The well known and popular Liberal Democratic Member of Parliament for Montgomeryshire, Lembit Opik, will be visiting the Bulldog Rally of North Wales and present awards to the winning crews.

Originally from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland, Lembit is no stranger to exciting action sports as in 1998 he had a near fatal paragliding accident when he broke his back in 12 places, as well as his ribs, sternum and jaw. Despite this accident Lembit continues with his interest in aviation. He is also a huge motorcycle fan and has a keen interest in motorsport in general.

Dilys Trevethick, Bulldog Rally Media Manager, said:

"Lembit is something of a celebrity MP and we are delighted that he has agreed to come and present the awards. I feel sure the winning drivers, whatever their political persuasion, will be pleased to have photographs taken showing them receiving an award from someone their non-rallying friends will instantly recognise when they see the picture sitting on a sideboard or hanging on an office wall. Also, given the social and environmental issues which might pose a threat to our sport in the future, we welcome the opportunity to show an MP what rallying is all about."

MEEKE TOPS THE TIMESHEETS

Brazil oozes passion. In their music, their love of festivals, football and motorsport, the Brazilians embrace it with fervour. With a host of circuit racing champions and motorsport icons hailing from this South American nation, including this country on any international motorsport championship calendar proves a success.

Story by Evan Rothman
Pictures by IRC Media

Car sales in this country are booming, and manufacturers are looking to make deeper inroads into Brazil’s automotive market. After this weekend’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) event, the IRC Rally Curitiba, the Peugeot dealerships will be thrumming with sales thanks to Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle (Peugeot 207 S2000) who romped home to victory for the second successive occasion in Brazil.

Kris Meeke is now the most successful driver ever in the short history of the IRC series by winning his fifth event in 12 starts. Meeke cruised his Peugeot 207 S2000 across the finish line 46,7sec ahead of Briton Guy Wilks (Skoda Fabia S2000). Factory Skoda driver Juho Hanninen (and one of the most talented drivers in world rallying) finished third overall, and claimed six fastest stage times to now lead the overall IRC Drivers’ Championship standings.

Meeke, who was the only top driver to have previously contested this round of the IRC, made excellent use of this experience and knowledge of this event. Tyre choice proved to be critical on Day One of the event, as overnight rain made the otherwise dry and dusty stages slippery in places. Rain clouds hovered over the rally stages, but never transformed into precipitation. Meeke opted for a harder compound tyre selection, while the rest of the top drivers chose the softer compound tyre in the hope that it would begin to rain during the stages on Day One.

At the close of the opening leg’s stages, Meeke and Nagle had stretched an advantage of 32,7sec over Wilks and the chasing Skoda Fabia S2000s of Hanninen and Jan Kopecky. Czech rally ace Kopecky was third at the overnight halt, and was getting up to speed driving on the loose gravel surface. Bruno Magalhaes drove his Peugeot 207 S2000 to fifth place, followed by the young charger Daniel Oliviera in his Stohl Peugeot 207 S2000. It was his the young driver’s first experience rallying his car on gravel, and he exhibited tremendous pace and confidence.

“Apart from a big hit going over a jump at some crossroads on the third stage everything else has been perfect today,” said Kris Meeke at the end of Day One. “I was a bit too cautious over the jump when the stage was repeated and lost a bit of time. Choosing the hard compound tyre was the right thing to do because it stayed dry and gave me more precision and stability. Now it’s down to me managing my lead tomorrow but I’ve been in this position before so I know what I’ve got to do.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Guy Wilks had this to say after he completed Leg One of the rally: “Kris got a jump on us this morning and that’s down to his experience of the stages and nothing to do with anything I’ve done wrong or the car. We should have gone for the harder tyre in the afternoon but I don’t think it made a massive difference. Kris has now got to run first on the road tomorrow so we’ll keep the pressure on and see what happens.”

Day Two saw Meeke run a faultless day’s rallying to extend his overall lead of 32,7sec over Wilks to the winning margin of 46,7sec. His only cause for concern came on SS10 when he crossed a flooded river. At 1 metre deep and 50 metres wide, fears of the engine taking in water were high. Meeke used his common sense and caution to negotiate his way through the watersplash.

Guy Wilks came across the water splash, and his car’s engine dropped to three cylinders as it took in too much water. During the afternoon loop of stages, Wilks powered through this water splash at high speed to avoid the morning’s earlier problems much to the delight of the Brazilian spectators.

Jan Kopecky dropped from third overall to fourth on the opening stage of Day Two due to an unfortunate puncture. His team-mate Juho Hanninen overtook him, and Kopecky was unable to reel him in again.

Bruno Magalhaes performed strongly once more in the IRC this weekend. He finished the rally in fifth place overall, and collected his second points result of the season. Magalhaes was unable to attack Kopecky for fourth place, and so settled into his fifth place position and used the final three stages of the afternoon to test different settings on his Peugeot 207 S2000 in preparation for the upcoming IRC leg in Argentina next month.

Eduardo Scheer of Brazil claimed sixth place overall in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. He was challenged by fellow countryman Eduardo Peredo (Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX) but his car’s engine failed within sight of the finish line of the final stage. The two Eduardos swapped places throughout the event, and wowed the Brazilian crowds with their flamboyant driving styles.

Marcos Tokarski (Brazil) won the 2WD category this weekend in his Peugeot 207. He also finished eighth overall, and claimed IRC points for his outstanding performance.

Heavy overnight rain caused the organisers to cancel two stages. The closing Spectator SuperSpecial was also cancelled due to the weather.

“It’s a near-perfect result for us and it’s great to have put all the experience of last year to such good use,” said rally winner Kris Meeke. “Paul has been brilliant alongside me and made no mistakes. It’s not been easy this weekend but we’ve learned to control the lead and that’s really pleasing. We’ve been relaxed, driven in the middle of the road, but also showed plenty of commitment when we needed to. I know what it takes to win again.”

Final Classification:
01) K. Meeke/P. Nagle – 01h 42m 45,4s
02) G. Wilks/P. Pugh + 46,7s
03) J. Hanninen/M. Markkula + 01m 20,2s
04) J. Kopecky/P. Stary + 01m 49,3s
05) B. Magalhaes/C. Magalhaes + 04m 05,5s
06) E. Scheer/G. Pavinatto + 14m 00,4s
07) D. Oliviera/D. Giraudet + 14m 41,8s
08) M. Tokarski/L. Reginatto + 23m 21,4s
09) L. Tedesco/G. Morales + 23m 25.8s
10) J. San Martin/M. Villete + 23m 42,6s

Leading IRC 2WD Cup finishers:
M. Tokarski/L. Reginatto (Peugeot 207).

Drivers’ Championship Standings:
01) J. Hanninen – 14 pts
02) G. Wilks – 11 pts
03) K. Meeke – 10 pts
= Mikko Hirvonen – 10 pts
05) J. Kopecky – 9 pts
06) B. Magalhaes – 6 pts
= N. Vouilloz – 6 pts
08) S. Sarrazin – 5 pts
09) E. Scheer – 3 pts
10) D. Oliviera – 2 pts

Manufacturers’ Standings:
01) Skoda – 28 pts
02) Peugeot – 21 pts
03) M-Sport – 10 pts
04) Ralliart – 3 pts

2WD Drivers’ Standings:
01) K. Princen – 10 pts
= M. Tokarski – 10 pts
03) L. Tedesco – 8 pts
= P. Campana – 8 pts
05) T. Barral – 6 pts
= U. Bertholdo – 6 pts
7) Simone Capedelli – 5 pts
= L. Fleck – 5 pts
09) J-M. Raoux – 4 pts
= P. A. Peaez – 4 pts

2WD Manufacturers Standings:
01) Peugeot - 26 pts 

02) M-Sport – 14 pts 

03) Abarth – 8 pts 

04) Skoda – 5 pts 

05) Honda – 4 pts

Courtesy of HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS.

