IRC Monte Carlo 2010... ...20-23rd January 2010 14 Oct 2009 15:25 2010 MONTE-CARLO RALLY:A BREAKTHROUGH IN SPORTS TV Eurosport Events, the promoter of the IRC (Intercontinental Rally Challenge), and ACM (Automobile Club de Monaco) have revealed at Sportel in Monaco the broadcast plan for the 2010 Rallye Monte-Carlo on January 20-23, which will be the most televised rally in the sport´s history. The ground-breaking coverage will bring live action throughout the event, totalling 14 hours of live coverage from the stages. These broadcasts full of innovation will reflect the prestige of the event, which will open the 2010 IRC season for the second consecutive year. The Rallye Monte-Carlo, founded in 1911, is one of the world's most famous motor sport events in any discipline. It is famous for taking competitors through the snow and tricky asphalt stages in the Alpes Maritimes before reaching its ceremonial finish on the glittering streets of Monaco. The unprecedented live action from the stages, including the epic Col du Turini stages run at night, will be using a mixture of aerial shots, on-board footage and land-based cameras, and will bring television viewers closer to the Monte Carlo Rally than they have ever been before. Géraldine Filiol, Managing Director of Eurosport Events, said: “This is a world premiere in rallying, a tremendous bonus for the millions of fans around the world. We are naturally proud to open the IRC season in 2010 again with the Monte Carlo Rally and I am sure that our ambitious plans are worthy of a mythical motorsport event like this. What viewers can look forward to is witnessing the story of the Monte Carlo Rally unfold live over the three days of the event. This pioneering development is set to bring the sport to new standards of TV coverage". Rene Isoart, General Commissioner of the ACM, added, “We have found within this IRC all the necessary ingredients to allow the Rally to return to the fundamental values of the sport and to see amateurs driving side by side with professional drivers, and this is very important for us. With this incredible TV coverage, we believe that our next rally will be again a great edition, with lots of participants and fantastic live images on TV as we have experienced in last January". This unmatched live action will enable rally fans to see all the action thanks to a unique international media coverage, including live extensive broadcasts on Eurosport's channels (Eurosport, Eurosport 2 and Eurosport Asia-Pacific), complemented by coverage on EurosportNews and the Eurosport network of websites. The IRC, organised and promoted by Eurosport Events, is an all-action cost-effective series which has seen seven manufacturers doing battle in 2009. With a full field of highly competitive machines crewed by a mixture of up-and-coming talent and established stars, the IRC delivers the very best of the sport’s traditions in a dynamic format for a new era. Rallye Monte Carlo 2010 – Broadcasting Plan Wednesday 20 January: 4 Special Stages LIVE Thursday 21 January: 6 Special Stages LIVE Friday 22 January: 4 Special Stages LIVE
That's class! I reckon Monte Carlo would be a savage event to go to, will we start planning a trip lol
Makes sense. Easyjet to Nice. Hire a car. Bingo bango...next your on the Col De Turini throwing snowballs on the road.
Fly to Nice, Hire a camper, then you can throw all the snowballs you like, but when you start to lose feeling in your extremities cos of the cold, you just hop back into your camper and put on the heat/kettle In all seriousness, I reckon Monte Carlo would be an epic event! My Dad and a friend drove the Col one time bringing a car back from Europe and from the pics he took the place looks amazing!
2010 Calendar January 19-23 Rallye Monte-Carlo March 4-06 Rally Internacional de Curitiba March 19-21 Rally Argentina June 4-6 Rally d’Italia Sardegna June 24-26 Belgium Ypres Rally July 15-17 Sata Rally Açores August 5-7 Rally Vinho Madeira August 27-29 Barum Czech Rally Zlín September 9-11 Rally Principe de Asturias September 23-25 Rallye Sanremo October 14-16 RAC MSA Rally of Scotland November 4-6 FxPro Cyprus Rally
That sounds like great news. Looks like international rallying might be getting its credability back with the IRC and the new breed of cars after a few years in the doldrums. Its fantastic Vantage points are hard to come by because of the terrain but the best places usually have a good crowd and plenty of mulled wine stalls so the cold isnt too big an issue. The atmosphere on the stages is good too. When I went (05 i think) it was a WRC event and the quantity of cars was dissaponting (15 or so wrc's, 7 or 8 super 1600's and 10 or so production runners), but id imagine there would be greater variety at a irc event To be honest it is worth going to see the machinery parked at the stages and in monaco.
Right seems like there are no flights to Nice from Belfast. Aer Lingus do go from Dublin though and prices are about 100 euro return at the mo.
