“Huge crowds flocked to the stages to the extent Friday’s final test had to be cancelled due to concerns over spectators safety and their vociferous support was widely praised by the leading IRC crews.” This quote succinctly sums up the Intercontinental Rally Challenge’s Islas Canarias Rally, Round Two of the series’ calendar. The event, staged on highly abrasive and technically demanding asphalt roads, was filled with drama and action from the first car entering SS1 to the last car finishing the final speed test after the 24-hour long event.
After the event’s compact schedule that took in full IRC round in less than 24-hours, the top seven teams crews were covered by no more than 01min 00.6s. The dominant forces once more, as was in 2010 in the IRC, were the two factory-backed Skoda Fabia S2000s of Juho Hanninen and Jan Kopecky. The top spot of the leader board was claimed by Kopecky at the end of Day One, and teammate Hanninen leapfrogged his Czech colleague to move to the front of the field and take the overall victory.
Kopecky is regarded as an asphalt specialist, highly success on this surface in his career. In fact, he claimed victory here in 2010. This year’s event was not an easily contested affair, as a number of crews were capable of winning. The slightest of mistakes resulted in immediate relegation on the leader board, and teams were punished for their lack of total commitment on the stages.
The Czech ace powered past his rivals, setting a string of fast stage times to beat out Thierry Neuville (Peugeot 207 S2000) by only 5.7sec at the end of Day One. The 22-year-old never put a wheel wrong all weekend, and on Day One he proved his worth as a top-flight rally driver.
At the end of Day One, Hanninen was lying in third position overall, after jumping ahead of Freddy Loix (Skoda Fabia S2000). His first visit to this event, Loix started the rally off cautiously and upped his pace as is his customary method. However, his inexperience on these stages showed and hampered his ultimate speed.
British ace Guy Wilks (Peugeot 207 S2000) was quick on Day One in two stages, but lacked that hot pace for the remainder of the leg’s tests. His inconsistent performance relegated him to fifth place at the overnight halt.
Round One IRC winner Bryan Bouffier (Peugeot 207 S2000) and Andreas Mikkelsen (Skoda Fabia S2000) were locked in a battle for sixth place, with the latter claiming the position after a cautious start to the event.
The electrifying pace from the IRC regulars was such at 01min 03.8sec covered the top eight crews!
Unfortunately, not all drivers enjoyed their first day in Gran Canarias: Proton Satria Neo S2000 driver P.G. Andersson suffered a puncture on SS5 and then picked up a slow right rear puncture later in the same stage.
With only one spare tyre on-board and no service park between SS5 and SS6, he was forced to to limp through SS6 running on the wheel.
Hanninen’s ominous pace on Day One was fully realised on the opening two speed tests of Day Two, moving ahead of the top leaders to squeeze a lead of 01.sec out of Kopecky and Neuville. Hanninen’s relentless charge through the tight and twisty black top stages saw the Finnish star open a more comfortable gap, albeit slender, over his rivals by the end of the penultimate stage of the event.
Hanninen’s lead of a little over 01.0sec was increased to 01.5sec at the end of the rally, giving him his first IRC asphalt rally victory. Hanninen has now recorded six IRC wins, joining Loix as the most successful drivers in the history of the IRC. This event also marked Skoda’s first IRC success of 2011, and it was celebrated in fine style: Kopecky finished in second overall to give the team a much-deserved 1-2 result.
Said Hanninen: “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.”
The win could have gone the way of any of the top three: Kopcky was blisteringly quick and the young ace Neuville impressed all with his speed and consistency. Neuville’s potential to win a round of the IRC has just trebled, in the humble opinion of Handbrakes & Hairpins. In fact, event organisers felt the same way and awarded him with the IRC Colin McCrae Flat Out Trophy.
Neuville commented: “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.”
Canarias rookie Loix settled in fourth place, Wilks in fifth (despite his lack of confidence in his car’s set-up for the conditions) and Mikkelsen finished sixth. This was the first finish in the IRC 2011 series for this driver, showing to his critics he is able to drive maturely and consistently. He fought off Bouffier (an asphalt specialist), and set promising stage times in his Skoda UK-back Fabia S2000.
Proton scored their first points the 2011 IRC season, with Giandomenico Basso finishing ninth behind Bruno Magalhaes (Peugeot 207 S2000). Rounding out the final points-paying position was Toni Gardemeister (Skoda Fabia S2000) in tenth to record his new team TGS Worldwide their first point.
Joan Vinyes won the IRC 2WD Cup following a dominant display over Suzuki teammate Gorka Antxustegi. Angel Marrero was third to claim the top IRC 2WD Cup manufacturer points for Honda.
Defending IRC 2WD Cup champion Harry Hunt (Citroen DS3 R3) recovered to sixth in Class 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.
OVERALL CLASSIFICATION
01) J. Hanninen/M. Markkula
Skoda Fabia S2000 – 01h 40m 38.1s
02) J. Kopecky/P. Stary
Skoda Fabia S2000 + 01.5s
03) T. Neuville/N. Gilsoul
Peugeot 207 S2000 + 08.2s
04) F. Loix/F. Miclotte
Skoda Fabia S2000 + 16.7s
05) G. Wilks/P. Pugh
Peugeot 207 S2000 + 48.3s
06) A. Mikkelsen/O. Floene
Skoda Fabia S2000 + 55.6s
07) B. Bouffier/X. Panseri
Peugeot 207 S2000 + 01m 00.6s
08) B. Magalhaes/P. Grave
Peugeot 207 S2000 + 01m 49.8s
09) G. Basso/M. Dotta
Proton Satria Neo S2000 + 02m 37.8s
10) T. Gardemeister/T. Suominen
Skoda Fabia S2000 + 02m 38.2s
IRC Production Cup:
J. Barrios/A. Martel (Subaru Impreza WRX)
IRC 2WD Cup:
J. Vinyes/J. Mercader (Suzuki Swift S1600)
