Monte Carlo's rebel rally
2011-01-18 07:30
MONTE CARLO MAN: Former WRC stalwart Peter Solberg will be racing past his apartment during the Monte Carlo rally, the first event of the 2011 IRC series.
Author: Daniel Ortelli
Defending
IRC champion Juho Hanninen of Finland and Norway's Petter Solberg will
headline the season-opening centenary Monte Carlo Rally when it roars
into gear on Wednesday.
The event, previously part of the
superior World Rally circuit, was first won by Frenchman Henri Rougier
in a Turcat-Mery back in 1911. Now it is on the rival breakaway IRC
circuit.
Solberg on home turf
Monaco-resident Solberg, the 2003 WRC champion, will be
driving a Peugeot 207 and looking for his first win since 2005 before
opening his WRC campaign in Sweden in February, 2011 in a Citroen DS3.
Twelve other Peugeot 207 cars will compete as the French automaker seeks to repeat its 2009 podium sweep behind Sebastien Ogier.
Czech
automaker Skoda will be hoping title-holder Hanninen can improve on his
second place in the 2010 Monte but he will also switch to the WRC
circuit later in 2011 and will not defend his IRC crown.
Hanninen
will be joined in the Czech team by Jan Kopecky (runner-up in the IRC
for the previous two seasons), 2008 IRC champion Nicolas Vouilloz of
France and Belgian Freddy Loix who has six IRC wins, more than any
other driver.
Vouilloz won the 2008 title for Peugeot. He has
the advantage of being from nearby Nice so able to get in some
practice. He’ll be a driver to watch as he tries to win here for the
first time; he was third in 2010.
Solberg, however, can take
heart from the fact that another Scandinavian, Finn Mikko Hirvonen, won
the Monte in 2010 after leading from start to finish in a Ford Fiesta.
Competition Protons?
On
the exotic side, there will be two Malaysian Protons, prepared in
England for Australian driver Chris Atkinson and Sweden's PG Anderson.
The latter won two Junior WRC championships and was a test pilot for
Suzuki.
The event will really start tonight (January 18) with a
presentation of the teams and cars and a mass autograph session but the
real action will get under way Wednesday with three much- anticipated
specials in the mountainous Ardeche region.
Thursday's racing
will have a retro feel with the route following that used back in the
1970’s and Friday's final stages will run through the high Alps from
Valence to Monte Carlo; it will be reserved for the 60 top-ranked cars.
The
Monte Carlo Automoble Club received a huge 305 applications for this
the centenary edition but only 120 teams will take part in what is
actually the 79th edition. Why? Because the event was twice interrupted
by the two World Wars.
The course for this the first of 13
three-day events will have 13 specials totalling 337km out of a total
distance of 1341km on tarmac only.
The final race of the season will be on the island of Cyprus in November.
