IRC Madeira preview : The competitors

Skoda Motorsport’s factory drivers Juho Hanninen and Jan Kopecky might head the title race but they will both be anxious to make up for recent disappointments when they contest Rali Vinho Madeira or the first time.

Hanninen, who heads Kopecky in the standings by nine points, crashed on round six in Belgium and lost victory in the Azores when he was forced to stop and change a punctured tyre on the penultimate stage of the event.

Kopecky was four kilometres from winning in the Azores but a mistake caused him to crash into retirement. He will be able to take heart from his victory on Rally Islas Canarias, which featured twisty and narrow stages, similar to those found in Madeira. However, the Skoda drivers’ lack of knowledge of the island’s roads could hit their chances of outright success.

Portugal’s Bruno Magalhaes will carry the hopes of a nation in Madeira and has a spring in his step following his maiden IRC win in the Azores. After narrowly losing out on victory to Giandomenico Basso in Madeira last season, the 30-year-old from Lisbon will be determined to climb onto the top step of the podium next weekend on the rally he describes as his favourite.

The event takes on added significance for the Peugeot Sport Portugal pilot: unless he can find more funds, Madeira could be his last outing of 2010, thereby dashing his outside title hopes.

Defending IRC champion Kris Meeke rekindled his chances of the drivers’ crown with second place in the Azores and can count on previous Madeira experience. Although he admitted he struggled to secure the fifth place he achieved on his Madeira debut in 2009, he starts the event on the back of a successful test in Italy, where his engineers were able to rectify the suspension set-up problem that resulted in a broken wheel rim and the loss of first place in the Canary Islands.

Freddy Loix made a winning return to the IRC in Ypres in June and will be more than capable of running at the front in Madeira, owing to his knowledge of the island’s roads and his penchant for asphalt rallying. Although he switches from the factory Skoda operation to the works-blessed Rene Georges Rally Sport outfit, he will still have Skoda’s Fabia S2000 Facelift at his disposal, which he took to a debut victory in Belgium.

While Giandomenico Basso, a three-time Madeira winner, failed in his efforts to secure a budget to return to the event in an Abarth Grande Punto, team-mate Luca Rossetti will be in action in one of the Turin machines, which is being run by the Italian Procar operation. Rossetti is the leader of the European championship and will be mindful of the threat posed by Jan Kopecky, who is also eligible for the regional series.

Leading female driver Burcu Cetinkaya is back in action in Madeira after she was forced to miss the trip to the Azores due to damage sustained to her Peugeot Sport Turkey 207 in a huge crash in Ypres. Daniel Oliveira, another absentee in the Azores, also returns following his off in Ypres.

Bernardo Sousa, the leader of the Portuguese championship, lost out on a top-six finish in Azores after damaging his Ford Fiesta S2000’s suspension in the closing stages of the event. Born in Funchal, Sousa will be hoping to make the most of his home advantage as he searches for maximum domestic championship points.

Other local drivers capable of providing a stern test to the IRC regulars are former event winners Miguel Campos and Vitor Sa, Italians Corrado Fontana and Marco Tempestini and Portuguese drivers Vitor Pascoal and Miguel Nunes. Ricardo Moura and Pedro Meireles are the leading Ralliart and Subaru drivers respectively on the 46-car entry.

The IRC 2WD Cup is expected to be fought out between Peugeot 206 runners Luis Serrado and Duarte Ramos, while Carlos Oliveira could also figure in an Abarth Punto Super 1600.