Honda customers make 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge debut in
Belgium
Honda customers are looking to challenge for class victory on their first
appearance in this year's Intercontinental Rally Challenge at the Belgium
Ypres Rally this weekend. Last year, the Honda Civic Type R R3 was in
contention for the IRC 2WD Cup right up until the final round and this
year the Hondas are also aiming to figure prominently amongst the action.
Developed by JAS Motorsport and with its Mugen-tuned engine, the Honda
Civic Type R R3 has proved itself capable in the past of defeating much
more powerful rivals in the IRC and has even claimed a top-five overall
finish. The rapid asphalt roads of the area around Ypres should play to
the strengths of the car, which led its class on the Belgium Ypres Rally
last year before retiring as the result of an accident.
Four examples of the Honda Civic will compete on the Belgium Ypres Rally,
including the distinctive Type R R3 of Piepers Rallysport.
The Dutch team, crewed by Marcel Piepers and co-driver Erik de Wild, will
be among the front-runners in the two-wheel-drive class of the event and
can't wait to get into the thick of the action around Flanders.
"We did this event only once before, last year, and from the moment we
got into the first stage we knew that Ypres was a really special rally,"
said Piepers, who is planning to contest three IRC events this year with
his Civic Type R R3. "Our car is strong and we are pleased with the
progress we are making with it. However the opposition is strong so we
are sure to have an exciting battle on our hands."
"To see such enthusiasm amongst our customers is our greatest
satisfaction" says William De Braekeleer, Motorsport Manager at Honda
Motor Europe Ltd. "It's great to see how passionate they are about our
brand and therefore we are delighted to offer them this extra logistic
and technical support at the event"
JAS Motorsport, Honda's long term partner in racing, will support its
customers by making available spare parts and engineering advice in
Ypres. JAS will also provide similar support for Civic Type R customers
in a selection of other IRC rallies this year.
The Piepers Type R is one of four Civics on the 73-strong starting list,
joined by the all-Hungarian team of Vizin Laszlo and Zsiros Gabor,
together with the Dutch showroom-class entry of Martijn Braat and Jac
Gillis and the French drivers Jean-Marc Poisson and Olivier Lesigne. The
rally is based in the market square of the medieval city of Ypres; with
Eurosport covering four stages of the event live on Eurosport and
Eurosport 2. The action gets underway on Friday evening with six special
stages before concluding on Saturday after 10 more stages. The total
competitive distance will be 284,76 kilometres.
-credit: jasmotorsport.com
