Production Car World Rally Championship (P-WRC) driver Toshi Arai will compete in Round 6 of the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), the Geko Ypres Rally in Belgium on June 25 and 26. This will be the first IRC event for Toshi who will be driving a Group N SUBARU Impreza WRX STI.

The Ypres Rally is an all-tarmac event around the town of Ypres in western Belgium. It is a classic rally which has been held as part of the European Rally Championship (ERC) for many years. This rally is also famous for the number of spectators who gather along the roadsides of the stages for two days. The route goes through the flat wheat fields around Ypres, with straight sections in the fields connected by junctions and tight corners. With the both IRC and ERC titles at stake, Super 2000 cars, like the Skoda and Peugeot as well as many local Group N cars such as the SUBARU Impreza WRX STI are expected to run.

Toshi Arai says ‘’This will be my first time to take part in this rally, and my rivals will be S2000 drivers who are used to the stages, but I am looking forward to it. Although the surface is entirely tarmac, I hear that as rally cars cut corners, dirt can be brought onto the roads and makes the roads slippery. I will also be driving in this rally as a test because events in Germany and France will follow in the P-WRC under similar conditions. I’ll try my best to achieve a good result”.

SUBARU Motorsport Magazine will feature extensive coverage of the IRC starting from the Ypres Rally with text, photo and video reports on SUBARU vehicles competing in the series.