The 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge was the fifth season of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. The season consisted of twelve rounds and started on 19 January with the Monte Carlo Rally. The season ended on November 6, at the Cyprus Rally.
Juho Hänninen became the drivers' champion after winning Rally Scotland, the third of his rally wins during the season. Hänninen also won in Argentina and Sardinia as he finished on the podium in ten of the eleven events that he contested during the season, of which three wins and four second places counted towards the championship's best seven scores rule. Škoda Motorsport team-mate Jan Kopecký finished in second place, some 18 points behind Hänninen. Although not as consistent as his team-mate, Kopecký won one event during the season, winning in the Canary Islands.
Third place was claimed by the top Peugeot driver and reigning champion Kris Meeke, after a third place in Scotland took him ahead of Freddy Loix. Meeke's season was blighted by errors of which retiring from five of the eleven events he contested but did take a win in Brazil. Despite taking part in four rallies, Loix's tarmac expertise shone through, winning the events in Ypres, Belgium, Madeira and the Czech Republic as well as a third place in Sanremo. Four other drivers took victories during the season; World Rally Championship front-runner Mikko Hirvonen won a one-off outing in Monte Carlo, Bruno Magalhães took his first IRC win in the Azores, Paolo Andreucci won in Sanremo and Nasser Al-Attiyah won in Cyprus when many of the leading contenders skipped the event. Škoda took the manufacturers' championship after the Barum Rally Zlín in the Czech Republic.
The calendar consisted of twelve events run on two continents. Changes for 2010 season included the replacement of Rally Russia, Rally Japan and the Safari Rally with Rally Argentina, Rally d'Italia Sardegna and FxPro Cyprus Rally. [1] In March it was announced that the Rally Islas Canarias would replace the Rally Principe de Asturias as the Spanish round on the schedule, moving from September to April. [2]
Round | Dates | Event title | Rally HQ | Surface |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | January 19–23 | Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo | Valence | Asphalt |
2 | March 4–6 | Rally Internacional de Curitiba | Curitiba | Gravel |
3 | March 19–21 | Rally Argentina | Córdoba | Gravel |
4 | April 29 – May 1 | Rally Islas Canarias | Las Palmas | Asphalt |
5 | June 4–6 | Rally d'Italia Sardegna | Olbia | Gravel |
6 | June 24–26 | Ypres Rally | Ypres | Asphalt |
7 | July 15–17 | Rallye Açores | Ponta Delgada | Gravel |
8 | August 5–7 | Rali Vinho da Madeira | Funchal | Asphalt |
9 | August 27–29 | Barum Czech Rally Zlín | Zlín | Asphalt |
10 | September 23–25 | Rallye Sanremo | Sanremo | Asphalt |
11 | October 15–17 [3] | Rally Scotland | Perth | Gravel |
12 | November 4–6 | Cyprus Rally | Limassol | Asphalt/Gravel |
M-Sport (Ford) and Subaru became the latest registered manufacturers to join the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, alongside Abarth (Fiat), Honda, Ralliart (Mitsubishi), Peugeot, Proton and Škoda.
