The opening round of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) - the ‘Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo’ came to an end on 22 January at a port in Monaco. Celebrating its 100th anniversary, the rally saw 110 entries including 8 SUBARUs in the IRC.

This year’s event was one of the toughest Monte-Carlo rallies in recent years. It’s always been a high-speed rally, and this year, while surfaces were dry, there were some icy patches to catch out the unwary. But it was the changeable weather which is usually a decisive factor of this event, having dramatic effects on the rally on Day 2.

Although some weather forecasts had said some snow was possible, France’s leading forecaster - ‘Mto-France’ had predicted fair weather for the afternoon. The last section of the day however, was indeed hit by heavy snow. Taking advantage of such conditions, Bryan Bouffier in a Peugeot opted for spiked tyres and darted up from 7th to the overall lead. Florian Gonon also chose spikes for his production-class SUBARU Impreza, recording the two third fastest times, close to Bouffier’s and moving from 19th to 13th overall. Gonon held on to his position until the end of the rally to take the top spot in the point standings in his production class.

General Manager of the STI Group N Project, George Donaldson said: “It was great to see Florian (Gonon) produce these spectacular stage times, especially on the two stages when he was third overall. Basically, he took a gamble given the contradictory weather information available. However, he moved up to 13th overall in two stages, and the gap between him and the next car was over six minutes. These remarkable turn of events will go into the folklore of this incredible rally”.

Rally Argentina, which was initially on the calendar, has been cancelled and the second round of the IRC will be the all-tarmac Rally Islas Canarias from 14 to 16 April, 2011.