Van Merksteijn and Kuipers together at WRC Rally Portugal

Photo: ©willyweyens-rallyworld

The rally teams of Van Merksteijn Motorsport and Ipatec Racing have joined forces and will appear together at the start ceremony of the WRC Rally of Portugal which will be held next week. The Dutch participation will add as many as four Ford Focus WRC’s to the entry list of 18 WRC cars and a season record of 75 cars.

The participation of Ipatec Racing and Van Merksteijn Motorsport is a true family affair as both teams are a father and son combination. The team of Ipatec Racing consists of René Kuipers who found a new co-driver for 2009 in Erwin Berkhof and his son Dennis Kuipers will be joined in the Focus WRC by his regular co-driver Kees Hagman. The cars of Van Merksteijn Motorsport are for the first time no longer in the distinctive colour purple but will feature the new Mistral livery. Peter van Merksteijn jnr. and Eddy Chevaillier will start in the Focus WRC 06 and Peter van Merksteijn, for this occasion paired with Hans van Goor, will be driving the Focus WRC 07.

The Rally of Portugal is a rally with a long history and this year it will be held for the 43^rd time. From the modern stadium of Faro where the service park will be located, the rally heads during the three days north through the interior of the Algarve region. The Rally of Portugal is known for fast stages through the hills and is always hard on the tyres. The gravel mountain roads are littered with rocks so punctures can be a deciding factor in the outcome of the rally as the run flat mousse is no longer allowed in the WRC. The opening stage of the rally on Thursday evening and the final stage on Sunday will be held in the Algarve Stadium where a 2.2km long super special is constructed where two cars will start simultaneously in a head to head battle.