Bettega makes international return in the IRC

Alessandro Bettega will use June’s Geko Ypres Rally to make his return to international competition.

The highly-rated 29-year-old Italian will contest the Clio R3 European Trophy section of the famous asphalt event, round six of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, from June 24-26. He hopes to secure sufficient funds to add the IRC-counting Barum Czech Rally Zlin to his schedule as well.

Bettega is no stranger to the Ypres Rally, having tackled the event in 2008 at the wheel of a Honda Civic Type R. However, that outing ended in a sizeable crash.

"I like the rally but my memories are not so good because of the crash," said Bettega. "But it was not all bad because before the crash I was second in my class to Kris Princen, who has a lot of experience on the event."

Clio R3 European Trophy competitors are eligible for IRC 2WD Cup points on the three rounds supporting the IRC.