Rally Internacional de Curitiba (Brazil) - 4-6 Mar 10

Video Clips

Posted: March 9, 2010 9:06 PM

PEUGEOT UK'S KRIS MEEKE & PAUL NAGLE TAKE A FINE WIN IN BRAZIL

Posted: March 9, 2010 8:23 PM

Peugeot UK's IRC Champions Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle secured maximum points towards their title defence last weekend when they cruised to victory in Brazil's Rally Internacional de Curitiba, round two of this year's Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

They brought their Peugeot 207 S2000 home ahead of the Skoda Fabias of Guy Wilks and Juho Hänninen, after two days hard competition on the ultra-quick forest stages. Meeke's winning margin was 46.7 seconds, and the win - his second successive victory in Brazil - makes him the leading IRC rally winner of all time.

Afterwards, Meeke and Nagle began the post-event party by blasting their rally car around the Curitiba Autodrome circuit.

Both crew members paid tribute to one another, the 207 and the team, especially team principal Marc Van Dalen, who had promised a win:

"When Kris and Paul went off and out on the Monte Carlo Rally, I said immediately we were a team - we win together, we lose together. I vowed we would win in Brazil. We have!" The team strategy was to go flat out from the outset:

"We knew we had very tough opposition - three very quick Skodas, all with top drivers," said Meeke. "We had the advantage that we had been here last year, and we knew just how fast these stages could be - they are some of the fastest in the world. So we pushed very hard on stage one, won the stage, and led the rally for the rest of the event."

Co-driver Paul Nagle said Kris drove like a true champion:
"Simply incredible. I had not seen Kris drive like this since we won our titles at Sanremo last year. He was in a completely different class to the rest, and the team was fantastic. We need to thank Kronos Racing and Peugeot UK for giving us such a great car like the Peugeot 207. It didn't miss a beat all weekend."

Local support was impressive too, with fans out on the stages cheering on the Peugeot UK team.

Kris now moves into third place in the Drivers' Championship, but there's little time to celebrate - the action moves south in ten days time to Argentina and the rally resort of Carlos Paz for Round three of the IRC; Rally Argentina.

WILKS MAKES A SPLASH ON RALLY BRAZIL DEBUT

Posted: March 9, 2010 8:20 PM

Guy Wilks has jumped to second in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, after finishing runner-up on the Rally International de Curitiba in his Škoda UK Motorsport Fabia S2000.

On his first event in Brazil, Guy drove brilliantly to hold second position throughout the challenging two-day event. Having only seen the stages during a mandatory 60kph recce, Guy’s first attempt at the fast and flowing stages saw average speeds of over 130kph – and Guy and co-driver Phil Pugh were able to better their times when stages were repeated.

It was a great event for Škoda, with all three Fabia S2000 finishing in the top four. Juho Hänninen finished over a minute behind Guy in third, while Jan Kopecký was fourth. The excellent result sees Škoda increase its lead in the IRC Manufacturers’ standings, while Hänninen leads the drivers – just three points ahead of Guy.

A violent overnight thunderstorm made Leg 2’s stages very wet – so wet that a swollen river forced the cancellation of two stages. A deep river crossing was Guy’s only problem of the day. On his first attempt (SS10) he took it slowly in first gear, but water still got into the engine, leaving him running on three cylinders for a mile. When the stage was repeated in the afternoon (SS13) he took the watersplash much faster, only for the force of the water to tear off part of the rear bumper and jet water into the cockpit.

Guy kept the leader in his sights during the second and final day of the Rally International de Curitiba, driving fast enough to be able to pounce on any misfortune or mistake ahead, whilst keeping the following drivers behind. This Guy did expertly, judging his drive to second place with perfection.

Guy Wilks:
“I’m really pleased to finish second and score eight points for Škoda UK on our first visit to Brazil. The team has done a great job and the Fabia S2000 has performed faultlessly throughout the event.

“Congratulations to Kris Meeke, he’s driven a good event. The only difference was that he’s rallied here before, and we had to get acclimatised to attacking these stages at rally speed for the first time.

“I’ve really enjoyed Rally Brazil. The overnight rain made the conditions very tricky and the stages were the fastest I’ve driven since Rally Finlandin 2007. It’s been a tough event, but we’ve been very strong throughout and finished with a great result.”

