2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge Preview

March 15, 2010 – 10:00 am

THE CHALLENGE

The dust might have only just settled on a thrilling Rally Internacional de Curitba but the Intercontinental Rally Challenge regulars are already gearing up for the third round of the series in Argentina next week (19-21 March).

Based in the picturesque town of Carlos Paz, 2,200 kilometres south of Curitiba, Rally Argentina might be new to the IRC but it is one of the world’s most established rallies and celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2010.

Famed for its demanding terrain, challenging water splashes and enthusiastic fans that turn out in their thousands to watch the action, Rally Argentina is set to be one of the highlights of the IRC season.

In a break with tradition, two asphalt stages will be included on the mainly gravel-based itinerary this year: the two runs over the Super Special Stage Carlos Paz, which uses closed public roads in the centre of the host town. The first run will take place on the evening of Friday 19 March with the second bringing the event to a close on the afternoon of Sunday 21 March.

The stage, which measures 3.30-kilometres in length, runs past several landmarks in Carlos Paz by the banks of the San Roque Lake and is linked together by two hairpin turns. Crews will tackle the stage in pairs, albeit starting at opposite ends of the course, which is set to create an exciting spectacle.

Following a 20-minute service halt at the permanent service park in Carlos Paz, Saturday’s leg features seven stages in the Calamuchita valley, with Sunday’s action taking in the gravel roads of the Punilla valley, where six stages will be run before the second Super Special Stage in Carlos Paz. The competitive route is just shy of 240 kilometres. There will be a total of six visits to the Carlos Paz service park.

Although they are flowing in nature, the stages in Argentina are renowned for being slightly slower but more technically demanding than those experienced in Curitiba. The surface is also sandier, which increases the risk of punctures because of a greater likelihood of rocks being pulled into the road by the competing cars. Because the road surface is softer, ruts can form following the first pass. However, the forecast is for dry, albeit cloudy weather in the build-up to the rally.

The sandy surface could lead to anomalies in the stage times with the traditional Group N machinery, such as the Subaru Impreza and Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer, likely to be more evenly matched with the Super 2000 cars (M-Sport’s Ford Fiesta, Peugeot’s 207 and Skoda’s Fabia), which are set to challenge for overall victory.

Because the Super 2000 machines rely on normally aspirated power, they do not have the same levels of torque as the turbo-charged Group N machines and could be put at a disadvantage, particularly when exiting corners. It will require those in Super 2000 cars to adopt a smooth driving style in order to avoid excessive time loss.

Sixty-nine crews have entered Rally Argentina, the highest number to have registered for a round of the IRC so far this season. While the majority are based in Argentina, several have travelled from Brazil and Uruguay to contest the Codasur championship, which runs in tandem with the IRC and Argentine national championship on the event. The cars and equipment belonging to the IRC regulars who competed in Brazil were transported in convoy by road from Curitiba to Carlos Paz.

THE COMPETITORS

While Curitiba winner and defending IRC champion Kris Meeke had the edge over his rivals in Brazil due to his previous knowledge of the stages, the Peugeot UK driver’s experience of the Argentine roads is limited to a recce he carried out in 2005 when he was contesting the Junior World Rally Championship. Although the Northern Irishman has some idea of the terrain he will face, he admits he will be starting from scratch when he begins his preparations for the event next week alongside Irish co-driver Paul Nagle.

Juho Hanninen’s experience of the event was garnered from an outing in the Production Car World Rally Championship in 2007 when he finished third in the Group N-based category. The factory Skoda Motorsport driver, who moved into the lead of the IRC standings following a hard-fought third place finish in Curtiba after an early puncture, says he is a big fan of the rally.

Jan Kopecky, Hanninen’s Skoda Motorsport team-mate, has never competed in Argentina before so will be looking to call upon the Finn’s knowledge of the stages in an effort to improve upon the fourth-place finish he achieved in Brazil. Both drivers will be fighting fit when they reach Carlos Paz for the recce early next week after undertaking a week-long training session.

