Anton Alén and Giandomenico Basso were right on the pace on yesterday's shakedown stage as the Abarth team made its final preparations before the start of the Rally Internacional de Curitiba this morning

Anton Alén and Giandomenico Basso were right on the pace on yesterday's shakedown stage as the Abarth team made its final preparations before the start of the Rally Internacional de Curitiba this morning. The Intercontinental Rally Challenge will embrace a new concept with the Rally Internacional de Curitiba, which gets underway in Brazil on today. This event will also be held at the same venue as the opening round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, which is also promoted by Eurosport Events.

Alén was second fastest on yesterday's shakedown stage, just two tenths off the pace set by Kris Meeke (Peugeot 207 S2000) with the conditions encountered on the stage amore reminiscent of those that will be found on the second day of the rally on Saturday, rather than today’s opening leg. Basso was sixth fastest on the shakedown stage.

Anton Alén is aiming to make history on the Rally Internacional de Curitiba by repeating his famous father Markku’s Brazilian victory of exactly 30 years ago. The very first Rally do Brasil was held in 1979, with Fiat entering two cars for Markku Alén and Walter Röhrl.

After an epic battle Alén triumphed in his 131 Mirafiori, aged 28: three years older than his son Anton is now. Markku’s eventual winning margin was five minutes over Röhrl, after a true marathon that lasted for three days between Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Campos do Jordao. The 1979 rally was also contested by an ex-Formula 1 driver, Wilson Fittipaldi, who finished fifth. “I don’t remember much about it, but it was a very tough rally and nice roads to drive,” said Markku. “I imagine it will be just the same now.”

Anton Alén though, at the wheel of the Abarth Grande Punto S2000, admits that it will be difficult for him to repeat his father’s victory of 30 years ago. “We know that the car is very quick on gravel, but now we’re just trying to develop it a little bit more,” he said. “I don’t really know exactly what to expect from the Curitiba rally as it is a new experience for me, but the prospect of competing here is very exciting. I think it will be a very interesting experience for all of us”.

For Alén, the main priority is to score points, after being forced into retirement with a mechanical problem on the very last road section of the Monte Carlo Rally in January. “That was disappointing, sure, but there’s no point in looking back on it," he added. "It’s already history and the main thing is that we’ve got a really good opportunity to do well now.”

The rally runs around the city of Curitiba, to the south of Rio de Janeiro, with the service park based in the Curitiba International circuit, alongside the FIA World Touring Car Championship paddock. The special stages get underway on Friday morning and finish on Saturday lunchtime, just before qualifying for the World Touring Car races. With this innovative timetable, rallying and racing has come together in a way that has not yet been seen before. A number of activities are scheduled to take place before the rally that will see the racing drivers get close to their rallying counterparts and vice versa.

For the majority of the regular drivers, the Rally Internacional de Curitiba will also be a brand new event, marking the IRC’s first gravel round of the season and the first time that the series has visited South America. The roads contain a wide mixture of fast and flowing gravel stages, which will allow every crew to exploit the capabilities of their cars to the maximum. However, there are a number of traps to catch out the unwary, giving the local drivers a distinct advantage in terms of experience.

The weather in Brazil is another factor that is sure to play a part. At this time of year, weather conditions around Curitiba are expected to be uncertain, and rain has been forecast along with warm temperatures. This makes tyre choice a vital element of success, and with no previously established data to go on, crews will have to rely on both accurate information and a little bit of luck.

The first stage of the Curitiba Rally gets underway at 09:00 on Today (Friday 6 March), after the cars leave parc ferme at the Curitiba circuit, located just outside the city centre. The competitors will contest seven stages on the opening day, with the last of those stages starting at 15:15. Day two tomorrow (Saturday 7 March), will see the crews start off again at 09:00 to take in six more stages, including the most challenging stage of the rally – the 28 kilometres of Bocaiuva – which is run twice as SS8 and SS11. The final stage of the rally begins at 14:45, concluding the 234 competitive kilometres after a total of 13 tough special stages. The finish then takes place at the Curitiba circuit, just before the FIA World Touring Car qualifying session starts.