Even if it is still more than 8 months before the 2011 Geko Ypres Rally takes place, the preparations are already in top gear. The rally will traditionally be organized during the last weekend of June, more specifically on 23 -25th of June. The main event on the Belgian calendar will of course also be one of the key-rallies of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and the European rally Championship. The Eurosport Group, which promotes the IRC through Eurosport Events, will once again be the privileged partner of the Geko Ypres Rally, and provide a large-scale TV-coverage of the event.
The Geko Ypres Rally will return as usual to the famous landmarks of the Ypres region for the special stages. Most of these special stages will undergo changes and modifications to make this demanding rally even more challenging for the pilots and more attractive for the spectators. There will again be a special stage across the French border in the Lille Métropole region.
The main news so far is the fact that the rally headquarters move from the Cloth’s Hall in the centre of Ypres to the Ypres Business Park, just outside Ypres. Due to the expansion of the "In Flanders Fields"museum inside the Cloth’s Hall, the building is no longer available. The heart of the rally, the service area and The Rally Village, stay in the very centre of Ypres, on the beautiful and convivial town’s Market Square.
Alain Penasse, rally manager: "We as organiser are looking forward to host our rally HQ at the high-tech site of IBP. I am sure that some aspects of our organisation will increase due to new facilities that will become available. The site has geographically a big advantage for most of our 1200 volunteers who are out on the stages and need access to the rally HQ. On top of that we will create the overnight parc fermé next to our rally HQ."
Wouter Bouckaert Commercial and Site Manager ACCENTIS NV: "IBP is very pleased with the arrival of the HQ of the Rally. This is once more the proof that the assets, flexibility, modular offices, large parking and easy accessibility, of the Ieper Business Park are highly estimated. IBP is convinced that the Geko Ypres Rally and Ieper Business Park are heading for a very successful cooperation."