Dani Sordo could be forgiven for
chanting this as he crossed the finishing ramp in Bastia. He did
exactly as the phrase says, he came to Corsica, he saw the level of
competition that the IRC had to offer, and he promptly conquered.
He didn't have it all his own way
however. Reigning Champion Andreas Mikkelsen lead at the end of Day 1
from Sordo, by 1.8 secs. Local hero Pierre Campana held a strong
third, racking up his first IRC Stage win in an S2000 car. He could
have been higher, had it not been for suffering serious tyre wear
over the abrasive roads. He was less than 20 secs off the lead, close
enough to strike should bad fortune (or a big rain shower) hit the
leading pair.
“It’s been a perfect day for us.
Sordo is one of the best Tarmac rally drivers in the world and he’s
been pushing hard, so I’m really happy with my performance today. I
know the stages tomorrow a little better, so I’m glad to finish the
first day so strongly. There is a long way still to go, but so far
everything is going well.” said Mikkelsen.
European Championship regular
Giandomenico Basso, piloting the 1.6 turbo Ford Fiesta RRC, was
within 2 secs of Mikkelsen at the end of the day. However, he put his
car in a ditch to avoid a member of the public who was driving on the
wrong side of the road. The subsequent collision with a rock damaged
the steering. He managed another 20 kms before he was forced to stop
again, but this time damage to the driveshaft and the engine was
discovered. Rally over for the Italian ace.
Day 2 dawned bright and sunny for the
crews as they were faced with another five tests today over the
Corsican stages. Mikkelsen was on form straight away, blasting into a
7 sec lead over Sordo. The Spaniard might have just been biding his
time, but he didn't have to wait to launch an attack on the
Norwegian.
Mikkelsen overcooked the entry to a
very fast left hander in his works Skoda. The car ran wide and hit a
timber telephone pole. The impact inflicted a puncture on the
Norwegian, and he and co-driver Ola Floene lost more time changing
the wheel when the jack repeatedly failed. Another puncture on the
final stage of the day compounded the misery of losing the chance of
his first tarmac win in the IRC.
This adventure let Sordo into the lead
of the rally, something he would never lose. The other Skoda of Jan
Kopecky took over the second spot, and Bryan Bouffier, who was
suffering from a medical complaint which sapped him of energy towards
the end of the stages, up into third. Pierre Campana was in fourth,
36 secs behind Sordo. A good scrap seemed to be set up for the final
day, with second to fourth separated by less than 11 secs. However,
anyone brave enough to challenge Sordo would have their work cut out
against the Spaniard.
A thrilling fight ensued over second
place between Kopecky and Campana, with the Czech driver beating the
local to the runners up spot. Kopecky lost confidence in his pace
notes over the day's first stage, allowing Campana ahead. But, after
going fastest over five of the final six stages, Kopecky got back in
front and netted the IRC Colin McRae Flat Out Trophy for his efforts.
Ahead of the scrapping duo, Dani Sordo
took his first IRC win on his début in the Series. His MINI John
Cooper Works Regional Rally Car (a car that has most probably taken
the record of 'longest rally car name' in the history of the sport!)
performed faultlessly throughout the rally.
Bryan Bouffier took fourth in his
Peugeot 207 S2000, whilst overcoming an energy-sapping illness and
handling issues. Fifth went to Andreas Mikkelsen, who fought his way
back up the order after his punctures. Driveshaft problems delayed
Craig Breen on Day 1, but he took sixth, just ahead of Jean Marc
Manzagol in another 207 S2000 in seventh.
Sepp Wiegand continued his promising
season with eighth place. Hermann Gassner Jr. took a fourth Skoda to
ninth place, with Jean-Mathieu Leandri being dropped to 10th
on the final stage, thanks to a flying Gassner Jr..
Nest of the Irish was Craig Breen in
sixth, with Marty McCormick making his S2000 début for PS
Engineering. He finished 17th after 2 consecutive
punctures on the same stage lost him buckets of time.
In the Group N Category, Andreas Aigner
made his competitive return to rallying with a stunning win in his
Stohl Racing-run Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. Toshi Arai came second with
rallying legend Francois Delecour took third in a Renault Mégane RS.
Petru Antone Boschetti won the IRC 2WD
class, finishing 1 min 22 secs ahead of Delecour's Renault. Harry
Hunt took third in his Citroen DS3 R3T.
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