NEWSLETTER #1 23 February 2007 www.rally-irc.com FIAT ANNOUNCES ALEN TO DRIVE PUNTO ON IRC Anton Alen, the son of rally legend Markku, has been confirmed as a Fiat driver on the Intercontinental Rally Challenge this year. The 23 year-old will share Fiat’s second car with Italian driver Umberto Scandola, contesting half the events on the IRC programme. It is also possible that Alen might contest a number of events outside of the IRC using the Grande Punto. The Finn narrowly missed out on his maiden victory on the Arctic Rally at the end of January, and is tipped to have all the star quality that characterised the success of his famous father Markku. There is a long history between the Alen family and Fiat, as Markku drove for the Fiat group for more than 15 years, using legendary rally cars such as the 131 Abarth, Lancia Delta Integrale and Lancia Stratos. Anton Alen said: “It is a pleasure for me to continue our family history, and I am really looking forward to driving the car on these fantastic rallies.” IRC WEBSITE LAUNCHED The Intercontinental Rally Challenge launched its official website www.rally-irc.com on February 22nd. The site features all the latest news from the championship, as well as reference information about teams, drivers and events. Also included in the website are full details of this year’s calendar, plus entry lists, teams, results, championship points and sporting regulations. One of the biggest innovations is live streaming, that will enable every rally fan to see the action live over the internet. PEUGEOT CONFIRMS IRC DRIVER LINE-UP aged 31, claimed no fewer than 10 mountain eugeot Spain has announced that it will P bike downhill titles before turning his hand to contest the 2007 Intercontinental Rally motor sport. Challenge with two factory 207 Super 2000s for The 207 Super 2000s will be built in Paris by Spain’s Enrique Garcia Ojeda and reigning Peugeot Sport and run by the Borja Moratal French Rally Champion Nicolas Vouilloz. team in Spain. The team will contest eight Ojeda has risen through the ranks of Peugeot’s rounds of the IRC starting from Turkey in May. young driver programme in Spain, while Vouilloz has been a Peugeot driver since switching from two to four wheels in 2003. The Frenchman, 1/2 NEWSLETTER #1 www.rally-irc.com MORE TELEVISION FOR IRC This year’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge will provide extensive coverage with eight hours of television broadcast for each event. Jacques Behar, the president of championship promoter SRW Events, commented: “The live transmissions will give viewers a unique dimension, showing the atmosphere of rallies and bringing them closer to the drivers. All of this will make watching rallying on television more exciting and accessible than ever for TV viewers.” In total, Eurosport and Eurosport 2 have pledged more than 70 hours of coverage for the nine-round championship. The series will also get in-depth coverage on the Eurosport's websites (www.eurosport.com). In addition, national broadcasters will also provide coverage of their domestic events. This will ensure that IRC receives significant exposure in key markets throughout the world. 2007 IRC CALENDAR The IRC will gather legendary rally events in the same competition with prestigious events. In 2007, the IRC will be contested over nine qualifying events in 3 continents (Africa, Europe and Asia). The inaugural 2007 nine-round series will kick off with the gravel surface Safari rally in Kenya and will be followed by 7 European events before reaching the final rally of the season in China. Date Rally Country Surface 1 March 9-11 Safari Rally Kenya gravel 2 May 11-12 Rally of Turkey Turkey gravel 3 June 22-23 Ypres Westhoek Rally Belgium asphalt 4 July 13-14 Rally Russia Russia gravel 5 August 2-4 Rally Vinho da Madeira Portugal asphalt 6 August 24-26 Barum Rally Zlin Czech Republic asphalt 7 September 28-30 Rally Sanremo Italy asphalt 8 October 25-27 Rally du Valais Switzerland asphalt 9 November 23-25 Rally China China* gravel *Pending the ASN‘s confirmation. Contact: Anthony Peacock + 44 7765 896930 [email protected] More information on www.rally-irc.com 2/2 .