2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge
Introduction 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.
Calendar 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. 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. Round Dates Event title Rally HQ Surface 1January 19–23  Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo   Valence  Asphalt  2March 4–6  Rally Internacional de Curitiba   Curitiba  Gravel  3March 19–21  Rally Argentina   Córdoba  Gravel  4April 29 – May 1 Rally Islas Canarias   Las Palmas  Asphalt 5June 4–6  Rally d'Italia Sardegna    Olbia Gravel  6June 24–26  Ypres Rally   Ypres  Asphalt 7July 15–17  Rallye Açores   Ponta Delgada   Gravel  8August 5–7  Rali Vinho da Madeira   Funchal  Asphalt  9August 27–29  Barum Czech Rally Zlín   Zlín  Asphalt  10September 23–25  Rallye Sanremo   Sanremo  Asphalt 11October 15–17  Rally Scotland   Perth  Gravel 12November 4–6  Cyprus Rally   Limassol Asphalt/Gravel
Selected entries 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 Car Driver Co-driver Tyres Rounds  Peugeot UK Peugeot Peugeot 207 S2000  Kris Meeke  Paul Nagle  1–11  Peugeot France  Sébastien Ogier  Julien Ingrassia  1  5  Stéphane Sarrazin  Jacques-Julien Renucci  1, 6  Bryan Bouffier  Xavier Panseri 9–10  Peugeot Sport Portugal  Bruno Magalhães  Carlos Magalhães  1–8, 10  Interwetten Racing  Franz Wittmann  Klaus Wicha  1, 4–5, 9  Josefine Beinke 12  Bryan Bouffier  Xavier Panseri 12  Kimera Motorsport  Luca Betti  Alessandro Mattioda  1  Pierangelo Scalvini 5  Stohl Racing  Daniel Oliveira  Carlos del Barrio  1, 3–4, 6–10  Denis Giraudet 2  Armando Miranda 11–12  Peugeot Team Belux  Thierry Neuville  Nicolas Klinger  4–6, 9–11  Yazeed Al Rajhi Team  Yazeed Al Rajhi  Matthieu Baumel  5  F.P.F. Sport SRL  Paolo Andreucci  Anna Andreussi  5, 10  Peugeot Team Turkey  Burcu Çetinkaya  Çiçek Güney  5–12  Bluthunder Racing Italy  Corrado Fontana  Nicola Arena  6, 8–9  Autostal Duindistel  Pieter Tsjoen  Eddy Chevaillier  6  Amarante Rally Team  Vítor Pascoal  Mário Castro  7–8  Power Car Team  Marco Tempestini  Dorin Pulpea  8  Team C.D. Nacional da Madeira  Miguel Nunes  Victor Calado  8  Nicos Thomas Racing  Nicos Thomas  Angelos Loizides  12  M-Sport Ltd. M-Sport  Ford Fiesta S2000  Mikko Hirvonen  Jarmo Lehtinen  1  Julien Maurin  Gilles Thimonier 1  Andreas Mikkelsen  Ola Fløene  5–7, 9–12  Munchi's Ford World Rally Team  Federico Villagra  Jorge Pérez Companc  3  ESC. Ourense  Sergio Vallejo  Diego Vallejo  4  Cersanit Rally Team  Michał Sołowow  Maciek Baran  6  Team Ford Quinta do Lorde  Bernardo Sousa  Nuno Rodrigues da Silva  7–8  RMC Motorsport  Miguel Campos  Aloisio Monteiro  8  Czech Ford Rally Team  Jaromír Tarabus  Daniel Trunkát  9, 12  Martin Prokop  Jan Tománek  12  Car Racing  Umberto Scandola  Guido D'Amore  10  Barwa Rally Team  Nasser Al-Attiyah  Giovanni Bernacchini  12  Škoda Motorsport Škoda Škoda Fabia S2000  Jan Kopecký  Petr Starý  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  1–5, 9–11  Barwa Rally Team  Nasser Al-Attiyah  Giovanni Bernacchini  3  A.C. Principado de Asturias  Alberto Hevia  Alberto Iglesias  4  René Georges Rally Sport  Bernd Casier  Francis Caesemaeker  6  Škoda Delimax Czech National Team  Pavel Valoušek  Zdeněk Hrůza  9  Mogul Racing Team  Roman Kresta  Petr Gross  9  Motortune Racing  