Thu July 12, 2012

 San Marino highlights IRC importance Fabio Beradi, the Secretary of State for San Marino, has highlighted the importance of last week’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge event to Europe’s oldest sovereign state....

 Young stars savour maiden stage wins Two rising stars underlined their huge potential when the Intercontinental Rally Challenge visited San Marino last week as Germain Bonnefis and Sepp Wiegand claimed their maiden stage wins in the series....

Mon July 9, 2012

 Basso and Pirelli triumph in San Marino Giandomenico Basso has won the prestigious Rally San Marino, the seventh round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, using a Pirelli gravel tyre freely available to rally drivers and teams throughout the world....

Sun July 8, 2012

 Bonnefis gathering experience Germain Bonnefis, winner of Peugeot’s 2011 ‘Volant’ series, reached the finish of his first IRC in seventh place but was consequently disqualified. Despite being penalised by the consequences of a double puncture, he still achieved his target for the weekend which was to showc...

 RSM sees first big Fiesta RRC win Giandomenico Basso has clinched his fifth career victory in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge following a scintillating battle with Andreas Mikkelsen on the 40th running of Rally San Marino.   Mikkelsen appeared to be in the ascendancy when he won Saturday’s opening stage on...

Sat July 7, 2012

 Andreas edges thrilling battle in RSM Andreas Mikkelsen tops a dramatic fight for glory on Rally San Marino with less than 10 seconds covering the top three drivers after the opening day of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge qualifier, the second gravel event of the all-action IRC season....

NEWS JUST IN

 RSM end - Basso Fiesta Turbo wins! @ 05:06 PM - Basso wins by just 2.8s! Now to the meaning of our traditional last results headline. Puskadi goes off right after flying finish. While his time is recorded, it seems unlikely he can make it back to San Marino finish ramp! Final results (after SS13)(subject to last road section and scrutineering):
1st= Basso/Dotta, Ford, 2h35m56s6;
2nd= Mikkelsen/Floene, Skoda, +2s8;
3rd= Scandola/d'Amore, Skoda, +1m41s6;
4th= Wiegand/Gottschalk, Skoda, +2m06s2;
5th= Nikara/Kalliolepo, Subaru, +6m12s2;
6th= Szabo/Borbely, Mitsubishi, +10m15s6;
7th= Tempestini/Pulpea, Subaru, +13m22s6;
??= Puskadi/Godor, Skoda, +13m41s3;
9th= Noberasco/Michi, Mitsubishi, +13m47s9;
10th= Bujdos/Benko, Mitsubishi, +14m03s

 RSM SS12 - Now Bonnefis out @ 04:36 PM - What a tough rally. Quite slow average speeds, very technical stages. Bonnefis has a broken damper. Basso just in a tiny lead. Results after SS12:
1st= Basso/Dotta, Ford, 2h23m42s8;
2nd= Mikkelsen/Floene, Skoda, +3s8;
3rd= Scandola/d'Amore, Skoda, +1m20s3;
4th= Wiegand/Gottschalk, Skoda, +1m45s9;
5th= Nikara/Kalliolepo, Subaru, +4m57s2;
6th= Szabo/Borbely, Mitsubishi, +9m02s5;
7th= Tempestini/Pulpea, Subaru, +12m04s2;
8th= Noberasco/Michi, Mitsubishi, +12m22s6;
9th= Puskadi/Godor, Skoda, +12m41s3;
10th= Bujdos/Benko, Mitsubishi, +12m41s7

 RSM SS11 - Basso into lead @ 03:47 PM - Basso posts a very strong time, but the two stages that are left seemed to suit Mikkelsen before. Bonnefis gives up fighting Szabo as he has no tyres left. Puskadi passes Hunt for 10th. Results after SS11:
1st= Basso/Dotta, Ford, 2h18m24s9;
2nd= Mikkelsen/Floene, Skoda, +4s9;
3rd= Scandola/d'Amore, Skoda, +1m11s9;
4th= Wiegand/Gottschalk, Skoda, +1m39s1;
5th= Nikara/Kalliolepo, Subaru, +4m27s6;
6th= Szabo/Borbely, Mitsubishi, +8m30s3;
7th= Bonnefis/Fournier, Peugeot, +10m33s;
8th= Tempestini/Pulpea, Subaru, +11m36s3;
9th= Noberasco/Michi, Mitsubishi, +11m45s2;
10th= Puskadi/Godor, Skoda, +12m13s1

