Bernardo Sousa (above) didn't get off to a good start in his 2009 P-WRC title tilt on the Rally Norway (top) last month; he retired with engine failure on the opening day.

Rapid Portuguese youngster Bernardo Sousa who is already committed to a Production World Rally Championship (P-WRC) campaign with a privately entered Grande Punto Abarth S2000 has confirmed that he has plans to also squeeze in up to three Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) rounds into his busy 2009 schedule.

The 21-year-old, who made his debut in the WRC in 2007, is again contesting the P-WRC this season, having signed a deal to use drive a Grande Punto Abarth S2000 run by the Portuguese Sports & You team. In fact two of the Italian S2000 cars are in action in the P-WRC this year as Czech driver Jaromir Tarabus is also contesting the series in an example run by JM Engineering Zlín.

However Sousa didn't get off to a very good start in his 2009 P-WRC title tilt on the Rally Norway last month. The ice-and-snow rally in Northern Europe was the opening event on the eight-round 2009 P-WRC calendar, and Sousa was out with engine failure on Day One.

However, alongside the P-WRC campaign this year Sousa is also keen to take in some additional events, including a few drawn from the IRC calendar. "I am looking at the Azores, plus one tarmac event and maybe one more gravel event," he said. "Madeira is a possibility but that is my home rally so there is always a big pressure on you to try to win your home event and that is not easy. The Rally Principe de Asturias in Spain could also be quite interesting but we will have to see."

The Portuguese youngster started rallying in 2007, and began 2009 with seven P-WRC starts under his belt. His best P-WRC results up to the beginning of this year were second in Greece and seventh in New Zealand. Sousa said one of the attractions of the IRC was the regulation concerning the number of passes a driver can make of a stage during the reconnaissance. On P-WRC events, drivers are restricted to two passes only, whereas on selected IRC events they are allowed to drive through a stage up to four times. "That could also be an advantage for me," he added, "because my experience is not so high on some events." Sousa also commented that he was keen to try his hand on an asphalt-based rally with his new Abarth Grande Punto, especially as the P-WRC schedule is made up of snow and gravel surfaces.