The first round of the Flanders International Rally Challenge (FIRC) championship, the ORC Canal Rally, takes place in Oostrozebeke, Belgium this weekend. Taking place on the challenging Flanders tar, the rally is sure to offer stiff competition for the British crews, with the Belgian rally organisers receiving a record 178 entries. With 140 competitors allowed to start the rally, seeding is sure to be a headache.
If Melissa Debackere’s Impreza WRC is still in one piece following her recent accident on a road section of last weekend’s Sezoens rally, she will be defending last year’s ORC win against local expert Paul Lietaer, also in an Impreza. Didier Duquesne’s Toyota Celica GT4 and the Peugeot 207 S2000 cars of Dominque Bruyneel and Philip Cracco will also be serious challengers for the podium.
27 British, Dutch and French crews have entered the rally, a great turnout for the FIRC in only the second season of the challenge. Top of the British crews must be last year’s FIRC championship winners, Andy Rowe and Cat Lund, in their trusty Mitsubishi Evo III. Fresh from another victory at their favourite UK venue, Twyford Wood, the crew are the FIRC team to beat in class 3i, now that John Morgan and Llinos Jones-Edwards have moved from their ex-Patrick Snijers Escort Cosworth to the historic class with a Ford Escort RS.
Joining Morgan on the historic event is last year’s FIRC Historic winner Keith Pettitt with James McCullough in their Ford Escort MK1, together with Les Allfrey/Keith Fellowes and Henry Hardiment/ Bernard Baker who are both driving the legendary Mini Cooper S. Dominic Frattaroli and co-driver Jeannick Breyne are also bringing their pretty Datsun 240Z to the party.
In the modern event, Allan Smith/Graham Stanley in their Impreza STi are taking on the Evo III crew in class 3i, alongside FIRC newcomers Marc Duponchel/Dominique Turpin in a BMW 325i and Joost Kusters/ Alex Eisenberg in a Ford Sierra Cosworth 4×4. Andrew Thomson and Richard Vincent are hoping for a trouble free season this year in their Ford Focus, while Martijn Boekhuizen/Frank Tuenissen are back in their Tommi Makkinen edition Evo VI. Meanwhile crowd pleaser John Legg joins the challenge for the first time in his Escort Mk2, enjoying the freedom of running with the modern cars in class 3H and enlisting the services of Belgian co-driver Colin Degroote.
It looks like there will also be fierce competition in class 3G, last year’s class winner Eep Borgers and co-driver Peter van de Wardt returning with an Opel Corsa Max and bringing several friends along, including Mark and Sander Van De Hel, both driving Opel Astras and co-driven by Kayleigh Sjoerds and Valentijn Martens respectively. Joining them in another Astra is Andre Van Middendorp. Briton Martin De Vere-Packford is back with a new, faster engine in his Peugeot 306 Rallye and after difficulty enlisting the services of a regular co-driver last year will have Belgian Filip Collez sitting alongside him. Finally there should be some flamboyant action from Henri Beve and Thierry Dechildre in their Opel Manta 200.
Also competing from the UK are Garry Elswood and Teresa Butler in their Citroen Saxo VTS, joined in class 2C by Omloop Van Vlaanderen regulars Neil Dodd and Val Thomson in their MG ZR. Andrew Dawe and Ernie Waldron round out the British entries with their Nissan Sunny in class 2D. A full entry list can be found at www.orc-rally.be and the event seeding will be announced this Wednesday.
For further information check out www.fastestcat.co.uk, www.orc-rally.be or www.firc.be.