Are stages hard to access? is it possible to get to a couple of stages a day? Would be great to see this event
The stages are in the mountains further inland and I thought they were quite far from monaco but I assumed that was just the way they have to be. Nothing too unmanageable though, and once we were there they were all together. We got 2 or 3 stages a day, mostly due to the quick passing of the field and the fact that the cars had to return to monaco for service. I think i have the urge to head to a rally again this year after thinking bout this. The monte is definatly worth a trip
Champion Meeke praises Monte Carlo 2010 route Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion, Kris Meeke, has praised the changes being planned for the Monte Carlo Rally, which will open the 2010 IRC season next January. Meeke, who has driven his Peugeot UK-backed 207 Super 2000 to victory on four rounds of the IRC so far this season, said the decision by the Monte Carlo organisers to run a five-mile selection stage to determine the starting order of the rally, was inspired. “It’s what rallying needs – a team of organisers who are prepared to play around with the format of an event rather than being sterile all of the time,” said Meeke. “The selection stage is a fantastic idea and it’s something that should be done on all rallies.”
... Keep all 2010 IRC news in here 24 Nov 2009 12:52 Peugeot UK confirms Meeke for 2010 Peugeot UK has confirmed the reigning IRC champion, Kris Meeke (pictured), to drive on the 2010 series. Once again, Meeke´s Peugeot 207 S2000 will be co-driven by Irishman Paul Nagle. Meeke and Nagle are delighted to be renewing their campaign after covering 2197.73 kilometres of special stages and setting fastest times on 42 out of the 127 stages they completed. Their Peugeot UK car will be run once more by the Belgium-based Kronos Racing team, which has claimed two out of the last three IRC titles. Meeke and Nagle are set to contest 10 out of the 12 rallies on the IRC calendar next year, starting off with the world-famous Monte Carlo Rally at the end of January. "We're absolutely thrilled to be running Kris and Paul again," said a Peugeot UK spokesman. "They are fantastic ambassadors for the brand and for the sport. It's amazing to think how far we've come in just 12 months, and hopefully that will provide us with a really useful stepping stone to more success in 2010."
21 Nov 2009 21:30 McRae: I want more IRC Scottish hero Alister McRae revelled in his appearance on the RACMSA Rally of Scotland, which brought a podium finish in the Mellors Elliott Motorsport Proton Satria Neo S2000. Now the former British and Asia-Pacific champion wants more. Team principal Chris Mellors confirmed that a full IRC campaign is already in preparation, having joined the series at the Belgium Ypres Rally this June with the all-new car. "We're looking at a four-car programme for 2010 - two in the IRC and two in the FIA Asia-Pacific Championship," he said. "Alister has driven for us in the Asia-Pacific series this year and until this weekend that was what we were planning for 2010 as well, but I know he's enjoying this weekend a great deal so it could be interesting sorting that out." McRae himself was in typically ebullient form all weekend, and was delighted to record Proton's first podium finish in the IRC. His proud father Jimmy, five-times British rally champion, was working with the organisers of the inaugural Rally of Scotland and took great pride in his son's return - joking: "He's still a McRae!" Alister himself said: "The chassis is one of the best I have ever driven. Kris [Meeke] has christened me 'old safe hands' but I can assure you these old hands were working far quicker than the brain!" When pushed on whether or not the outing would lead to further IRC appearances, the 39-year-old said: "Yes we're doing the full IRC next year. We are looking forward to coming back and fighting these guys again."
Alister is such a nice guy.. Have been in his company a few times, would be great to see him in the IRC
yeah, he was in the service area friday night and i lifted the camera for a quick snap, he stopped walking, looked and smiled, not many lads would actually do that to allow a decent photo of them lol
25 Nov 2009 22:21 Wittmann: IRC is a valuable classroom Austrian driver Franz Wittmann (pictured) has declared himself delighted with the lessons that he learned in the 2009 IRC - and he says that he is looking forward to putting them into practice in future. The Austrian driver finished 13th overall at the end of an educational season at the wheel of his Mitsubishi Lancer... "It was a great year," said Wittmann: the only Austrian to be competing in an international rally series this season. "I was able to learn a lot and I hope to make use of the experience that I gained in the future. Now I hope that we will manage to put together a package for next season that will allow me to practise the lessons I learned in 2009." The Austrian competed on seven round of the IRC this year, with a best result of fifth in Russia. He also finished sixth overall on the Sata Rally Acores, which is where he scored his first overall IRC points. Although he did not compete on the Rally of Scotland, his planned eighth outing, he completed the Scottish recce in order to acquire a good set of pace notes for the future. Wittmann also decided to gain some Super 2000 experience by driving a Peugeot 207 on the Waldviertel Rally in Austria this year, where he finished second - just 10.7 seconds behind the winner. The Austrian will announce his plans for the 2010 season at a press conference in Vienna on January 12.
