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EVENTS
SEBASTIEN OGIER MAKES RETURN TO
IRC COMPETITION IN SARDINIA
IRC: ITALIA-SARDEGNA RALLY
04 - 06 June 2010
The Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) makes
its fi rst visit to Sardinia this week for Round Five
of the 12-event series.
Story: www.ircseries.com
After switching to asphalt for Rally Islas
Canarias in late April, crews return to
gravel for the island-based contest,
which previously ran as part of the World
Rally Championship before joining the
IRC for 2010.
While part of the route used for
the WRC qualifi er remains, organisers
have made several changes to the
itinerary, including a ceremonial start in
the capital Cagliari, in the south of the
island, and new stages based around the
town of Oristano to the west.
Leg One consists of six special
stages. There will be two runs through
the Monte Grighine stage, located to
the east of Oristano and televised live
on Eurosport, and two passes of the
Gonnosno test to the south-east of
the town, split by a remote service in
Simaxis. Crews then head north to the
classic Monte Lerno stage between the
towns of Ozieri and Pattada, eventually
reaching Olbia in the island’s north-east
for end of day service and overnight parc
ferme.
Sunday morning’s action takes
competitors south of Olbia for two runs
of the Coiluna stage split by the fi rst
of pass of the Terranova stage and a
regroup in Ala dei Sardi. Both Coiluna
stages will be shown live on Eurosport.
The second is followed by a service halt
in Olbia before two Monte Olia tests and
a return to the Terranova stage. After
a fi nal service in Olbia, crews cross the
fi nishing ramp in the exclusive Porto
Cervo resort on Sunday evening.
The stages in Sardinia are
characterised by their challenging
and varied nature. Although they are
predominantly fast and narrow, the
terrain is a mixture of fl at open areas
and undulating tracks through woodland
with water splashes and spectacular
jumps thrown in for good measure.
Ordinarily the surface is hard with rockstrewn
sections commonplace, while ruts
will often form after the fi rst pass. Some
parts of the route are on softer ground,
which has been damaged by recent
heavy rainfall and has required the
organisers to carry out essential repair
work.
As with most gravel rallies, road
position can have a major bearing on
the result due to the effect of cleaning
the course of loose-surface gravel. In
a change to the format used on other
rounds of the IRC, organisers in Sardinia
will run the top ten crews in reverse
order of their competition numbers for
Saturday’s opening leg in two-minute
intervals. The remainder of the fi eld
will start in number order, albeit with a
one-minute gap. On Sunday, the leading
ten runners will start in reverse order in
two-minute intervals, with the remaining
competitors running in rally order
separated by one-minute gaps.
Juho Hanninen has opened up
a seven-point lead in the drivers’ table
following his run to second place on Rally
Islas Canarias last month. The Finn won
the IRC’s last gravel round, taking his
Skoda Fabia S2000 to victory on Rally
Argentina in March and has established a
reputation as a loose-surface specialist.
Jan Kopecky’s fi rst place last
time out in Gran Canaria promoted the
Czech to joint second with Guy Wilks in
the championship standings. Like teammate
Hanninen, Kopecky has rallied
in Sardinia before but admitted after
Round Two of the IRC in Brazil, where
he fi nished a distant fourth, that he still
needs to improve his form on gravel.
Guy Wilks is due to start the
rally on the back of a test on the island.
The Skoda UK Motorsport pilot has yet to
take a win this season but has the pace
to mount the top step of the podium in
his Fabia S2000.
Kris Meeke, the defending IRC
champion, prepared for Rally d’Italia-
Sardegna with a test in southern France
recently. Although he reported having
improved the set-up of his Peugeot
UK-backed 207, the Northern Irishman
insists he won’t go all out for victory,
despite needing to narrow the gap to
title leader Hanninen, preferring instead
to secure a podium place.
Peugeot Sport Portugal’s Bruno
Magalhaes is a three-time Portuguese
champion, who has scored on every
round of the year so far, is unlikely
to enter the next rally of the series in
Belgium so will be determined to put on
a strong showing on his fi rst visit to the
island this weekend.
Sebastien Ogier’s last
appearance in the IRC was on Rallye
Automobile Monte-Carlo in January
where he was challenging for victory
only for alternator failure to force
him out on the fi nal night. Since then
he has focussed on his World Rally
Championship campaign with the Citroen
Junior Team. Ogier has been called to
help reignite Peugeot’s bid for a fourth
manufacturers’ crown and assist Meeke’s
efforts to get his drivers’ title defence
back on track.
Leading the Peugeot Sport Italia
challenge is four-time national champion
Paolo Andreucci. At 45, the Italian is
one of the oldest drivers in the fi eld but
is still more than capable of running
at the front in his 207 S2000, despite
conceding that it will be a tall order to
beat the IRC regulars.
Andreas Mikkelsen begins his
seven-event IRC campaign in Sardinia at
the wheel of an M-Sport-run Ford Fiesta
S2000. The 20-year-old Norwegian is
highly regarded while the Fiesta has
already proven to be a winner in the
IRC, thanks to Mikko Hirvonen’s efforts
on the Monte Carlo Rally.
P-G Andersson’s conventional
Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
X might not have the beating of the
Super 2000 machines but the Swede,
who is armed with previous Sardinia
knowledge, is a huge talent and has the
ability to fi ght for a top six fi nish.
Thierry Neuville began his
IRC bid in Gran Canaria last month
and showed plenty of promise before
he crashed out on the penultimate
stage. Fellow Peugeot 207 driver Franz
Wittmann also failed to go the distance
on the island rally when he too crashed.
The Austrian has been plotting his
revenge in his Interwetten Racing-run
machine ever since.
Sardinia marks the return of
former champion Marco Cavigioli to the
IRC 2WD Cup ranks, although the Italian
has yet to fi rm up his choice of car.
Britons Harry Hunt and Colin R. Smith
will drive a Ford Fiesta R2 and Honda
Civic Type R respectively and will be
looking to build up their experience of
IRC competition.