Tour de Corse (Corsica) - 11-12 May 12

Sordo and del Barrio granted waiver to score IRC points in Corsica

Posted: May 12, 2012 9:15 AM

In view of MINI’s intention to register as an official Intercontinental Rally Challenge manufacturer, Eurosport Events, the promoter of the IRC, has sought a waiver to amend its sporting regulations to allow Dani Sordo and Carlos del Barrio to score points in the IRC drivers’ and co-drivers’ classifications respectively on Giru di Corsica-Tour de Corse.

Crews using MINI’s John Cooper Works Super 2000 will be able to score IRC points on future rounds of the IRC once MINI has confirmed its registration. At such time, MINI will become eligible for IRC manufacturer points as well.

Sordo, from Spain, will drive an upgraded version of the MINI S2000 car in Corsica, which features 1.6-litre turbocharged engine with a 30mm air restrictor. The changes, overseen by car developer Prodrive, include a new induction system, electric water pump and engine mapping.

The MINI that Sordo is using in Corsica is owned by Drive-Pro and run by SMG Motorsport with engineering support from Prodrive.

Giru di Corsica-Tour de Corse covers a competitive distance of 318.23 kilometres over 14 special stages from 10-12 May. Four stages will be shown live on Eurosport.

Marty McCormick/David Moynihan to compete in Ford Fiesta S2000

Posted: May 3, 2012 8:47 PM

Marty McCormick/David Moynihan will compete in Corsica in a Ford Fiesta S2000, run by Petter Solberg's PS Engineering Team.

McCormack will replace the injured Patrik Flodin, who broke his collarbone recently

Seeded Entry List

Posted: May 3, 2012 8:40 PM

Tour de Corse (Corsica) - 11-12 May 12 - Seeded Entry List

RALLY STAR PIERRE CAMPANA SET FOR SPECTACULAR “HOME RUN” AT TOUR DE CORSE

Posted: May 1, 2012 11:47 AM

Corsican rally star Pierre Campana will make a sensational return to the Tour de Corse in May after securing an entry to compete in this year’s legendary event with a Michelin-shod Peugeot 207 S2000 run by Munaretto Group.

Pierre, who scored points in the opening event of this year’s World Rally Championship at Monte-Carlo with the MINI WRC Team and Drive-Pro, will be taking part in his third Tour de Corse, following on from his fine fourth place in last year’s event with Munaretto.

Pierre achieved critical acclaim from MINI WRC after his excellent run to seventh place at Monte-Carlo in January, and he will be looking to put his increased WRC experience to good use at Tour de Corse, part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, next month. The Corsican embarked on an intensive run of rally events with Team Drive-Pro during the second half of last year with an impressive array of wins and competitive performances. Pierre’s successes were also met with positive response from the French Motorsport Federation, who appointed him head of the FFSA Rally Team France.

As with the 2011 event, this season’s Tour de Corse will be broadcast on Eurosport with a total of five stages run live on the popular channel, underpinning the growing importance of this event on the motorsport calendar.

Pierre will again be joined in the cockpit by his long-time co-driver Sabrina de Castelli, with the important backing from a number of companies, led by Perin and Natali Entreprise, all of whom are enabling Pierre to make a welcome return to the international rallying scene. Pierre will also benefit from the support of Peugeot who will be giving him a helping hand at this event. Pierre hopes that having the chance to compete and shine on home ground at Tour de Corse will lead to a more structured season of rallying for him in 2012.

Pierre Campana:
“It seems like a long time since I was taking part at the Monte Carlo WRC event so I am thrilled to have the chance to compete at Tour de Corse, one of my absolute favourite events. As a Corsican, there is nothing like driving in front of a home crowd and soaking in all the atmosphere and support. It is a tough event but I have positive memories from last year’s event when we finished in fourth place. I am looking forward to teaming up once again with Munaretto and driving the Peugeot 207 with Sabrina de Castelli, my co-driver. I am also grateful to have the fantastic backing from a range of companies for this event, including Perin and Natali Entreprise, but also with a helping hand from Peugeot. I am always pleased and honoured to be given the opportunity to showcase my talent in a competitive event and I hope that this, combined with the performance I showed at Monte Carlo back in January, will lead to more regular rallying opportunities throughout 2012.”

