Eurosport Events, the promoter of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, has announced the calendar for the 2010 season, featuring twelve events across Europe and South America.
For the second season in a row, the campaign will start with Rallye Monte Carlo – which will feature extensive live TV coverage as recently announced by series bosses.
The calendar, which contains a mix of asphalt and gravel events as well as two mixed-surface rallies, will also contain three new events, with Argentina, Sardinia and Cyprus all joining the fold.
“This exciting calendar reflects the increasing status of IRC in world motorsport, with more and more prestigious events joining our series,” Géraldine Filiol, Managing Director of Eurosport Events said. “We have taken a number of major steps forward with high levels for both competition and ground-breaking live TV coverage. This contributes to the spectacular rise in the profile of the series.
“For 2010, we are embarking on our most ambitious season yet: not only do we start the season with the legendary Monte Carlo Rally with fully 14 hours of live action, but we will extend this innovative live television production to four other events across the year, to provide unrivalled access for fans and great value to competitors and commercial partners."
2010 IRC calendar: *
19-23 Jan
Rallye Monte Carlo4-6 March
Rally Curitiba19-21 March
Rally Argentina **
4-6 June
Rally d'Italia Sardegna24-26 June
Belgium Ypres Rally15-17 July
Sata Rally Azores5-7 Aug
Rally Vinho Madeira27-29 Aug
Barum Czech Rally Zlin9-11 Sept
Rally Principe de Asturias23-25 Sept
Rallye Sanremo14-16 Oct
Rally of Scotland4-6 Nov
FxPro Cyprus Rally* subject to FIA approval
** subject to commercial agreement with event promoter