Kronos chief puts faith in updated Peugeot for IRC

13th January 2012

By Charlie Contadeli

Joint Kronos Racing boss Marc van Dalen believes Peugeot’s updated 207 Super 2000 can still win in the IRC this year despite rival make Skoda being tipped to dominate the entry with its Fabia model.

Peugeot Sport engineers in France have made several changes to the 207’s engine and chassis for the 2012 season as the French make bids to continue its run of success in the IRC and prevent Skoda from making it three drivers’ and makes’ titles in a row.

“The 207 S2000 Evolution is really at the level to battle for victory and the title,” said van Dalen. “We also have the personnel in place with all the experience necessary to be very successful in the IRC.”

Bertrand Vallat, the man in charge of the 207’s design and development, explained the changes: “The 207 S2000 will be widened by 20mm. That will enable us to comply with the regulations, while at the same time bringing a performance gain to the existing version on both asphalt and gravel.”

He continued: “The most notable gain will be cornering stability, especially through faster corners on asphalt. We have also profited from changes to introduce some minor bodywork modifications, which will help brake cooling. Air flow round the wheel arches has been optimised, too.”

Belgium-based Kronos is in discussions with a number of drivers regarding IRC campaigns in 2012. The team guided Nicolas Vouilloz and Kris Meeke to back-to-back IRC drivers’ crowns in 2008 and 2009 respectively.

Skoda’s IRC line-up this season is set to include factory entries for Juho Hanninen and Jan Kopecky, plus factory-prepared cars for Freddy Loix and Andreas Mikkelsen.