IRC Rally of Scotland preview : The competitors

An entry full of quality and quantity has been assembled for RACMSA Rally of Scotland’s third appearance in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge with five of the six title contenders set to fight for glory against a number of talents from the British Isles.

Bryan Bouffier heads the list of registrations in his Peugeot France 207 Super 2000. The Rallye Monte-Carlo winner has proved his pace on gravel in the past and took part in a gravel test with Peugeot Sport in northern England earlier in September to fine-tune the set-up of his 207.

While Thierry Neuville, who moved equal second in the IRC standings by winning last time out in Sanremo, fears his lack of gravel knowledge will hold him back in his Team Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg 207, his Kronos Racing team-mate Guy Wilks, excels on loose-surface stages. The Peugeot UK driver won in Scotland in 2009 and was leading last season until he hit trouble.

Defending IRC champion Juho Hanninen is back in action after skipping the last two events in Hungary and Italy. Hanninen, from Finland, took victory in Scotland last season, and was triumphant on the gravel-based Sata Rallye Acores earlier this year. Jan Kopecky, who heads the drivers’ table by 25 points, partners Hanninen in the factory SKODA Motorsport team as he attempts to maintain his push for his maiden IRC crown having finished second in 2009 and 2010.

Andreas Mikkelsen heads SKODA UK Motorsport’s challenge in his Fabia. Like SKODA Sweden’s Patrik Sandell, Mikkelsen is expected to fight for victory having come close several times this year.

Finn Toni Gardemeister will be bidding to extend his scoring sequence to nine events in his TGS Worldwide Fabia. Estonian teenager Karl Kruuda (SKODA Fabia) rates Scotland’s IRC round as one of his favourite rallies and will be a potential top 10 finisher, as will SKODA Auto Deutschland’s Matthias Kahle. Other SKODA drivers in action in Scotland include Irishman Robert Barrable, Jonny Greer, from Northern Ireland, and Burcu Cetinkaya from Turkey, who is making her first start in the IRC in 2011 having tackled several rounds last season.

Scottish hero Alister McRae, the younger brother of rallying legend Colin McRae, forms part of the two-strong PROTON Motorsports’ line-up in a Satria Neo S2000. Swede PG Andersson will drive a second entry. Craig Breen (Ireland) and Alastair Fisher (Northern Ireland) will pilot a brace of M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000s and are set to impress.

Freddy Loix, joint second in the points with Neuville, had been due to take part in a BFO-SKODA Rally Team Fabia but has since withdrawn his entry to focus on the season-closing Cyprus Rally.

IRC Production Cup

With title leader Florian Gonon not including Rally of Scotland on his schedule of events this season, Toshi Arai will be one of the favourites to capitalise on the Swiss driver’s absence. Driving a Yokohama-supported Subaru Impreza R4 STI the Japanese is one of the most experienced drivers on the entry. To win, Arai will have to overcome strong opposition including his team-mate Fumio Nutahara, David Bogie, who recently added the British title Scottish crown he won earlier in the year in his Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, Welsh driver Jason Pritchard (Impreza WRX STI) and Italian Ralliart exponent Marco Cavigioli.

IRC 2WD Cup

After failing to get to grips with the tight and twisty stages on the last round in Sanremo, Jean-Michel Raoux will be anxious to get his IRC 2WD Cup title bid back on track having slipped behind Stefano Albertini in the standings.

Albertini won’t be competing in Scotland so Raoux will be looking to take advantage in his Clio R3. Defending champion Harry Hunt and fellow Briton John MacCrone will be contenders for category honours, as will the Honda Civic Type R trio of Martin Kangur, Janos Puskadi and Scottish youngster Graeme Schoneville. Australian Molly Taylor, in an M-Sport Fiesta R2, is an established gravel driver and will pose a threat.