Bouffier charges to Monaco win

Bryan Bouffier (right) took a huge win when he claimed victory at the IRC Rally Monte Carlo over some serious competition

Bryan Bouffier had never even scored an Intercontinental Rally Challenge point before the 2011 Rally Monte Carlo, but the Frenchman was consistent, confident and dominant and topped the podium at the end of the event.

It was a great tire choice that gave Bouffier the lead as he took charge on the only two snow-affected stages, after which he drove brilliantly to maintain his position until the end. It had been Jan Kopeckey that was dominating the rally earlier on, but a poor tire choice by him dropped him down the order, leaving it up to Bouffier to win or lose for himself.

Francois Delacour made a similar tire choice and climbed from eighth to second on the snowy stages, but he was not able to overhaul Bouffier. Bouffier didn’t have much pressure once he had built up his lead and he really just had to make it to the end to claim the win.

He drove flawlessly through the final stages to do just that, taking the win over Freddy Loix by more than half a minute. “It’s fantastic, really fantastic," Bouffier remarked after the rally. “I’m so happy. I had big pressure, but I was thinking about the end of the stage. There was a lot of emotion."

Stephane Sarrazin won the last two stage on the final loop to claim the final podium spot.

The Rally Monte Carlo is always a challenge and Bouffier loved the 2011 installment. “Monte Carlo for a rally driver is really amazing, especially this year with lots of fantastic drivers and amazing weather conditions."

IRC Rally Monte Carlo Results
1. Bryan Bouffier Peugeot 3:32m55.6
2. Freddy Loix Skoda + 32.5
3. Stephane Sarrazin Peugeot + 51.9
4. Guy Wilks Peugeot + 1:19.7
5. Francois Delecour Peugeot + 1:22.4
6. Juho Hanninen Skoda + 1:29.3
7. Petter Solberg Peugeot + 3:45.9
8. Nicolas Vouilloz Skoda + 4:47.8
9. Jan Kopecky Skoda + 7:45.9
10. Giandomenico Basso Peugeot + 8:46.0