Andersson excited by ’open’ Yalta Rally

PG Andersson says he is excited by the prospect of contesting the Prime Yalta Rally in June because it will be a level playing field for all the leading Intercontinental Rally Challenge crews.

Swede Andersson will skip next month’s Tour de Corse-E.Leclerc before returning to the IRC on the Ukraine asphalt event, which is scheduled to run from 2-4 June, in a PROTON Motorsports Satria Neo Super 2000.

The Yalta Rally is new to the IRC calendar for 2011 and will be unchartered territory for the series’ regulars.

“I like to get to know a place where other drivers haven’t been before,” said the 30-year-old, who is pictured right with co-driver Emil Axelsson. “Nobody has an advantage when it is like this and I like it when the stages are more rough and bumpy.”

Giandomenico Basso will join Andersson in the works PROTON squad in Yalta after scoring IRC points on his debut with the team on Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Inglés earlier this month.

PROTON hasn’t included the Tour de Corse on its schedule of events due to a clashing rally in Australia where it will be running occasional IRC drivers Chris Atkinson and Alister McRae.