The IRC is no more

With Eurosport Events being named as the new promoter for the European Rally Championship, the end has come of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

The hugely successful championship will be canned at the end of this season, marking an and to it's short but spectacular 5 year history.. The series has seen drivers such as Kris Meeke, Juho Hanninen and Andreas Mikkelsen crowned as champion's, and was once thought to be close to rivalling the WRC for viewer figures and beating it in competitiveness.

Designed to “give new opportunities to young or amateur rally drivers competing in recognised regional and international rallies, while offering organisers an innovative TV format concept, created by Eurosport”, the IRC in it's current format evolved from the International Rally Challenge in 2007. Peugeot was the dominating force in the early days, with Skoda coming into the series and gradually dominating the series.

Eurosport Events stated: “The FIA World Motor Sport Council has confirmed at its meeting in Paris today an agreement between the FIA and Eurosport Events for Eurosport Events to become the promoter of the FIA European Rally Championship from the 2013 season onwards. The agreement will mean the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, which Eurosport Events created and has promoted since its inception in 2007, will not run next year in its current format across Europe.”

Eurosport Events promotional contract of the ERC extends to 10 years, beginning next year, 2013.

“Eurosport Events is delighted to have secured this exciting opportunity and will announce full details, including the provisional calendar for 2013, at a later stage.”

Latvala back on form!

In an excellent turn of form, Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala stormed to an impressive win in the Welsh forests, host to the 2012 Wales Rally GB.

Quick to praise his team, Latvala said: “This is a fantastic feeling. It’s one of my favourite rallies, I won it last year and it feels amazing to win again after such a big battle. To be honest this victory is for the team. They have done so much work on the car and it was working so well on this rally. I was really happy with the set-up and it was a great performance. I had some doubts after Rally Finland but to come back strong like this is really good for the championship.”

The rally was an incredible one for Ford, with the Blue Oval's works team leading from SS1, first by way of Petter Solberg before an inspired Jari-Matti Latvala took the lead on SS3 and held it. Latvala's final winning margin was 27.8 secs over the 8 times World Rally Champion Sebastian Loeb.

Loeb struggled for pace at the start of the rally, with both himself and team-mate Mikko Hirvonen opting to carry two spare tyres to Ford's one, thus carrying extra weight. However, little was at stake for the record breaking French squad, as they have one hand firmly on both Championships.

0.9 secs separated Loeb from Petter Solberg after a tense final day. Loeb went into the final stage with only a tenth of a second separating the two. Not happy with losing time on Sunday morning, Solberg said “I'm very happy for Ford, but first and third should have been first and second”.

Continuing his ever impressive run of consistency, Mads Ostberg took a fine fourth in his privateer Ford Fiesta RS WRC, and sits only five points away from 3^rd place in the Drivers table. Mikko Hirvonen struggled for pace in his works Citroen DS3 WRC, taking fifth place. Evgney Novikov took inherited sixth place in his Ford Fiesta RS WRC when M-Sport Ford team-mate Ott Tanak took a wheel off his similar car two stages from home.

A faultless drive from Theirry Neuville in tricky conditions lead to seventh place, ahead of the returning Matthew Wilson in eighth, who has been out of the WRC since breaking his ankle in his training accent after Rallye Monte Carlo way back in January. Ninth and tenth went to Martin Prokop and Olympic medallist Nasser Al-Attiyah.

Both Ott Tanak, who, as previously mentioned, took a wheel off his Fiesta RS WRC, and Paulo Nobre failed to make it to the finish of the rally.

Craig Breen went back to his winning ways on the S-WRC section of Wales Rally GB after taking a commanding win in the S2000 class. 2 mins 37 secs ahead of Proton driver Tom Cave in a Proton Satria Neo S2000, it didn't all go Breen's way. Gearbox problems as well as a late power-steering fluid leak cost him 1 mins 20 secs in penalties to drop him one tenth of a second behind Yazeed Al-Rajhi. However, when the Saudi driver was hit with a 5 min penalty for a second road section speeding offence. Breen's crew completed the gearbox change in an impressive 22 mins, 4 mins faster than estimated.

Breen then set about managing the new gap back to Cave, and held it to the end. Al-Rajhi took third after his penalty. This result put Breen back into the fight for the S-WRC title, 8 points separating PG Andersson, Hayden Paddon and Breen, with two rounds remaining. Amazing when you consider Breen didn't score in four consecutive rounds mid-season.

Please note that all the above images have been used under the kind permission of Keegan Rees of RallyMad Photography. All of the images are copyright to Mr. Rees/RallyMad Photography, and cannot be used in any way without explicit permission from Mr. Rees/RallyMad Photography.

Subaru Impreza '001' comes to Donegal!

Organisers of the Donegal Harvest Rally 2012 have announced that the very first of the iconic Subaru Impreza 555 (Chassis Number 001) cars will grace the Donegal stages when the third rally in Co. Donegal in 2012 comes to Donegal Town.

This particular model of the Impreza range, this specific one has been hailed as the 'First Ever Built' Impreza 555, was piloted by greats such as Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz to many wins as well as two Manufacturers Championships and McRae's 1995 World Championship. It was also the final Group A car Subaru produced, before the 2 litre turbo WRC regulations took over.

Closer to home, the legendary Bertie Fisher took a Subaru Impreza 555 to many wins here in Ireland, with the Toughmac cars evoking many memories of the spectators who were lucky enough to be on the ditches during the 1990's.

The car has been fully restored to it's former glory and will sport the 'Safety 00' stickers for the Donegal Harvest Rally, the final car to pass through the stages before the first of the competing cars does.

"the idea behind getting this car here is to give spectators the opportunity to witness this fantastic machine in action, the experienced crew will make the final safety checks before car number 1 enters the stage. Cars like this are very hard to come by in this country and getting a chance to see this car in action could be few and far between.” said Entries Secretary, Gary McElhinney.

GRN's day at the Knockalla Hillclimb

The Knockalla Hillclimb was the scene of a title showdown between hillclimb experts Sylvie Mullins and Simon McKinley. Armed with a Gould GR37 and a Lant RT2, respectively, they, along with the rest of the entries, faced two days of racing up the famous and fearsome Knockalla Hillclimb.

Featuring the first 1.5kms of the infamous Knockalla stage of the Donegal International Rally, the drivers were faced with the most iconic part of this terrifying stage in lots of different conditions. Sun, extremely heavy rain, fog and a stiff wind were all present at some point in the weekend. In the rain, bravery was the order of the day, as the top runners all took to the hill on slick tyres! Incredible car control was also needed, as Mullins powered his circa. 600bhp Gould GR37 up the hill on slick tyres in the rain, closely followed my his championship rival McKinley, who powered his circa. 310bhp Lant RT2 up in his customary sideways manner!

So enjoy a selection of photos below from Day 1 of the Knockalla Hillclimb!

Championship winner Sylvie Mullins

Dermot Nolan's crash

Deirdre Delaney on her way up the hill,
under the gaze of the photographers

Frank Nuttall at his final hillclimb
in his Graham 1955

No wipers on a single seater!

Rory Stephens sliding his Radical SR3
out of the chicane

Detlef Heyer's BMW 328 Sport, an
estimated €300,000 to €500,000 worth! 

Simon McKinley on his way up the hill,
just before the rain came down hard

  

Wet roads and slick tyres,
maximum concentration needed!

John Byrne's motorbike powered Jedi

Barry McGill, just about the only
time he wasn't on opposite lock!

Hard charging up the
 hill, McKinley was on it!

Dermot Nolan brought out the red flags
 when his Reynard found the ditch

Loeb's nine-timer!

This time last year, most of the rallying community was still in shock after the weekend of Rallye Deutschland 2011. Something unthinkable happened, Sebastian Loeb was beaten in Germany.

From the third stage of the rally, Loeb looked like he was heading towards a record ninth Rally Deutschland win, until a puncture dictated otherwise. Citroen team-mate, and bitter rival, Sebastian Ogier won in the end.

However, even with Ogier in an S2000 Skoda, Loeb's win wasn't guaranteed (a foolish man would have bet against him however). The Fords of Jari-Matti Latvala and Petter Solberg have been gathering a lot of pace on tarmac, and the ever consistent Mikko Hirvonen found himself in the sister factory Citroen this year.

It never made a difference, Loeb once again blasted the opposition into (and probably out of the other side of) the weeds. Few people would bet against him losing a mammoth 54 point lead with only 112 points available from the remaining four rounds, and that includes maximum Power Stage points.

“It was a hard rally, the conditions were extremely difficult, which meant I had some very difficult tyre choices to make. We had a good drive, a perfect car and I made no mistake. Winning the Power Stage also meant this was a perfect weekend. I also had a lot of support from the fans.” said the World Championship leader.

Jari-Matti Latvala had his best ever finish on Tarmac on board his Ford Fiesta RS WRC in second place, albeit a full 2 mins off Loeb's scorching pace. Latvala's only problem throughout the rally was a bonnet catch failure, which lead to the bonnet almost opening on one of the high speed sections of SS13.

Mikko Hirvonen took third place in the sister DS3 WRC, still learning an alien car on only his second event on tarmac. And if there was an award for most consistent finisher in the championship, it would surely go to Mads Ostberg, who cemented his fourth place in the championship and is only two points behind works Ford driver Petter Solberg.

Chris Atkinson again showed why he is extremely worthy of a works drive in the WRC again, after a sensational fifth place finish. Fifth might not sound like a brilliant result, but 'Atko' had never been in a Mini John Cooper Works WRC before the rally and hadn't tackled a World Championship tarmac event in almost four years, Rally Ireland 2009 being his last sealed surface WRC event.

“This result has given us a good base to work from so big thanks to the team who have done a fantastic job all weekend. Our strategy was to get through a tricky rally without making any mistakes and it paid off. We can start fighting a bit higher up now and start moving forward.” said for former Subaru works pilot.

