The 2011 Mecsek Rallye, officially Canon 45. Mecsek Rallye, was the eighth round of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) season. The fourteen stage asphalt rally – held as a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge for the first time – took place over 10–11 September 2011 with all stages held in daylight.
Introduction The rally, which was run for the 45th time, was based in the Mecsek mountain city of Pécs, in the Baranya County of Hungary. The opening events took place on 9 September, starting in Széchenyi square, in the old town of Pécs with a special musical performance, composed by Tibor Bogányi, the conductor of the Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra, for brass winds and car horns. Following the short concert the racers drove from the square to the Pécs Plaza, where the ceremonial start was held and the rally was officially opened by Csaba Nagy, deputy mayor of Pécs, Erik Bánki, president of the Tourist and Sports Committee of the Parliament and Zsolt Gyulay, head of the National Automobilesport Federation of Hungary. The prologue was staged in the late afternoon on a track and was won by local driver Dávid Botka ahead of Bruno Magalhães.
The rally began the next day; initially eight asphalt stages covering were scheduled for Saturday, however, due to safety reasons the final stage of the day was cancelled. The closing six stages, consisting of were completed on Sunday.
Results Andreas Mikkelsen led the rally from start, but was forced to retire on the penultimate stage after he hit a log, with Jan Kopecký taking the lead and held on to take took his second consecutive IRC victory on the rally, by just 0.8 seconds ahead of Thierry Neuville, in the closest finish in Intercontinental Rally Challenge history.
Overall Pos. Driver Co-driver Car Time Difference Points 1. Jan Kopecký Petr Starý Škoda Fabia S2000 2:00:06.7 0.0 25 2. Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Peugeot 207 S2000 2:00:07.5 0.8 18 3. Freddy Loix Frédéric Miclotte Škoda Fabia S2000 2:01:06.7 1:00.0 15 4. Bryan Bouffier Xavier Panseri Peugeot 207 S2000 2:01:42.3 1:35.6 12 5. Hermann Gassner Timo Gottschalk Škoda Fabia S2000 2:02:39.2 2:32.5 10 6. György Aschenbrenner Zsuzsa Pikó Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 2:02:44.9 2:38.2 8 7. Toni Gardemeister Tapio Suominen Škoda Fabia S2000 2:03:12.3 3:05.6 6 8. Róbert Bútor Igor Bacigál Peugeot 207 S2000 2:03:23.5 3:16.8 4 9. Bruno Magalhães Paulo Grave Peugeot 207 S2000 2:03:58.4 3:51.7 2 10. Beppo Harrach Andreas Schindlbacher Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX 2:04:20.7 4:14.0 1
Special stages DayStageTimeNameLengthWinnerTimeAvg. spd.Rally leaderLeg 1(10 September) SS1 9:08 Hetvehely 1 18.21 km Andreas Mikkelsen 8:50.2 123.64 km/h Andreas Mikkelsen SS2 10:06 Orfű 1 28.00 km Andreas Mikkelsen 14:16.4 117.70 km/h SS3 12:34 Pécsvárad 1 12.00 km Jan Kopecký 6:46.0 106.40 km/h SS4 13:37 Alsómocsolád 1 14.02 km Andreas Mikkelsen 6:53.2 122.15 km/h SS5 16:10 Hetvehely 2 18.21 km Jan Kopecký 8:47.6 124.25 km/h SS6 17:08 Orfű 2 28.00 km Jan Kopecký 14:10.5 118.52 km/h SS7 19:36 Pécsvárad 2 12.00 km Jan Kopecký 6:49.1 105.60 km/h SS8 20:39 Alsómocsolád 2 14.02 km stage cancelledLeg 2(11 September) SS9 9:08 Zobák 1 12.00 km Andreas Mikkelsen 6:51.2 105.06 km/h SS10 9:51 Árpádtető 1 24.00 km Jan Kopecký Andreas Mikkelsen 11:09.8 128.99 km/h SS11 10:44 Nyárásvölgy 1 17.70 km Thierry Neuville 8:29.9 124.97 km/h SS12 13:17 Zobák 2 12.00 km Thierry Neuville 6:48.4 105.78 km/h SS13 14:00 Árpádtető 2 24.00 km Thierry Neuville 11:06.4 129.65 km/h Jan Kopecký SS14 14:53 Nyárásvölgy 2 17.70 km Thierry Neuville 8:26.4 125.83 km/h
References
External links The official website for the rally The official website of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge