The 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge was the fifth season of the

Intercontinental Rally Challenge The Intercontinental Rally Challenge was an FIA-sanctioned rallying series organised by SRW Events and Eurosport Events, and aimed to "give new opportunities to young or amateur rally drivers competing in recognised regional and international ral ...

. The season consisted of twelve rounds and started on 19 January with the Monte Carlo Rally. The season ended on November 6, at the

Cyprus Rally The Cyprus Rally is a rallying competition held yearly in Cyprus since 1970. The event is run by the Cyprus Automobile Association and is based in the city of Limassol (Lemesos). It is run on the winding roads of the nearby mountains of Troödo ...

Juho Hänninen Juho Ville Matias Hänninen (born 25 July 1981) is a Finnish rally driver. He is the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) champion and 2011 Super 2000 World Rally Championship (S-WRC) champion with co-driver Mikko Markkula driving a works ...

became the drivers' champion after winning Rally Scotland, the third of his rally wins during the season. Hänninen also won in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

as he finished on the podium in ten of the eleven events that he contested during the season, of which three wins and four second places counted towards the championship's best seven scores rule.

Škoda Motorsport Škoda Motorsport is the division of Czech car manufacturer Škoda Auto responsible for motorsport activities. The team had competed as a manufacturer in the World Rally Championship between 1999 and 2005 and Intercontinental Rally Challenge (be ...

team-mate Jan Kopecký finished in second place, some 18 points behind Hänninen. Although not as consistent as his team-mate, Kopecký won one event during the season, winning in the Canary Islands. Third place was claimed by the top

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...

driver and reigning champion

Kris Meeke Kris Meeke (born 2 July 1979) is a Northern Irish professional rally driver, best known for competing in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). He was the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion. His co-driver is Seb Marshall, also B ...

, after a third place in Scotland took him ahead of

Freddy Loix Freddy Loix (born 10 November 1970) is a Belgian rally driver. Career Loix's career in motor sport began in karting at the age of 15. In 1990, he bought his first rally car, a Lancia Delta group N, though he soon progressed to a Mitsubishi Gal ...

. Meeke's season was blighted by errors of which retiring from five of the eleven events he contested but did take a win in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Despite taking part in four rallies, Loix's tarmac expertise shone through, winning the events in

Ypres, Belgium Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

, Madeira and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

as well as a third place in

Sanremo Sanremo (; lij, Sanrémmo(ro) or , ) or San Remo is a city and comune on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination on the Italian Rivie ...

. Four other drivers took victories during the season; World Rally Championship front-runner

Mikko Hirvonen Mikko Hirvonen (born 31 July 1980) is a Finnish former rally driver, and a current Rally-Raid driver, who drove in the World Rally Championship. He placed third in the drivers' championship and helped Ford to the manufacturers' title in both 2 ...

won a one-off outing in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

Bruno Magalhães Bruno Magalhães (born 10 July 1980) is a Portuguese rally driver. He is a regular competitor in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, driving a Peugeot 207 S2000 for Peugeot Sport Portugal. He is a twice-podium finisher on the Rali Vinho da Ma ...

took his first IRC win in the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

Paolo Andreucci Paolo Andreucci (born 21 April 1965) is an Italian rally driver. He won Rally Sanremo in IRC twice and 11 times Italian Rally Champion. His co-driver Anna Andreussi Anna Andreussi (born 17 April 1972) is an Italian rally co-driver A co-dri ...

won in Sanremo and

Nasser Al-Attiyah Nasser Salih Nasser Abdullah Al-Attiyah ( ar, ناصر صالح ناصر عبدالله العطية : nāṣir ṣāliḥ nāṣir ʿabdullāh al-ʿaṭṭīyah; born 21 December 1970 in Doha) is a Qatari rally driver and sport shooter. He wa ...

won in Cyprus when many of the leading contenders skipped the event. Škoda took the manufacturers' championship after the Barum Rally Zlín in the Czech Republic.

Calendar

The calendar consisted of twelve events run on two continents. Changes for 2010 season included the replacement of Rally Russia, Rally Japan and the Safari Rally with Rally Argentina, Rally d'Italia Sardegna and FxPro Cyprus Rally. In March it was announced that the Rally Islas Canarias would replace the Rally Principe de Asturias as the Spanish round on the schedule, moving from September to April.

Selected entries

M-Sport M-Sport is an auto racing team and motorsport engineering company headquartered at Dovenby Hall near Cockermouth, Cumbria, England, United Kingdom. Formed in 1979 by the World Rally Championship driver Malcolm Wilson, and originally known as ...

(

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

) and Subaru became the latest registered manufacturers to join the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, alongside

Abarth Abarth & C. S.p.A. () is an Italian racing and road car maker and Car tuning, performance division founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by Stellantis through its FCA Italy, Italian subsidiary. Its logo is a ...

( Fiat),

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

Ralliart Ralliart is the high-performance and motorsports division of Mitsubishi Motors. It was responsible for development and preparation of the company's rally racing and off-road racing vehicles, as well as the development of high-performance models ...

( Mitsubishi),

, Proton and

Škoda Škoda means ''pity'' in the Czech and Slovak languages. It may also refer to: Czech brands and enterprises * Škoda Auto, automobile and previously bicycle manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav ** Škoda Motorsport, the division of Škoda Auto respons ...

Results

Standings

Drivers

* Only the best seven scores from each driver counted towards the championship.

Manufacturers

* Only the best seven scores from each manufacturer counted towards the championship.

References

External links

The official website of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge
{{Intercontinental Rally Challenge years Intercontinental Rally Challenge seasons

2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge season