Bouffier confident ahead of Zlín IRC return

Bryan Bouffier believes he can score a strong result on Barum Czech Rally Zlín this week as he prepares to mark his return to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge for the first time since his aborted outing on the asphalt event last season.

Bouffier was due to take part in Zlín last year but was prevented from doing so when his PROTON Satria Neo suffered engine failure during the pre-event shakedown.

He returns this year in a Peugeot Sport-backed 207 Super 2000 and is confident he will be able to take on the might of the factory Škoda Fabias.

"It is going to be tough against the Škodas, but the Peugeot is still a good car and it’s good on this type of rally, so I think I can get a good result,” said Bouffier.

Frenchman Bouffier, 31, hopes his appearance on Barum Czech Rally Zlín, which runs from 27-29 August, will lead to more outings in the series next season.

“I hope to do some more IRC more regularly next year,” said Bouffier, who tackled Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo earlier this season in a Subaru Impreza.