Flying Finn Toni Gardemeister is set to drive the Hankook Opel Corsa later this month as Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) testing moves to Spain for the Rally Principe de Asturias.
Toni and regular co-driver Tomi Tuominen are confident that development work on the car in the UK and on rallies in Belgium and the Czech Republic will provide them with a competitive package but said further development work was the priority in Spain.
“I’m really looking forward to working with MSD and Hankook on the development of the car and the tyre package,’’ said Toni. “These cars are going to be the standard in top class rallying in years to come so it’s good to be given the opportunity to be part of the development work on the Corsa.’’
Hankook motorsports manager Mike Patterson said he was thrilled to secure such a highly regarded rally driver for the Spanish rally. “Andreas Mikkelsen did a fantastic job for us on the recent Barum Rally in the Czech Republic but he has commitments in Norway this month so we are delighted to be joined by Toni and Tomi in Spain. Their experience will be invaluable as we develop the car ahead of a full assault on the IRC next year.’’
While the Asturias Rally is new for Toni he has a wealth of experience rallying and testing on Spanish roads and said that he is looking forward to the challenge which gets underway in Oviedo on September 10. “This is new and exciting for MSD, Hankook and ourselves and it is good to be part of developing a brand new package for the IRC.’’
Hankook is working with world renowned preparation company MSD to develop and run the Opel Corsa OPC Super 2000 on a variety of high profile rallies this year with events in San Remo and Scotland set to follow Spain.
MSD managing director David Whitehead said that testing on events is proving a valuable way to evaluate the car ahead of 2010. “Testing behind closed doors is vital to fine tune many components but the real test is in competition conditions and Spain will once again provide us with a valuable opportunity to develop the Corsa.’’
The Rally Principe de Asturias take place from September 10-12.
