26 Oct 2007 - IRC Supporter Event scheme launched
The new IRC Supporter Event Scheme was launched in a press conference on Friday night at the Rallye du Valais (pictured), by Eurosport Events President Jacques Behar.

The scheme will allow rallies all over the world to sign up to become an official ‘IRC Supporter Event’ – benefitting from the increased global profile that the status will give them, and other advantages such as the possibility to screen video highlights on the official IRC website.
Behar commented: “After just eight months of existence, the Intercontinental Rally Challenge has a strong presence in the world of international rallying, and many organisers have expressed a firm interest in the series. By launching this initiative we aim to get to know these partner rallies better, make them better known, and share with them the values that characterise the events that are on the IRC calendar.”
So far, two events have already confirmed their participation in the scheme: the Azores Rally in Portugal, and the Arctic Rally in Finland. More announcements will follow shortly.
The scheme has been launched in collaboration with tyre firm BFGoodrich, which has set up the IRC Supporter BFGoodrich Challenge especially for this new initiative – in order to reward drivers running on BFGoodrich tyres on the event.
Frederic-Henry Biabaud, Competitions Director for the Michelin Group, also attended the press conference in Switzerland to launch the Challenge. He said: “Rallying in general – and the IRC in particular – is very important to BFGoodrich, as it is a sport that shares our values. We are delighted to be able to support competitors, teams and organisers through this challenge.”
Regulations for the IRC Supporter Event Challenge will be revealed shortly.
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Promotional Video
The organiser of the Sata Rallye Azores, Grupo Desportivo Comercial, organized its first rally in 1961. Since then, this popular event has been always in gravel. In the 70s, the star names in international rallying started to come over and compete. Highlights of the entry lists included Sandro Munari and Alcide Paganeli; other drivers to come from abroad included Bob de Jong and Rafael Cid. It was not long before the reputation of the event and the island had grown considerably. Still the big names kept on coming: people like Fabrizio Tabaton,Yves Loubet, Piere Cesar Baroni and Luiz Monzon. Despite the fact that the islands are so small and remote, the organisers have always tried hard to be among the best. In recent years Gregoire De Mevius, Stig Blomqvist, Bruno Thiry, Alister McRae, Markko M䲴in, Thomas R䤳tr?Harri Rovemper䠡nd Juha Kankkunen have also graced the stages. These stars are the best ambassadors of the event, and are happy to vouch for its quality. Nonetheless, the Portuguese and local drivers are difficult to beat when they have the same machinery as the top stars - and they are even capable of victory amongst the very best in the sport. The event has plenty of support from the government, local councils, local authorities, private companies and other sponsors. Without them it would not be possible to organize a rally so far away, in the middle of the ocean.
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
IRC Supporter Event presentation and offer (Presentation of slides with duration of 15 seconds each one)
Go Back...