A link to an online source of this week's H&H issue can be found here: http://handbrakeshairpins.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/hh-1231.pdf

Photo: Willy Weyens ©willyweyens-rallyworld

THE LOEB SHOW IS BACK

Making it four-in-a-row, Sebastien Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena powered to victory in this past weekend’s WRC Rally Mexico.

Story by Evan Rothman
Pictures by Willy Weyens

With clever tactics and smart driving, the reigning six-time World Rally Champion took to the front of rally early on Day Two and never looked like being challenged over the remainder of the rally’s competitive distance. His Citroen Total World Rally Team C4 WRC machine was on-song from the very first stage and the rally proved to be a successful hunting ground for French manufacturer Citroen. This victory also moves Sebastien Loeb to the top of the Drivers’ Championship standings after this second round of the 2010 13-round WRC season.

Day One:
High altitudes, slippery gravel roads in the hills north and east of the city of Leon, the loose gravel surface resulted the leading cars suffering a distinct disadvantage. Last month’s winner of WRC Rally Sweden. Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team) endured the worst of the loose surface conditions on Day One of the rally, as they were first to tackle the stages. Mysteriously, Hirvonen suffered from a distinct lack of pace and confidence over the weekend and it surprised all the WRC crews and Hirvonen included.

At the end of Day One, the Flying Finn was lying in a disappointing sixth place overall. His team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala/Miika Anttila proved to be an model of consistency to once more to bring their Ford Focus RS WRC home in fifth position at the overnight halt (and set the pace as the fastest Ford on the leaderboard). The high 2 730m altitude cars competed at on a number of the stages couldn’t even be blamed for the lack of the pace for the Fords.

Photo: Willy Weyens ©willyweyens-rallyworld

Even as grip levels increased over the afternoon’s loop of stages, the Fords were still lacking the aggression and pace they showcased in Sweden and in 2009’s gravel rallies.

Showing a clean pair of heels, and upstaging the factory teams, was the Citroen C4 WRC of Petter Solberg/Phil Mills (Petter Solberg World Rally Team). Starting the event behind the factory Fords and Citroens, Petter took advantage of his favourable start position on Day One to attack the stages with the determination and fervour that has brought him success in the WRC. His speed moved him to the top of the leaderboard at the end of Day One.

Hot on his heels, however, was the Citroen Junior Team crew of Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassi. Sebastien Loeb was not far behind fellow countryman Ogier, and was still within striking range of rally leader Petter. Loeb readied himself to attack for the rally lead on Day Two.

Petter showed his rivals his that C4 was ultra-competitive after its frustrating debut in Sweden last month, but it was determination and aggression that stood out this weekend. It seems the 2003 World Rally Champion is hungry for another Drivers’ Championship title.

Ogier, throughout the weekend, displayed the ingredients that will undoubtedly net him a WRC Drivers’ Championship and many victories in the future, as he scrambled to keep pace with Petter and keep a charging Loeb behind him.

Loeb was also able to benefit from the added confidence knowing that Dani Sordo/Marc Marti were performing strongly and shadowed Loeb through Day One’s stages.

Sordo matched Loeb in many of the opening stages of Day Two, and I feel Sordo is now building up to an event win this season if his performances continue in this same arc.

Photo: Willy Weyens ©willyweyens-rallyworld

The Stobart M-Sport crews of Henning Solberg/Ilka Minor and Matthew Wilson/Scott Martin (both driving Ford Focus RS WRC cars) completed Day One in seventh and eighth positions respectively, behind their factory Ford compatriots (Latvala in fifth and Hirvonen in sixth) at the end of Day One.

Making his welcome return to WRC in 2010 was Federico Villagra and co-driver Jorge Perez Companc (Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team), setting solid stage times to finish Day One in ninth position overall. Rounding out the top ten places were WRC newcomers Ken Block/Alex Gelsomino (Monster World Rally Team).

