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Night stages for Rally Islas Canarias

   

Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Ingles will feature night stages when it hosts the second round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in April.

The event, which is based on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, will take place from 14-16 April. To accommodate the night-time runs, organisers have made several changes to the event itinerary with day one’s action getting underway on Friday at 13:00hrs local time and not finishing until the early hours of Saturday morning (16 April).

Crews and their teams will then get a short rest before the rally continues at 07:30hrs on Saturday. The finish is scheduled for 14:30hrs later that day.

In total the rally will feature 12 special stages with a competitive distance of 190.59 kilometres.

The bulk of the stages on Friday 15 April will focus on the south of the island initially before crews head to the north of the island for the two night stages, Valleseco and Tejeda, which start at 22:16hrs and 22:49hrs respectively.

Sunday’s stages are based in the north of the island and are the same as those used on Friday night, albeit run in reverse.

More event information is available at www.rallyislascanarias.com.

   

Jan Kopecky won Rally Islas Canarias in 2010. Night stages will feature this year

   

Neuville gets new co-driver for IRC bid

   

Thierry Neuville has acknowledged the efforts of his former co-driver Nicolas Klinger after confirming that he would be linking up with fellow Belgian Nicolas Gilsoul for the balance of his Intercontinental Rally Challenge campaign with Team Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg this year.

Neuville and Klinger, who co-drove Nicolas Vouilloz to the IRC title in 2008, teamed-up for the 2010 season and scored a best result of third place on the Geko Ypres Rally in June.

However, Neuville has decided to change navigators and has recruited Gilsoul, a 29-year-old fellow Belgian: “I would like to thank Nicolas Klinger. He is an excellent co-driver and his taking and reading of pacenotes were always perfect. Through his experience and connections I made a lot of progress in understanding rallies with him but I no longer need a big brother with me – he is 35 and I am 22. He lives in southern France, me in Belgium, and we cannot meet each week but with Nicolas [Gilsoul] we can.”

Neuville and Gilsoul’s programme of rallies will be revealed tomorrow (Friday 18 February). They will drive a Peugeot 207 Super 2000 run by the Belgian Kronos Racing team.

   

Settembrini set for more IRC events

   

Massimiliano Settembrini will tackle three more rounds of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in 2011 following his run to 23rd overall on Rallye Monte-Carlo last month.

Settembrini, a 41-year-old from Italy, will drive a Peugeot 207 Super 2000 for the Munaretto Power Car Team alongside co-driver and fellow Italian Corrado Bonato.

They will contest Rally Islas Canarais El Corte Ingles (14-16 April), Tour de Corse (13-15 May) and Rallye Sanremo (22-25 September).

“This is an ambitious challenge for which I wish to improve our very good overall result on Monte-Carlo,” said Settembrini. “For the upcoming rounds, we decided to limit competitions to all-asphalt rallies so to get a very good feeling with our Peugeot. I am really looking forward to taking part on the next IRC rounds being backed by such a great and professional team.”

   

Massimiliano Settembrini will tackle three more rounds of the IRC in 2011

   

Wilks turns to karting to keep sharp

   

Guy Wilks will prepare for the upcoming asphalt rounds of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge by racing go-karts near his home in the north east of England.

Wilks, who is driving a Peugeot UK 207 Super 2000 in the IRC this year, has taken over the running of a go-kart circuit and plans to get behind the wheel of his go-kart on a regular basis ahead of the next IRC event of the season, the all-asphalt Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Ingles in April.

Rally drivers frequently use go-karts to hone their reflexes and in order to keep fit. Wilks said: “It’s great for some Tarmac practice as I already have a Rotax Max go-kart. I can see some serious practice going on.” 

The 30-year-old Wilks also intends to keep fit by riding trials bikes and his Peugeot-built bicycle. He is currently third in the IRC drivers’ standings following his capture of the final podium spot on Rallye Monte-Carlo last month.

   

2011 IRC Permanent Press Credentials

   

The deadline for applying for a 2011 IRC Permanent Press Credential has now expired. Any Permanent Press Credentials issued but not collected on Rallye Monte-Carlo will be available for collection on Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Ingles from April 14-16.

   

High-resolution images on rally-irc.com

   

Copyright-free, high-resolution photographs from the 2011 Rallye Monte-Carlo are available to download from the Gallery section of the official IRC website. No login details are required.

   

Next event: Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Ingles (14-16 April, 2011)

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