Last years winner, Sebastian Ogier, drove another impressive rally in his normally aspirated Skoda Fabia S2000 to finish sixth. Team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen took seventh and the final power stage point, making history by being the first S2000 car to take a Power Stage point.

“It was a good way to end the rally, I really enjoyed that stage. My first stage victory in a World Rally Car was on this stage in 2008 so it’s good fun to come back and get a [bonus] point. It’s been a fantastic weekend for our team - sixth and seventh on home soil - and I am so happy to be here with them. We struggled a bit with the set-up but I am happy with my performance.” said Mikkelsen.

Olympic medallist Nasser Al-Attiyah took a fine eighth in his return to the WRC after he represented his country, Qatar, in the 2012 Olympics. Dani Sordo took ninth after Ott Tanak was withdrawn from the rally, with the Spaniard returned under Rally 2 after crashing his Prodrive MINI. Mathieu Arzeno took his Peugeot 207 S2000 to tenth place, and the final World Championship point.

Quite a few drivers had problems that held them out of the Top 10. Petter Solberg lost an argument with a hinkelstein (few people win arguments with them), Theirry Neuville suffered a puncture, Sepp Wiegand broke a wishbone and Evgney Novikov suffered rear differential failure. Paulo Nobre withdrew and returned to his native Brazil for family reasons.

Michal Kosciuszko took his second P-WRC win of the year in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, comfortably ahead of his Ralliart Italy team-mate Benito Guerra. 10 mins further back was Marcos Ligato, the Argentinian rounding out the Top 3 in his Subaru.

“It’s been an incredible weekend and the perfect job for us. The team did a good job and the car was really well prepared. It was a nice fight with Benny but just unfortunate he made a mistake and had the puncture. But that happens if you are pushing hard. The most important thing is we are still in the game and we can win the championship now.” said Kosciuszko, second in the championship.

Elfyn Evans extended his lead up to 35 points after his third Academy win on the bounce. Evans, who took second on the British Rally Championship round at the Ulster Rally the weekend prior to Germany, finished 1 min 9 secs ahead of Spaniard Jose Suarez in second. John MacCrone took third. Alastair Fisher should have taken fourth place but his run of torrid luck continued and his Fiesta R2 jammed in first gear.

GRN's cars: Ulster Rally

Car No. R1 Keith Cronin/Marshall Clarke Citroen DS3 R3T

1^st Rally NI

Keith Cronin showed everybody why he is a double BRC Champion over the weekend of the Ulster Rally by claiming a dominating win over the narrow Ulster lanes. Finishing 1 min 37.2 secs ahead of Elfyn Evans' Ford Fiesta, Cronin was never headed. His pace was such that only twice was he headed on stage times, and his final time was good enough for fifth overall in the WRC section of the rally. Level on points with Elfyn Evans, it's shaping up to be a thrilling final round of the British Rally Championship.

Car No. R10 Osian Pryce/Iestyn Williams Citroen DS3 R3

3^rd Rally NI

An extremely consistent run for the Welsh driver Pryce saw him claim an impressive third place behind the flying Cronin and Evans. Only being ousted from third twice, Pryce moved into the fourth place in the BRC standings with his best result of the year.

Car No. R7 Tommy Doyle/Liam Moynihan Citroen DS3 R3

5^th Rally NI

Tommy and Liam endured a rally that can only be described as roller-coaster of fairground proportions. Finding a nail in their tyre, cracked brake discs and a bad tyre choice, plus the issues related to trying to get used to a new car, were all present at some point during the rally. However, contending with all these problems, he still managed to take a fine fifth place overall and, somewhat remarkably, he lay second overall after the first stage to Cronin!

Car No. M33 Amy Cox/Emmet Sherry Honda Civic R3

23^rd National Rally.

When Amy's trusty Ford Escort G3 failed to run properly in the weeks leading up to the Ulster National Rally, it was the start of a rather strange rally for the County Tyrone ace. A quick call was placed to DJ Rally Hire and few days later a nice shiny Honda Civic R3 was sporting the name Cox. Factoring in a lack of lights on the rally's night stage and a lack of brakes on the final day of the rally to the strange car, Amy and Emmet were lucky to get to the end of the rally!

Car No. H22 Gary Owens/Denver Rafferty Ford Escort MK2 RS1800

Retired (gearbox)

Problem's with the immaculate Escort's gearbox plagued the pairing more or less from the offset. Originally thought to be the clutch, the car's gearbox cried enough, leaving Gary and Denver on the wrong list four stages from home. The retirement list.

Car No. H37 William Todd/Aaron Johnston Mini Cooper

Retired (crashed out)

Both of GRN's cars in the Historic Section of the rally both had torrid times. The Mini crew of William Todd and Aaron Johnston were running second in Class B2, only 12.1 secs off the lead, before a crash on SS10, two stages from home, put paid to their hopes. Cruelly, they had lead their class after the first stage and were slowly climbing the leaderboard overall.