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The waiting is over. Less than three months since Rallye Monte-Carlo hosted the thrilling start to Intercontinental Rally Challenge season five, the all-action series resumes with Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Ingles next week (14-16 April).

Based on the island of Gran Canaria, the third largest of the seven Canary Islands, the asphalt contest joined the IRC for the first time in 2010 and proved a hit with drivers and fans alike.

For its second appearance in the Eurosport-backed competition, event organisers have made a number of alterations to the competitive route with new stages, a return to the Gran Karting track in the south of the island for the first time since 2001, plus two tests run at night. Including stages after dark has resulted in a more compact itinerary with the competitive action contained within a 24-hour period.

This intensity will place a huge onus on driver fitness levels and car preparation and reliability, particularly as the island’s stages are renowned for their demanding nature. Although some of the new stages for 2011 are more tight and twisty, the fast and undulating roads that characterise the bulk of the route mean drivers will experience significant g-forces. At the same time they are often exerting tremendous strain on their cars as significant time can be gained braking as late as possible and accelerating out of the corners as early as possible.

With the stages frequently climbing and descending, drivers have to pay close attention to the speed they carry and the line they take for each corner to ensure optimum momentum is maintained at all times. That also makes precise car set-up and pacenote accuracy vital.

Ambient temperatures are high thanks to the Canary Islands being 100 kilometres off the coast of Morocco with a peak of 23 degrees centigrade expected. And with drivers not due to return to the overnight halt in Las Palmas until the early hours of Saturday morning prior to the restart at 07:30hrs, there is little opportunity for rest and recuperation.

One of the other notable features of the stages is the abrasive surface, which is partly constructed from a volcanic laver. It means grip levels are high and in the event of rain will remain constant, although tyre wear can be at a premium as a result. However, because there is little opportunity to take ‘cuts’ through corners, the road surface remains relatively clean and consistent and the risk of punctures is also reduced.

Following a ceremonial start at the service park in Las Palmas on Thursday evening, crews will tackle eight stages on Friday starting with the 1.50-kilometre blast at the Gran Karting track and including the Santa Lucia stage, which at 24.57 kilometres is the longest of the rally. The day’s action draws to a close with two night stages run to the south west of the service park. The first gets underway at 22:16hrs with the second following at 22:49hrs.

Saturday consists of two stages, each run twice with the first driver due to start the 23.42-kilometre San Mateo stage at 08:35hrs before arriving at the final service control in Las Palmas at 13:57hrs.
 
THE COMPETITORS

Thirty-five crews have entered the main Intercontinental Rally Challenge event with a further 41 competitors registered for the national-level rally, which counts as a round of the Spanish championship.

Of the drivers contesting the main event, 13 will be at the wheel of pacesetting Super 2000 cars with six Peugeot 207s, five Skoda Fabias and two PROTON Satria Neos appearing on the entry.

Skoda claimed a lockout of the podium places last season with Jan Kopecky heading eventual IRC champion Juho Hanninen in first place. Finn Hanninen is the number one seed for this year’s event, which he came close to winning in 2010 following a strong performance on his least-favoured surface.

Kopecky’s last IRC victory came in Gran Canaria one year ago and the Czech will be determined to register his first win of the season as he looks to land his maiden IRC drivers’ title having finished runner-up for the last two campaigns.

Freddy Loix will be a strong threat in his BFO-backed Fabia. The Belgian triumphed on three sealed-surface IRC rounds in 2010 and his pace on asphalt has never been in doubt.

Toni Gardemeister will double as a team owner for his new TGS Worldwide operation, which makes its debut on Gran Canaria. While the Finn is vastly experienced and more than capable of challenging for a podium finish, he has never driven a Super 2000-specification Fabia in competition before.

Skoda UK Motorsport’s Andreas Mikkelsen will be making his Rally Islas Canarias debut and will be out to claim his first points of the year following his crash on Rallye Monte-Carlo. The Norwegian is highly rated and his team guided Guy Wilks to third overall on the island in 2010 so has a proven record on the event.

Wilks switched to Peugeot UK during the winter and began his career with his new employer in style by completing the Monte-Carlo podium back in January. However, he was unable to match fellow 207 driver Bryan Bouffier on that occasion. The Frenchman won the event following an inspired display on the treacherous snow-hit stages and will be gunning to make it two wins in a row on Gran Canaria.

While Bouffier is a Canary Islands novice, Bruno Magalhaes took part on the event in 2010 and will be a contender for victory in his Peugeot Sport Portugal 207 having finished fifth on his last visit. The Lisbon driver won the Super 2000 class on his country’s world championship qualifier last month and says he is full of confidence after crashing out on Rallye Monte-Carlo.

Thierry Neuville began his 2010 IRC programme on Rally Islas Canarias and returns for a second crack in his Team Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg 207. The youngster starts his first IRC event with new co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul after parting company with previous navigator Nicolas Klinger.

Two other 207s will be in action on the event: Italian Massimiliano Settembrini continues his IRC programme while Spaniard Jonathan Perez makes his IRC return.

PROTON Motorsports’ bid is bolstered by the addition of Giandomencio Basso to its attack. The Italian is a four-time IRC event winner and starts the rally on the back of a successful test in Italy last month where the Anglo-Malaysian squad was able to sample some of the recent upgrades it has made to its fleet of Satria Neos. Swede PG Andersson drives the second car and is a rapid performer.

IRC Production Cup

Subaru Impreza driver Jose L Barrios, ninth on Rally Islas Canarias last term, will fight for category honours with Gustavo Sosa, who lines up in a Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer.

IRC 2WD Cup

The battle for IRC 2WD Cup glory is wide open with defending champion Harry Hunt taking on local aces Joan Vinyes and Yeray Lemes, who won the class last season in an M-Sport Fiesta but switches to a Honda Civic for 2011. Hunt, meanwhile, has a new co-driver in fellow Englishman Robbie Durant, who has a wealth of experience.

Spaniard Angel Marrero and Hungarian Gyula Hering will also be at the wheel of Civics and are expected to pose a threat, as will Fiesta pilot Enrique Garcia and Italian Alessandro Barchiesi. Heriberto Godoy and Eloy Gonzalez will be out to bag points for Peugeot in the IRC 2WD Cup manufacturers’ standings in their 206s. Ruben Gracia switches to two-wheel-drive after finishing seventh overall on Rally Islas Canarias last year in a Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer.  

THE EXPECTATIONS

PG Andersson (Sweden), PROTON Satria Neo S2000 said: “We’ve made some changes to the dampers and geometry and also to the engine so we are expecting some improvements and of course I plan to attack as always. I’ve not done this rally before but my co-driver [Emil Axelsson] has been looking at the stages on Google Earth so that will help.”

Jan Kopecky (Czech Republic), Skoda Fabia S2000 said: “First of all this is a very difficult rally and with the new stages for this year, plus the stages at night, it’s going to be even harder. The experience of last year will be important but there are a lot of good drivers doing this rally so winning again will not be easy but I’m confident we will have a good set-up with the car.”

Guy Wilks (United Kingdom), Peugeot 207 S2000 said: “It takes a high level of confidence for the driver and co-driver to do well on this rally, both in themselves and with the set-up of the car underneath them. You need to be brave, concentrate a lot and be careful not to scrub off too much speed when braking.”

END