Sanremo - IRC news before SS8

Kopecky won’t be stupid in Sanremo

Jan Kopecký insists he won’t be doing anything stupid on Rallye Sanremo’s closing three stages this afternoon.

Kopecký is on course for second place in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge event, a result that would put him ahead of ŠKODA Motorsport team-mate Juho Hänninen in the IRC standings after the Finn crashed out on Friday night’s Ronde stage.

“It would be stupid to push because I am not going to catch [leader Giandomenico] Basso now,” said the Czech, runner-up in the IRC for the last three seasons. “I am the only ŠKODA now and it’s important to be at the finish. Alessandro Perico is pushing behind me but I am focused on getting to the finish. The car is perfect and second would personally be my best result in Sanremo.”

Finishing Sanremo would mean everything, says Breen

Craig Breen says simply finishing Rallye Sanremo would make up for the puncture that dropped him back to sixth on the Intercontinental Rally Challenge round this morning.

Breen, who is competing in Italy for the first time since his best friend and former co-driver Gareth Roberts lost his life in an accident on Targa Florio-Rally Internazionale Di Sicilia in mid-June, was battling Stefano Albertini for fourth overall when he picked up a front-left puncture approximately four kilometres into the 20.73-kilometre Colle d’Oggia run.

“It was 500 metres after a village packed with spectators and I was too tight into the corner and got a puncture,” said the 22-year-old Irishman, who is now 2m08.5s behind Italian champion elect Paolo Andreucci in his Saintéloc Racing Peugeot 207 Super 2000 .

“I can’t catch Paolo now and we’ve got a good gap to [Simone Campedelli] behind. I’ll see what the feeling is before we decide if we push this afternoon but just finishing the rally would be a bigger achievement than anything else.”

One of the highlights for Breen, a Sanremo rookie, and co-driver Paul Nagle was their third fastest time through the Ronde night stage on Friday. “He’s driving very well and the time on Ronde was really good,” said Nagle, who co-drove Kris Meeke to victory in Sanremo in 2009. “It was just a small bit of Sanremo inexperience that caught him out.”

Briton Harry Hunt picked up a front-right puncture on the same stage after eight kilometres. Unlike Breen, the 24-year-old elected not to stop to change the damaged tyre and was able to reach the finish where he said he was mystified as to how he had got a puncture.

Happiness remains for Bouffier on 208 R2 debut

Bryan Bouffier says he has every reason to be satisfied with three stages of Rallye Sanremo remaining.

Bouffier is giving Peugeot’s 208 R2 its competition debut on the Intercontinental Rally Challenge counter. After seven stages he’s the leading R2 contender within the IRC 2WD Cup classification.

“It’s going well and I’m happy,” said the Frenchman. “The car is working fine and we have reduced the gap to the car in front which is good. We have made some small changes but nothing big. Everything is good.”

Bouffier is more than one minute in front of Italian Elwis Chentre who is competing in a ŠKODA Fabia R2.

Hurt shoulder can’t slow IRC 2WD Cup leader Campedelli

Not even a painful shoulder can stop Simone Campedelli from closing in on his second victory in this season’s IRC 2WD Cup.

Campedelli is 38.4s ahead of Renault Clio R3 driver Roberto Vescovi starting the final loop of three stages on Rallye Sanremo. However, he hasn’t enjoyed an entirely trouble-free event.

“In the service last night I locked my right shoulder and I had to have physiotherapy,” said Campedelli. “I have also taken painkillers and I sweat a lot on the stages and now I am cold.”

Campedelli, who won the two-wheel-drive division on Targa Florio-Rally Internazionale Di Sicilia in June, is running with a 10-second time penalty after he accidentally jumped the start of Saturday’s opening stage.