Nicolas impressed by Prime Yalta Rally

Jean-Pierre Nicolas, the IRC’s Motorsport Development Manager and a former winner of Rallye Monte-Carlo, says the Prime Yalta Rally will be a popular addition to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge schedule next season.

The all-asphalt event, based in the Black Sea city of Yalta in Ukraine’s Crimea region, will form round four of the 2011 IRC from 2-4 June.

Nicolas, who completed a preliminary reconnaissance of the event route last week, said he was impressed by the quality of the stages and the location of the service park.

"The stages are a bit like what we have in Monte-Carlo and Sanremo with good asphalt and average speeds of between 90-110kph," said Nicolas. "Yalta is on the Black Sea and the stages are in the mountains behind the city so the rally will be really compact. In fact there will be more stage kilometres than liaison kilometres. I was also impressed to see the service park, which is right by the sea."