Abarth star on the Monte Carlo Rally, Toni Gardemeister, is hoping to return to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) this year and is in discussions with the Italian Astra Racing team about driving its Super 2000 Grande Punto Abarth on selected events, including the next round of the series in Brazil. The Finn believes that fans attending rounds of the IRC this season will be treated to an exciting spectacle - and he hopes to be in the thick of the action.

Gardemeister made his IRC debut on the 78th Monte Carlo Rally last month, the tenth time he had tackled the legendary event. Although he retired from second place due to an electrical failure after turning in a very strong run, the former World Rally Championship regular, who comfortably trounced the factory-entered Abarth runners, was full of praise for the format of the series.

“It is very interesting for the people on the stages because all the times are close and the positions are changing all of the time,” he said. Gardemeister was left without a full time WRC drive when Suzuki unexpectedly canned its factory SX4 programme at the end of last year. “You have to drive the Super 2000 cars on the limit to get the most out of them and that means it is easier to make small mistakes. There are very few chances for drivers in the WRC but in the IRC it is cheaper and there seems to be more opportunities.”

The 33-year-old from Finland is hoping to return to the IRC this year and has confirmed he is in discussions with the Italian Astra Racing team about driving its Grande Punto Abarth on a number of rallies. This programme he hopes will get under way with the second round of the series which takes place in Brazil for the first time next month. Astra Racing team boss Luca Pregliasco commented: “We’ve still got some hurdles to overcome, but we’re racing against time to get Toni out to the next round in Brazil. He did a great job for us again, as we expected, in Monte Carlo. He’s simply one of the world’s top drivers.”