Eurosport confirms exciting live coverage of Tour de Corse

Posted: April 13, 2012 10:24 PM

The legendary Tour de Corse, round four of the 2012 Intercontinental Rally Challenge, will be shown live on Eurosport in May.

Five stages of the famous rally will be broadcast as they happen, with both runs of Erbajolo-Pont d’Altiani on Friday 11 May and the three passes of Marinca-Cagnano, which includes the final stage of the rally, on Saturday 12 May covered live on Eurosport and Eurosport Player.

In total there will be five hours of live coverage from Corsica, plus daily round-up shows and the new-for-2012 Inside IRC programme, which will be transmitted after the event. Highlights will also be carried on the IRC’s official website.

Erbajolo-Pont d’Altiani, which is based around the town of Corte in the centre of the island, will be familiar to Eurosport viewers after it was included in the network’s live coverage of Tour de Corse in 2011. Measuring 25.15 kilometres on smooth asphalt, the stage is known for its high average speed of 95kph, flowing rhythm and spectacular scenery. The stage starts uphill but the finish is downhill, creating a significant challenge for the drivers – and dramatic footage for viewers.

Meanwhile, Marinca-Cagnano, near Bastia in the north of Corsica, is new to the event for 2012. It begins in the village of Marinca on the west coast on relatively flat, albeit bumpy roads, which are characterised by their twisty and narrow nature. The stage, which measures 30.00 kilometres in length, climbs inland and when it reaches the village of Pino, the road widens and the speeds increase on the downhill finish. Rally teams used the stage extensively when testing for the Tour de Corse in the past.

Spectacular footage captured by a Cineflex helicopter, plus the use of SimulCam technology, which Eurosport pioneered in rallying during its live coverage of Rallye Monte-Carlo in 2012 and allows viewers to watch drivers tackling the same section of the stage at the same time for comparison purposes, will form the centrepiece of Eurosport’s live coverage of Tour de Corse.

Olivier Fisch, Managing Director of Eurosport Events, said:
“We are delighted to confirm Eurosport’s live coverage of Tour de Corse in 2012. We cannot wait to give viewers around the world watching on television and online the opportunity to witness the spectacle of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge on one of the most iconic events in the sport of rallying. Eurosport’s expertise in producing live coverage of IRC events is widely regarded, particularly its ability to capture spectacular landscapes while, at the same time, encapsulate all the action and drama from the stages to provide must-watch programmes.”

Q&A: GILBERT ROY
Director of Editorial and Programme Development for Eurosport Events

What can viewers expect from Eurosport’s live coverage of Tour de Corse?
GR: “Just like last year, viewers can expect to see two very nice stages, which are interesting from both a technical and sporting point of view. Friday’s stage is one that we filmed last year, whereas Saturday’s stage is new to us with some different scenery that is typical of the Cap Corse. We also have one extra live broadcast that is exclusively for Via Stella, Corsica’s satellite TV channel. There are the same live ingredients as always: helicopter images, in-car footage, and also cameras by the side of the stage, as well as interviews from the stage end. Our objective is two-fold: we want to tell the story of the rally, as well as highlight the local scenery, which is one of the strong points of rallying as a sport.”

What is reasoning behind the two stages selected?
GR: “We’ve chosen stages that provide the drivers with a technical challenge and are representative of the rally as a whole. We wouldn’t want to televise a superspecial stage for instance, as they do not tend to have much in common with the rest of the rally. The second factor, which is just as important as the first one, is to find stages that really show the beauty of the countryside – so we look for the places that will look nicest on television, which fans might not see otherwise. The programme lasts for an hour, so we need to find stages that will give us enough action to fill that programme with good material.”

What are the main challenges you will encounter in the live coverage?
GR: “There are many challenges but we have the good fortune to work with a team of people who are very highly skilled in their respective fields. This is the best way to rise to all the challenges that present themselves as calmly as possible. It’s mostly a question of selecting the right people, as well as ensuring the correct organisation. You have to anticipate as many situations as you can but there will always be rain, accidents and other unexpected events so you need to be flexible in your approach. There’s no point in worrying about what you can’t change: only what you can. There’s no fixed script in live TV and anything can happen – that’s the biggest challenge – but this is also the fascination of being live on air.”

What are the planning stages you go through before the event gets underway?
GR: “The first step in preparing a live show is to check if there is a broadcast slot available with Eurosport, which is not so easy as there are so many sporting events covered every weekend. But luckily we have a very good working relationship with the schedule planners and we normally manage to find a spot to broadcast even during the busiest weekends. We then work with the event organisers several months in advance, to make sure that the rally schedule is aligned with our broadcast plans. A couple of months before the rally starts, we then recce the event to work out where and how to film, and to spot any potential problems. Maybe we would need to request that the stop line of a stage is moved by a few hundred metres to accommodate our trucks and equipment at the end, for example. After that, it’s down to us…”

What is your role during the live coverage?
GR: “I am seated between the live TV director, Serge Ruyssinck, and Jean-Pierre Nicolas, the IRC Motorsport Development Manager and former international rally-winning driver. The live TV director will select and switch the different sources (Cineflex on the helicopter, onboard cameras and cameras on the ground with interviews) to put together the most beautiful TV show. My job is to listen to Jean-Pierre's advice about the sporting issues during the stage in order to decide which car we'll follow and for how long to ensure we let the viewers always watch what is the most important action. It means that I have to coordinate consequently the moves of the helicopter and the selection of the onboard cameras that we receive in the outdoor broadcast vehicle. We will cover three cars out of 10 at the same time but not more. On a 30-kilometre stage there are more than 10 cars together in the stage so the choice is pretty wide. But most of all, the story telling of the stage has to be clear and smooth to allow the viewers to understand what's going on when we switch from one car to another.”

Live TV Times

Posted: April 13, 2012 10:22 PM

All Times Irish/UK

Friday 11 May
10:00hrs-11:00hrs: SS5 Erbajolo-Pont d’Altiani 1 (Eurosport LIVE)
17:00hrs-18:00hrs: SS8 Erbajolo-Pont d’Altiani 2 (Eurosport LIVE)

Saturday 12 May
10:00hrs-11:00hrs: SS10 Marinca-Cagnano 1 (Eurosport LIVE)
13:30hrs-14:30hrs: SS12 Marinca-Cagnano 2 (Via Stella LIVE)
17:00hrs-18:00hrs: SS14 Marinca-Cagnano 3 (Eurosport LIVE)

Sordo to tackle Tour de Corse

Posted: April 13, 2012 3:58 PM

Prodrive WRC Team driver Dani Sordo will compete at the Tour de Corse, the next round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), in a MINI John Cooper Works Super Production Car (SPC). The car owned by Drive-Pro and run by SMG Motorsport will have engineering support from Prodrive.

The event will be the first time Sordo will have competed in a MINI SPC. The car is identical to the MINI WRC except for a 30mm air restrictor (33 mm on a WRC); a smaller rear wing, different bumper; smaller front brakes; and glass side windows.

The Tour de Corse is not new to Sordo, who competed in the event while it was still part of the World Rally Championship, taking third places in 2006 & 2007. The distinctive tight and twisty mountain tarmac roads are unlike anything else in the World Rally Championship, but after his podium finishes in his last three tarmac outings in Monte Carlo, France and Germany, Sordo will be looking for a strong result.

Dani Sordo said:
“The Tour de Corse is one of the classic rallies and it is a shame it is no longer in the World Rally Championship. I really like it because it is very technical and you have to be very precise in your positioning of the car on the road. While the engine and aero on the MINI SPC are different, the chassis is identical to the WRC so I think it will really suit the MINI.”

Dave Wilcock, Prodrive WRC Team principal, said:
“The event will give Dani some valuable competitive time behind the wheel and while the SPC does not quite have the power or downforce of the WRC, it will feel and drive the same in every other way. It will also enable us to gauge how the performance of the restricted MINI SPC compared to the normally aspirated, unrestricted S2000 cars.”

Corsica also sees the launch of Drive-Pro & SMG Motorsport’s MINI drive packages for the IRC and WRC as well as national and regional championships. The factory built cars will also be engineered by Prodrive.

Website / Details

Posted: April 13, 2012 1:38 PM

• Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC)