Fri August 8, 2008

 Alen tries something smaller Markku Alen, the famous father of Abarth´s Anton Alen, is well-known for having driven some of Italy´s most powerful rally cars throughout his career, such as the Lancia Delta S4 and Fiat Abarth 131. But on the Madeira Rally recently, he tried an Italian car that was considerably...

Mon August 4, 2008

 Madeira finish makes history The Rali Vinho Madeira today had such a gripping finish that it actually claims records in IRC history. To this read some interesting facts at the end of this article. The IRC proves to be a mega exciting and competitive series. The rally that ended today was exciting in more tha...

Sat August 2, 2008

 Vouilloz takes Madeira win Nicolas Vouilloz has taken his first victory of the year in the 2008 IRC series, to claim the exclusive lead of the drivers’ standings. He also reinforces Peugeot’s lead of the manufacturers’ rankings....

NEWS JUST IN

 P.VM end - Basso takes 2nd @ 05:10 PM - Unbelievable tight finale. Top3 within 8sec, the podium places have changed on last stage. Final positions (subject to last road section and scrutineering): 1st= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 3h05m14s8; 2nd= Basso/Dotta, Fiat Abarth, +5s4; 3rd= Camacho/Calado, Peugeot, +8s; 4th= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +41s; 5th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +1m02s5; 6th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +1m08s7; 7th= Scandola/d'Amaore, Fiat Abarth, +2m28s6; 8th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +3m03s2; 9th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +3m45s9; 10th= Solowow/Baran, Peugeot, +5m52s

 P.VM SS20 - Only one stage to go @ 03:54 PM - The grande finale couldn't be more exciting. Last stage is long, top3 are seperated by only 12.6s with the guy in 3rd proving fastest of the trio! Positions after SS20: 1st= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 2h51m36s5; 2nd= Camacho/Calado, Peugeot, +5s3; 3rd= Basso/Dotta, Fiat Abarth, +12s6; 4th= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +30s1; 5th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +53s3; 6th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +1m01s3; 7th= Scandola/d'Amaore, Fiat Abarth, +2m17s9; 8th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +3m06s1; 9th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +3m29s6; 10th= Solowow/Baran, Peugeot, +5m26s6

 P.VM SS19 - Such tight battle! @ 03:09 PM - Basso & Camacho share stage win this time, on this West coast Atlantic stage "Ponta do Pargo". Positions after SS19: 1st= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 2h44m26s7; 2nd= Camacho/Calado, Peugeot, +4s9; 3rd= Basso/Dotta, Fiat Abarth, +14s; 4th= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +27s5; 5th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +51s7; 6th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +56s7; 7th= Scandola/d'Amaore, Fiat Abarth, +2m08s5; 8th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +3m06s2; 9th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +3m19s7; 10th= Isik/Ozsenler, Fiat Abarth, +4m35s1

 P.VM SS18 - Vouilloz replies @ 02:24 PM - Vouilloz wins stage, Basso strong too, Camacho has to watch over his shoulder, Travaglia loses touch, Magalhaes moves up a place. Positions after SS18: 1st= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 2h36m30s; 2nd= Camacho/Calado, Peugeot, +5s7; 3rd= Basso/Dotta, Fiat Abarth, +14s8; 4th= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +25s; 5th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +50s3; 6th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +56s5; 7th= Scandola/d'Amaore, Fiat Abarth, +2m04s7; 8th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +3m06s4; 9th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +3m13s5; 10th= Isik/Ozsenler, Fiat Abarth, +4m26s

 P.VM SS16 - Stunning time for Basso @ 11:19 AM - Basso absolutely back to form. Gap between 1st & 2nd back to 3.1s. Next stage is the longest of the rally, SS27 Chao da Lagoa. Positions after SS16: 1st= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 2h15m42s9; 2nd= Camacho/Calado, Peugeot, +3s1; 3rd= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +19s; 4th= Basso/Dotta, Fiat Abarth, +23s8; 5th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +40s8; 6th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +48s8; 7th= Scandola/d'Amaore, Fiat Abarth, +1m43s4; 8th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +2m48s; 9th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +3m01s8 10th= Isik/Ozsenler, Fiat Abarth, +3m48s5

 P.VM SS15 - Rossetti passes Loix @ 10:33 AM - Joined stage win for Basso/Abarth and Magalhaes/Peugeot. This is the West coast stage, the season's nearest stage to America. Positions after SS15: 1st= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 2h08m32s; 2nd= Camacho/Calado, Peugeot, +3s8; 3rd= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +19s7; 4th= Basso/Dotta, Fiat Abarth, +27s7; 5th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +37s8; 6th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +44s4; 7th= Scandola/d'Amaore, Fiat Abarth, +1m38s5; 8th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +2m40s5; 9th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +3m02s6 10th= Isik/Ozsenler, Fiat Abarth, +3m39s2

 P.VM SS14 - Camacho threatens Vouilloz @ 09:45 AM - Magalhaes wins 1st stage of the day, Camacho narrows gap by 0.6s. Positions after SS14: 1st= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 2h00m20s4; 2nd= Camacho/Calado, Peugeot, +3s1; 3rd= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +22s3; 4th= Basso/Dotta, Fiat Abarth, +30s4; 5th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +38s8; 6th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +40s; 7th= Scandola/d'Amaore, Fiat Abarth, +1m36s9; 8th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +2m33s9; 9th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +3m05s3 10th= Isik/Ozsenler, Fiat Abarth, +3m20s9

 P.VM SS17 - Great stage for Fiats! @ 00:26 AM - Basso wins stage 10sec of the rest, he and Travaglia can now challenge for victory! Positions after SS17: 1st= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 2h29m25s5; 2nd= Camacho/Calado, Peugeot, +4s2; 3rd= Basso/Dotta, Fiat Abarth, +14s6; 4th= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +14s8; 5th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +48s3; 6th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +55s4; 7th= Scandola/d'Amaore, Fiat Abarth, +1m58s2; 8th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +3m04s6; 9th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +3m06s1 10th= Isik/Ozsenler, Fiat Abarth, +4m13s7

Fri August 1, 2008

 Madeira, rally of surprises and emotions The Rali Vinho Madeira is a very unique event, as should be for a proper and exciting rally championship. The island is part of Portugal, but nearest land would be the North African coast some 650km away. Maybe this explains my earlier pun at the repetitive surnames on the island...

 Vouilloz leads after day one Peugeot Belgium driver Nicolas Vouilloz, who is leading the IRC standings on 26 points jointly with Peugeot Italy’s Luca Rossetti, is in front after the first 13 stages of the all-asphalt Madeira Rally: round five of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. Vouilloz – who won the...

NEWS JUST IN

 P.VM leg1 - Vouilloz wins dramatic day @ 07:14 PM - Amazing day, Basso and Magalhaes had trouble, Vouilloz leads only 3.7s from a newcomer! Positions after leg1: 1st= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 1h53m12s6; 2nd= Camacho/Calado, Peugeot, +3s7; 3rd= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +2237; 4th= Basso/Dotta, Fiat Abarth, +31s1; 5th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +38s4; 6th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +39s5; 7th= Scandola/d'Amaore, Fiat Abarth, +1m32s; 8th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +2m26s; 9th= Isik/Ozsenler, Fiat Abarth, +3m05s6 10th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +3m07s5

 P.VM SS12 - Magalhaes punctures! @ 06:38 PM - Puntcure! This drops leader Magalhaes all the way to 10th! Battle for the lead is now between Vouilloz and Camacho, seperated by less than 4s! Loix takes Rossetti! Positions after SS11: 1st= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 1h43m29s; 2nd= Camacho/Calado, Peugeot, +3s3; 3rd= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +17s7; 4th= Basso/Dotta, Fiat Abarth, +29s; 5th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +35s7; 6th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +36s3; 7th= Scandola/d'Amaore, Fiat Abarth, +1m22s9; 8th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +2m11s7; 9th= Isik/Ozsenler, Fiat Abarth, +2m46s7 10th= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +3m06s4

 P.VM SS11 - Magalhaes and Camacho... @ 06:10 PM - Are once again the fastest men on the stage. Vouilloz has to start worrying about his 2nd place. Positions after SS11: 1st= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, 1h34m32s7; 2nd= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +11s1; 3rd= Camacho/Calado, Peugeot, +13s; 4th= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +23s7; 5th= Basso/Dotta, Fiat Abarth, +37s2; 6th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +47s1; 7th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +48s2; 8th= Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +1m26s8; 9th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +2m12s; 10th= Isik/Ozsenler, Fiat Abarth, +2m43s8

