Wilks and Pugh prepare for Argentina

To avoid two unnecessary 12-hour trans-Atlantic flights, Škoda UK Motorsport crew Guy Wilks and Phil Pugh have stayed in South America between Rally Internacional de Curitiba and the forthcoming Rally Argentina (March 19-21) to train for the next round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

Having finished second in their Fabia S2000 in Brazil, Wilks and co-driver Pugh are aiming for victory in Argentina – and they need to be in peak physical condition for the 240 stage kilometres in the spectacular Cordobese Sierras.

While their rally car is transported overland from Curitiba to Villa Carlos Paz, Wilks and Pugh have spent the last few days in Rio de Janeiro, where they have undergone intense gym work-outs and daily 10-kilometre runs along the famous Copacabana Beach.

There has been time for the pair to explore Rio – with trips to Corcovado to see the famous statue of Jesus, a cable car ride to the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain (made famous by the 1979 James Bond movie, Moonraker) and a drive along Ipanema.

“Our trip to South America is all about scoring as many IRC points in two rallies as possible, and we are very focused on doing that,” said Wilks. “We had a good result with second in Brazil and now Phil and I are doing everything we can to get ourselves ready to challenge for victory in Argentina.

“It’s been really nice to visit Rio de Janeiro. The sights in Copacabana are certainly different to what I normally see when I’m out running in County Durham where I’m from!”