (Asphalt)
10: Rallye Sanremo (Italy) 23-25 September (Mixed)
11: RAC MSA Rally of Scotland (United Kingdom) 15-17 October (Gravel)
12: FxPro Cyprus Rally (Cyprus) 04-06 November (Mixed)

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