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 series introduced a new points system for the 2011 season, applying the FIA points system – 25–18–15–12–10–8–6–4–2–1 [1] – which had been introduced to other championships within the last twelve months. Within the new system, the final two events in Scotland and Cyprus offered more points via a scoring coefficient. [1] Scotland offered crews points on a 1.5 coefficient, meaning that the winner earned 37.5 points, second place 27 points, third place 22.5 points and so on. In Cyprus, double points were offered, meaning the winner received 50 points, second place 36, third place 30 and so forth. The rule was intended to increase the number of entries for the final two rounds, although Bouffier (who was still in mathematical contention for the title) did not participate in Cyprus. [2]
Argentina was cancelled, meaning the calendar had a large proportion of tarmac events. Extra points for the final two gravel rallies meant that tarmac specialists would not necessarily dominate, however. The Proton Satria Neos were not as competitive as the Škoda Fabias or Peugeot 207s. The Monte Carlo Rally had several notable appearances, including François Delecour and 2003 World Rally Champion Petter Solberg. The final two rallies were won by Andreas Mikkelsen, who also took two other podiums and the most stage wins during the season en-route to the championship. [3]
The calendar had consisted of twelve events run on two continents. The schedule will include two new countries, France (Tour de Corse, former WRC event) and Hungary (Asphalt/Gravel Mecsek Rallye), plus a return to Argentina for the new gravel-based Rally de los Alerces. [4] The final calendar was released on 10 December 2010, with the Prime Yalta Rally in Ukraine added, and the Rally Islas Canarias listed without a confirmed date. [5] Rally Islas Canarias was reinstated to the calendar on 19 January 2011 at the expense of Rally de los Alerces, which was cancelled. [6] Rali Vinho da Madeira was later dropped in June 2011. [7]
Round | Dates | Event title | Rally HQ | Surface |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 19–22 January | Monte Carlo Rally | Valence | Asphalt |
2 | 14–16 April | Rally Islas Canarias | Las Palmas | Asphalt |
3 | 12–14 May | Tour de Corse | Ajaccio | Asphalt |
4 | 2–4 June | Prime Yalta Rally | Yalta | Asphalt |
5 | 23–25 June | Ypres Rally | Ypres | Asphalt |
6 | 14–16 July | Rallye Açores | Ponta Delgada | Gravel |
7 | 26–28 August | Barum Czech Rally Zlín | Zlín | Asphalt |
8 | 9–11 September | Mecsek Rallye | Pécs | Asphalt |
9 | 22–24 September | Rallye Sanremo | Sanremo | Asphalt |
10 | 7–9 October [8] | Rally Scotland | Perth | Gravel |
11 | 3–5 November | Cyprus Rally | Limassol | Asphalt/Gravel |
Peugeot UK had already confirmed their entry for the 2011 season with Guy Wilks [9] who previously raced for Škoda UK instead of 2009 champion Kris Meeke who made the switch to World Rally Championship (WRC) driving for MINI. [10] 2003 World Rally champion Petter Solberg made a one-off appearance at the Monte Carlo Rally for Peugeot. Škoda UK, had also announced their plan to compete in IRC in 2011. [11] The team's single car was occupied by Andreas Mikkelsen, who competed in the Skoda Italia-run car, alongside the works cars of the top two drivers in 2010, Juho Hänninen and Jan Kopecký. [12]
Entrant/Team | Manufacturer [13] | Car | Driver | Co-driver | Tyres | Rounds |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Škoda Motorsport | Škoda | Škoda Fabia S2000 | Juho Hänninen | Mikko Markkula | M | 1–2, 4, 6–7, 10–11 |
Jan Kopecký | Petr Starý | All | ||||
Nicolas Vouilloz | Benjamin Veillas | 1 | ||||
Freddy Loix | Frédéric Miclotte | 1 | ||||
BFO-Škoda Rally Team | 2–3, 5, 7–11 | |||||
Škoda UK | Andreas Mikkelsen | Ola Fløene | M | All | ||
Škoda Auto Deutschland | Mark Wallenwein | Stefan Kopczyk | M | 1, 7–8, 11 | ||
Matthias Kahle | Peter Göbel | 7–8, 10–11 | ||||
TGS Worldwide OÜ | Toni Gardemeister | Tapio Suominen | H | 2–5, 7–10 | ||
Škoda Sweden | Patrik Sandell | Staffan Parmander | M | 3–4 | ||
P | 6–7, 10–11 | |||||
ME3 Rally Team | Karl Kruuda | Martin Järveoja | M | 4–5, 7–11 | ||
Autostal Duindistel | Bernd Casier | Francis Caesemaeker | M | 5 | ||
Wevers Sport | Hans Weijs | Bjorn Degandt | BF | 5 | ||
Mark van Eldik | Robin Buysmans | 5 | ||||
Edwin Schilt | Lisette Bakker | 5 | ||||
Simpsons Škoda | Jonathan Greer | Dai Roberts | P | 5, 10 | ||
Škoda Ireland | Robert Barrable | Damien Connolly | P | 5 | ||
M | 7, 10 | |||||