29 Nov 2009 14:0 Entries come in for Monte Carlo With less than two months to go before the start of the Monte Carlo Rally, the opening round of the IRC next year, preparations are well underway. With entries open since November 16, the first competitors are already adding their names to the entry list. The recce for the event will take place from Saturday 16 January to Monday 18 January, allowing teams to concentrate the whole rally within a week. The rally’s ceremonial start will take place at 17:00 on Tuesday 19 January, at the Champs de Mars in Valence. Entry fees for amateur drivers remain unchanged from last year and competitors will be able to supply their own tyres and fuel. For more information, please visit ACM >> Automobile Club de Monaco
Love love to get some gravel miles clocked up again. will be 4-5 years since we done it. After watching rally scotland i'd love a go at that 35km stage. looked awesome
Some interesting news from m-sport... M-Sport and Ford also announced that Hirvonen would be the driver entrusted to give the Super 2000 machine its competition debut on the Rallye Monte Carlo in January. "The Fiesta S2000 looks and sounds fantastic," said Hirvonen. "It's great to finally drive it, be part of the development of a totally new car and I was surprised how quickly I got used to driving it. I was impressed by how good the setup and the chassis are and that allowed me to push really hard straight away. The conditions here in France have been difficult but even with a changing grip level I have been able to drive in a very committed way. It's been great to work with Christian and the team and to have had a positive input to the new project." "I've driven the Monte Carlo Rally five times previously, so I'm familiar with the roads and the conditions. There are almost four months between the final round of 2009 and the start of the 2010 season, so this will be ideal for getting my mind back into competition mode," added the Finn.
7 Dec 2009 17:48 High expectations for Meeke in 2010 Kris Meeke will be expected to repeat his Intercontinental Rally Challenge title success in 2010 after re-signing for Peugeot UK, according to his employers. Meeke, from Northern Ireland, claimed four wins on his way to the IRC drivers’ title in 2009 and will continue at the wheel of a Peugeot 207 Super 2000 next season. John Goodman, the managing director of Peugeot UK, said: “Kris has done a fantastic job for us. With co-driver Paul Nagle and Kronos Racing, we’ve had a winning combination this year and our intention is to make it a winning combination next year as well. “The difficulty for them is that they’ve set the bar very high so certainly my expectations are going to very high for next year but it’s fantastic and I’m really looking forward to it.” Meeke, 30, is due to begin preparing for next year’s IRC with a test in France later this month.
9 Dec 2009 7:25 Ypres preparations underway The preparations for the 2010 Belgium Ypres Rally are already on full chat. The most important meeting on the Belgian calendar will of course again be one of the key rallies of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, as well as being one of the most important events of the European and Belgian Rally Championships. The event will again be organised during the last weekend of June. The most exciting news coming from the Westhoek is without any doubt the announcement of a new partner. Geko Woonwereld, the large furniture supplier from Zulte, will sponsor the Belgium Ypres Rally for the next two seasons. Geko is not unknown in the world of rallying. They have supported several well known drivers but partnering with the Belgium Ypres Rally is surely the cherry on the cake. Geko is already looking forward to celebrate the high-point of the rally season with the fans in Ypres. Alain Penasse, rally manager of the Belgium Ypres Rally said: "We are really pleased to be able to work with a company like Geko. It is a large player in the market and they understand rallying. Wim Soenens (Geko) has been involved in the sport for a long while and we have always been interested in his projects. In these difficult times, it was a good thing for Geko to partner up with the Belgium Ypres Rally and we are convinced that this partnership will allow us to grow the event over the coming years."
10 Dec 2009 9:11 Procar wants Cronin for more IRC One of the senior principals of the Italian Procar squad wants British champion Keith Cronin to continue with his team in next season’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge. Cronin, from Ireland, contested last month’s Rally of Scotland in a Procar-run Abarth Grande Punto. Although he crashed out of the event, Procar’s Daniele Pelliccioni was impressed by what he saw. “It’s a little bit difficult to know now what we are doing next year but for sure we try to continue with Abarth in the Italian championship and also try to do something in the IRC. There is a possibility we can do this and perhaps with Keith.” Cronin, 23, added: “I want to drive Super 2000 cars because they are the future of rallying. Some IRC events would be good but it’s all down to budget.”