The Abarth factory team's bid to win the Barum Rally Zlín will get underway this evening at 9PM when the rally's opening superspecial stage takes place at Pod Velkým Kinem. The 9.36 km SSS Zlín - Škoda stage will announce the start of the sixth round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, taking place in the Czech Republic from August 24-26.

The event boasts a record entry list of 74 IRC competitors, including no fewer than 15 Super 2000 cars. These new generation rally cars - pioneered by Abarth and Peugeot - use a two-litre normally-aspirated engine and a standard four-wheel drive transmission system, making them both spectacular to watch and cost-efficient for manufacturers to produce. The 74 IRC entrants in the Czech Republic represent Abarth, Citroen, Honda, Mitsubishi, Peugeot and Volkswagen: all six of the manufacturers that have signed up for the IRC series to date.

First out of the blocks in Zlín this evening will be IRC series leader Andrea Navarra in a factory Abarth Grande Punto. He will be followed off the ramp by former European Champion Renato Travaglia, who is switching to a privately-run Abarth Grande Punto for this event. The factory Peugeot Spain drivers will as usual be Nicolas Vouilloz and Enrique Garcia Ojeda, while the second factory Abarth car will be driven by Rally Russia winner Anton Alén - starting only his second asphalt event.
 

In addition to these drivers already mentioned, there will be a number of privately-entered Super 2000 machine in action from Freddy Loix (Abarth), Corrado Fontana (Abarth), Michal Solowow (Abarth), Volkan Isik (Abarth), Bernd Casier (Peugeot), Jimmy Joge (Peugeot), Roman Odložilík (Abarth), Janos Toth (Peugeot), Marco Cavigioli (Peugeot) and Tomasz Czopik (Abarth).

This record Super 2000 entry list beats the previous IRC benchmark of fourteen Super 2000 cars that were seen on the Ypres Rally Belgium in June - part of a total IRC entry of 71 cars seen on that round. Jean-Pierre Nicolas, the IRC's motorsport development manager, commented: “It's fantastic to see such a strong entry list in the Czech Republic, as close competition has always been a hallmark of the IRC. The Super 2000 cars put on a fantastic show for the public, as they make a lot of noise and get very sideways. These cars are very similar in performance to Group N cars, so once again we are set for a thrilling weekend of rallying. With the series lead so finally balanced - just one point separates Abarth and Peugeot - every second will count on the Barum Rally Zlin.”

In total, there will be 13 FIA-seeded drivers amongst the 122 competing crews, as well as 20 priority drivers designated by their local motor sport federations. The competitors cover 13 different nationalities, from the Czech Republic to the Ukraine. Eurosport will once more provide ground-breaking live coverage of the event, taking in the action from the all-asphalt stages as well as all the latest news from the service park.