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Sousa set to contest IRC rounds

Red Bull-backed Bernardo Sousa could compete on as many as three rounds of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge this season

The 21-year-old Portuguese made his Production Car World Rally Championship debut in an Abarth Grande Punto on Rally Norway last week, but was set back by a mixture of accidents and technical problems. He is also targeting a programme of additional events, including the IRC.

"I am looking at the Azores, plus one asphalt event and maybe one more gravel event," Sousa said. "Madeira is a possibility but that is my home rally so there is always a big pressure on you to try to win your home event and that is not easy. The Rally Principe de Asturias in Spain could also be quite interesting but we will have to see."

Sousa said one of the attractions of the IRC was the regulation controlling the number of passes a driver can make of a stage during the reconnaissance. On Production events, drivers are restricted to two passes but on selected IRC events they are allowed to drive through a stage up to four times.

"That could also be an advantage for me because my experience is not so high on some events," Sousa said.

"And there are lots of interesting asphalt events on the IRC that are good. For me the main thing is to gain experience with this car."

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