Guy Wilks, who will line-up in a Skoda UK Motorsport-run Fabia, has fond memories of competing in Argentina after topping the Junior world championship classification on the event in 2006. After finishing second in Curitiba earlier this month, the British driver has high hopes of adding to his impressive points’ total. He prepared for Argentina with a short break in Brazil before embarking on a fitness training programme in Argentina.

Nasser Al-Attiyah has described Rally Argentina as his favourite rally in the world so it is fitting, therefore, that the Qatari has chosen to make his IRC debut on the gravel event at the wheel of a Rene Georges Rally Sport-run Fabia. While Al-Attiyah might be an unknown quantity as far as the IRC is concerned, he has a strong pedigree in Argentina. He was second on January’s Dakar Rally, which started and finished in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, and won Group N on Rally Argentina last season.

Federico Villagra is one of Argentina’s most successful rally drivers after winning his country’s domestic title on eight occasions. The 40-year-old, nicknamed El Coyote, will give M-Sport’s Ford Fiesta S2000 its latest outing in the IRC although his lack of time behind the wheel of the car could put him at a slight disadvantage during the opening stages. Rally Argentina is likely to mark Villagra’s only outing in the IRC this season so he will be determined to put on a strong show.

Bruno Magalhaes starts Rally Argentina on the back of another IRC points haul in Brazil. Although he wasn’t entirely satisfied with his performance in Curitiba, he used the closing stages of the rally to experiment with different set-ups on his Peugeot Portugal 207 S2000. The 29-year-old from Lisbon had not driven on gravel for nine months before competing in Brazil so will be better prepared in Argentina.

Stohl Racing’s Daniel Oliveira is the last of the IRC regulars competing in Argentina and will start the Carlos Paz-based rally on a high after picking up his first points of the season in Brazil. The 24-year-old Peugeot 207 driver has only been competing for a year but has done the bulk of his rallies in Argentina so will have some useful experience to call upon.

Aside from the IRC regulars there will be a host of Argentine drivers capable of finishing in the top ten on the rally. Gabriel Pozzo is highly regarded and won the first round of the Argentine championship, Rally Mina Clavero, last month. He will team up with Claudio Menzi in the two-car Barettero Subaru team. Luciano Bernardi leads the Tango Rally Team’s challenge in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X where he will be joined by Nicolas Madero, Alejandro Cancio and Marcos Ligato.

Brazilians Luciano Fleck and Rafael Tulio will be among the favourites for IRC 2WD Cup honours in their Peugeot 207s, as will Argentina’s Pablo Palaez in a Honda Civic.

THE EXPECTATIONS

Juho Hanninen (Finland), Skoda Fabia S2000: “I like this rally a lot but it won’t be easy because the local Group N drivers will be very strong. We will be fit and ready but the sandy stages won’t be so good for our car because we don’t have the torque that the Group N turbos do. As a result, you need to be smooth with your driving style to keep up the speed otherwise you can lose a lot of time. There is always a fantastic atmosphere on this rally with all the fans so I can’t wait and it will be interesting to see what Nasser Al-Attiyah can do in his Skoda. I think he can be very strong.”

Kris Meeke (United Kingdom), Peugeot 207 S2000: “I’ve a half idea of what to expect from the recce we did five years ago but it will be a clean sheet of paper approach when we get there. We’ll have more opposition than we did in Brazil with Nasser Al-Attiyah and Federico Vilagra, who will both be strong because they are quick but also know the rally very well. The important thing is to get points. With the victory under our belts in Brazil we don’t have to win in Argentina so there is less pressure on us this time.”

