IRC Barum Czech Rally Zlin preview : The challenges

With four events of another enthralling Intercontinental Rally Challenge season remaining, the battle for the prestigious title is tightly poised as the series heads to Czech Republic next week for the 40th running of the all-asphalt Barum Czech Rally Zlin.

Juho Hanninen tops the drivers’ standings after eight rounds but his lead over Skoda Motorsport team-mate Jan Kopecky has been trimmed to just seven points. And Kopecky, a recognised asphalt specialist and the winner in Zlin last season, knows victory on his home event would erode Hanninen’s advantage still further after he outscored the Finn on the last IRC round in Madeira.

Kopecky is relishing the opportunity of competing in front of the Czech spectators, who traditionally flock to the event in huge number. However, he is the first to admit the rally is one of the most difficult on the IRC calendar due to the proliferation of high-speed blasts through forests and woodland, sections of broken Tarmac and the bumpy nature of some of the roads. Considered daunting by some drivers, the rally demands huge commitment and extremely accurate pacenotes.

A mainstay of the IRC since its inception in 2007, the event gets underway with a superspecial stage through the streets of host city Zlin on Friday 27 August. Run at night, the course is effectively three laps of the city’s central area and crosses over a railway line. Crews are released from the start in regular intervals, which means there will be approximately seven cars on the concrete wall-lined course at any one time.

Saturday’s opening leg features four stages, each run twice. They include the 29.09-kilometre Trojak test, one of several stages being run in an opposite direction to last year as part of efforts by the event organisers to keep the route fresh for the competitors. Indeed, only 20 per cent of the stages have not been altered since 2009.

Day two follows a similar format to Saturday with four stages run twice. Like Saturday’s Biskupice stage, the Velky Orechov test, the penultimate stage of the rally, was last used in 2004, which could hand an advantage to some of the more experienced competitors on the bulging 130-car capacity entry list.

Service on both days of the rally is in Otrokovice, 11 kilometres from Zlin.

Although ambient temperatures usually hover around 30 degrees centigrade during rally week, heavy rain showers are commonplace, particularly at night. With much of the route running under tree cover, the stage surface can become unpredictable in places. The tree cover can also hinder visibility with shadows forming on the roads and sunlight breaking through the trees in some areas.

The event marks the third time the Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy will be presented. The award is handed to the most spectacular driver who best embodies the spirit of the rallying legend on rounds of the IRC this season. Its recipient is chosen by a panel consisting of IRC’s Motorsport Development Manager Jean-Pierre Nicolas, Gilbert Roy, the Director of Editorial and Programme Development at Eurosport Events, and Jim McRae, Colin’s father, who will be in Zlin to make a donation to a local good cause.