IRC Tour de Corse preview : The challenges

Just under a month after the thrilling four-way battle for victory on Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Ingles electrified fans around the world, the chase for Intercontinental Rally Challenge glory resumes on the Mediterranean island of Corsica from 12-14 May with a live television spectacular.

Eurosport, Europe’s leading sports entertainment group and host broadcaster of the IRC, will broadcast six stages of Tour de Corse-E.Leclerc live to more than 123 million homes across 59 countries in Europe. There will also be coverage on Eurosport Asia-Pacific, Eurosportnews and Eurosport Player, the online simulcast service providing live and on demand access to Eurosport’s channels.

France 3 Corsica-Via Stella will also provide live coverage of the six stages, while several other television channels around the world will show highlights or delayed footage of the thrilling stage action.

Affectionately known as the Rally of 10,000 Corners due to the proliferation of twists and turns on challenging mountain roads, the legendary event will reflect its original spirit with stages spread over a larger area of the picturesque French island than in recent years, when it joins the IRC for the first time in 2011. The claim of the rally his year expresses this spirit, “the Return of the Myth”.

Starting in the town of Calvi on Corsica’s north west coast at 13:00hrs local time on Thursday 12 May, the event will include 14 all-asphalt special stages over a competitive distance of 320 kilometres.

Thursday’s itinerary features two runs over the 27.53-kilometre Le Fangu-Notre Dame de la Serra stage, which straddles the Calvi Coast and is the longest of the event. From the overnight halt in Calvi, crews head to stages around Corte on Friday 13 May with three repeated tests split by service halts at the town’s aerodrome. The final day’s action on Saturday 14 May again consists of three repeated stages and runs around Ajaccio in the south west of the island where the first car is due to finish at approximately 21:35hrs.
The first Tour de Corse took place in 1956 and it wasn’t long before the event became one of the world’s most iconic, albeit challenging rallies. It developed a fearsome reputation as drivers negotiated narrow mountain roads in high-powered cars, lined with unforgiving rock faces on one side of the road or steep drops on the other.

It was also an extreme test of endurance with the route covering significant parts of the island in a 25-hour stretch. In more recent times organisers have settled for a more compact and sedate route based around Ajaccio. However, the task facing drivers has not diminished and this year’s event, the 54th running, is likely to be one of the highlights of the IRC calendar.

Although the bulk of the competitors will have some knowledge of the Corsican roads, most stage layouts are unchartered territory for IRC regulars with several classic tests from yesteryear returning to the itinerary including the Barchetta and Bocognano runs. However, most of the island’s undulating roads have undergone resurfacing over the years, which has eradicated much of the broken and bumpy asphalt that was once synonymous with the rally.
While hot and sunny weather is expected for the duration of the event, the island’s climate can be changeable, particularly in mountainous areas. This can make tyre choice a lottery in the event of rainfall during a stage.

All drivers will be in contention for the prestigious Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy, which is awarded on all rounds of the IRC to the driver whose performance best embodies the spirit of the rally legend, a two-time Tour de Corse winner.