Škoda UK Motorsport will remain in South America for a week of training and team building before starting to prepare for the next round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, Rally Argentina, which begins on 19 March in Villa Carlos Paz.

Meeke/Nagle take IRC record with Rally Internacional de Curitiba victory

Posted: March 9, 2010 8:09 PM

Kris Meeke has become the most successful driver in the short history of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge by winning Rally Internacional de Curitiba for a second successive time. Co-driven by Irishman Paul Nagle, the defending IRC champion beat fellow Briton Guy Wilks to victory in Brazil by 46.7 seconds following a faultless performance in his Peugeot 207 Super 2000. It was Meeke's fifth win from 12 IRC starts.

Behind Skoda UK driver Wilks, Juho Hanninen claimed six fastest stage times on his way to the final podium spot in third. The result means the Finn now tops the drivers' standings with 14 points to the 11 Wilks has accumulated during the opening two rounds of the 12-event IRC season.

Meeke's only cause for concern on day two occurred when he came across a flooded river just under three kilometres into stage ten. He said the section was almost one metre deep and 50 metres in length. At one point he feared he might aquaplane off the road. However, he completed the test unscathed and marked his victory by completing a celebratory lap of the Curitiba race circuit, which is hosting the opening two rounds of the World Touring Car Championship tomorrow (Sunday). The races are being televised live on Eurosport.

Wilks also suffered at the hands of the watersplash when his Skoda Fabia's engine momentarily cut onto three cylinders after taking in too much liquid. To prevent a repeat of the problem on the second pass of the stage in the afternoon, Wilks attacked the watery section at full speed. He avoided any time loss but damaged his car's bumper.

Jan Kopecky started the second leg in third place but a right-rear puncture five kilometres before the finish of the Saturday's first 28.32-kilometre Bocaiuva stage dropped him into Hanninen's clutches. And his Skoda team-mate duly moved in front on the next stage to run.

Bruno Magalhaes scored points on his second IRC event in a row despite reporting making a few mistakes with his pacenotes, which resulted in a loss of confidence. Unable to catch Kopecky for fourth and with his fifth place secured, Magalahes spent the final stages trying different set-ups for the third round of the IRC in Argentina later this month.

Eduardo Scheer completed the top six in his Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer. The Brazilian fought out a close battle with Bolivian Eduardo Peredo, whose similar Lancer suffered an engine failure within sight of the finish of the final stage, where he retired.

Daniel Oliveira had been sixth when he picked up a front-left puncture ten kilometres into Saturday's first stage. Because it was only a slow puncture Oliveira and new co-driver Denis Giraudet elected to soldier to the end of the stage before changing the damaged tyre. They were rewarded with seventh overall in their Stohl Racing-run 207.

IRC 2WD Cup winner Marcos Tokarski, from Brazil, secured the final IRC drivers' point in eighth overall aboard his 1600cc Peugeot 207.

Heavy rain during rally week forced organisers to cancel the two Rio Pesqueiro stages when the river of the same name running adjacent to it burst its banks. The event-closing Super Prime Pinhais stage was also lost because of the weather.  

  DRIVER QUOTES
   
Kris Meeke (United Kingdom), Peugeot 207 S2000, first overall:
"It's a near-perfect result for us and it's great to have put all the experience of last year to such good use. Paul has been brilliant alongside me and made no mistakes. It's not been easy this weekend but we've learned to control the lead and that's really pleasing. We've been relaxed, driven in the middle of the road, but also showed plenty of commitment when we needed to. I know what it takes to win again."

Guy Wilks (United Kingdom), Skoda Fabia S2000, second overall:
"I'd not done a gravel rally this fast since Finland in 2007 so to have adapted to the stages and got second is a great result for me, Phil and Skoda UK. We've shown a lot of pace here but I think the difference has come down to the experience Kris has got from doing the rally last year. He drove very well but experience is very important here."

Juho Hanninen (Finland), Skoda Fabia S2000, third overall:
"I am quite satisfied because we are now leading the championship when yesterday we thought it would be a really bad result after the puncture. I kept pushing today to keep the rhythm and it is lucky for me Jan got his puncture because it might have been hard to have got ahead of him."  

 

Results

Posted: March 9, 2010 8:04 PM

1 Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Peugeot 207 S2000) 1h42m45.4s
2 Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh (Skoda Fabia S2000) +46.7s
3 Juho Hanninen/Mikko Markkula (Skoda Fabia S2000) +1m20.2s
4 Jan Kopecky/Petr Stary (Skoda Fabia S2000) +1m49.3s
5 Bruno Magalhaes/Carlos Magalhaes (Peugeot 207 S2000) +4m05.5s
Leaders After:
SS1-16 Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Peugeot 207 S2000)

Stage Winners
SS1 Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Peugeot 207 S2000)
SS2 Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Peugeot 207 S2000)
SS3 Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Peugeot 207 S2000)
SS4 Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Peugeot 207 S2000)
SS5 Juho Hanninen/Mikko Markkula (Skoda Fabia S2000)
SS6 Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Peugeot 207 S2000)
SS7 Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Peugeot 207 S2000)
SS8 Juho Hanninen/Mikko Markkula (Skoda Fabia S2000)
SS9 Cancelled
SS10 Juho Hanninen/Mikko Markkula (Skoda Fabia S2000)
SS11 Juho Hanninen/Mikko Markkula (Skoda Fabia S2000)
SS12 Cancelled
SS13 Juho Hanninen/Mikko Markkula (Skoda Fabia S2000)
SS14 Juho Hanninen/Mikko Markkula (Skoda Fabia S2000)
SS15 Cancelled

Results/News: Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC)
Rally International of Curitiba (Brazil)

Twitter Feeds

Posted: March 4, 2010 3:09 PM

Exciting plan for Curitiba start order

Posted: March 4, 2010 3:07 PM

The 3.38-kilometre course will determine the running order for the opening day of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge event.

However, rather than base Friday’s starting positions on the results of the stage, the top five fastest drivers will decide where they start the day’s seven stages, choosing from positions one to 10 depending on their preference.

The next five fastest drivers will be handed the remaining starting places not selected in order of position with the remaining 39 runners heading off in start number order.

Road position order can be a major factor to the outcome of gravel rallies, particularly on the first pass of stages when drivers have to negotiate a layer of loose-surface gravel.

The top-ten starting order for the Super Prime Pinhais prologue stage, which gets underway at 15:30hrs local time (6:30 pm Irish Time) on Thursday, is as follows:

1 Kris Meeke (Peugeot 207 S2000)
2 Juho Hänninen (Škoda Fabia S2000)
3 Jan Kopecký (Škoda Fabia S2000)
4 Bruno Magalhães (Peugeot 207 S2000)
5 Guy Wilks (Škoda Fabia S2000)
6 Daniel Oliveira (Peugeot 207 S2000)
7 Oswaldo Scheer (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
8 Eduardo Peredo (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)
9 Luis Eduardo Stedile (Peugeot 207 S1600)
10 Eduardo Scheer (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX)

Seeded Entry List

Posted: March 1, 2010 2:29 PM

• Rally International of Curitiba (Brazil)

Preparations continue for Curitiba rally

Posted: March 1, 2010 2:28 PM

Preparations for the second round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge continued today when the cars belonging to the six European-based competitors arrived in the service park in Curitiba.

The Škoda Fabia Super 2000s of Juho Hänninen, Jan Kopecký and Guy Wilks, plus the Peugeot 207 S2000s of Kris Meeke and Daniel Oliveira were shipped from Antwerp in Belgium at the start of February. Along with Bruno Mãgalhaes’ 207, which was freighted from Lisbon, they arrived in Brazil last week before being transported by road to Curitiba.

Following the finish of Rally Internacional de Curitiba, which starts on Thursday, the cars will be taken by road to Villa Carlos Paz, venue of Rally Argentina, the third round of the IRC from 19-21 March.

A total of 50 crews will tackle Rally Internacional de Curitiba, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this season.

Eurosport TV Times

Posted: February 27, 2010 6:10 PM

Friday 5 March
23:00-23:30: Day one highlights (Eurosport and Eurosport Asia-Pacific)

Saturday 6 March
04:00-04:30: Day one highlights repeated (Eurosport Asia-Pacific)
23:00-23:30: Day two highlights (Eurosport and Eurosport Asia-Pacific)

Sunday 7 March
22:00-22:30: Magazine (Eurosport Asia-Pacific)
23:00-23:30: Magazine (Eurosport)

Monday 8 March
02:30-03:00: Magazine repeated (Eurosport Asia-Pacific)

Tuesday 9 March
12:00-12:30: Magazine repeated (Eurosport2)

Wednesday 10 March
17:30-18:00: Magazine repeated (Eurosport2)

All Time Irish / GMT

ICE COOL WILKS READY FOR HOT BRAZIL RALLY CHALLENGE

Posted: February 27, 2010 5:49 PM

Guy Wilks will swap the wintry north east of England for the hot and humid interior of Brazil, when the Škoda UK Motorsport driver contests Round 2 of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, the Rally International de Curitiba (4-6 March), in his Fabia S2000.