Entrant | Manufacturer [4] | Car | Driver | Co-driver | Tyres | Rounds |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Peugeot UK [5] | Peugeot | Peugeot 207 S2000 | Kris Meeke | Paul Nagle | BF | 1–11 |
Peugeot France | Sébastien Ogier | Julien Ingrassia | BF | 1 | ||
P | 5 | |||||
Stéphane Sarrazin | Jacques-Julien Renucci | BF | 1, 6 | |||
Bryan Bouffier | Xavier Panseri | 9–10 | ||||
Peugeot Sport Portugal [5] | Bruno Magalhães | Carlos Magalhães | BF | 1–8, 10 | ||
Interwetten Racing | Franz Wittmann | Klaus Wicha | BF | 1, 4–5, 9 | ||
Josefine Beinke | 12 | |||||
Bryan Bouffier | Xavier Panseri | 12 | ||||
Kimera Motorsport | Luca Betti | Alessandro Mattioda | BF | 1 | ||
Pierangelo Scalvini | 5 | |||||
Stohl Racing [6] | Daniel Oliveira | Carlos del Barrio | BF | 1, 3–4, 6–10 | ||
Denis Giraudet | 2 | |||||
Armando Miranda | 11–12 | |||||
Peugeot Team Belux | Thierry Neuville | Nicolas Klinger | BF | 4–6, 9–11 | ||
Pieter Tsjoen | Eddy Chevaillier | 6 | ||||
Yazeed Al Rajhi Team | Yazeed Al Rajhi | Matthieu Baumel | BF | 5 | ||
F.P.F. Sport SRL | Paolo Andreucci | Anna Andreussi | P | 5, 10 | ||
Peugeot Team Turkey | Burcu Çetinkaya | Çiçek Güney | Y | 5–12 | ||
Bluthunder Racing Italy | Corrado Fontana | Nicola Arena | P | 6, 8–9 | ||
Amarante Rally Team | Vítor Pascoal | Mário Castro | P | 7–8 | ||
Power Car Team | Marco Tempestini | Dorin Pulpea | P | 8 | ||
Team C.D. Nacional da Madeira | Miguel Nunes | Victor Calado | BF | 8 | ||
Nicos Thomas Racing | Nicos Thomas | Angelos Loizides | BF | 12 | ||
M-Sport Ltd. | M-Sport | Ford Fiesta S2000 | Mikko Hirvonen | Jarmo Lehtinen | P | 1 |
Julien Maurin | Gilles Thimonier | 1 | ||||
Andreas Mikkelsen | Ola Fløene | H | 5–7, 9–12 | |||
Munchi's Ford World Rally Team | Federico Villagra | Jorge Pérez Companc | P | 3 | ||
ESC. Ourense | Sergio Vallejo | Diego Vallejo | P | 4 | ||
Cersanit Rally Team | Michał Sołowow | Maciek Baran | P | 6 | ||
Team Ford Quinta do Lorde | Bernardo Sousa | Nuno Rodrigues da Silva | P | 7–8 | ||
RMC Motorsport | Miguel Campos | Aloisio Monteiro | BF | 8 | ||
Czech Ford Rally Team | Jaromír Tarabus | Daniel Trunkát | BF | 9, 12 | ||
Martin Prokop | Jan Tománek | P | 12 | |||
Car Racing | Umberto Scandola | Guido D'Amore | BF | 10 | ||
Barwa Rally Team | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Giovanni Bernacchini | P | 12 | ||
Škoda Motorsport | Škoda | Škoda Fabia S2000 | Jan Kopecký | Petr Starý | BF | 1–10 |
Juho Hänninen | Mikko Markkula | 1–11 | ||||
Nicolas Vouilloz | Benjamin Veillas | 1 | ||||
Freddy Loix | Frédéric Miclotte | 6, 8–10 | ||||
Škoda UK | Guy Wilks | Phil Pugh | BF | 1–5, 9–11 | ||
Barwa Rally Team | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Giovanni Bernacchini | P | 3 | ||
A.C. Principado de Asturias | Alberto Hevia | Alberto Iglesias | BF | 4 | ||
René Georges Rally Sport | Bernd Casier | Francis Caesemaeker | BF | 6 | ||
Škoda Delimax Czech National Team | Pavel Valoušek | Zdeněk Hrůza | BF | 9 | ||
Mogul Racing Team | Roman Kresta | Petr Gross | BF | 9 | ||
Motortune Racing | Roger Feghali | Joseph Matar | BF | 12 | ||
Astra Racing | Abarth | Abarth Grande Punto S2000 | Toni Gardemeister | Tomi Tuominen | BF | 1 |
Procar | Luca Rossetti | Matteo Chiarcossi | BF | 8 | ||
Abarth & C. Spa | 10 | |||||
Giandomenico Basso | Mitia Dotta | 10 | ||||
Tommi Mäkinen Racing | Subaru | Subaru Impreza WRX STI | Bryan Bouffier | Xavier Panseri | BF | 1 |
Barattero | Gabriel Pozzo | Daniel Stillo | P | 3 | ||
Claudio Menzi | Diego Cagnotti | 3 | ||||
Motoring Club | Teemu Arminen | Tuomo Nikkola | BF | 5 | ||
WAR Racing | Luigi Ricci | Christine Pfister | Y | 5 | ||
Subaru Team Arai | Toshihiro Arai | Daniel Barritt | P | 6 | ||
Intercontinental Motul | Ralliart | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | Oswaldo Scheer | Gilvan Jablonski | Y | 2 |
Sidinei Bröering | 3 | |||||
Eduardo Scheer | Geferson Pavinatto | 2–3 | ||||
Tango Rally Team | Federico Bassi | Jorge García Quiroga | BF | 3 | ||
Agustín Elvíra | Oscar Tagle | 3 | ||||
Agustín Rossi | Leonardo Suaya | 3 | ||||
Gonzalo Monarca | Laureano Grigera | 3 | ||||
Team Além Mar | Ricardo Moura | Sancho Eiró | BF | 7 | ||
António Costa | 8 | |||||
EuroOil Čepro Czech National Team | Václav Pech | Petr Uhel | BF | 9 | ||
Advan-Piaa Rally Team | Fumio Nutahara | Hakaru Ichino | Y | 9 | ||
DGM Sport | Jonathan Greer | Dai Roberts | P | 11 | ||
David Bogie Rallying | David Bogie | Kevin Rae | P | 11 | ||
Kresta Racing | Roman Kresta | Petr Gross | P / H | 12 | ||
Tango Rally Team | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | Nicolas Madero | Guillermo Piazzano | BF | 3 | |
Marcos Ligato | Rubén García | 3 | ||||
Luciano Bernardi | Fabian Cretu | 3 | ||||
Alejandro Cancio | Santiego García | 3 | ||||
Juan Jose Gil de Marchi | Mauro Albornoz | 3 | ||||
Escudería GPR Sport | Rubén Gracia | Diego Sanjuan | BF | 4 | ||
JRM Engineering | Per-Gunnar Andersson | Anders Fredriksson | P | 5 | ||
Heuvel Motorsport | Jasper ven den Heuvel | Martine Kolman | P | 6 | ||
Proton R3 Malaysia Rally Team | Proton | Proton Satria Neo S2000 | Chris Atkinson | Stéphane Prévot | BF | 6–7 |
Alister McRae | Bill Hayes | 6–7, 11 | ||||
Tom Cave | Craig Parry | 6–7, 11 | ||||
Niall McShea | Marshall Clarke | 9–10 | ||||
Keith Cronin | Barry McNulty | 9, 11 | ||||
Gilles Panizzi | Freddy Delorme | 10 | ||||
Catwees Honda Racing | Honda | Honda Civic Type-R R3 | Siim Plangi | Marek Sarapuu | BF | 9, 11 |
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Jan Kopecký is a professional rally driver from Czech Republic who drives for Škoda Motorsport. He is the 2013 ERC champion, 2018 WRC-2 champion as well as a multiple champion of the Czech Rally Championship.
Guy Wilks is a British rally driver. Wilks started rallying at the age of 19, but currently drives for JRM in the FIA World Rallycross Championship. In 2011 Wilks drove for Peugeot UK in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. In 2012 he did not compete.
Juho Ville Matias Hänninen is a Finnish rally driver. He is the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) champion and 2011 Super 2000 World Rally Championship (S-WRC) champion with co-driver Mikko Markkula driving a works entered Fabia S2000 for Red Bull Škoda. He also won the 2004 Group N Finnish Rally Championship title, and debuted in the World Rally Championship during the 2006 season.