 RSM SS10 - And a tie yet again! @ 02:40 PM - Unbelievable! Tie in the mid day break, Mikkelsen 0-3s faster SS9, Basso 0.3s faster SS10 and we are back to status quo again! Salo retired with a water leak. Results after SS10:
=1st= Mikkelsen/Floene, Skoda, 2h05m51s1;
=1st= Basso/Dotta, Ford, +0s;
3rd= Scandola/d'Amore, Skoda, +55s1;
4th= Wiegand/Gottschalk, Skoda, +1m23s4;
5th= Nikara/Kalliolepo, Subaru, +3m42s8;
6th= Szabo/Borbely, Mitsubishi, +7m25s3;
7th= Bonnefis/Fournier, Peugeot, +9m48s5;
8th= Tempestini/Pulpea, Subaru, +10m27s5;
9th= Noberasco/Michi, Mitsubishi, +10m31s7;
10th= Hunt/Durant, Citroen, +10m47s1

 RSM SS9 - Reuche crashes out of 6th @ 02:10 PM - Laurent Reuche out unfortunately. Mikkelsen wins stage and leads rally by 0.3s each. Bonnefis has puncture and a 10s time penalty. Results after SS9:
1st= Mikkelsen/Floene, Skoda, 1h53m28s5;
2nd= Basso/Dotta, Ford, +0s3;
3rd= Scandola/d'Amore, Skoda, +43s5;
4th= Wiegand/Gottschalk, Skoda, +1m14s4;
5th= Salo/Salminen, Ford, +2m34s4;
6th= Nikara/Kalliolepo, Subaru, +2m55s2;
7th= Szabo/Borbely, Mitsubishi, +6m35s5;
8th= Tempestini/Pulpea, Subaru, +9m15s1;
9th= Noberasco/Michi, Mitsubishi, +9m19s6;
10th= Bonnefis/Fournier, Peugeot, +9m21s4

 RSM SS8 - Midday tie for lead! @ 11:26 AM - Bonnefis wins stage! Mikkelsen & Basso are tied for the lead! Scandola has a big spin but keeps 3rd. Reuche passes Nikara despite puncture. Results after SS8:
=1st= Mikkelsen/Floene, Skoda, 1h48m06s8;
=1st= Basso/Dotta, Ford, +0s;
3rd= Scandola/d'Amore, Skoda, +33s1;
4th= Wiegand/Gottschalk, Skoda, +1m06s6;
5th= Salo/Salminen, Ford, +2m10s7;
6th= Reuche/Deriaz, Peugeot, +2m37s8;
7th= Nikara/Kalliolepo, Subaru, +2m38s1;
8th= Szabo/Borbely, Mitsubishi, +6m13s1;
9th= Bonnefis/Fournier, Peugeot, +8m37s3;
10th= Noberasco/Michi, Mitsubishi, +8m41s3

 RSM SS7 - Spectacular time by Basso @ 10:39 AM - Basso wins stage 7.9s from Mikkelsen and reduces gap to just 1.3s! Salo passes Nikara. Results after SS7:
1st= Mikkelsen/Floene, Skoda, 1h35m10s3;
2nd= Basso/Dotta, Ford, +1s3;
3rd= Scandola/d'Amore, Skoda, +24s1;
4th= Wiegand/Gottschalk, Skoda, +54s6;
5th= Salo/Salminen, Ford, +2m05s1;
6th= Nikara/Kalliolepo, Subaru, +2m11s;
7th= Reuche/Deriaz, Peugeot, +2m23s7;
8th= Szabo/Borbely, Mitsubishi, +5m23s8;
9th= Tempestini/Pulpea, Subaru, +5m53s3;
10th= Angrisani/Polliscino, Mitsubishi, +6m01s6

 RSM SS6 - Mikkelsen strong start @ 09:46 AM - Mikkelsen near 1s/km faster than Basso, who in return claims not finding his rythm this morning. Results after SS6:
1st= Mikkelsen/Floene, Skoda, 1h22m34s;
2nd= Basso/Dotta, Ford, +9s2;
3rd= Scandola/d'Amore, Skoda, +18s5;
4th= Wiegand/Gottschalk, Skoda, +45s2;
5th= Nikara/Kalliolepo, Subaru, +1m47s3;
6th= Salo/Salminen, Ford, +1m57s2;
7th= Reuche/Deriaz, Peugeot, +2m06s;
8th= Angrisani/Polliscino, Mitsubishi, +4m33s2;
9th= Tempestini/Pulpea, Subaru, +4m33s6;
10th= Szabo/Borbely, Mitsubishi, +4m43s3

Fri July 6, 2012

NEWS JUST IN

 RSM leg1 - Mikkelsen leads leg1 @ 09:31 PM - Mikkelsen wins this stage too. Salo however loses a place to Nikara. Results after leg1 (SS5):
1st= Mikkelsen/Floene, Skoda, 1h17m08s1;
2nd= Basso/Dotta, Ford, +4s1;
3rd= Scandola/d'Amore, Skoda, +9s6;
4th= Wiegand/Gottschalk, Skoda, +34s;
5th= Nikara/Kalliolepo, Subaru, +1m29s7;
6th= Salo/Salminen, Ford, +1m41s6;
7th= Reuche/Deriaz, Peugeot, +1m51s5;
8th= Angrisani/Polliscino, Mitsubishi, +3m48s5;
9th= Tempestini/Pulpea, Subaru, +4m07s8;
10th= Szabo/Borbely, Mitsubishi, +4m21s9

 RSM SS4 - Mikkelsen by 2.4s @ 04:27 PM - Mikkelsen still leads by 2.4s, but Basso won most stages today. Wiegand has a spin but Scandola still in contention. Arai retired before stage with suspension damage. There is a 6.4km city centre night stage before the leg ends and 8 stages tomorrow. Results after SS4:
1st= Mikkelsen/Floene, Skoda, 1h12m13s5;
2nd= Basso/Dotta, Ford, +2s4;
3rd= Scandola/d'Amore, Skoda, +5s3;
4th= Wiegand/Gottschalk, Skoda, +31s5;
5th= Salo/Salminen, Ford, +1m12s8;
6th= Nikara/Kalliolepo, Subaru, +1m19s1;
7th= Reuche/Deriaz, Peugeot, +1m40s1;
8th= Angrisani/Polliscino, Mitsubishi, +3m34s6;
9th= Tempestini/Pulpea, Subaru, +3m41s4;
10th= Szabo/Borbely, Mitsubishi, +4m10s4

 RSM SS3 - Wiegand from 1st to 4th @ 03:28 PM - No major drama for Wiegand, it was more curious he was in the lead in the first place. Good fight between Mikkelsen and Basso developping. Mikkelsen leads but Basso catches fast. Results after SS3:
1st= Mikkelsen/Floene, Skoda, 52m14s5;
2nd= Basso/Dotta, Ford, +1s8;
3rd= Scandola/d'Amore, Skoda, +3s3;
4th= Wiegand/Gottschalk, Skoda, +4s4;
5th= Salo/Salminen, Ford, +39s9;
6th= Nikara/Kalliolepo, Subaru, +51s3;
7th= Reuche/Deriaz, Peugeot, +1m20s5;
8th= Arai/Moscatt, Subaru, +1m266s;
9th= Tempestini/Pulpea, Subaru, +2m26s5;
10th= Szabo/Borbely, Mitsubishi, +2m26s6