In preparation for the dramatic change in temperature, Guy has added sauna and steam room work-outs to his gruelling fitness regime of daily runs across the County Durham countryside, and is in peak physical shape for the sauna-like in-car temperatures that he is expecting to face in Brazil.

The 29-year old driver from Darlington currently lies 6th in the IRC standings after a faultless performance on Rallye Monte Carlo (19-23 January). Another points-scoring result in Brazil is likely to see Guy move up the table, as only two of the drivers ahead of him in the series, fellow Škoda Fabia S2000 drivers Juho Hänninen and Jan Kopecký, are contesting the event.

A top eight finish won’t be easy, as the Rally International de Curitiba has attracted a strong 48 car entry, with drivers from Great Britain, Czech Republic, Finland, Portugal, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil.

Whilst this will be Guy’s first rally in Brazil, he and co-driver Phil Pugh (Tywyn) are no strangers to rallying overseas and against local experts, and have contested events as far afield as Argentina and Mexico. It will also be their first gravel rally since winning the RAC MSA Rally of Scotland three and a half months ago, although Guy did complete a very productive 112 mile (180 kms) test near Osilo, in the northern part of Sardinia (February 19-20), where he concentrated on getting the car set-up to exactly how he likes it. With temperatures topping just 14ºC on the Mediterranean island, the Škoda UK Motorsport team hopes that it will merely be a case of adjusting the settings for the anticipated 28ºC conditions when it runs the Fabia S2000 at the pre-rally shakedown in Brazil.

Based 255 miles (410 kms) south-west of Sao Paulo, the Rally International de Curitiba will be a difficult event, as the terrain is flat and very fast, with lots of high-speed crests and dust to contend with. Drivers who have contested the event before will be at a distinct advantage, yet Guy’s aim is to challenge for a top position and score as many IRC points as he can.

Guy Wilks: “We had a very good test in Sardinia. We found a four kilometre section of gravel road that was flat and very fast – just what we expect to find in Brazil. We were also lucky it stayed dry, and although it was a lot colder in Sardinia than it will be in Brazil, it was certainly the best conditions we could have hoped for in Europe at this time of year.

“Brazil will be a difficult rally, but I like the challenge of new events and I’m looking forward to it. I’ve trained hard and I’m in good physical shape, and I feel ready for the heat and humidity. If all goes to plan, we’ll just need to make a few minor adjustments to the set-up of the Škoda Fabia S2000 during the pre-event shakedown, and then we’ll be ready for what promises to be two days of very tough competition.

“The trip to South America isn’t just about the rally in Brazil, as twelve days after we’ll be starting Rally Argentina. The focus will be very much on returning to the UK with a good haul of points after two strong performances.”

The Rally International de Curitiba begins with a ceremonial start in the city centre on Thursday 4 March. The action begins the following day, with Leg 1 competition taking place over three separate fast and flowing gravel stages located to the west of Curitiba. The longest of these, the 11.8 mile (19 km) opening Campo Magro stage, is repeated three times, and the day contains a total of seven stages equalling 64 miles (103 kms).

Leg 2 takes place on Saturday 6 March and is the longer of the two legs, as it contains 73.5 miles (118.3 kms) of competition. Five gravel stages (two of which are repeated) are planned in the countryside north east of Curitiba, beginning with the 17.4 mile (28 kms) Baocaiuva test, which is the longest stage of the rally. The climax to the event is the spectacular 2 mile (3.38 km) Super Prime Pinhais stage, which takes place on a purpose-built arena adjacent to the Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba; the venue for the opening round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, which takes place the following day.

The rally winner is expected to complete the 15th and final super-special stage at 16.00 local time (19.00 UK time) after two days and 137.5 miles (221.3kms) of competition.

Eurosport will broadcast recorded highlights from each day of the Rally International de Curitiba, beginning on Friday 5 March. Eurosport and Eurosport 2 will then broadcast a Magazine programme, featuring the event (Monday 8 – Wednesday 10 March). Please check TV listings for details.

