IRC: Duval back with Abarth

WRC event winner Francois Duval will return to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge on Rallye Sanremo in Italy next week - and he now wants to continue in the series next season too.

Duval will pilot a works Abarth Grande Punto Super 2000 on the asphalt event, one of the most glamorous and prestigious rallies in Europe, which gets underway on the evening of Friday September 25.

"My goal is obviously to make the last two rallies this season and then find a good drive in the IRC next season," Duval confirmed.

Duval is no stranger to the IRC and the Abarth Grande Punto. He sampled one on the Rally of Portugal IRC event in 2007 and appeared in a Skoda Fabia Super 2000 on the Belgium Ypres Rally in June, where he was an early retirement after going off the road.

"It will be a difficult rally with lots of competition but I am not about to repeat what happened in Ypres," Duval added.