Kimi Raikkonen and co-drover Kaj Lindstrom (Citroen Junior Team) crashed out of the rally on Day One after a frustrating morning in their Citroen C4 WRC car. Raikkonen’s bad luck started as early as SS1 when he struck a rock that resulted in his car’s steering arm being bent. In SS2 he had to stop he car to make running repairs to a loose connector.

SS7, unfortunately, was the last of his WRC Rally Mexico weekend, as he hit the side of the road and rolled his car a number of times. The Citroen C4 WRC was damaged beyond repair for the crew to restart the event under SupeRally regulations.

Day Two:
Day Two brought more Citroen magic as Loeb attacked every on every stage of this Leg. With Petter Solberg serving as road sweeper, Loeb was able to follow in Ogier and Petter’s tracks that they had swept to make the roads cleaner and faster. Loeb powered his C4 WRC to eight of the nine fastest stage times for the day.

This unrelenting pace scored Loeb a lead of nearly one minute at the overnight halt, meaning that Loeb pulled back the 27sec deficit to Petter, overtook him and then succeeded in extending a lead of nearly 30 sec!

Photo: Willy Weyens ©willyweyens-rallyworld

For his team-mate at the Citroen Total World Rally Team, Day Two was marred by ill fortune for the diminutive Spaniard Dani Sordo. His strong run in fourth position overall came to nothing in the first stage of the day when a broken wishbone screw sidelined this crew. They did, however, restart the rally on Day Three under SupeRally regulations.

Ogier maintained his speed on the stages on this the longest leg of the rally, and ended up finishing the day in third place overall just 2,7sec behind Petter. Ogier intentionally slowed his car during the final stage in order to give himself a better road position for Day Three’s speed tests.

The Ford crews still struggled to find their rhythm over the loose gravel tests in Mexico, and once again Latvala outpaced Hirvonen to finish the day in fifth place overall while the team’s number one driver finished in sixth. Both crews were disappointed by their lack of competitiveness and pace on Day Two, where they expected to challenge for podium positions. Even Malcolm Wilson, BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team’s director, shrugged his shoulders in frustration.

Matthew Wilson also retired from the event on the opening stage of Day Two after he went off the road in a left bend, resulting in his Ford Focus RS WRC being stranded on rocks. Wilson’s driving has matured since last season, and his confidence in his car this year is a pleasure to witness as he pushes his Ford to its limits, so it was unfortunate that his WRC Rally Mexico ended the way it did on Day Two. He did, however, restart the rally on Day Three under SupeRally regulations.

Photo: Willy Weyens ©willyweyens-rallyworld

Henning Solberg and co-driver Ilka Minor were left to fly the Stobart Ford team flag, and they managed to do so proudly. Henning finished Day Two in seventh position and was pressuring a struggling Hirvonen for sixth place.

The Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team crew of Federico Villagra and Jorge Perez Compac ended Day Two in eighth position, but moved up to seventh with the demise of Dani Sordo/Marc Marti.

Ken Block was not as fortunate on his WRC debut as he crashed out of the rally on the first stage of the morning. The talented USA action sports star slid into a ditch and broke the left front suspension. He too restarted the event on Day Three under SupeRally regulations.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Day Three:
Henning Solberg and Villagra maintained their Day Two positions on Day Three, but ahead of these privateer Ford entrants the factory Fords of Latvala and Hirvonen swapped places. Latvala intentionally slowed his car during the closing stages of the morning loop to allow Hirvonen to slot into fourth position overall and to thereby allow the 2009 WRC Drivers’ Championship runner-up to score more valuable points for his 2010 campaign. Still, these two Ford crews were stumped as to their lack of pace on the Mexican gravel stages on Day Three but were pleased to net points-paying positions for the Manufacturers’ Championship title race.