Roger Feghali  Joseph Matar  12  Astra Racing Abarth  Abarth Grande Punto S2000  Toni Gardemeister  Tomi Tuominen  1  Procar  Luca Rossetti  Matteo Chiarcossi  8  Abarth & C. Spa 10  Giandomenico Basso  Mitia Dotta 10  Tommi Mäkinen Racing Subaru Subaru Impreza WRX STI  Bryan Bouffier  Xavier Panseri  1  Barattero  Gabriel Pozzo  Daniel Stillo  3  Claudio Menzi  Diego Cagnotti 3  Motoring Club  Teemu Arminen  Tuomo Nikkola  5  WAR Racing  Luigi Ricci  Christine Pfister  5  Subaru Team Arai  Toshihiro Arai  Daniel Barritt  6  Intercontinental Motul Ralliart  Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX  Oswaldo Scheer  Gilvan Jablonski  2  Sidinei Bröering 3  Eduardo Scheer  Geferson Pavinatto 2–3  Tango Rally Team  Federico Bassi  Jorge García Quiroga  3  Agustín Elvíra  Oscar Tagle 3  Agustín Rossi  Leonardo Suaya 3  Gonzalo Monarca  Laureano Grigera 3  Team Além Mar  Ricardo Moura  Sancho Eiró  7  António Costa 8  EuroOil Čepro Czech National Team  Václav Pech  Petr Uhel  9  Advan-Piaa Rally Team  Fumio Nutahara  Hakaru Ichino  9  DGM Sport  Jonathan Greer  Dai Roberts  11  David Bogie Rallying  David Bogie  Kevin Rae  11  Kresta Racing  Roman Kresta  Petr Gross / 12  Tango Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X  Nicolas Madero  Guillermo Piazzano  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  4  JRM Engineering  Per-Gunnar Andersson  Anders Fredriksson  5  Heuvel Motorsport  Jasper ven den Heuvel  Martine Kolman  6  Proton R3 Malaysia Rally Team Proton Proton Satria Neo S2000  Chris Atkinson  Stéphane Prévot  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  9, 11
Results  Round Rally name Podium finishers Rank Driver Car Time 1 / Monte Carlo Rally(January 19–23) — '''''Results and report'''''1  Mikko Hirvonen Ford Fiesta S2000 4:32:58.52  Juho Hänninen Škoda Fabia S2000 4:34:49.93  Nicolas Vouilloz Škoda Fabia S2000 4:36:17.6 2  Rally Internacional de Curitiba(March 4–6) — '''''Results and report'''''1  Kris Meeke Peugeot 207 S2000 1:42:45.42  Guy Wilks Škoda Fabia S2000 1:43:32.13  Juho Hänninen Škoda Fabia S2000 1:44:05.6 3  Rally Argentina(March 19–21) — '''''Results and report'''''1  Juho Hänninen Škoda Fabia S2000 2:30:38.12  Guy Wilks Škoda Fabia S2000 2:31:29.13  Jan Kopecký Škoda Fabia S2000 2:32:58.2 4  Rally Islas Canarias(April 29 – May 1) — '''''Results and report'''''1  Jan Kopecký Škoda Fabia S2000 2:12:27.42  Juho Hänninen Škoda Fabia S2000 2:12:36.53  Guy Wilks Škoda Fabia S2000 2:13:03.8 5  Rally d'Italia Sardegna(June 4–6) — '''''Results and report'''''1  Juho Hänninen Škoda Fabia S2000 2:31:28.62  Paolo Andreucci Peugeot 207 S2000 2:32:04.23  Jan Kopecký Škoda Fabia S2000 2:32:06.8 6  Ypres Rally(June 24–26) — '''''Results and report'''''1  Freddy Loix Škoda Fabia S2000 2:35:36.92  Jan Kopecký Škoda Fabia S2000 2:35:58.33  Thierry Neuville Peugeot 207 S2000 2:37:42.4 7  Rallye Açores(July 15–17) — '''''Results and report'''''1  Bruno Magalhães Peugeot 207 S2000 2:34:00.42  Kris Meeke Peugeot 207 S2000 2:35:00.53  Juho Hänninen Škoda Fabia S2000 2:35:21.1 8  Rali Vinho da Madeira(August 5–7) — '''''Results and report'''''1  Freddy Loix Škoda Fabia S2000 3:08:14.32  Jan Kopecký Škoda Fabia S2000 3:08:52.13  Juho Hänninen Škoda Fabia S2000 3:10:40.1 9  Barum Czech Rally Zlín(August 27–29) — '''''Results and report'''''1  Freddy