Photo: ©willyweyens-rallyworld

Photographs copyright Willy Weyens of the 2009 Belgium Ypres Westhoek Rally.

The fifth round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge certainly lived up to expectations following a nail biting two-day battle between the top competitors. Eurosport's television coverage was once again impressive with excellent images and commentary throughout, showing how ralying can be covered live in an exciting and entertaining way.

The IRC's promoter, Eurosport Events, seem to have got the formula just right, as the sport now echoes how it used to be in the Group 4 era with plenty of manufacturers and more traditional event formats including a return to night stages. The series is also currently brimming with talent and has put the likes of Kris Meeke, Freddy Loix, Juho Hanninen, Nicolas Vouilloz, Giandomenico Basso, Jan Kopecky etc., firmly in the global spotlight. Coupled with this there are a number of major car manufacturers involved and also the much needed British interested with Meeke and Wilks.

The potential is there for the series to mushroom, but much depends on the outcome of next week's highly anticipated FIA WMSC meeting to see what the future direction of rallying will be.

Photo: ©willyweyens-rallyworld

YPRES RALLY PODIUM QUOTES

-Kris Meeke, Peugeot UK, Winner

I never thought for a minute that I could be in a position to win here, so to be on the top step of the podium on such a prestigious event is a dream come true for me. I think this is certainly the biggest moment of my career to date. Everyone knows the reputation of this rally: victory here feels very special. But it takes more than one person to make a race, and it's been fantastic to have such a fight, with just tenths of a second separating us all. I think this weekend is the most fun I've ever had behind the wheel.

- Jan Kopecky, Skoda Motorsport, Second

Second place is a very good result for us, particularly as we had the accident with the motorcyclist today, which was not a nice feeling as it distracted us. Luckily everyone is OK, but it is not a nice thing to happen on a rally. I tried as best as I could, but I think this result is a real testimony to just how good our car is. I'd like to thank our entire team: we have had two second places now and we are third in the championship, which is a good sign that we are making progress.

 -Freddy Loix, Peugeot Belgium, Third

Of course it's a shame for everyone that we had the puncture, as before it was a really great fight with Kris. I tried not to push my hardest all the time, because this is not the sort of rally where you can take big risks, but in the end it was a really close battle between the two of us. The most important thing in any sport is to have good competition, and we certainly had that all weekend.

 BELGIUM YPRES WESTHOEK RALLY 2009 PHOTOS COPYRIGHT WILLY WEYENS

Photos: ©willyweyens-rallyworld

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• Belgium Ypres Westhoek Rally: Shakedown Photos courtesy Willy Weyens
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• IRC: Ypres Rally 2010 photos copyright Willy Weyens

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Scott Coursey is the editor-in-chief of RallyBuzz.com and can be found on Twitter or on Facebook