 RSM SS2 - Still results dodgy @ 11:59 AM - Basso wins this stage from Mikkelsen, but Wiegand still leads rally from Scandola. To note, Fiesta drivers Tamrazov & Flodin have retired after SS1. Otherwise everybody got Basso's time for SS1. Results after SS2:
1st= Wiegand/Gottschalk, Skoda, 36m30s1;
2nd= Scandola/d'Amore, Skoda, +3s3;
3rd= Mikkelsen/Floene, Skoda, +4s3;
4th= Basso/Dotta, Ford, +9s9;
5th= Salo/Salminen, Ford, +24s8;
6th= Nikara/Kalliolepo, Subaru, +29s;
7th= Arai/Moscatt, Subaru, +52s7;
8th= Reuche/Deriaz, Peugeot, +56s;
9th= Tempestini/Pulpea, Subaru, +1m14s4;
10th= Szabo/Borbely, Mitsubishi, +1m20s7

 RSM SS1 - We are lost after SS1 @ 10:54 AM - Strange things happen in an already slim entry. Basso has two spins, Mikkelsen cleans road, Scandola has engine problems, Flodin late into stage, Bonnefis then blocks stage and everybody else is delayed behind him. That means Wiegand leads 2s from Scandola, 7s from Mikkelsen and 16s from Basso, from position 5 everybody is over 2mins behind and stage times most likely have to be adjusted.

Thu July 5, 2012

 Champ Mikkelsen targets gravel scores Andreas Mikkelsen plans to score as many points as possible on the upcoming gravel rounds in San Marino and Romania as he continues his bid to become the first driver to win the Intercontinental Rally Challenge title twice....

 Bonnefis to maximise his IRC debut French rising star Germain Bonnefis has vowed to make the most of the opportunity handed to him by Peugeot Sport when he makes his Intercontinental Rally Challenge debut on Rally San Marino this week....

Wed July 4, 2012

 Kangur looks for repeat success Martin Kangur heads to the IRC San Marino Rally this weekend and is full of confidence following his brilliant 2WD Cup victory in Belgium two weeks ago. The win at the Geko Ypres Rally means the Estonian driver is now joint leader in the 2WD Driver's Cup with Harry Hunt, and...

Mon July 2, 2012

 IRC action for Germain Bonnefis In addition to his French Gravel Rally Championship commitments, Germain Bonnefis will contest next weekend’s Rally San Marino, as well as the Rallye des Cévennes (asphalt) this autumn, plus a round of the RCZ Racing Cup France at Magny-Cours later this month. The first of th...

 Mikkelsen aims for repeat success KODA UK Motorsport’s Andreas Mikkelsen is hoping to extend his lead in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge with another successful run on the San Marino Rally (July 6-7), having won the event last year en route to becoming Italian Gravel Rally champion....

Fri June 29, 2012

 In the Spotlight: Dario d'Esposito A double Rally San Marino-winning co-driver, D’Esposito is now the team co-ordinator for ŠKODA UK Motorsport, which runs Andreas Mikkelsen’s IRC title-winning Fabia Super 2000 ...

 Preview: Rallye San Marino FULL PREVIEW: 2012 Intercontinental Rally Challenge, round seven of 13 Rally San Marino, 5-7 July   Rally San Marino preview: IRC stars back on gravel...

Sat June 2, 2012

 Paddon to make IRC debut in San Marino Hayden Paddon will do battle with leading runners from the Intercontinental Rally Challenge for the first time when he contests Rally San Marino next month. ...

Thu April 26, 2012

 San Marino will be a hit says Andreucci Paolo Andreucci says Rally San Marino will be a big hit when it joins the Intercontinental Rally Challenge for the first time this season....

Tue April 24, 2012

 Rallye San Marino to be IRC highlight Intercontinental Rally Challenge bosses are promising another exciting addition to the all-action series when Rally San Marino hosts a round of the IRC for the first time from 5-7 July....