IRC - Rally of Scotland : Maximum attack...

Before the start of the penultimate round of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), the drivers run by Peugeot subsidiary teams were aware that they had no other option than to push as hard as possible if they were to stay in the hunt for the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ titles. It was a strategy which implied taking risks, especially on the treacherously muddy and wet Scottish stages. Guy Wilks emerged as the early leader, before all three 207 S2000 runners took turns in second place. With a full day of competition still to come, the same ‘maximum attack’ tactic continues to apply.

Guy Wilks early leader

This year’s RAC Rally of Scotland kicked off on Friday evening with two visits to a night-time stage. Guy Wilks and Phil Pugh (Peugeot UK) were fastest both times through and completed the rally’s opening day in front. The following morning saw the Peugeot UK pair continue to battle for victory, but an off on SS5, while running just 3.5s behind the new leader, Mikkelsen, put paid to their chances of a win. “Just after the start of the stage, I had the impression that I had picked up a puncture,” related Guy. “I decided not to stop and pushed a little harder in order to minimise the time loss. Then came a corner where I went into a spin as I turned in, and the car ended up in a ditch. There was no damage, but I dropped more than five minutes getting back onto the road…”

Bryan Bouffier in second place

Guy Wilks’ position was snapped up by Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul. The Peugeot Belgium-Luxemburg crew ended Day 1 in fifth spot before upping their pace on the second leg to move up to second place. “My 207 Super 2000 is really nicely balanced and a joy to drive with the power on through the corners,” explained Thierry during Saturday’s lunchtime break after the second loop of stages. However, the British forests often have a trick or two up their sleeves to throw at the drivers and Neuville made a mistake on the same stage that saw Wilks lose his chances of victory.

“It started to rain much more heavily and I span twice,” he related. “The first time, I was in too much of a hurry to get going again and I broke reverse gear which cost me a big chunk of time.” The two incidents dropped the Peugeot Belgium-Luxemburg pair back to fourth, while the provisional runner-up spot was inherited by the third 207 S2000 in the hands of Bryan Bouffier and Xavier Panseri. On SS4, the Peugeot France crew was the only one to put a stop to Mikkelsen’s run of fastest times. “I took things gently to begin with on Friday evening. It wasn’t easy having to get my bearings back on the loose in the dark, so Saturday’s run was like day and night in comparison,” quipped the Peugeot France driver. “I felt much more confident thanks to some changes to the suspension set-up. My car was easy to drive, the stages were tremendous fun and I was able to push that little bit harder.” Leg 2 enabled Bryan Bouffier to fight his way back from 10th the second place, 50 seconds behind the leader, although Hanninen isn’t far behind…

The 207 S2000 at home on gravel

The Peugeot 207 Super 2000 is more accustomed to competing on sealed surfaces, which is the most commonly encountered type of terrain in the IRC. The RAC Rally of Scotland has shown that the car is equally at home on the loose. “Last July, in the Azores, we realised that it was time to work on the car’s performance on gravel,” observes Frédéric Bertrand, the manager of Peugeot Sport’s Customer Competition Department. “As a result, we started a development programme which focused chiefly on the suspension. I am delighted to see that this work has already paid dividends in just a few months, on this, the car’s first loose surface event since the summer. All three 207 S2000s have figured in second spot and challenged for the lead after already posting some top times this weekend.” The third and final leg (Sunday, October 9) features seven special stages totalling 85.48km. Further showery weather is expected and the conditions are likely to remain muddy, so anything can still happen!averses sont attendues et la boue sera de la partie. Tout peut encore arriver !

Live text sur le www.peugeot-sport.com
Live timing et radio sur www.ircseries.com

Positions after leg 2
1. Andreas MIKKELSEN – Ola FLOENE (Skoda Fabia S2000 en 58’52’’8)
2. Bryan BOUFFIER – Xavier PANSERI (Peugeot 207 S2000 à 50’’7)
3. Juho HANNINEN – Mikko MARKKULA (Skoda Fabia S2000 à 51’’7)
4. Thierry NEUVILLE – Nicolas GILSOUL (Peugeot 207 S2000 à 1'25''8)
5. Craig BREEN – Gareth ROBERTS (Ford Fiesta S2000 à 1’28’’5)
6. Patrik SANDELL – Staffan PARMANDER (Skoda Fabia S2000 à 1’33’’9)
7. Jan KOPECKY – Petr STARY (Skoda Fabia S2000 à 1’43’’4)
8. Jarko NIKARA – Petri NIKARA (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX à 2’22’’4)
9. Toni GARDEMEISTER – Tapio SUOMINEN (Skoda Fabia S2000 à 2’27’’3)
10. David BOGIE – Kevin RAE (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX à 2’33’’0)
………
15. Guy WILKS – Phil PUGH (Peugeot 207 S2000 à 6’50’’4)