Adell Mogul Racing Team | Roman Kresta | Petr Gross | M | 7 | ||
Škoda Rally Team Hungaria | Norbert Herczig | Kálmán Benics | M | 8 | ||
Red Bull Škoda | Hermann Gassner | Timo Gottschalk | M | 8 | ||
René Georges Motorsport | Burcu Çetinkaya | Çiçek Güney | Y | 10–11 | ||
Peugeot France | Peugeot | Peugeot 207 S2000 | Petter Solberg | Chris Patterson | M | 1 |
Bryan Bouffier | Xavier Panseri | M | 1–10 | |||
Stéphane Sarrazin | Jacques-Julien Renucci | M | 1 | |||
Robert Bútor | Igor Bacigál | M | 8 | |||
Enjolras Sport | François Delecour | Dominique Savignoni | M | 1, 3 | ||
Peugeot UK | Guy Wilks | Phil Pugh | M | 1–10 | ||
Astra Racing | Toni Gardemeister | Tomi Tuominen | M | 1 | ||
Peugeot Sport Portugal | Bruno Magalhães | Paulo Grave | M | 1–3, 5–6, 8–9 | ||
Friulmotor | Giandomenico Basso | Mitia Dotta | M | 1 | ||
Peugeot Team Belux | Thierry Neuville | Nicolas Klinger | M | 1 | ||
Nicolas Gilsoul | 2–5, 7–11 | |||||
Pieter Tsjoen | Lara Vanneste | 5 | ||||
Kimera Motorsport | Luca Betti | Alessandro Mattioda | M | 1 | ||
Maurizio Barone | 5, 7 | |||||
Munaretto Sport | Max Settembrini | Corrado Bonato | M | 1–3 | ||
David Boselli | 9 | |||||
Marco Tempestini | Dorin Pulpea | 1, 4, 8 | ||||
Pierre Campana | Sabrina De Castelli | 3, 5, 9 | ||||
Doros Loucaides | Costas Laos | 11 | ||||
AMP Classic Team | Jonathan Pérez | Enrique Velasco | M | 2 | ||
Yazeed Al Rajhi Team | Yazeed Al Rajhi | Mathieu Baumel | M | 3 | ||
Peugeot Delimax Czech National Team | Pavel Valoušek | Zdeněk Hrůza | M | 7 | ||
Peugeot Total Hungária Rallye Team | János Tóth | Róbert Tagai | M | 8 | ||
National Proklama | Alessandro Perico | Fabrizio Carrara | P | 9 | ||
Petter Solberg World Rally Team | M-Sport | Ford Fiesta S2000 | Henning Solberg | Ilka Minor | M | 1 |
Team Emap Yacco | Julien Maurin | Olivier Ural | M | 1, 3, 5–6 | ||
AT Rally Team | Oleksiy Tamrazov | Ivan German | M | 3–4, 7 | ||
Cersanit Rally Team | Michał Sołowow | Maciek Baran | P | 5, 7 | ||
Keltech Motorsport | Craig Breen | Gareth Roberts | P | 7, 10 | ||
Synergon Turán Motorsport | Frigyes Turán | Gábor Zsiros | M | 8 | ||
Car Racing | Umberto Scandola | Guido D'Amore | M | 9 | ||
M-Sport | Alastair Fisher | Daniel Barritt | P | 10 | ||
Barwa World Rally Team | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Giovanni Bernacchini | P | 11 | ||
Proton Motorsport | Proton | Proton Satria Neo S2000 | Per-Gunnar Andersson | Emil Axelsson | M | 1–2, 4–5, 7–8, 10 |
Chris Atkinson | Stéphane Prévot | M | 1, 9 | |||
Giandomenico Basso | Mitia Dotta | M | 2, 4–5, 7–9 | |||
Oleksandr Saliuk | Evgen Chervonenko | M | 4 | |||
Alister McRae | Bill Hayes | M | 10 | |||
Dytko Sport | Ralliart | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | Andreas Aigner | Daniela Ertl | M | 1 |
Amarante Rally Team | Vítor Pascoal | Luis Ramalho | M | 6 | ||
Team Além Mar | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | Ricardo Moura | Sancho Eiró | M | 6 | |
David Bogie Rallying | David Bogie | Kevin Rae | P | 10 | ||
Sonax Racing | Jarkko Nikara | Petri Nikara | Y | 10 | ||
Nicos Thomas Racing | Nicos Thomas | Angelos Loizides | M | 11 | ||
Heuvel Motorsport | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X R4 | Jasper van den Heuvel | Martine Kolman | P | 5 | |
EuroOil Čepro Czech National Team | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX R4 | Václav Pech | Petr Uhel | M | 7 | |
Martevo Kft. | György Aschenbrenner | Zsuzsa Pikó | Y | 8 | ||
Team Arai | Subaru | Subaru Impreza R4 | Toshihiro Arai | Dale Moscatt | Y | 3, 6, 8, 10–11 |
Advan Team Nutahara | Fumio Nutahara | Hakaru Ichino | Y | 6–7, 10 | ||
Eurosol Racing Team Hungary | Volkswagen | Volkswagen Polo S2000 | László Vizin | Gábor Zsiros | M | 4, 7 |
National Proklama | Abarth | Abarth Grande Punto S2000 | Luca Rossetti | Matteo Chiarcossi | M | 5 |
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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.
Andreas Mikkelsen is a Norwegian rally driver. He is currently competing in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT. He previously drove for the factory teams of Volkswagen and Citroën, finishing third in the drivers' standings in 2014, 2015 and 2016. His current co-driver is Torstein Eriksen.
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.
Rally Scotland was a forest rally held in central Scotland as a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). The first event was held in 2009 and included stages that were last used over 20 years ago on the RAC Rally.
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