Rally Internacional de Curitiba preview

Posted: February 27, 2010 5:47 PM

THE CHALLENGE
After the snow and ice coated asphalt roads of Rallye Monte-Carlo in January, the Intercontinental Rally Challenge resumes in the Brazilian city of Curitiba from 4-6 March where the conditions could not be more contrasting.

The slippery mountainous lanes and sub-zero temperatures experienced on the IRC season opener will be replaced by high-speed gravel roads and a near tropical climate for Rally Internacional de Curitiba, the second round of the 12-event IRC series.

Residents of Brazil's 'smiling city' will get an extra treat. Not only will the IRC event be fought out within easy reach of central Curitiba, the city will also host the opening round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship.

Just like the rally, the WTCC competitors will be based at Curitiba's race circuit where the opening two rounds will take place on Sunday 7 March. Both series are promoted by Eurosport Events and will enjoy coverage on Eurosport, Europe's largest television channel.

Rally Internacional de Curitiba, which became a round of the IRC for the first time last year, is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2010. The event was originally called the Graciosa Rally in deference to the famous Graciosa Road, which connected Curitiba to the Atlantic Ocean several centuries ago.

Consisting of 15 stages covering 217 kilometres, the event is extremely compact compared to other rounds of the IRC. The total road distance is just short of 500 kilometres.

Friday's opening leg is identical to 2009 and is made up of seven stages run to the west of Curitiba with a single visit to the permanent service park at Autodromo Curitiba shortly after midday. The first stage, Campo Magro, is run three times during the day with the Ouro Fino and Curitiba tests repeated once.

Saturday's final leg, run to the north east of Curitiba, will feature eight stages and is set to finish with a spectacular superspecial stage in the district of Pinhais close to the service park. The spectator stage is purpose built and will pitch two drivers running side by side against each other. The bulk of Saturday's stages will be used only once with the exception of Rio Pesqueiro and Quatro Barras, which will be run twice.

Unlike some gravel rallies, which are held over punishing rock-strewn terrain, the roads around Curitiba are smooth with numerous blind crests peppering the route. Although the surface is largely sandy, because the roads link small towns and villages, the surface is compact and in theory will not deteriorate when the stages are repeated.

Crews making the trip from Europe are due to arrive in Brazil over the weekend ahead of the two-day reconnaissance, which takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday. Following a shakedown test on Thursday morning and a ceremonial start, a run over the Super Prime Pinhais superspecial stage will determine the starting order for day one but won't have a bearing on the overall result.  

  THE COMPETITORS  
  With the exception of defending IRC champions Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle, none of the other IRC regulars making the trip to Brazil have contested the event before. In theory, that should give the Peugeot UK crew, who won in Curitiba last season, the advantage, particularly as Nagle describes the event as being one of the hardest on the calendar to master. However, what time they might be able to gain on the opening day is likely to be cancelled out on day two if they end up running first on the road and having to cope with the loose surface gravel.

Meeke has prepared for the trip to Brazil with a test in the south of France in early February where he was joined by Peugeot Portugal’s Bruno Magalhaes. Like Meeke, Magalhaes will use a Peugeot 207 S2000 in Brazil and, also like Meeke, his pre-event test was disrupted by snow.

Daniel Oliveira completes the ranks of Peugeot runners in his Stohl Racing 207 following his IRC debut in Monte Carlo. Despite hailing from Brazil, Oliveira, who took part on his first rally last season, has never rallied in his homeland before but will be able to count on his new co-driver, the vastly experienced Denis Giraudet, for support.

Mikko Hirvonen tops the IRC standings following his victory in Monte Carlo, which also marked a maiden triumph for M-Sport’s Ford Fiesta S2000. Because the Finn will spend the rest of the season contesting the World Rally Championship and will not compete in Curitiba, his title lead will be short-lived with Skoda Motorsport’s Juho Hanninen in pole position to capitalise in Brazil.

Hanninen is second in the IRC standings after finishing runner-up to Hirvonen on the IRC opener. His knowledge of the Curitiba stages has been garnered from watching on-board camera footage from last year’s event and a DVD supplied by the event organisers. He has likened the high-speed undulating roads and numerous crests to the stages in his native Finland and believes it won’t take him long to get up to speed.