Kris Meeke is a British professional rally driver from Northern Ireland, best known for competing in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). He was the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion. His co-driver is Seb Marshall . He began his career as a Computer Aided Designer with M-Sport, at the headquarters of the Ford World Rally Team, before moving on to competing in the Peugeot Super 106 Cup in 2001.
The 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge was the fourth season of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. The season consists of twelve rounds and began on January 21, with the 77° Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo. The season ended on November 21, at the inaugural RAC Rally of Scotland. With four wins, Kris Meeke won the championship ahead of Jan Kopecký and Freddy Loix.
The 2010 Rally International of Curitiba, officially 2010 Rally Internacional de Curitiba, was the second round of the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) season. It was also the first round of the South American Rally Championship and the Brazilian Rally Championship. The rally took place over 4–6 March 2010.
The 2010 Rally Argentina was the 30th running of Rally Argentina and the third round of the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge season. The rally consisted of 15 special stages and took place over 19–21 March 2010. The rally was also a round of the South American Rally Championship and the Argentine Rally Championship.
The 2010 Rally Islas Canarias was the fourth round of the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) season. The fifteen stage asphalt rally took place on the island of Gran Canaria between 29 April and 1 May 2010. The rally, which is also a round of the Spanish Asphalt Championship, was a late entry in the IRC calendar after the withdrawal of the Rally Principe de Asturias.
The 2010 GEKO Ypres Rally was the 45th running of the Ypres Rally and the sixth round of the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). The event was held between 24–26 June 2010 and was based in the town of Ypres, Belgium.
The 2010 Sata Rally Azores, officially 45º Sata Rallye Açores, was the seventh round of the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) season. The 19 stage gravel rally took place on the island of São Miguel in the Azores between 15–17 July 2010.
The 2010 Rali Vinho da Madeira, was the eighth round of the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) season. The 21 stage asphalt rally took place on the island of Madeira between 5 – 7 August 2010 with all stages running in daylight.
The 2010 Rally Scotland was the 11th round of the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge and the second running of the event. The event was held between 15 – 17 October 2010 in the forests of Stirling and Perth & Kinross. Four of the special stages were broadcast live on Eurosport.
The 2010 Rallye Sanremo, was the 10th round of the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) season and was also a round of the Italian Rally Championship. The eleven stage asphalt rally took place on 23–25 September 2010. The longest stage of the rally, Ronde, was run in darkness. All other stages were run in daylight.
The 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge was the sixth season of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. The season consisted of twelve rounds and started on 19 January with the Monte Carlo Rally. The season ended on 5 November, at the Cyprus Rally.
The 2011 Monte Carlo Rally, officially 79ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo was the first round of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) season. The rally took place between January 19–22, 2011. The event marked the centenary of the creation of the Monte Carlo Rally, which was first held on January 21, 1911.
Thierry Jean Neuville is a Belgian rally driver who is competing in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Motorsport. During his career, he has finished as runner-up in the drivers' championship five times. He helped Hyundai win their first manufacturers' title in 2019, as well as repeating the feat in 2020. His current co-driver is compatriot Martijn Wydaeghe.
The 2011 Rally Islas Canarias, was the second round of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) season. The twelve stage asphalt rally took place on the island of Gran Canaria between 14 and 16 April 2011. The rally was also a round of the Spanish Asphalt Championship.
The Škoda Fabia S2000 is a Super 2000 rally car built by Škoda Motorsport. It is based upon the Škoda Fabia road car.
The 2011 GEKO Ypres Rally, was the fifth round of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge and fourth round of the 2011 European Rally Championship. The event was held between 23–25 June 2011, and was based in the town of Ypres in Belgium.
The 2011 Cyprus Rally, officially the 39th FxPro Cyprus Rally, was the eleventh and final round of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) season. The eleven stage gravel rally took place over 3–5 November 2011.