IRC BARUM CZECH RALLY ZLIN ACTION THIS WEEKEND

With four events of the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge season remaining, the battle for the title is tightly poised as the series heads to Czech Republic next week for the 40th running of the all-asphalt Barum Czech Rally Zlin. Juho Hanninen tops the drivers' standings after eight rounds but his lead over Skoda Motorsport team-mate Jan Kopecky has been trimmed to just seven points. And Kopecky, a recognised asphalt specialist and the winner in Zlin last season, knows victory on his home event would erode Hanninen's advantage still further after he outscored the Finn on the last IRC round in Madeira. Kopecky is relishing the opportunity of competing in front of the Czech spectators, who traditionally flock to the event in huge number. However, he is the first to admit the rally is one of the most difficult on the IRC calendar due to the proliferation of high-speed blasts through forests and woodland, sections of broken Tarmac and the bumpy nature of some of the roads. Considered daunting by some drivers, the rally demands huge commitment and extremely accurate pacenotes. A mainstay of the IRC since its inception in 2007, the event gets underway with a superspecial stage through the streets of host city Zlin on Friday 27 August. Run at night, the course is effectively three laps of the city's central area and crosses over a railway line. Crews are released from the start in regular intervals, which means there will be approximately seven cars on the concrete wall-lined course at any one time.

MONSTER ATTACKS THE PEAK (Turn it up LOUD!)

THE RETURN OF THE MOUNT BULLER SPRINT

The famous Mount Buller Sprint is ready to run, but only if competitors are ready to support it. The eighth annual race to the summit of the mountain in Victoria's alpine region is scheduled for September 3 - 5th, but organisers say it will only run if the tarmac rally community comes to the party. The Buller Sprint will again use the famous sixteen kilometre stretch of road from the foot of Mt Buller to the luxury resort centre on top of the mountain. With more than 132 corners separated by short bursts of straight and cambered tarmac, the sprint is arguably Australia's premier hillclimb and draws competitors from all over the country. The 2010 event has gained valuable sponsorship from Pacific Hire and RDA Brakes and is open to both Classic cars (pre-1982) and Modern cars (1982 onwards).

QUEENSLAND’S SUNCOAST RALLY CANCELLED

The 2009 Suncoast Classic tarmac rally has been cancelled with organisers blaming the world financial crisis for a lack of entries. The management team of Silverstone Events, which planned to stage the rally on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast between 22 and 26 July, said that a smaller than expected number of registrations had resulted in its cancellation. Silverstone Events Director David Edwards said it appeared the world financial crisis has taken its toll on motorsport events like the rally. He said that while the number of enquiries for the second Suncoast Classic was high, those early registrations of interest had not translated into official entries. “Unfortunately, we have not received the number of entries we expected by this point,” Mr Edwards said.