Federico Villagra (Argentina), Ford Fiesta S2000: “I’ve done Rally Argentina many times now, which should certainly help us but I’ve not driven the Fiesta yet, although I hear that it is very good. I’m planning a test in Argentina with the car before the rally, and I will know a little more then. I have to say though that I have driven the latest specification Group N car, with the 33mm restrictor, and I was really impressed. So I think the ‘normal’ Group N cars will be very competitive in Argentina as well.”

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.

Saturday 20 March
- 00:00-00:30: Day one highlights (Eurosport and Eurosport Asia-Pacific)

Sunday 21 March
- 00:00-00:30: Day two highlights (Eurosport and Eurosport Asia-Pacific)

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

EVENT ESSENTIALS

Event: Personal Rally Argentina
Starts: Friday 19 March
Finishes: Sunday 21 March
Entries received: 69
IRC appearances: None
2009 winners: N/A
Surface: gravel (except for asphalt-based Super Special Stage Carlos Paz)
Number of stages: 15
Special stage distance: 238.62 kilometres
Liaison distance: 789.38kms
Total distance: 1028.00kms
Itinerary (all times shown are local): Leg one, part one (Friday 19 March): Start: 16:42hrs; SS1: Super Special Stage Carlos Paz 1 (3.30kms), 17:00hrs. Leg one, part two (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. Leg two (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.

LEADING ENTRIES (UNSEEDED)

Juho Hanninen (FIN)/Mikko Markkula (FIN) Skoda Fabia S2000
Guy Wilks (GBR)/Phil Pugh (GBR) Skoda Fabia S2000
Kris Meeke (GBR)/Paul Nagle (IRL) Peugeot 207 S2000
Jan Kopecky (CZE)/Petr Stary (CZE) Skoda Fabia S2000
Bruno Magalhaes (POR)/Carlos Magalhaes (POR) Peugeot 207 S2000
Daniel Oliveira (BRA)/Carlos del Barrio (ESP) Peugeot 207 S2000
Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Giovanni Bernacchini (ITA) Skoda Fabia S2000
Federico Villagra (ARG)/Jorge Perez Companc (ARG) Ford Fiesta S2000
Marcos Ligato (ARG)/Ruben Garcia (ARG) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
Gabriel Pozzo (ARG)/Daniel Stillo (ARG) Subaru Impreza WRX

CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS

Drivers after round two of 12
1 Juho Hanninen (Finland) 14pts
2 Guy Wilks (United Kingdom) 11pts
3 Kris Meeke (United Kingdom) 10pts
= Mikko Hirvonen (Finland) 10pts
5 Jan Kopecky (Czech Republic) 9pts
6 Bruno Magalhaes (Portugal) 6pts
= Nicolas Vouilloz (France) 6pts
8 Stephane Sarrazin (France) 5pts
9 Eduardo Scheer (Brazil) 3pts
10 Daniel Oliveira (Brazil) 2pts etc

Manufacturers after round two of 12
1 Skoda 28pts
2 Peugeot 21pts
3 M-Sport 10pts
4 Ralliart 3pts

2WD Drivers after round two of 12
1 Kris Princen (Belgium) 10pts
= Marcos Tokarski (Brazil) 10pts
3 Luis Tedesco (Brazil) 8pts
= Pierre Campana (France) 8pts
5 Thomas Barral (France) 6pts
= Ulysses Bertholdo (Brazil) 6pts
7 Simone Campedelli (Italy) 5pts
= Luciano Fleck (Brazil) 5pts
9 Jean-Michel Raoux (France) 4pts
= Pablo Alejandro Palaez (Argentina) 4pts etc

2WD Manufacturers after round two of 12
1 Peugeot 26pts
2 M-Sport 14pts
3 Abarth 8pts
4 Skoda 5pts
5 Honda 4pts
____________________________________________
SOURCE:
“Preview: Intercontinental Rally Challenge Rally Argentina”
PaddockTalk Perspective
Mar 15, 2010
http://paddocktalk.com
http://paddocktalk.com/news/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=130466&newlang=&topic=31&catid=26