Clarion joins Peugeot UK in the fast lane

Clarion, the specialist in car audio and electronics, has become an official Peugeot partner for the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). This partnership is the latest of many formed by the two brands to date.
Six years after last sponsoring Peugeot UK and underlining its significant, long-standing supplier relationship, Clarion has again joined forces with Peugeot UK in its bid to win the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). Peugeot has an illustrious history in rallying and has enjoyed great success in the IRC, claiming drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles three years running since joining the series at the outset.
This year’s punishing 12-round tarmac and gravel rally series visits seven countries between January to November, and the Peugeot brand is represented by a series of national teams running the spectacular Peugeot 207 S2000, developed by Peugeot Sport in France.

The Peugeot UK team is headed by new British driver/co-driver pairing of Guy Wilks from Durham and co-driver Phil Pugh, from mid-Wales. With a third and fifth place under their belt from the first two rounds, at the time of writing the team are eagerly awaiting the next outing in Corsica, the Tour de Corse - traditionally known as the ‘Rally of 10,000 Corners’ due to its high frequency of turns - on May 12/14.

The Peugeot 207 S2000 Evolution in which the team is contesting the series, is the latest offering from Peugeot, the most successful manufacturer in the IRC with 20 wins to its credit.

The 207 S2000 is a standard production Peugeot 207 at heart, but performance is transformed by just a few ‘adaptations’…including
4-wheel drive, a 2.0 litre power plant developing 300bhp, fed through a 6-speed sequential gearbox to deliver electrifying performance.

If you are interested in following the fortunes of the team, visit

http://www.peugeot.co.uk/about-peugeot/sport/irc-rally-home/

Clarion’s rally history with Peugeot

Since 1996, Clarion was a major sponsor of the immensely successful Peugeot Sport World Rally Championship team spanning eight years, which won the series outright in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Underlining their achievement, Peugeot was never lower than 4th in the Championship rankings between 2000 and 2006, before moving to the IRC at the inception the following year. Initially, Clarion supported the 306 Maxi in the French Rally Championship before progressing to the immensely successful Peugeot 206 WRC, and maintained its support of the Peugeot 307CC in WRC colours through to 2005.

Commenting on Clarion GB's sponsorship of the Peugeot UK IRC team, Michelle Doolan, Semi-OEM Sales Manager said: “We are delighted to renew our long and highly successful motorsport sponsorship relationship with the Peugeot team, and specifically Peugeot UK, with whom we enjoy a mutually-beneficial business relationship in the supply of Clarion audio and multimedia products. We wish the team continuing success in their bid to win the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge”.

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