Sun September 27, 2009

 San Remo victory crowns Meeke Kris Meeke has claimed the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge title in fine style, with victory on this weekend’s Rallye Sanremo....

Sat September 26, 2009

 Leg2 mid day quotes

 San Remo leg1 summary At the end of the first leg, made up of four special stages, a total of 85 timed kilometers, Paolo Andreucci and Anna Andreussi are leading. ...

 Andreucci flies, Kopecky crashes Italian rally stars dominate the top positions at the end of the opening day of the Rallye Sanremo, round 10 of the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge. The classic Italian event, taking place on the mountainous roads around the Riviera town of Sanremo, has become a two-way bat...

 Quotes and updates mid day leg1

 Comments at pre event press conference

NEWS JUST IN

 I end - Meeke IRC Champ! @ 03:54 PM - Meeke wins gripping San Remo and now has an 11points lead. Early rally leader Andreucci drops more places, from 4th to 6th, Travaglia gains from 5th to 3rd on last stage. Chentre drops from 8th to 13th. Abarth 2nd. End results (after SS9)(pending on last road section and scrutineering):
1st= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, 2h20m03s5;
2nd= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Fiat Abarth, +15s7;
3rd= Travaglia/Granai, Peugeot, +16s5;
4th= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +16s9;
5th= Loix/Miclotte, Peugeot, +19s8;
6th= Andreucci/Andreussi, Peugeot, +28s1;
7th= Cantamessa/Capolongo, Peugeot, +1m28s6;
8th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +1m41s8;
9th= Longhi/Imerito, Skoda, +2m03s2;
10th= Perico/Carrara, Peugeot, +2m36s2

 I SS8 - Meeke flies before last stage @ 02:34 PM - Meeke wins penultimate stage, receiving more breathing space by a slow time from Andreucci, who is now in a last stage fight with Vouilloz. Duval drops 2min with puncture. Results after SS8:
1st= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, 1h59m36s1;
2nd= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Fiat Abarth, +11s1;
3rd= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +16s7;
4th= Andreucci/Andreussi, Peugeot, +17s5;
5th= Traaglia/Granai, Peugeot, +22s1;
6th= Loix/Miclotte, Peugeot, +23s;
7th= Cantamessa/Capolongo, Peugeot, +1m28s3;
8th= Chentry/Pogliono, Peugeot, +1m29s2;
9th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +1m34s5;
10th= Longhi/Imerito, Skoda, +1m52s2

 I SS7 - Meeke spins on mini stage! @ 11:32 AM - Travaglia passes Loix. Just a 3km hillclimb stage, but demanding. Meeke's huge charge ends in a spin, making the title fight even more interesting. Top3 now just 5sec apart! 2 stages but 57km still to go. For Meeke 1st or 3rd is the difference between 3 or 7 points effective title lead going into RAC! Results after SS7:
1st= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, 1h40m29s8;
2nd= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Fiat Abarth, +3s1;
3rd= Andreucci/Andreussi, Peugeot, +5s9;
4th= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +11s1;
5th= Travaglia/Granai, Peugeot, +17s3;
6th= Loix/Miclotte, Peugeot, +18s5;
7th= Chentry/Pogliono, Peugeot, +1m18s1;
8th= Duval/Giraudet, Fiat Abarth, +1m21s2;
9th= Cantamessa/Capolongo, Peugeot, +1m21s7;
10th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +1m26s4

 I SS6 - Meeke takes crazy risks @ 10:56 AM - After leg1 Andreucci & Rossetti were in a tight battle for lead by 1.7s. Today Meeke wins both stages, in SS6 he is 16s faster than near tied Andreucci and Rossetti and Meeke takes the lead! Bad stage time for Longhi create more top10 re-shuffle Results after SS6:
1st= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, 1h38m03s4;
2nd= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Fiat Abarth, +11s4;
3rd= Andreucci/Andreussi, Peugeot, +15s8;
4th= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +20s8;
5th= Loix/Miclotte, Peugeot, +27s3;
6th= Travaglia/Granai, Peugeot, +27s7;
7th= Chentry/Pogliono, Peugeot, +1n26s5;
8th= Duval/Giraudet, Fiat Abarth, +1m28s4;
9th= Cantamessa/Capolongo, Peugeot, +1m30s;
10th= Hänninen/Markkula, Skoda, +1m35s2

 I SS5 - New Day, New Leader! @ 09:42 AM - Mega time by Meeke. Rossetti Abarth takes lead from Andreucci Peugeot by 4.3s. Results after SS5:
1st= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Fiat Abarth, 1h17m38s7;
2nd= Andreucci/Andreussi, Peugeot, +4s3;
3rd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +4s9;
4th= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +16s6;
5th= Loix/Miclotte, Peugeot, +19s7;
6th= Travaglia/Granai, Peugeot, +24s3;
7th= Longhi/Imerito, Skoda, +53s6;
8th= Chentry/Pogliano, Peugeot, +1m05s9;
9th= Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +1m08s8;
10th= Duval/Giraudet, Fiat Abarth, +1m14s6

Fri September 25, 2009

 San Remo Back to the Future After Rallye Monte Carlo another organiser showing fingers at WRC event layout changes of the last decade or so, robbing the events of their unique characters. The Rallye San Remo organisers announced before the start of their event that for 2010 they want to return to what made ...

NEWS JUST IN

 I SS4 - Mega 44km Night Stage @ 10:57 PM - All main driers surprisingly remained trouble free. Rossetti in the Abarth was absolutely flying in this stage and closes the gap to Andreucci to under 2sec overall! Vouilloz vs Meeke, Travaglia vs Longhi & Cantamessa vs Scandola all swap places. Results after SS4:
1st= Andreucci/Andreussi, Peugeot, 58m13s9;
2nd= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Fiat Abarth, +1s7;
3rd= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +12s3;
4th= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +22s5;
5th= Loix/Miclotte, Peugeot, +23s8;
6th= Travaglia/Granai, Peugeot, +31s9;
7th= Longhi/Imerito, Skoda, +38s7;
8th= Cantamessa/Capolongo, Peugeot, +58s1;
9th= Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +59s3;
10th= Chentre/Pogliano, Peugeot, +1m04s4

 I SS3 - Andreucci flies! @ 08:03 PM - 2nd stage win in a row has 'ucci in an 8s lead. Slow time (puncture?) for Perico promotes Meeke into 3rd. Results after SS3:
1st= Andreucci/Andreussi, Peugeot, 28m05s7;
2nd= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Fiat Abarth, +8s1;
3rd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +13s7;
4th= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +13s9;
5th= Loix/Miclotte, Peugeot, +15s8;
6th= Longhi/Imerito, Skoda, +18s7;
7th= Travaglia/Granai, Peugeot, +21s5;
8th= Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +36s3;
9th= Cantamessa/Capolongo, Peugeot, +38s9;
10th= Chentre/Pogliano, Peugeot, +45s4

 I SS2 - Kopecky out!!!! @ 07:00 PM - Kopecky confirmed to have lost a wheel in SS2! Meeke could secure title now in San Remo, but he needs a win to do this. Italian leaders is not for lack of competition: Hänninen is 13th, Duval 14th. Results after SS2:
1st= Andreucci/Andreussi, Peugeot, 21m07s;
2nd= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Fiat Abarth, +3s5;
3rd= Perico/Carrara, Peugeot, +4s3;
4th= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +6s3;
5th= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +7s9;
6th= Loix/Miclotte, Peugeot, +9s9;
7th= Travaglia/Granai, Peugeot, +12s6;
8th= Longhi/Imerito, Skoda, +13s5;
9th= Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +15s;
10th= Cantamessa/Capolongo, Peugeot, +21s7

 I SS1 - Flying start for Kopecky @ 06:55 PM - First stage without drama so far. First leader title candidate Kopecky, but top8 only within 5sec. Results after SS1:
1st= Kopecky/Stary, Skoda, 8m27s3;
2nd= Andreucci/Andreussi, Peugeot, +0s1;
3rd= Meeke/Nagle, Peugeot, +2s;
4th= Rossetti/Chiarcossi, Fiat Abarth, +2s5;
5th= Vouilloz/Klinger, Peugeot, +3s;
6th= Loix/Miclotte, Peugeot, +3s8;
7th= Perico/Carrara, Peugeot, +4s1;
8th= Longhi/Imerito, Skoda, +5s3;
9th= Medici/de Luis, Peugeot, +10s7;
10th= Scandola/d'Amore, Fiat Abarth, +10s8

Thu September 24, 2009

 San Remo special stage evolution

 Rallye Sanremo - Preview The glittering Rallye Sanremo takes place this weekend, one of the most historic and prestigious events on the rally calendar – and the Intercontinental Rally Challenge’s penultimate round of the 2009 season. For the IRC contenders there is the drivers’ title battle at fever pitc...

Mon September 21, 2009

 Wittmann expects a tough time in Italy In Spain Franz Wittmann missed one IRC point only by a hair’s breadth. With ninth place the young Lower Austrian nevertheless had reached his best IRC tarmac result so far and once more proven his talent. To repeat this feat in one week will be a much more difficult challenge for...

Sat September 19, 2009

 IRC situation in San Remo With two rounds still remaining before the end of the season, Rallye Sanremo (asphalt) and Rally Scotland (gravel), there are only two drivers fighting for the title, Kris Meeke (Peugeot 207 S2000, 50 points and three wins) who hopes to be able to resist the fantastic recovery of...

Thu September 17, 2009

 Duval to lead Abarth squad on Sanremo Asphalt specialist and former WRC star Francois Duval returns to the IRC with Abarth to expunge his disastrous appearance on home soil in June´s Belgium Rally Ypres. The 28-year-old star has a strong record with the Italian team and is looking forward to the event....

Wed September 16, 2009

 129 entries for 51st San Remo Entries to the 51st edition of Rallye Sanremo closed yesterday evening. Sergio Maiga, President of the Organizing Committee, collected the last fax at 11.00 pm: 129 total entries, 102 of them I.R.C., 17 Sanremo Challenge and 10 Legenda, and will start from Colombo Square in Sanre...

Mon September 7, 2009

 Cantamessa gets BFG 207 for Sanremo Luca Cantamessa has been selected to pilot the BFGoodrich Drivers’ Team entry on Rallye Sanremo, the penultimate round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge on September 24-26....