Loix Škoda Fabia S2000 2:31:31.02  Juho Hänninen Škoda Fabia S2000 2:31:56.03  Pavel Valoušek Škoda Fabia S2000 2:32:51.2 10  Rallye Sanremo(September 23–25) — '''''Results and report'''''1  Paolo Andreucci Peugeot 207 S2000 2:35:32.72  Juho Hänninen Škoda Fabia S2000 2:35:37.13  Freddy Loix Škoda Fabia S2000 2:36:06.8 11  Rally Scotland(October 15–17) — '''''Results and report'''''1  Juho Hänninen Škoda Fabia S2000 2:01:07.42  Andreas Mikkelsen Ford Fiesta S2000 2:01:32.93  Kris Meeke Peugeot 207 S2000 2:04:31.6 12  Cyprus Rally(November 4–6) — '''''Results and report'''''1  Nasser Al-Attiyah Ford Fiesta S2000 3:11:53.52  Roger Feghali Škoda Fabia S2000 3:12:24.23  Martin Prokop Ford Fiesta S2000 3:16:35.5
Standings ===Drivers===* Only the best seven scores from each driver counted towards the championship. Pos Driver MON CUR ARG CAN SAR YPR AZO MAD ZLI SAN SCO CYP  T. Pts   Drop   Pts  1  Juho Hänninen 2 3 1 2 1 Ret 3 3 2 2 1 80 18 62 2  Jan Kopecký 5 4 3 1 3 2 Ret 2 Ret 6 50 3 47 3  Kris Meeke Ret 1 Ret 4 Ret Ret 2 Ret 4 4 3 39 39 4  Freddy Loix 1 1 1 3 36 36 5  Bruno Magalhães 7 5 6 5 5 6 1 Ret 10 30 30 6  Guy Wilks 6 2 2 3 Ret 7 Ret Ret 27 27 7  Andreas Mikkelsen Ret 5 4 5 Ret 2 Ret 21 21 8  Paolo Andreucci 2 1 18 18 9  Thierry Neuville Ret 4 3 Ret 8 Ret 12 12 10  Nasser Al-Attiyah Ret 1 10 10 11  Mikko Hirvonen 1 10 10 12  Roger Feghali 2 8 8 13  Martin Prokop 3 6 6 14  Pavel Valoušek 3 6 6 15  Nicolas Vouilloz 3 6 6 16  Jaromír Tarabus 8 4 6 6 17  Stéphane Sarrazin 4 Ret 5 5 18  David Bogie 4 5 5 19  Bernd Casier 4 5 5 20  Miguel Nunes 4 5 5 21  Gabriel Pozzo 4 5 5 22  Ricardo Moura 5 10 4 4 23  Luca Rossetti Ret 5 4 4 24  Vítor Sá 5 4 4 25  Nicos Thomas 5 4 4 26  Federico Villagra 5 4 4 27  Siim Plangi Ret 6 4 4 28  Vítor Pascoal 6 18 3 3 29  Roman Kresta Ret 6 3 3 30  Eduardo Scheer 6 Ret 3 3 31  Teemu Arminen 6 3 3 32  Filipe Freitas 6 3 3 33  Alberto Hevia 6 3 3 34  Václav Pech 6 3 3 35  Eamonn Boland 19 7 3 3 36  Daniel Oliveira 20 7 Ret Ret Ret 21 Ret Ret Ret Ret 2 2 37  Giandomenico Basso 7 2 2 38  Nicolás Madero 7 2 2 39  João Magalhães 7 2 2 40  Luigi Ricci 7 2 2 41  Michał Sołowow 7 2 2 42  Charalambos Timotheou 7 2 2 43  Pedro Vale 7 2 2 44  Burcu Çetinkaya Ret Ret 19 44 38 8 15 2 2 45  Ruben Gracia 12 2 2 46  Daniele Batistini 8 1 1 47  Luca Betti Ret 8 1 1 48  Diego Domínguez 8 1 1 49  Sérgio Silva 8 1 1 50  Constantinos Tingirides 8 1 1 51  Jean-Sébastien Vigion 8 1 1 52  Harry Hunt 34 12 Ret 49 48 9 19 1 1 53  Pedro Peres 9 1 1 54  Marcos Tokarski 11 1 1 55  Sergio Vallejo 13 1 1 Pos Driver MON CUR ARG CAN SAR YPR AZO MAD ZLI SAN SCO CYP  T. Pts   Drop   Pts ===Manufacturers===* Only the best seven scores from each manufacturer counted towards the championship. Pos Manufacturer MON CUR ARG CAN SAR YPR AZO MAD ZLI SAN SCO CYP  T. Pts   Drop   Pts  1  Škoda 14 14 18 18 16 18 6 18 18 14 10 8 172 52 120 2  Peugeot 7 14 3 9 13 9 18 9 5 15 8 4 114 27 87 3  M-Sport 10 0 4 1 0 6 5 0 5 0 9 16 56 1 55 4  Ralliart 0 3 3 2 0 0 6 5 3 0 8 5 35 2 33 5  Subaru 0 0 5 0 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 11 11 6  Abarth 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 6 6 Pos Manufacturer MON CUR ARG CAN SAR YPR AZO MAD ZLI SAN SCO CYP  T. Pts   Drop   Pts
References
External links *  The official website of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge