ERC

Kopecky makes it two from three!

Jan Kopecky today made it two wins from three ERC 2013 appearances onboard his Skoda Fabia S2000, by winning the Rally Islas Canarias after early leader Robert Kubica's late exit.

Kopecky on his way to his second win of the year

Kubica, making his ERC début in a Citroen DS3 RRC, lead from SS1 and dominated the rally, winning all of Friday's eight stages, up until SS10. He was caught out by a downhill right-hander, 5kms from the end of the stage, hitting a barrier with the back of the car, which sent the front of the car into the barrier and the Pole out of the rally.

“It was a shame but unfortunately we were in a high-speed downhill section. It was a quite fast corner but easy flat out. It was not very heavy braking but quite big braking into a third-gear corner. Unfortunately when I hit the brakes I lost the rear of the car and I had to reduce the pressure otherwise I would spin and the road was very narrow. Then I just didn’t manage.”

“I was completely sideways before the corner. Not completely but quite a lot of sideways. I tried to do the corner but I hit the barrier. I didn’t reduce enough speed but I hit the barrier with the rear-left corner. Then with the front we dived into the barrier. It’s a shame but unfortunately this can happen.” he said.

However, the sheer speed in which he dominated the rally until his exit showed glimpses of Colin McRae's style, and Kubica was awarded the 'Colin McRae ERC Flat Out Trophy'.

“It’s a great pleasure for me to win this award. Of course Colin was a great driver and I have been supporting him when I was young. Normally winners are only at the finish but this trophy gives us a bit of satisfaction after this hard end and Colin is always in our hearts.” he added.

With the Czech driver elevated to first overall, Irishman Craig Breen took over second place in his Peugeot Rally Academy 207 S2000. Breen was 1 min 52.4 secs behind Kopecky at the end, his 10 sec penalty for leaving service late (Breen had to run back and collect his glasses after forgetting them, clocking into the time control one minute late as a result) made little difference to to the end result.

He said: “Of course we’re very happy. We came to the finish of the rally in second place and gained some very good experience of the roads in the Canaries and everybody has worked well this weekend. It was a very difficult rally for us for the first time to come here with no experience of the roads. It was difficult at the beginning but now we have good pacenotes to come back in future years.”

Luis Monzon took third place in his MINI John Cooper Works RRC, 3 mins 20 secs off Kopecky's pace. He hailed his result as a “dream come true”. Andreas Aigner was 3 mins 31.9 secs off Monzon and the final podium place, driving a Subaru Impreza R4.

Germain Bonnefis was the highest placed 2WD car, taking his Renault Megane to fifth place. Sixth went to Gorka Antxustegi's Suzuki Swift, who beat the S2000's of János Puskádi (seventh) and Jean-Mathieu Leandri (eighth). Ninth and tenth went to Robert Consani and Antonin Tlustak, respectively. Zoltán Bessenyey took ERC 2WD honours in his Honda Civic Type R.

Photo Credit: FIA ERC

Kubica adds four ERC events to programme

Former F1 race winner Robert Kubica will add four European Rally Championship events to his WRC2 campaign with Citroen, it was announced today at a press conference in the Polish capital, Warsaw.

The Pole will compete on the Canaries Rally, as was already announced, Rally Azores, Tour de Corse and his home Rally Poland. He will drive the same Citroen DS3 RRC that he will campaign in the WRC2 class.

It will be a tough year for the Pole's first year in full-time international rallying. Before he has only competed in selected national events whilst in the midst of a promising Formula One career, but this was cut short by the now well publicised injury he suffered two years ago. Now he faces this new challenge, but he wants to “learn, learn, learn” all about life in the professional end of rallying.

"I have no specific goals other than to learn, learn, learn. Rallying is the next challenge for me and I have a great opportunity to build my experience, learn the events and the pace notes with my new co-driver.” said Kubica.

Kubica says he is relishing returning to his native Poland competitively, with Rally Poland taking place at the end of September. The gravel event makes up part of the ERC this season, the high-speed stages making for some spectacular driving.

"Doing Rally Poland will be like a comeback for me because I haven't done a race in Poland since I was in karting when I was about 12 years old before moving to Italy. It will be great to compete in front of my home fans." he added.

Maciek Baran will co-drive for Kubica this year, and it was announced in Warsaw that Polish oil company Grupa Lotos will become his team's title sponsor. Lotos already sponsor the MINI John Cooper Works of Michal Kosciuszko in the WRC. He has already one day of testing under his belt, and will head to Gran Canaria on Monday for another test.

Breen announced as Peugeot works driver

Reigning Super 2000 World Rally Champion Craig Breen is set to become a Peugeot works driver in the European Rally Championship in 2013.

Breen in action on the Circuit of Ireland 2012

The Waterford driver also becomes part of the Peugeot Rally Academy, the descendent of the Peugeot Cup. It is designed to give talented young drivers the ability to progress in rallying with the backing of a factory. He is joined by Jeremi Ancian and Stephane Lefebvre, who came first and second, respectively, in the Volant 207 championship.

"This is incredible and beyond my dreams. I am really excited to work with a manufacturer like Peugeot Sport, I think of it since I was a young boy. To arrive here in front of a nice season is a good position to be in. My objective is to show good speed and challenge for some victories on a regular basis. For the testing program, I will give the best I can to support the development of the 208 Type R5.” He said.

Breen is set to contest the Rally Liepāja-Ventspils in Latvia, the next round of the ERC, in a Peugeot 207 S2000. After this event he will get an eight round campaign in Peugeot's brand new 208 R5, in which he will carry out an intensive test and development programme throughout the year. Dave Moynihan will partner Breen, taking over the pacenotes from Paul Nagle.

Speculation was rife that Breen was to sit out competing on the international stage after he hadn't released plans to compete in any championships. However this nine round campaign could see Breen win the ERC at his first attempt, as, historically speaking, drivers rarely undertake a full compliment of rallies in the ERC, or it's predecessor, the IRC. However Peugeot Sport Team Principal Bruno Famin says the team aren't fighting for the title.

“With the Peugeot Rally Academy, we are taking another step forward in terms of the support we provide to the winners of our promotional formulas. The 208 Rally Cup [in France] has all the required elements to be a great sporting success, with the 208 R2 which is already a leading car, a varied calendar and the unrivalled concept of offering a ‘drive’ to the winner.” he said.

“I am confident that Craig will confirm all the good things that have been said about him in this year's ERC, and I can't wait to see how our winners will fare alongside him. There is no pressure on them to achieve results. It’s all about accumulating experience for these young drivers; we’re not fighting for the championship.”

Breen faces still opposition in the form of Francois Delecour and Skoda works driver Jan Kopecky, who is still chasing his first international rally title. The Sainteloc Racing team will run Peugeot's works effort.

Delecour to contest 10 events

Francois Delecour's 2013 ERC season will comprise of 10 events, beginning with this weekend's Janner Rally in Austria, which is also the opening round of the season.

The 50-year old former World Rally winner in the days of the Group A Ford Escort Cosworth, Delecour has been out of a full works drive in an international championship since he and Mitsubishi parted ways after a disastrous 2002 campaign in the squad's less-than-competitive Lancer WRC.

However, he hasn't been dormant since then. He returned for the 2011 Rallye Monte Carlo in a Peugeot 207 S2000 and posted competitive times on his way to fifth overall. He then finished sixth overall in a Ford Fiesta RS WRC on the 2012 edition of Rallye Monte Carlo, having run there for most of the rally. On the final stage of the rally, he swapped seats with co-driver Dominique Savignoni as a retirement present to him.

Delecour also contested the full Romanian Rally Championship in 2012, winning the title outright. He will now tie up with the Kronos Racing team for a 10 round championship, making him more or less a full-time driver as few drivers contest every round. He will also contest the entire Romanian National Championship.

He said: "I hope we'll be able to do about 10 ERC rounds this year: that would be the plan, plus all the Romanian championship, so it's definitely going to be a busy year. But I feel much better prepared than I did last season, because I've been competing regularly and we've got a proper programme in a perfectly developed car with the chance to go testing as well.”

He likened his 2013 ERC championship to a full factory effort, with the ability to test before events giving him a much higher chance of success. The Kronos Racing team has experience running semi-works and full factory teams, having run Citroen's entry in the WRC in 2006 and Peugeot in the IRC series.

Delecour has never tackled the Janner Rally before, however his winning experience of the Rallye Monte Carlo will pay dividends in the changeable conditions of the Austrian rally.