The top three on the leaderboard looked set to shake up on this Leg of the rally. SS20 was cancelled by the event organiser, thereby shortening the day’s route distance and leaving on two proper stages of rallying on Day Three. Solberg and Ogier attacked Day Three’s stages with all that their Citroen C4 WRCs could muster, and reeled in Loeb’s 55sec lead by 15sec per stage. Loeb, the master tactician, who had foreseen this probability, upped his pace to secure his victory with a 24,2sec winning margin. This left Solberg and Ogier to duke it out for second place overall.

”This victory’s done us a power of good,” said Loeb. “We controlled our race well and I think that we can look forward to the next events with confidence, as they’ll be run on similar surfaces. Thanks to this victory we’ve taken the lead in the championship and opened up a small gap over Mikko Hirvonen. It’s a good situation even if we’ll have to sweep the road in Jordan.”

Photo: Willy Weyens ©willyweyens-rallyworld

Going into the final Spectator SuperSpecial stage, Ogier led Petter by a slender 0,6sec. With a stage distance of a little over 4km, Petter pulled something magical out of his bag of Norwegian rally tricks, for he not only set a blistering stage time for this “Mickey Mouse” stage, but managed to best Ogier by 0,9sec. In fine Peter Solberg fashion in a drama-filled event, he grabbed second place overall. It was well-deserved result for Petter and Ogier, and a foretaste of more dramatic and thrilling rally finishes we can expect in 2010, I predict.

“I am absolutely mega-happy right now, I’ve been controlling this the whole weekend,” said Petter. “I was not afraid to be first on the road on Saturday, even though I knew I were going to lose half a second per kilometre. It was my choice, and I knew I could still be top three, which was the main target for the weekend. There will be some strategic thinking before Jordan, but I must say this looks good for the rest of the season!”

Photo: Willy Weyens ©willyweyens-rallyworld

Photo: Willy Weyens ©willyweyens-rallyworld

Xavier Pons (Ford Fiesta S2000) won the S2000 category this past weekend, and also claimed eighth position overall. He was pushed all the way to the finish line by fellow S2000 competitor Martin Prokop (Ford Fiesta S2000). The reigning Production World Rally Champion Armindo Araujo (Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X) claimed tenth place overall and the P-WRC category honours.

Final Classification:
01) S. Loeb/D. Elena - 03h 42m 41,7s
02) P. Solberg/P. Mills + 24,2s
03) S. Ogier/J. Ingrassia + 25,3s
04) M. Hirvonen/J. Lehtinen + 01m 47,5s
05) J-M. Latvala/M. Anttila + 02m 15,1s
06) H. Solberg/I. Minor + 02m 48,0s
07) F.Villagra /J. Perez Companc + 10m 13,4s
08) X. Pons/A. Haro + 18m 44,4s
09) M. Prokop/J. Tomanek + 19m 02,0s
10) A. Araujo/R. Miguel + 21m 32,5s

Drivers’ Championship Standings:
01) S. Loeb - 43 pts
02) M. Hirvonen - 37 pts
03) J-M. Latvala - 25 pts
= S. Ogier - 25 pts
05) H. Solberg - 16 pts
06) D. Sordo - 12 pts
07) M. Wilson - 6 pts
= F. Villagra - 6 pts
09) M. Ostberg - 4 pts
= X. Pons - 4 pts

Manufacturers’ Championship Standings:
01) BP Ford Abu Dhab - 67 pts
02) Citroen Total - 61 pts
03) Citroen Junior Team - 32 pts
04) Stobart Ford - 28 pts
05) Munchi’s Ford - 8 pts

Photo: Willy Weyens ©willyweyens-rallyworld

Courtesy of HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS.

