Just under a month after the thrilling four-way battle for victory on Rally Islas Canarias electrified fans around the world, the chase for Intercontinental Rally Challenge glory resumes on the Mediterranean island of Corsica 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 reflect its original spirit with stages spread over a larger area of the picturesque French island than in recent years, when it joins the IRC for the first time in 2011. The claim of the rally his year expresses this spirit, “the Return of the Myth”.
Starting in the town of Calvi on Corsica’s north west coast at 13h00 local time on Thursday 12 May, the event will include 14 all-asphalt special stages over a competitive distance of 320km.
Thursday’s itinerary features two runs of a 27.53km stage, the longest of the event. From the overnight halt in Calvi, crews head to stages around Corte on Friday 13 May with three repeated tests split by service halts at the town’s aerodrome. The final day’s action on Saturday 14 May again consists of three repeated stages and runs around Ajaccio in the south west of the island where the first car is due to finish at approximately 21h35.
Although the bulk of the competitors will have some knowledge of the Corsican roads, most stage layouts are unchartered territory for IRC regulars with several classic tests from yesteryear returning to the itinerary.
While hot and sunny weather is expected for the duration of the event, the island’s climate can be changeable, particularly in mountainous areas. This can make tyre choice a lottery in the event of rainfall during a stage.
After finishing a close second to fellow Skoda Motorsport driver Juho Hanninen on the last IRC round, Jan Kopecky will be looking to make the most of his team-mate’s absence in Corsica having gone almost 13 months without a win in the IRC.
Hanninen is not planning to defend his IRC title in 2011 despite topping drivers’ classification after two events, handing Kopecky the task of upholding Skoda honour on the Mediterranean event.
Like Kopecky, Freddy Loix was also a contender for victory on Rally Islas Canarias. The Belgian BFO Skoda driver knows that a first win of 2011 would propel him to the top of the drivers’ classification following his run to second overall on Rallye Monte-Carlo in January.
Thierry Neuville arrives in Corsica on a high following his impressive podium finish on Round Two where he narrowly missed out on winning in his Team Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg 207. The 22-year-old was one of the revelations in the Canary Islands and starts the Tour de Corse on the back of a successful test with Peugeot Sport in France last month.
Guy Wilks (Peugeot UK 207 S2000) has the pace to win in the IRC, but was restricted to fifth overall on Rally Islas Canarias where he complained of a lack of stability in high-speed corners.
Bryan Bouffier, the current French rally champion, began his IRC bid with Peugeot France with victory on Rallye Monte-Carlo. While he has never competed in Corsica before, Bouffier is more than capable of fighting for first place.
Norway’s Andreas Mikkelsen has more recent knowledge of Corsica’s demanding roads than the many of his rivals after contesting a regional rally on the island back in March. The Skoda UK Motorsport driver claimed a comfortable victory on the event and also scored a confidence-boosting sixth on round two of the IRC following his early retirement from Rallye Monte-Carlo.
One driver with plenty of Corsica experience is Pierre Campana, who hails from Corte. Campana, the joint leader of the IRC 2WD Cup following his victory in Monte-Carlo, steps up to Super 2000 technology for his home rally when he will drive a 207 for the Italian Munaretto squad.
Patrik Sandell begins his seven-event IRC programme in a Skoda Sweden Fabia. The 29-year-old has previous experience of competing on the island from his stint in the World Rally Championship where he won the Junior title in 2006. Sandell, who will be co-driven by Staffan Parmander, also has good knowledge of driving Skodas, something he has done since 2010.
Subaru will debut its R4-specification Impreza in the IRC on Tour de Corse. Driven by veteran Japanese Toshi Arai, the car has been designed to narrow the performance gap between pacesetting Super 2000 cars and Group N production models.
IRC Production Cup Florian Gonon, who won the inaugural IRC Production Cup event on Rallye Monte-Carlo in January, returns to the series in his Subaru Impreza. The Swiss will face opposition from several Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer drivers including Jean-Marc Sanchez and Irishman Eamonn Boland.
IRC 2WD Cup The IRC 2WD Cup entry is bulging with quality and quantity with 31 runners competing in the two-wheel drive class in Corsica. Harry Hunt, the defending IRC 2WD Cup champion, heads the entry and will face strong opposition from Stefano Albertini, Eric Mauffrey, plus Honda Civic Type R driver Martin Kangur.