Reigning Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion Juho Hänninen is expecting Jan Kopecký and Freddy Loix to become embroiled in a close fight for victory on Tour de Corse-E.Leclerc this week.
Hänninen is not contesting the island rally due to the fact it’s not part of his original schedule of events for 2011. He has tipped his Škoda Motorsport team-mate Jan Kopecký and BFO Škoda Rally Team driver Freddy Loix to battle for glory instead.
“They both know the roads quite well and if Jan wants to win the rally he needs to be fast because we have seen what Freddy can do and that he can be quick,” said Hänninen, winner of the last IRC round on Gran Canaria in mid-April. “It will be a close battle although it’s easier to make differences with the time because the rally is a little more tricky than Canarias.”
Although six stages of the event will be shown live on Eurosport, Hänninen says he will do his best to resist the urge to watch the action unfold on television or the internet back home in his native Finland.
“I don’t like watching rallies when I’m not there because I would like to be doing the rally myself,” he said. “I will work on the [family] farm instead. That will give me some good exercise.
“Of course I would like to be there but the IRC is not the main target this year after winning in 2010 so all the rallies I can do I am happy with that.”
After two rounds, Loix holds third place in the IRC drivers’ classification with Kopecký fifth.