[IRC] Circuit of Ireland Rally 2012

[Pinto]

From listening to the IRC radio, all the stages will be free except the Titanic stage, which to me is brilliant.

I will be there competing on the International event with Chris Ingram in the Twingo R2 Evo

Stages allways free over here,it's just a case of get your maps and head to the stages,saw the pice in Motorsport news on ye best of luck to ye over the Easter weekend

Magarrity out this week on the midland rally as a shakedown for the circuit

[Tom206wrc]

I hope Bryan Bouffier will be there

[Pinto]

Beleive the entrylist should be published today??

no it will be out on friday

[Pinto]

I hope Bryan Bouffier will be there

yes would hope as well but i have herd no talk of this happening

[52Paddy]

I had this event in the back of my mind for the past few months. It was still a possibility for me to attend until recently when my road car packed in

[Pinto]

im hearing 40 entries in the IRC section and another 60 national runners also there may be another mini on the event,im sure tomorrow will leave things a bit clearer

[Plan9]

There will be a Rally Forum at this event:

Star guests at the Circuit of Ireland Rally Forum (news, cars, other, circuit_of_ireland_2012_rally_forum) - UTV Drive Magazine

Looks like it could be quite interesting. Might be worth going to hear the latest from Kris if nothing else.

[Tom206wrc]

Entrylist

[noel157]

No full entry list yet. It might be worth waiting for, maybe not..............

Full Skoda team, Andreas, Jan and Juho. New plan from Skoda?


Press release from today:

GLOBAL RALLY SUPERSTARS CONFIRM CIRCUIT ENTRIES
Entry list revealed for 2012 Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally

A spectacular line up of international drivers has been revealed for the 2012 Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally, including reigning IRC Champion, Andreas Mikkelsen.

The Rally entry list is packed with entries from both international and local rally heroes who will be battling the clock this Easter Weekend 6/7 April for the coveted Circuit title.

This year the entrants will have the added pressure of the Titanic Super Special Stage which takes place at 5pm on Good Friday in Titanic Quarter, Belfast.

Andreas Mikkelsen, the youngest champion in the history of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, will spearhead the line-up of for the Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland at Easter. The 22-year-old Norwegian, who won the IRC title in dramatic fashion in the final event of last season, leads a powerful Skoda assault on the rally which begins from Belfast City Hall on Good Friday (April 6).

Mikkelsen will be backed up by Finland’s Juho Hanninen, the champion in 2010, and Czech Jan Kopecky, who has been runner-up in the series for the past three years, as Skoda seek to retain the manufacturers’ championship.

Super 2000 Skoda Fabias will also be driven by rising German star Sepp Wiegand and Ireland’s 2010 Billy Coleman Award winner Robert Barrable, the former UK and Irish Citroen Trophy champion.

Mikkelsen, who drives for the Skoda UK team, became champion when he won the final two 2011 rounds in Scotland and Cyprus, snatching the title from under the nose of Kopecky, and this season has followed up with victory in the Azores, the first driver to win three IRC rallies in a row.

He also led round two, the Corte Ingles Rally in the Canary Islands, until the last stage but an engine problem saw him fall back and lose out to Kopecky.

No stranger to the Circuit of Ireland having begun his career as a teenager, not in his native Norway, but on Irish and UK events, Mikkelsen has graduated to the top of the IRC rankings and returns to Belfast as the charismatic fresh face of international rallying.

Mikkelsen is No.1 in a starting list of more than 100 cars in the international and national categories of the rally which will also see the Peugeot challenge led by Ireland’s World Academy champion Craig Breen, who is now the current leader of the World Super 2000 championship.

The 22-year-old from Waterford will move from Ford to Peugeot to join the French Sainteloc team for the first of four IRC appearances in an evolution 207. His team-mate will be Mathieu Arzeno, one of France’s most exciting young talents and a protégé of World champion Sebastien Loeb.

Top Ulster driver in the entry list is Alastair Fisher, 23-year-old nephew of three times Circuit of Ireland winner Bertie Fisher.

Fisher has set his sights on succeeding Breen as WRC Academy champion this year but will make three IRC appearances in an S2000 Ford Fiesta run by M-Sport, Ford’s World championship team.

Irish drivers will be strongly represented in the IRC two-wheel-drive Cup category where Marty McCormack, reigning British F2 champion, and Mark Donnelly, current leader of the British series, are among the leading entries. They take on experienced Europeans such as France’s Robert Consani and Hungary’s Menyhert Krozser.

Former Irish Tarmac champions Derek McGarrity and Eugene Donnelly head the national entry, McGarrity in one of the new WRC Minis and Donnelly in a WRC Toyota Corolla.

They will be followed over the City Hall start ramp by Darren Gass (Subaru), winner of the opening round of this year’s Tarmac championship, the Galway International, and three times Northern Ireland champion Kenny McKinstry (Subaru).

Bobby Willis, Event Director of the 2012 Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally, is delighted with the entry field:

“The entry list is really strong for this year’s Circuit. The interest and support from the many international drivers wanting to get involved has been fantastic. But as always, it’s also great to see the entries flood in from our local Rally talent.

“The purpose built Titanic Super Special Stage on Good Friday will be spectacular for spectators and competitors alike. For the drivers, this is a particularly challenging stage and for the spectators, this is an incredible opportunity to see the action up close.”

Edit- Max rally on Skoda-

Skoda looks set to revise its policy of alternating Juho Hanninen and Jan Kopecky in its factory Intercontinental Rally Challenge team this season after confirming that both drivers will contest next month’s Circuit of Ireland.

Hanninen took part on the season-opener in the Azores back in February but was stood down for the last event in Canary Islands in favour of Kopecky, who promptly claimed victory having missed the trip to Sao Miguel.

Following his victory in Gran Canaria, which came after rival Andreas Mikkelsen was slowed by a mechanical fault on the final stage, Kopecky said he was unsure when his next appearance in the IRC would be.

“All I know is [this] weekend I am doing the Czech championship,” said Kopecky. “For the IRC it is open and I have no pressure about the drivers’ standings because I am here to help Skoda win the [manufacturers’] title.”

Mikkelsen, meanwhile, is confirmed for all 13 IRC rounds this season in his Skoda UK-backed Fabia.

The Circuit of Ireland has attracted approximately 100 entries between the national and international events from April 6/7. In addition to Hanninen, Kopecky and Mikkelsen, Mathieu Arzeno and Craig Breen are confirmed in a brace of Peugeot 207 S2000s, with Alastair Fisher the lone Ford Fiesta S2000 runner. Robert Barrable and Sepp Wiegand will also drive Fabia S2000s.

[Bartek]

Another rally without Bouffier