Rally Madeira Portugal - 5-7 Aug 10

Video Clip: Bruno Magalhaes off

Posted: August 6, 2010 9:08 PM

THE SUNSHINE ISLAND OF MADEIRA IS THE STAGE FOR THE NEXT ROUND OF KRIS MEEKE'S IRC TITLE DEFENCE

Posted: August 4, 2010 6:32 PM

Peugeot UK's Kris Meeke and co-driver Paul Nagle will start today creating their pace notes for the fast and twisty tarmac stages of this year's Vinho Rally of Madeira.

The island of Madeira lies approximately 622 miles south west of Lisbon in the Atlantic Ocean. Madeira is one of two inhabited islands which make up the Madeira Archipelago. For the next six days the island will become home to the eighth round of the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

Last year was the second time the IRC visited Madeira and the challenging nature of the island's twisty mountain roads became the stage for a titanic battle between Peugeot and Fiat, to see which car could master the island stages. In the end Fiat took the laurels by a mere 3.5 seconds after a total of 21 stages.

Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle, who had never driven on the island before, finished a very creditable fifth behind the four front running drivers who all had experience of the specialist nature of the island's stages.

This year the Peugeot UK team returns with all the experience they picked up last year and with a number of revisions to their Peugeot 207 S2000 to improve its performance over the fast tarmac roads.

Kris is looking forward to returning to Madeira. "This event was completely new to me last year, I was favourably impressed but I couldn't manage any better than fifth overall. The stages are very difficult and most of the corners are blind. It's hard to find the ideal lines, the ideal braking points and the moment when you need to turn in, the first time you do this rally. Hopefully, last year's experience will be a big help this time around. Last year we did not choose the best gear ratios and this year we will not be caught out a second time, and I have every intention of fighting for a win this weekend."

The rally will be contested over a total of 21 special stages, covering a distance of almost 187 miles. Due to the twisty nature of the stages a good set of pace notes is paramount, so Kris and Paul's task today and tomorrow is to achieve this prior to the start of the rally on Thursday.

Thursday will see the rally kick off with a short super special stage along the sea front in the capital Funchal, before the crews tackle six repeated stages on Friday and four on Saturday.

The rally starts on Thursday 5th August and finishes on Saturday 7th August.

Follow the day-to-day progress of Peugeot UK and Kris Meeke in this year's Rali Vinho Madeira via the team's Twitter link www.twitter.com/Peugeotrally video podcasts and web-based Rally Radio hosted on the Peugeot.co.uk website and all main rally websites and for iPhone users, the Peugeot co-sponsored iRally App.

Meeke expects close Madeira fight with Magalhaes

Posted: August 3, 2010 5:56 PM

Kris Meeke is predicting a close fight with fellow Peugeot 207 Super 2000 driver Bruno Magalhaes when the Intercontinental Rally Challenge resumes in Madeira next month.

Meeke, the defending IRC champion, could only manage fifth place on his debut on the island last season while Magalhaes came within a whisker of winning the event, losing out by 3.5 seconds to Giandomenico Basso.

The Portuguese underlined his rise in prominence with victory on Sata Rallye Acores earlier this month, a result that Meeke expects Magalhaes to repeat on the Funchal-based contest.

“We know Peugeot are very strong on asphalt and we have a very good history on asphalt so we have to get the full potential out of the car in Madeira,” said Meeke. “But Bruno will be incredibly fast there – his speed there is incredible so it will be a big fight in Madeira.”

Victory for Magalhaes in the Azores elevated him to third place in the IRC drivers’ standings, 18 points behind Juho Hanninen. Meeke, who finished second, is 25 points adrift of the Finn.

Posted: August 3, 2010 5:56 PM

Rossetti to uphold Abarth honour in Madeira IRC

Posted: August 3, 2010 5:55 PM

Although Giandomenico Basso’s bid for a fourth Rali Vinho Madeira victory has been scuppered after he was forced to withdraw his entry due to a funding shortage, the Abarth marque will still be represented on the Atlantic island by Luca Rossetti.

Rossetti, a four-time IRC event winner, will drive a Grande Punto Super 2000 for the Italian Procar operation as he bids to extend his lead of the European Rally Championship, which will also be contested in Madeira.

He said:
“Madeira is a tough race in a beautiful island with wonderful and passionate people. I will be at the start to honour one of the most beautiful and important rallies in the world. I am aware that it will not be easy to get a positive result but I will try.”

Rossetti, 34, will be co-driven by regular navigator and fellow Italian Matteo Chiarcossi

Skoda vows to hit back on Rali Vinho Madeira

Posted: August 3, 2010 5:54 PM

Skoda has vowed to make up for the disappointment of losing out on victory on Sata Rallye Acores earlier this month when it makes its debut on Rali Vinho Madeira from 5-7 August.

The Czech manufacturer was in contention for a one-two finish in the Azores but lost out in a dramatic finale when Juho Hanninen stopped to change a punctured tyre before Jan Kopecky crashed out of the lead on the final stage of the event.

“We had bad luck in [the Azores] and now we have to look at the future,” said Skoda Motorsport head Michal Hrabanek. “The next rally is Madeira. We will do our best to make up for [the] loss and win points in both driver and brand competitions, although we all know that it will be very difficult, especially because it’s going to be our first appearance there.”

Despite its disappointment in the Azores, Skoda still heads the IRC drivers’ and manufacturers’ standings. Its challenge in Madeira will be boosted by Belgian Freddy Loix, who will drive a Fabia Super 2000 Facelift for the privateer Rene Georges Rally Sport operation. Loix won round six of the IRC in Ypres last month and finished sixth in Madeira in 2009.

TV Times

Posted: August 3, 2010 5:40 PM

(All Time Irish)
Friday 6 August
19:30hrs-20:00hrs Day one highlights (Eurosport)

Saturday 7 August
02:30hrs-03:00hrs Day one highlights repeated (Eurosport Asia-Pacific)
07:30hrs-08:00hrs Day one highlights repeated (Eurosport)
19:45hrs-20:15hrs Day two highlights (Eurosport and Eurosport Asia-Pacific)

Sunday 8 August
21:30hrs-22:00hrs Rally review (Eurosport and Eurosport Asia-Pacific)

Monday 9 August
07:30hrs-08:00hrs Rally review repeated (Eurosport)
12:00hrs-12:30hrs Rally review repeated (Eurosport 2)
23:30hrs-24:00hrs Rally review repeated (Eurosport Asia-Pacific)

Tuesday 10 August
15:15hrs-15:45hrs Rally review repeated (Eurosport 2)

Friday 13 August
16:30hrs-17:00hrs Rally review repeated (Eurosport 2)

Posted: August 3, 2010 5:37 PM

Basso and Rossetti join bulging Madeira entry

Posted: July 22, 2010 11:59 AM

Factory-supported Abarth drivers Giandomenico Basso and Luca Rossetti will return to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge on Rali Vinho Madeira next month.

The Italians have claimed numerous victories in the IRC with Basso winning the Tarmac-based Madeira event on three occasions, including last season when he defeated Bruno Magalhaes in a nail-biting finish.

Basso and Rossetti are among 19 drivers in Super 2000 machines for the island rally, which runs from 5-7 August and features almost 300 competitive kilometres over 21 special stages.

Other notable highlights on the 56-car entry are Skoda trio Juho Hanninen, Jan Kopecky and Freddy Loix, defending IRC champion Kris Meeke and Bruno Magalhaes, the winner of the last IRC round in the Azores.

Heading the list of local drivers is Bernardo Sousa at the wheel of an M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000. Miguel Campos, a former Madeira winner, will drive a similar car.

Turkish lady driver Burcu Cetinkaya will also be taking part after being forced to miss the trip to the Azores while her Peugeot Sport Turkey 207 was being repaired following her crash on the Geko Ypres Rally last month.

Maps and Route Details available

Posted: June 3, 2010 12:12 PM

• Madeira Rally

Event Website / Details

Posted: January 1, 2010 12:01 AM

• Madeira Rally