 P.VM SS10 - Amazing Camacho @ 05:34 PM - Opening this loop with 2nd fastest, Camacho is not 3rd by coincidence! Positions after SS10: 1st= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, 1h28m03s2; 2nd= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +8s9; 3rd= Camacho/Calado, Peugeot, +11s; 4th= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +19s7; 5th= Basso/Dotta, Fiat Abarth, +33s8; 6th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +43s8; 7th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +46s1; 8th= Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +1m19s3; 9th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +2m01s3; 10th= Isik/Ozsenler, Fiat Abarth, +2m30s3

 P.VM SS9 - Bad loop for Basso @ 03:50 PM - Basso lost 4 places and over 30s in this loop, which is now repeated. But all is very close at the front. Positions after SS9: 1st= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, 1h20m54s6; 2nd= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +9s9; 3rd= Camacho/Calado, Peugeot, +11s8; 4th= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +18s2; 5th= Basso/Dotta, Fiat Abarth, +32s7; 6th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +41s; 7th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +41s9; 8th= Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +1m12s3; 9th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +1m52s3; 10th= Isik/Ozsenler, Fiat Abarth, +2m18s9

 P.VM SS8 - Basso from 1st to 5th @ 03:18 PM - Basso tyre choice doesn't work. Look at local guy Alexandre Camacho, up to 3rd now! Positions after SS8: 1st= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, 1h11m09s; 2nd= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +7s; 3rd= Camacho/Calado, Peugeot, +10s3; 4th= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +11s1; 5th= Basso/Dotta, Fiat Abarth, +18s3; 6th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +33s5; 7th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +35s2; 8th= Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +56s9; 9th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +1m31s5; 10th= Isik/Ozsenler, Fiat Abarth, +1m58s3

 P.VM SS7 - Magalhaes further ahead @ 02:48 PM - The stage has dried and the tyre gamble did not work to Basso's advantage. But 2 more potentially wet stages in this loop. Positions after SS7: 1st= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, 1h02m17s2; 2nd= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +4s8; 3rd= Basso/Dotta, Fiat Abarth, +7s2; 4th= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +7s3; 5th= Camacho/Calado, Peugeot, +11s; 6th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +31s4; 7th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +33s6; 8th= Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +48s3; 9th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +1m17s; =10th= Solowow/Baran, Peugeot, +1m42s9 =10th= Isik/Ozsenler, Fiat Abarth, +1m42s9

 P.VM SS6 - Bruno back in lead, but... @ 02:09 PM - ...this is a tyre gable. Basso choose the tyre that should be better for the coming wet stages and paid it by dropping from lead to 3rd. If it will pay off we will see soon. Camacho wins the stage! Positions after SS6: 1st= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, 55m44s1; 2nd= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +1s; 3rd= Basso/Dotta, Fiat Abarth, +1s4; 4th= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +4s7; 5th= Camacho/Calado, Peugeot, +9s8; 6th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +26s2; 7th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +31s9; 8th= Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +40s3; 9th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +1m06s5; 10th= Solowow/Baran, Peugeot, +1m27s5

 P.VM info before SS6 @ 01:37 PM - Now there is a loop of 4 stages without service, without changing tyres. The tricky news is that the first stage crossing the island from South to North is completely dry, but the stages at the North coast are reported to be soaking wet! What tyres to choose?

 P.VM SS3 - Magalhaes vs Basso @ 10:33 AM - Magalhaes leads rally but Basso won every morning stage. Positions after SS3: 1st= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, 25m05s8; 2nd= Basso/Dotta, Fiat Abarth, +1s1; 3rd= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +2s4; 4th= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +6s5; 5th= Camacho/Calado, Peugeot, +9s5; 6th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +13s1; 7th= Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +18s6; 8th= Rosseti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +22s5; 9th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +34s; 10th= Solowow/Baran, Peugeot, +40s9