His team-mate Jan Kopecky, second to Meeke in last year’s IRC standings, prepared for Brazil with a three-day test in Sardinia following a holiday to Mexico, which the Czech used to acclimatise to the high ambient temperatures that will be a feature of the rally. Hanninen also carried out his own three-day test, which Kopecky described as being very successful.

Guy Wilks, who won his last gravel rally in a Skoda, will drive a third Fabia S2000 in Brazil. The Skoda UK driver travelled to Sardinia for a pre-event test but reported the low ambient temperatures he encountered will mean he will use the shakedown to fine-tune his car’s set-up.

Of the other leading Brazilians on the 48-car entry, Rafael Tulio was the first local driver home last season, finishing ninth overall and claiming IRC 2WD Cup honours in the process. He has switched from his Peugeot 206 to a 207, albeit still only with two-wheel drive and a 1600cc engine.

Eduardo Scheer has also changed cars and will drive a Mitsubishi Lancer after claiming the Brazilian A6 class title in 2009 at the wheel of a Renault Clio. Oswaldo Scheer, the reigning Brazilian champion and Paulo Nobre will also line up in Lancers and will both be in contention for the top six. Nobre’s last event was the snow-based Rally Sweden in early February but he triumphed on his last two starts in Brazil.  

  THE EXPECTATIONS  
  Jan Kopecky (Czech Republic), Skoda Fabia S2000: “My last rally on gravel was in Russia last July and after making two mistakes in Monte Carlo I need to get some points. For sure I would like to fight for first position but I can’t afford to make any more mistakes. From looking at the video of the stages they look really fast and I prefer the faster stages. We had a good test and did some good work with the suspension so I am confident.”

Kris Meeke (United Kingdom), Peugeot 207 S2000: “I’ve obviously been here before and I’ll be looking to capitalise on that but I’m up against some seriously quick guys who can learn the stages just as fast as I did. It was difficult to replicate the hot temperatures we’ll get in Brazil during our test in France because it snowed but I’m happy with the shape we’ve got the car in. However, I know Skoda has not been standing still so the competition is going to be really tough.”

Daniel Oliveira (Brazil), Peugeot 207 Super 2000: “This will be the first time I have competed on a rally in Brazil so I will hope to keep on with my learning and try to finish with a good result. Monte Carlo was really new to me. Snow, asphalt, ice, night time driving, Super 2000, a new co-driver...all at once! It was really a race that made me grow up as a driver and I can say that it was all very hard. But the will to step on the gas and not being able to was the hardest part. I knew that I had to finish and that I could not risk anything.”  

 

Entries roll in for Curitiba rally

Posted: February 11, 2010 2:14 PM

With 20 days to go until the second round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge gets underway in Brazil, entries are still rolling in for Rally Internacional de Curitiba.

So far, more than 30 crews have registered to take part on the gravel event, which takes place from 4-6 March. They include Peugeot UK's Kris Meeke, the reigning IRC champion and the winner of the rally last year, plus factory Skoda Motorsport drivers Juho Hanninen and Jan Kopecky.

Another notable name on the entry is Brazilian Rafael Tulio. He topped the IRC 2WD Cup section of the event last season in a Peugeot 206. He switches to a 1600cc Peugeot 207 for next month's rally and will be looking to better the ninth place overall he achieved when the rally first appeared on the IRC schedule in 2009.

List of Entries to Date:

Posted: February 11, 2010 2:12 PM

• Rally International of Curitiba (Brazil)

New superspecial stage for Curitiba

Posted: February 6, 2010 12:30 AM

Competitors on Rally Internacional de Curitiba are set for a spectacular finish to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge event when the series resumes in Brazil next month.

A new 3.38-kilometre superspecial stage is being built close to the Autodromo Internacional de Curitiba where the gravel rally will be based from 4-6 March. It will mark the 15th and final stage of the event, round two of the IRC.

Crews will tackle the stage in pairs and organisers hope that up to 15,000 spectators will turn up to watch.

Event promoter Marcos Marcola said: "There will be a bridge with a crossing point so we can have two cars side by side. The stage is close to the city of Curitiba and close to the service park so we hope it will make it easy for the fans to go and see. Everybody likes this kind of show and I think it will be very exciting for the rally and for the drivers."  

Event Website / Details

Posted: January 1, 2010 12:01 AM

• Rally International of Curitiba (Brazil)