Sliven Rally - IRC news before SS10

Consani on course to be rewarded in Bulgaria

Robert Consani’s gritty determination looks set to be rewarded on the Mabanol Sliven Rally, round 11 of the all-action Intercontinental Rally Challenge, today.

After enduring a frustrating start to the asphalt event in Bulgaria when his Renault Mégane RS was saddled by a handful of mechanical glitches, Consani can move to the top of the IRC Production Cup and IRC 2WD Cup standings providing he secures a strong result.

Consani is second in the IRC Production Cup classification and fifth in the IRC 2WD Cup division. Providing he does enjoy a trouble-free day and doesn’t drop down the order, then it will be a fitting reward for the 30-year-old French talent, according to his co-driver and countryman Nicolas Klinger.

“Robert has not been sleeping for a week to get the money to do this rally so he really deserves something,” said Klinger. “It’s very frustrating because the power is at 150bhp more or less but hopefully we can be at the finish.”

Stratieva determined to finish home IRC event

Ekaterina Stratieva says she is determined to get to the finish of the Mabanol Sliven Rally after overcoming a spate of mechanical issues on the opening day of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge qualifier on Saturday.

Stratieva (pictured right) lost time in the morning with a bent rear beam before a power issue took hold in the afternoon and resulted in fuel vapour entering the cockpit of the Citroën C2-R2 Max she shares with Romanian co-driver Carmen Poenaru.

“It is always a concern when you smell fuel because I don’t want there to be a fire,” said Stratieva, Bulgaria’s leading female rally driver. “Hopefully we can be at the finish now. I have done this rally four times before and not finished so I want to have a better result today.”

Stratieva is currently eighth in the IRC 2WD Cup standings in an impressive 13th overall.

Penalty drops Avci back on Mabanol Sliven Rally

Yağiz Avci will start day two of the Mabanol Sliven Rally in fifth position overall after the 20-second penalty he received on Saturday was applied to his total time.

The Castrol Ford Team Türkiye driver received the penalty after a miscalculation meant he arrived two minutes late at the start of stage five. The punishment means he falls behind Krum Donchev in the overall classification, albeit by a scant margin of 4.3s with four stages of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge qualifier remaining.

While the penalty represents a loss of position for Avci, it boosts Todor Slavov’s bid for a podium finish in his Renault Clio R3. Slavov would have started Sunday’s route defending a slender advantage of 9.7s. Instead, the Bulgarian is 25.4s in front of Donchev heading to Sunday’s first test, the 15.28-kilometre Ablanovo stage, which goes live at 10:30hrs local time.

A total of 29 crews are in action on day two, including three competing under restart rules. They are George Marinov, Stoyan Mechkov and Mario Popov.

Slavov: Sliven podium would be hugely significant

Todor Slavov says finishing third overall on the Mabanol Sliven Rally would mark a significant moment in his career.

The rising star of Bulgarian rallying has shone throughout the opening day of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge qualifier in his Renault Clio R3.

At service in Sliven this evening, the underfunded Slavov said: “Being third in this very prestigious championship against the best drivers I can’t imagine a better result than to be on the podium. I will do all I can to keep this position tomorrow.”

If Slavov is to maintain his grip on a podium place then he will have to fend off Yağiz Avci, who is armed with a faster and more powerful M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000. The Turkish talent is just 9.7s behind Slavov with four stages remaining on Sunday.

Kangur plans to take it easy on final day in Sliven

Martin Kangur insists he has no intention of trying to catch and pass Menya Krózser in the battle for second place in the IRC 2WD Cup.

Kangur, in a Honda Civic Type R, is more than one minute behind Renault Clio R3 driver Krózser with four stages of the Mabanol Sliven Rally left to run on Sunday. “I take it easy, the target is just to finish, not to try to get second place,” said Kangur.

The Estonian teenager reported a struggle to gain confidence with his pacenotes this morning but nevertheless produced an error-free performance in his Catwees Honda Racing entry. “This afternoon was better than this morning when my pacenotes were not right,” he said. “It’s still not very good but there are no real problems. I took some cuts this afternoon and almost broke a wheel rim because of the gravel on the road.”

Gyoshev promises big attack in battle for Sliven victory

Petar Gyoshev says fans attending the final day of the Mabanol Sliven Rally should prepare for a thrilling climax as he aims to overhaul his fellow Bulgarian Dimitar Iliev in the battle for first place.

The Peugeot 207 Super 2000 pilot trails his ŠKODA Fabia S2000 rival by 11.7s with four stages remaining. He said: “We will push to the maximum tomorrow and it’s going to be fun for the spectators.”

Gyoshev recorded two stage wins this afternoon and took almost 15s out of Iliev on the second run through Stara Reka, the eighth stage of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge qualifier.

Iliev said this time loss was the result of a cautious approach after he almost went off the road when he touched a patch of gravel early in the stage although Gyoshev reckoned it was down to his own performance. “I did the best I could in that stage and there were no differences between driving from the first time to the second time through the stage,” he said. “It was up to me why I had the advantage I had.”

Krozser happy to be second in IRC 2WD Cup

Menya Krózser says he’s happy with his performance after completing day one of the Mabanol Sliven Rally in second place in the IRC 2WD Cup.

Krózser, competing in a Renault Clio R3 for only the second time, said his only major cause for concern occurred when his car suffered an intercom failure on stage eight.

“We had a problem with the intercom but we fixed it for the last stage,” said the Hungarian two-wheel-drive champion. “I drove with safety on my side because there was gravel and some rocks on the road. But I found a good rhythm and was happy with my driving. Now I just look to make the finish because second place in the IRC 2WD Cup would be a very good result for me.”

Krózser is 1m53.4s behind runaway leader Todor Slavov of Bulgaria but 1m08.6s clear of Honda Civic Type R pilot Martin Kangur, who holds third place in the category.