IRC Sardinia preview : The challenges

The Intercontinental Rally Challenge makes its first visit to Sardinia next week for round five of the 12-event series. After switching to asphalt for Rally Islas Canarias in late April, crews return to gravel for the island-based contest, which previously ran as part of the World Rally Championship before joining the IRC for 2010.

Following its groundbreaking coverage of Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo in January, Eurosport will show four stages of the Olbia-based event as they happen. With upwards of 10 drivers capable of challenging for victory, viewers of Europe’s largest television sports channel, plus those fans watching on the stages, are braced for an epic battle for glory.

While part of the route used for the WRC qualifier remains, organisers have made several changes to the itinerary, including a ceremonial start in the capital Cagliari, in the south of the island, and new stages based around the town of Oristano to the west.

Leg one consists of six special stages. There will be two runs through the Monte Grighine stage, located to the east of Oristano and televised live on Eurosport, and two passes of the Gonnosno test to the south-east of the town, split by a remote service in Simaxis. Crews then head north to the classic Monte Lerno stage between the towns of Ozieri and Pattada, eventually reaching Olbia in the island’s north-east for end of day service and overnight parc ferme.

Sunday morning’s action takes competitors south of Olbia for two runs of the Coiluna stage split by the first of pass of the Terranova stage and a regroup in Ala dei Sardi. Both Coiluna stages will be shown live on Eurosport. The second is followed by a service halt in Olbia before the two Monte Olia tests and a return to the Terranova stage. After a final service in Olbia, crews cross the finishing ramp in the exclusive Porto Cervo resort on Sunday evening.

The stages in Sardinia are characterised by their challenging and varied nature. Although they are predominantly fast and narrow, the terrain is a mixture of flat open areas and undulating tracks through woodland with water splashes and spectacular jumps thrown in for good measure. Ordinarily the surface is hard with rock-strewn sections commonplace, while ruts will often form after the first pass. Some parts of the route are on softer ground, which has been damaged by recent heavy rainfall and has required the organisers to carry out essential repair work.

As with most gravel rallies, road position can have a major bearing on the result due to the effect of cleaning the course of loose-surface gravel. In a change to the format used on other rounds of the IRC, organisers in Sardinia will run the top ten crews in reverse order of their competition numbers for Saturday’s opening leg in two-minute intervals. The remainder of the field will start in number order, albeit with a one-minute gap. On Sunday, the leading ten runners will start in reverse order in two-minute intervals, with the remaining competitors running in rally order separated by one-minute gaps.