Q & A with Eurosport's Filiol

Geraldine Filiol, managing director of Eurosport Events, told autosport.com that the television firm had been delighted with the first round, and has big plans for the series' future.

Q. What did you think of the IRC's first ever Monte Carlo Rally?

Geraldine Filiol: It was fantastic. The team all worked so hard to make this happen. We have a good team here in Eurosport Events and in the IRC and everybody worked well together. We are very pleased with the way the partnership with the Automobile Club de Monaco (Monte Carlo Rally organiser, ACO) has gone. Together, we made lots of smart decisions with some great energy.

Q. How was the event from a technical production point of view?

GF: The event went very well. We tested everything last year, but at the same time it was still a big gamble to programme so much live coverage. The ACO tell us that we made history in terms of television coverage on this event, so we are really happy about that.

We had no technical issues at all, which was incredible when you consider the challenge which we faced here. We ran 10 on-board cameras giving live feeds, we six cameras out and two or three all of the time in the service park, it was amazing. I think we did a world premiere on this event. We are all incredibly proud of what we have achieved from here. At the same time, I think we are all exhausted!

Q. How much more live coverage will we see in this year's IRC?

GF: The plan is to run live coverage on four of the events this season, then six or eight next year and everywhere in two years' time. We believe live television is the key to the championship. The sport was in need of some innovation and this is fantastic, rallying hasn't always been so well scheduled. We had to take this risk, but it paid off.

Q. Is the IRC in competition with the WRC?

GF: We are very comfortable with the contract we have to broadcast both championships. As far as I'm concerned there is room for two championships.

There are some political discussions taking place, but as the managing director of Eurosport Events, I don't want to take part in these, my role is to develop the IRC series. I don't see the WRC as a rival, the championships offer different things. Ours is a less costly championship and, in the current situation, our position of being cost-effective seems to be working with the teams.

Q. How well is the IRC going?

GF: It's in its third year and we are coming up with an innovative approach to events, we have more interesting events which want to come and join us, we have a new manufacturer in Skoda this season. Things are going well.

We go from here in Monte Carlo to Brazil for the second round, where there's yet more innovation as we will run a World Touring Car Championship and IRC event simultaneously. That's our next challenge, but it's one we're ready for. It's a very exciting time.