The Super2000 Fiat Grande Punto will face a much bigger and tougher challenge next year when it sets about defending its International Rally Challenge (IRC) crown, as the FIA have announced that the 2007 series will expand from four to nine rounds.  The IRC will not only grow in terms of the number of rallies to be contested, but in its international stature, as the series will visit both China and Russia, two very strategically important emerging markets for the world’s carmakers.

The IRC was launched this year, mainly to cater for the proposed new breed of rally machines which are being developed to the FIA’s new ‘Super2000’ regulations, a lower-cost alternative to the full-blown WRC cars which are banned from the championship.  With naturally-aspirated 2-litre engines, stock four-wheel drive transmissions which are sourced from a single FIA-approved supplier, and limited driver-assisting electronic aids, this exciting new breed of rallycar offers a fresh new alternative.  Fiat were among the first out of the blocks with their car based on the Grande Punto, and up to eight other major manufacturers are reportedly interested in developing machines for the category.

The inaugural 2006 four-round series kicked off with the gravel surface Zulu Rally in South Africa, which was followed by two asphalt events that also counted towards the prestigious FIA European Rally Championship: the Westhoek Ypres Rally in Belgium, and the Rally Vinho da Madeira, held on the small Atlantic island.  Finally, the Italian Rally Championship’s all-asphalt Rally Sanremo rounded out the new calendar.  Wins for Giandomenico Basso on the two rounds that counted towards the European series (which he was contesting, and also won) were enough to hand him the first IRC title with a total of 20 points, with Zulu Rally winner Alister McRae (10 points) being classified in equal second place along with another Fiat pilot, Paolo Andreucci, who won the Rally Sanremo.
 

Next year the IRC, which is heavily supported by global satellite TV channel Eurosport, will run to nine rounds, with a much wider geographical spread, and an almost even split between gravel and asphalt surfaces.  The 2007 series will kick off with the tough challenge of the Safari Rally, the former long-running Kenyan round of the FIA World Rally Championship replacing the Zulu Rally on the calendar.  The series will then head to Russia for round two, putting this huge country firmly onto the international rallying map for the first time.  A swift return to Europe will see three rounds taking place that also form part of the 2007 FIA ERC, the Ypres Westhoek Rally and the Rally Vinho da Madeira (both of which featured in this year’s IRC) being followed by the Barum Rally Zlin in the Czech Republic.  The Italian championship’s Rally Sanremo again returns to the IRC, while the car-breaking Rally of Turkey is next up on the schedule before the penultimate event, the Rally du Valais in Switzerland.  The final round will see the series again breaking new ground, with the competitors travelling to China. 

2007 International Rally Challenge schedule (9 rounds): March 9-11: Safari Rally, Kenya (gravel); May 24-26: Rally St Petersburg, Russia (gravel); June 22-23: Ypres Westhoek Rally, Belgium (asphalt); August 2-4: Rally Vinho da Madeira, Portugal (asphalt); August 24-26: Barum Rally Zlin, Czech Republic (asphalt); September 28-30: Rally Sanremo, Italy (asphalt); October 12-14: Rally of Turkey, Turkey (gravel); October 25-27: Rally du Valais, Switzerland (asphalt and snow); November 23-25: Rally China, China (gravel).