 P.VM SS2 - Magalhaes leads close field @ 09:34 AM - Bruno Magalhaes leads very close field. Bad start for Mitsubishi, whose most promising driver Fernando Peres lost 3min. Positions after SS2: 1st= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, 11m30s3; 2nd= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +0s7; 3rd= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +1s; 4th= Basso/Dotta, Fiat Abarth, +2s2; 5th= Camacho/Calado, Peugeot, +3s; 6th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +3s6; 7th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +6s; 8th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +9s; 9th= Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +9s7; 10th= Tirabassi/Gordon, Peugeot, +12s

 P.VM SS5 - Basso new leader! @ 00:38 AM - Only by 0.7s. Still 2 loops of 4 stages each to come today! Positions after SS5: 1st= Basso/Dotta, Fiat Abarth, 48m30s1; 2nd= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +0s7; 3rd= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +2s; 4th= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +8s1; 5th= Camacho/Calado, Peugeot, +14s8; 6th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +27s5; 7th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +28s3; 8th= Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +32s7; 9th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +58s6; 10th= Solowow/Baran, Peugeot, +1m12s8

 P.VM SS4 - Magalhaes replies to Basso @ 00:06 AM - First stage win of the day for narrow leader Magalhaes. Positions after SS4: 1st= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, 34m57s1; 2nd= Basso/Dotta, Fiat Abarth, +3s3; 3rd= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +3s6; 4th= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +7s2; 5th= Camacho/Calado, Peugeot, +11s5; 6th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +20s; 7th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +25s3; 8th= Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +27s4; 9th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +43s5; 10th= Solowow/Baran, Peugeot, +56s

Thu July 31, 2008

 Scandola ready for Madeiran challenge Italian driver Umberto Scandola (pictured), who has been drafted in at the last minute to replace the illness-hit Anton Alen, says he is ready for the challenge of competing on the Madeira Rally....

 Madeira TV Times The Rally Madeira gets underway this evening with a superspecial stage but the real action begins tomorrow morning. The first Eurosport show will screen Friday evening. All times stated are CET (one hour ahead of BST)...

 Rally Madeira: Preview The fifth round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge takes crews to the picturesque Atlantic island of Madeira, 650 kilometres off the North African coast, for some classic asphalt stages. The Madeira Rally is a well-known fixture on the international rally calendar, contai...

NEWS JUST IN

 P.VM SS1 - Vouilloz likes the Prominade @ 10:20 PM - The Rali Vinho Madeira kicked off with a short but very spectacular Sea Promenade stage in the island's capital Funchal. 30,000 spectators whitnessed Vouilloz winning the stage. Positions after SS1: 1st= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, 1m33s3; 2nd= Travaglia/Granai, Fiat Abarth, +1s5; 3rd= Magalhaes/Magalhaes, Peugeot, +1s7; 4th= Loix/Buysmans, Peugeot, +1s8; 5th= Tirabassi/Gordon, Peugeot, +2s; 6th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Peugeot, +2s8; 7th= Fontes/Costa, Fiat Abarth, +2s9; 8th= Pascoal/Duarte, Peugeot, +3s; 9th= Solowow/Baran, Peugeot, +3s4; 10th= Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +3s5

Wed July 30, 2008

 Alen ruled out of Madeira by virus Abarth driver Anton Alen (pictured) has been forced to pull out of this weekend´s Madeira Rally after being struck down with a virus. The Finn will be replaced on the event by Umberto Scandola, who drives for Abarth on the Italian Rally Championship....

Mon July 28, 2008

 Betti looking forward to Madeira

Sat July 26, 2008

 Rossetti aims to reclaim lead Peugeot Italy driver Luca Rossetti, who currently leads the IRC series jointly with Nicolas Vouilloz on 26 points, is aiming to re-etablish his advantage at the head of the IRC leaderboard. Rossetti won the opening two rallies of the IRC season, in Turkey and Portugal, but was...

Thu July 24, 2008

 Basso upbeat for Madeira Last year’s Rally Madeira winner, Giandomenico Basso, is feeling confident that his Abarth team can improve its performance heading into this year’s event, following a strong run on the Rally Russia. On the Russian event, the two Abarths of Anton Alen and Basso finished second...

 Madeira Curiosities Again, small island could have us confused with surnames - tempting to say incest, but that would be mean. And I actually do have dear friends there and I love the island, so no offense please. But it is so funny how only 3 surnames seem to be existing on Madeira. José Camacho th...