- Great Britain
- Germany
- France
- Spain
- Italy
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HONDA
Honda did something that no other car make had done before when it beat Peugeot to the IRC 2WD Cup manufacturers’ title in 2011. The Japanese company secured the accolade after three years of Peugeot dominance with a one-three finish on RACMSA Rally of Scotland in October courtesy of Martin Kangur and János Puskádi, who both made several appearances during the course of the season. Honda’s Civic Type R has proved a popular choice in the IRC thanks to its affordability, reliability and competitiveness. A series of homologation upgrades from 1 April 2012 have been designed to ensure the Civic stays at the sharp end of IRC 2WD Cup competition this year. -
M-SPORT
M-Sport, Ford’s respected rallying partner, made an instant impact on the IRC in 2010 when Mikko Hirvonen took the company’s Fiesta S2000 to a debut victory on Rallye Monte-Carlo. Run by former driver Malcolm Wilson from a state-of-the-art factory in Cumbria, north-west England, M-Sport has been the mastermind behind Ford’s World Rally Championship campaign since 1997, and worked in tandem with the Blue Oval on the development of the Fiesta S2000, which is used by several privateer drivers in the IRC. M-Sport has also developed a lower-specification Fiesta conforming to the R2 regulations, while its new turbocharged Fiesta RRC will break cover in the IRC in 2012. -
PEUGEOT
No manufacturer has enjoyed more success in the IRC than Peugeot, which increased its tally of event wins to 23 in 2011 thanks to Bryan Bouffier, who finished first on Rallye Monte-Carlo, and Thierry Neuville, who captured the classics in Corsica and Sanremo in their 207 S2000s. Peugeot boasts an illustrious history in rallying and has been an enthusiastic and extremely successful member of the IRC family since 2007 when it clinched the first of three manufacturers’ titles. While the number of Peugeot importers active in the IRC this season has been reduced ahead of the arrival of the 207’s replacement, the 208, Peugeot Sport is unleashing a host of car improvements for the upcoming campaign. In addition to its three IRC drivers’ and manufacturers’ crowns, Peugeot has also enjoyed success in the IRC 2WD Cup with a front-wheel-drive version of its 207. -
RENAULT
Officially competing as a brand for the first time in the IRC championship, Renault will undoubtedly rely on the Clio 3 Maxi Evo - the car of the IRC Cup 2WD 2011 Champion, but also on the fast Megane N4 which is expected to do wonders on the asphalt roads of the championship. To ensure the high level of performance and reliability of Renault Sport products, the brand's customers service will be onsite during most of the IRC rallyes. The IRC Cup 2WD should be once more extremely competitive and even more exciting thanks to Renault Sport's stronger involvement. -
ŠKODA
ŠKODA celebrated 110 years of motorsport participation during the IRC in 2011 as it claimed back-to-back drivers’ and manufacturers’ crowns with its Fabia Super 2000. The Czech company has a long history of motorsport success both on the race circuit and the rally stage and its rally team has finished on the podium on some of the world’s toughest events, such as the epic Safari Rally, in addition to claiming countless victories in the IRC since it joined the series in 2009. As well as running its famed factory team in the IRC and developing its Fabia S2000, ŠKODA unleashed an R2-version of the car for use in the IRC 2WD Cup and it’s likely to prove a popular option in 2012. -
SUBARU
Subaru is one of the most iconic manufacturers in rallying, having been present at the forefront of the sport since the early 1990s. It registered as an IRC manufacturer for the first time in 2010 and its Impreza car became a popular sight in the series in the hands of several established privateers, who contested the Subaru Individual Award, an incentive scheme offered by the Japanese company. Subaru continued its IRC participation in 2011 when it launched the R4 version of the Impreza, which Toshi Arai took to victory in the inaugural IRC Production Cup. Arai, Andreas Aigner and Jarkko Nikara are all in line for Subaru factory support this season although several privateers will also be represented.
Czech IRC high-speed thriller for live Eurosport coverage - News
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25 May 2012 06:00 Czech IRC high-speed thriller for live Eurosport coverage One of the fastest rounds of the all-action Intercontinental Rally Challenge, Barum Czech Rally Zlín, will benefit from four hours of live television coverage on Eurosport at primetime slots during the last weekend of the summer holidays.Based in Zlín in south-east Czech Republic, the event was one of the founding rounds of the IRC in 2007. It regularly attracts huge numbers of spectators with 200,000 fans turning out to watch the spectacular action. Although the event often enjoys hot and sunny weather, changeable conditions can be a factor, which only adds to the drama on the stages.
As well as being one of the fastest rounds of the IRC, Rally Zlín is also ranked as being one of the most difficult due to the proliferation of high-speed blasts through forests and woodland, sections of broken Tarmac and the bumpy nature of some of the roads.
Eurosport will show both runs of the 16.20-kilometre Slusovice stage live on Saturday 1 September and both passes of the Majak stages – which measures 22.80 kilometres – including the rally’s final run, on Sunday 2 September. Domestic public free-to-air channel Czech TV 4 will simultaneously broadcast the live feed produced by Eurosport Events, the promoter of the IRC.
“Rally Zlín is traditionally one of the highlights of the IRC season largely due to the huge numbers of fans who flock to the stages, where the dramatic action will unfold,” said Antonello Lodoletti, the IRC Commercial Director. “The fact we can now bring live television coverage of the IRC to fans around the world is fantastic news because the footage will be packed full of drama and excitement.”
Spectacular footage captured by a Cineflex helicopter, plus the use of SimulCam technology, which Eurosport pioneered in rallying in 2011 and allows viewers to watch drivers tackling the same section of the stage at the same time for comparison purposes, will form the centrepiece of Eurosport’s live coverage of the event.
Rally Zlin, which takes place from 31 August-2 September, is ŠKODA’s home round of the IRC. The Czech make has triumphed on the rally for the past three seasons and will be one of the favourites for honours this season. Some 30 Super 2000 cars are expected from manufacturers including Ford (M-Sport), Peugeot and ŠKODA. Cars from Honda, Renault and Subaru will also be in action.
Eurosport’s coverage of Rally Zlin follows the thrilling live programming from Giru di Corsica-Tour de Corse, round four of the IRC, earlier this month.
Eurosport’s LIVE coverage of Barum Czech Rally Zlín
Saturday 1 September
10:00hrs-11:00hrs CET: SS2 Slusovice 1 (16.20 kilometres)
13:00hrs-14:00hrs CET: SS4 Slusovice 2 (16.20 kilometres)Sunday 2 September
10:00hrs-11:00hrs CET: SS12 Majak 1 (22.80 kilometres)
13:00hrs-14:00hrs CET: SS15 Majak 2 (22.80 kilometres)
Standings
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1.
Mikkelsen Andreas
168 pt.
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2.
Kopecký Jan
101 pt.
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3.
Hänninen Juho
93 pt.
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4.
Wiegand Sepp
73 pt.
- 1. ŠKODA 348 pt.
- 2. PEUGEOT 217 pt.
- 3. M-SPORT 212 pt.
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1.
Consani Robert
97 pt.
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2.
Arai Toshi
86 pt.
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3.
Aigner Andreas
83 pt.
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4.
Tempestini Marco
63 pt.
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1.
Hunt Harry
126 pt.
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2.
Consani Robert
87 pt.
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3.
Kangur Martin
51 pt.
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4.
Campedelli Simone
50 pt.
- 1. RENAULT 338 pt.
- 2. HONDA 199 pt.
- 3. M-SPORT 115 pt.
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Breen Craig
