IRC news before Rally Corsica

Kopecky satisfied following Corsica shakedown

Jan Kopecký has described a feeling of satisfaction following today’s shakedown for Giru di Corsica-Tour de Corse, the fourth round of the thrilling all-action Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

Driving a ŠKODA Motorsport Fabia Super 2000, Kopecký completed four runs of the 6.10-kilometre practice stage from Capo di Feno-St Antoine near Ajaccio.

“The feeling of the car was good,” said the Czech ace, IRC runner-up for the past three seasons. “We have some very small set-up changes we will be making for the rally but for the shakedown we are very satisfied.”

Kopecký finished second to Peugeot flyer Thierry Neuville in Corsica last season. He is currently third in the IRC drivers’ standings

Mikkelsen: Corisca challenge will be harder than 2011

Defending Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion Andreas Mikkelsen says this year’s 55th running of Giru di Corsica-Tour de Corse will be even harder than the 2011 edition.

Speaking following the two-day reconnaissance, the ŠKODA UK Motorsport driver says he will adopt a cautious strategy on Thursday’s opening trio of stages before upping his pace on Friday when Eurosport will show two runs live.

“It’s a difficult event but this year it’s even more difficult, more difficult than last year,” said the Norwegian. “For example on the first stage you have every kind of situation with wide and fast and narrow and bumpy sections and there is a also a greater risk of punctures because of the possibility to take cuts through corners.

“We will be looking for a clean run on Thursday with no risk but then on Friday we will go on more of an attack and see what happens. But the aim is to score points so it will be a good battle.”

IRC star McCormack relishes step up in performance

Marty McCormack says he is still finding it hard to believe that he will be making his competitive debut in a Super 2000 car on Giru di Corsica-Tour de Corse, round four of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

The Northern Irish youngster has been drafted in to replace the injured Patrik Flodin in a PS Engineering M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000. He has never driven an S2000 car in a rally before and only managed two runs of shakedown this afternoon after a broken link on a driveshaft had to be replaced.

Despite his lack of experience of his new machine, McCormack said he is optimistic of a strong showing on the island event, four stages of which will be shown live on Eurosport.

“I still can’t believe I’m here doing this but it’s a fantastic car, so stable,” said McCormack, the winner of the Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy on last month’s Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally. “Okay you’re dealing with more power but the car itself is so positive and responds the way you want it to. Everything might be happening faster but the car responds faster than what I am used to.”

In terms of his aim for the three-day rally, McCormack has two clear objectives: “Firstly I have to learn the car but I’m also here to do a job and show I can race.”

IRC winner Basso unsure of Corsica result

Four-time Intercontinental Rally Challenge event winner Giandomenico Basso says he is keeping his expectations in check ahead of Giru di Corsica-Tour de Corse.

Basso, who will drive an M-Sport Ford Fiesta RRC for the Italian A-Style Team, prepared for the island event by winning the combined European and Italian championship-counting Rally 1000 Miglia last month.

He said: “I’m really not sure what result we can get: my objective is obviously for us to try and do our best, but it will be interesting to see how the Fiesta goes in Corsica, which is certainly going to be a very different event to Mille Miglia. That event was useful in terms of learning the car, but I don’t think it has much in common with Corsica, so we’ll see. I’m really curious to know myself what we can do. If we could aim for the top three, this would be fantastic – but I think that’s a big ambition.”

Basso has never competed in Corsica before and admits the learning process has been intense: “The event is very complex: it’s not a coincidence that they call it the ‘Rally of 10,000 corners’, is it? I think that this could take a lot out of the brakes in particular; I had a couple of brake issues on the Mille Miglia and I think that will certainly be something to keep an eye on in Corsica. And of course the opposition on the IRC is going to be very strong, with lots of very fast drivers who already have several rallies behind them.”

Breen aims to continue learning in Corsica

Craig Breen hopes to make more progress behind the wheel of his Saintéloc Racing-Mister Auto Peugeot 207 Super 2000 when he contests Giru di Corsica-Tour de Corse for the first time this week.

Irish promise Breen finished fifth overall on his first appearance with the French squad on the previous Intercontinental Rally Challenge event in Northern Ireland last month. His target in Corsica, where four stages will be shown live on Eurosport, is to build on that strong start.

"The Circuit of Ireland was my first event with Saintéloc Racing and the Peugeot 207 S2000,” said Breen. “There’s always a learning curve when taking the wheel of a different car. I got a huge amount of help and support for Vincent Ducher and all of the Saintéloc team before and during the rally. The Circuit was a difficult rally with changing weather conditions, which made tyre choice very hard. We suffered a mechanical problem early on the first evening and I was making adjustments to my car set-up all the way through but by the end I was happy.

“Corsica will again be a learning curve, number one with the car and also as it’s my first time to visit the island. The rally has attracted an impressive entry and it will be very tough but I’ll be doing my all to progress my development with the Saintéloc team and the 207.”