A link to an online source of this week's H&H issue can be found here: http://handbrakeshairpins.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/hh-1231.pdf

QS Motorsport Mangement, home of the 1999 Production Class trophy, is returning to the rally scene in 2010 with a limited schedule for their new rookie and front-man Adam Krolikowski and co-driver Richard Perez.  The former Daewoo factory team of Peter Malaszuk and Darek Szerejko are reopening their doors to manage the rally efforts of this talented young duo.  With their 20+ years of combined rally experience, Peter and Darek's expertise with building, preparation, and the art of rallying will surely give the young team a large advantage as they begin their journey into the world of professional rally on April 16-17 at Rally New York USA.

From car building, preparation, and actual racing techniques used on the stages, to media, sponsor, and VIP relations, QS Motorsport Management knows how to handle it.  QS has professionally built rally cars for teams like Team O'Neil and Daewoo Motor America.  In 1999, QS Motorsport Management was chosen by Daewoo Motor America to build, prepare, and run their factory-backed Production GT Nubira in an effort to establish the Korean manufacturer in the essential North American market.  QS Motorsport Management builds include Team O'Neil's 2002 Air Force Reserve WRX, Tim Penasack's 2002 Production GT WRX, the official Dunkin' Donuts Rally Team car, and Wojtek Okula's Mitsubish Lancer, which won 2 Northeast Division, Production class, Championships and is still rallying today, 8 years later, with Zedril Rallysport of Team Terra Firma.  Working with these names since 1995 has provided the QS Motorsport Management team with vital insights into and experience in the rally world.  When building and preparing rally cars, QS Motorsport Management ensures every precaution is taken and each specification is thoroughly checked.  They have won championships, been featured in parades and international auto shows, and are returning to do it all again.

QS Motorsport Management is returning with a new focus for 2010 however, to become a full service agency for coaching, developing, and managing talented, young drivers and their careers.  QS currently has 2 Open class Subaru's for rent and is looking into an inexpensive and fundamental FWD build, a model that will be most conducive to the learning of drivers just starting out in rally.  The idea is to most efficiently push a new driver's career in a positive direction by avoiding the pitfalls and mistakes that only experience can teach.  With the gift of experience and innovation, your investment, whether you are a driver, sponsor, client, or otherwise, goes much further with QS Motorsport Management.  The QS Motorsport Management team is always seeking new clients, sponsors, talented drivers, teams, and business partners.  For more information and all of your rally needs, please visit: WWW.QSMOTORSPORT.US and WWW.RALLYRENTUSA.COM or call (917) 306-4187.

Please visit QS Motorsport Management's sponsors:

ICS Performance - WWW.ICSPERFORMANCE.COM,
OMP - WWW.OMPAMERICA.COM,
Grand Prix New York - WWW.GPNY.COM,
Eruption Clothing - WWW.ERUPTIONCLOTHINGINC.COM

More world class rally territory for the IRC For practically three decades, Argentina has stood out as a favourite venue for rallying’s top names. Following their recent – and successful – trip to Brazil, the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) and Peugeot could hardly skip over the opportunity to extend their South American stay by adding a visit to the spectacular gravel stages of Argentina’s Cordoba region to their respective calendars.

It was less than a fortnight ago that the IRC’s defending champions Kris Meeke and Peugeot claimed their first win of the 2010 campaign in Brazil. The majority of the crews and mechanics returned to Europe after that event, but the cars and spares embarked directly on the 2.200 km road journey south to Villa Carlos Paz, the holiday resort that sits at the southern tip Lago da Roque, and traditional home to the Rallye Argentina.

« Unlike my rivals, I had prior knowledge of the terrain in Brazil, » admits Kris Meeke. « In Argentina, the situation will be reversed since some of the drivers have already competed there, whereas I have only done the recce for the event…once. » That was back in 2005, but it does still mean that the Briton has a certain understanding of the lie of the land.

