Peugeot and Kris Meeke head for Madeira

The next round of the IRC will be held on the island of Madeira from 30th July until 1st August. The Rali Vinho Madeira is round seven of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) and could be one of the most fiercely contested rounds.

With a one point lead in the IRC driver’s standings, Peugeot UK’s Kris Meeke will face stiff competition from a total of 21 other S2000 drivers, including current Portuguese Rally Champion Bruno Magalhaes. Both drivers will be in Peugeot 207 S2000 entered by their respective importers. The last time the two drivers competed together in the Azores, it was Kris who came out on top.

The rally starts on Thursday 30th July at 17:03 (local time) with the ceremonial start and then a 2.18 km super special stage in Funchal. The crews will then contest over the next two days a further twenty all asphalt stages with a total stage distance of 302.98 km, before the rally ends on Saturday 1st August.

The driver holding second place in the driver’s standings, Jan Kopecky will not be joining Kris in Madeira, neither will his Skoda team mate Juho Hanninen. The Skoda duo, however, will be back for the next round in Zlin, their home round.