« The Argentine stages are much harder-packed and rougher, and are often very rutted, too, which is pretty punishing for the wheels and suspension. There are also quite a few water spashes. »

The word from Villa Carlos Paz is that it has rained quite heavily in recent months, and certain dirt roads are in a poorer state thane ver. And despite the fact that the organisers have widely chosen not to include the famous Giulio Cesare and El Condor stages, which have produced very high attrition rates over the years, competitors still face an extremely hard challenge, including the equally celebrated La Cumbre-Agua de Oro and Ascocinga-La Cumbre tests. Because of fog and low-lying cloud, hazards often seem to jump out at the drivers from nowhere, and Peugeot Sport is recommending a specific set-up for the different teams who are running 207 Super 2000s on the South American event.

« The Argentine stages are far twistier and also put the emphasis on vertical suspension movement, » onbserves Bertrad Vallat, the engineer in charge of developing the 207 Super 2000. « This means we need to optimise the car’s shocks absorbing ability, but without that having an adverse effect on its balance. The surface also tends to cup up between runs, so that’s another problem we will need to take onboard ; the teams will have to adjust their settings – and even ride-height – accordingly. Last but not least, we need to prepare for the many water splashes, too. »

There are effectively a high number of fords in the Santa Rosa de Calamuchita region, which is some 100 km south of Villa Carlos Paz and the epicentre of the opening day’s action.

« The main thing is to ensure that the engine and especially the electronis are shielded from the water. This is never an exact science ; we just have to take all the steps we can… »

Kris Meeke will be joined in the Peugeot camp by Portuguese driver Bruno Magalhaès and Brazil’s Daniel Oliveira who will both also be contesting the event in a 207 Super 2000.

« The Brazilian round gave me a chance to find my marks again on the loose and also adapt the set-up of my Peugeot to my driving style, » says Magalhaès. « I am targeting a top result. »

Meanwhile, Kris Meeke has every intention of adding a further win to his record in Argentina where his maturity and experience promise to be excellent assets: « It’s a rally that will call for a carefully thought-through, cautious and well-paced approach because the total stage distance is much longer than it was in Brazil. »

Main entries:
Meeke-Nagle Peugeot 207 Super 2000
Magalhaès-Magalhaes Peugeot 207 Super 2000
Al Attiyah-Bernacchini Skoda Fabia Super 2000
Oliveira-Del Barrio Peugeot 207 Super 2000
Villagra-Perez Lompac Ford Fiesta Super 2000
Kopecky-Stary Skoda Fabia Super 2000
Haninnen-Markkula Skoda Fabia Super 2000
Wilks-Pugh Skoda Fabia Super2000
Etc…

Programme:
Super stage Friday19, 5pm.
Saturday 20: 7 stages / 137,5 km
Sunday 21: 7 stages /102,5 km. Podium at 4.53.pm.

-Credit: Peugeot Sport

The official launch of the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship took place at the headquarters of Dulux Trade in Slough on Tuesday.

The event was attended by both British Rally Champion and 2009 Pirelli Star Driver Keith Cronin and British Teams Rally Champions Pirelli TEG Sport. Keith was joined by new co-driver Barry McNulty, while the co-driver of a second TEG Sport run car, Julian Wilkinson accompanied the 2008 Pirelli Star Driver Adam Gould, as its driver Alan Cookson was forced to miss the event owing to business commitments.

Dulux Trade Marketing Director Steve Snaith was joined by several members of his team along with staff from other departments, who all braved chilly weather conditions to cheer in the new partnership

Between posing for photos with the assembled staff and drivers he said, "We are delighted to be sponsoring the UK's leading rally championship as Dulux Trade is a leading brand all about high quality, high performance products, exactly the qualities of the British Rally Championship."

The staff had been encouraged to attend in red, white and blue, with the most appropriately patriotically attired person winning a ride with the reigning British Rally Champion. Winner Jenny Perks from the Purchasing department said, "I've never been in a rally car before so even though we only drove round the block it was quite an experience.

Greenlight Television was on hand to record the moment for the Sky Sports Championship preview programme which will be broadcast on Sunday 28th March at 18.30, followed on Monday 29th at 18.00 by coverage from the opening round of the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship, International Bulldog Rally North Wales.