The ninth round of the 2012 Intercontinental Rally Challenge, Barum Czech Rally Zlin, was held from August 31st August to September 2nd in Zlin, a provincial town in the southeast region of the Czech Republic. Toshihiro Arai and Jarkko Nikara participated in this rally with their Subaru WRC STI R4s prepared by Tommi Makinen Racing.

The Rally Zlin has very long history going back to 1971 and this was 42nd edition of the traditional tarmac rally. It has been one of the most popular fixtures not only in the IRC series but in the European Rally Championship (ERC) as well. The head quarter of the rally was located in Zlin which is close to the border with Slovakia and the service park was in Otrokovice in the west of the head quarter. The stages consisted of the asphalt covered roads going through the forests in this area and featured many mid to high speed corners on the undulating ground which created a lot of crests. The surfaces were mostly rough and bumpy and, on top of this, sometimes small gravel and sand made them more slippery.

Because of these factors, the rally has been considered as one of the most difficult events in the IRC calendar and it has actually seen many retirements due to crashes every year. Although Arai, the Production Cup runner-up in Tour de Corse, and Nikara, the Cup winner in San Marino, hadn't had previous experiences in this rally, both looked to be in a good form in the shakedown session held on Friday morning. They used the medium compound version of ADVAN A006T, the Yokohama's tarmac rally tires, for the session, as it was run on the dry surfaces.

However, the super special stage on the day's night, SS1 SSS Zlin (9.36km), held in the city center of Zlin, didn't go smoothly for both Arai and Nikara. Since the stage was hit by a heavy rain, they chose the super soft compound version of ADVAN A006T. But the ride height of Arai's car proved to be a bit too low for the conditions, which forced him to settle for finishing the stage in 38th overall and 18th in the Production Cup class. Nikara set the third fastest stage time in the class - 11th overall - but he made a mistake in gear selection on the stage and damaged his gearbox.

As a result, the team was forced to replace Nikara's gear box during the short service time in the next morning before starting Leg 1 and this caused him to arrive late to the first time control. He was given a 60 second penalty for it and many thought now he was out of contention for the class victory. But the Finn's effort for recovery was incredible.

The sky was overcast during the morning hours of Leg 1 and the conditions were very difficult because the surfaces varied between wet and dry. But, utilizing the super soft compound of ADVAN A006T, Nikara was the fastest in the class in the first two stages of Leg 1, SS2 Slusovice 1 (15.94km) and SS3 Pindula 1 (18.43km), and 11th and ninth overall respectively.

When the competitors headed for the second run of the first loop, the rain started to fall and the surface became mostly wet but Nikara was simply unstoppable. He set the two consecutive fastest times in the class in SS4 Slusovice 2 and SS5 Pindula 2 and was fourth and third overall, beating a few Super 2000 cars that should have been faster than Nikara's R4 spec Subaru. His tremendous speed also led to the first in the class and eighth overall in the next stage, SS6 Lukov 1 (11.38km).

Thus, he moved up to third and 14th overall in the total stage times, recovering from 21st in the class and 43rd overall at the lowest. This also meant the gap between Nikara and the class leader was now only nine seconds and it seemed to be just a matter of time for him to become the new leader. But the things went differently from the expectations in the next stage, SS7 Tesak 1 (19.18km). About 9km into the stage, he lost control of his car and went off the road. The car was badly damaged and the Finn was forced to end his rally prematurely, while he and his co-driver were able to walk away from the accident unscathed.

On the other hand, Arai started Leg 1 using the same super soft A006T with his teammate. Because of a problem with his car's hand brake in the early stages, the Japanese completed SS2 in sixth in the class and then SS3 in fourth - 21st and 17th overall. But his true pace came back in the second run of the loop and he managed to set the fourth fastest times - 15th overall - in the next two stages, SS4 and SS5.

However, Arai struggled in SS6 and finished it in fifth in the class and 18th overall and then made a minor excursion from the road in SS7 which he finished in fifth again. The next stage, SS8 Lukov 2, was even tougher for him, as he had very limited visibility due to a thick fog, which slowed him down to 12th in the class and 29th overall. But that was the lowest point of the day for him. Arai set the third fastest time in the class - 14th overall - in the last stage of Leg 1, SS9 Tesak 2, and his final position at the end of the day was second in the class and 15th overall.

Leg 2 on Sunday got under way in the rain but the sky cleared up later, so the surface conditions were constantly changing. Arai started the day with the super soft once again.

After finishing SS10 Halenkovice 1 (21.40km) in fourth and 15th overall, in the next SS11 Kudlovice 1 (11.42km), he set the second fastest time in the class, which was the highest place he has ever gotten in the IRC event stages, and was 12th overall. Then he was fourth and 14th overall in the last stage of the loop, SS12 Majak 1 (23.32km), and kept the position where he started the day.

Arai continued in a very good pace in the second run of the loop and completed SS13 Halekovice 2 in third in the class and 12th overall. However, after he finished the stage, one of the competitors slid off the road and caused a fatal accident involving spectators. So the organizers decided to cancel this stage and cut the event short by calling off the remaining two stages, SS14 Kudlovice 2 and SS15 Majek 2. As a result, Arai finished the rally in second in the Production Cup class and 11th overall and got on the podium for the second time this season.

　[Result : 2nd. in Production Cup (11th overall)]
"It was a very difficult rally because it was high speed, the roads were narrow, the surfaces were bumpy and there were a lot of crests. We set the ride height a bit too low in the super SS on Friday and my hand brake didn't work properly during the first run of the first loop, which naturally compromised my drive. But there was no major problem otherwise.

"As it rained in the super SS on Friday and the temperatures were low, I used the super soft compound version of ADVAN A006T for the first time ever. I can say the tires suited to the conditions and I could drive steadily in the stages with wet and dry mixed surfaces.

"The stages were really difficult to tackle and the knowledge on the stages would be everything in this rally. In fact, the local drivers were generally faster than others, but considering the circumstances, I am happy to finish in second in the Production Cup class.

"We didn't have pre-event testing this time but the car was better than that I had driven in Corsica. That said, we can still improve the cornering characteristics if we would tweak the set up of suspensions and differentials. We hope to make the most of this valuable experience for our next round."

"We supported two cars for Arai and Nikara in this event. As a wide range of compounds are required in a tarmac event, we supplied around 400 of ADVAN A006T in total. Out of five types of compounds we had taken, the soft, the medium and the medium hard were to be used for dry surfaces, and the super soft and the super super soft for wet.

"We used the medium in the shakedown because it was run on the totally dry surfaces. But, for the super SS and thereafter, we relied on the super soft throughout the event, as it rained and the temperatures were low. In the course of the event, the surface conditions were mixed with dry and wet, which weren't easy for the drivers. But, judging from their paces, I would say the super soft was the best choice for the conditions.

"Unfortunately, Nikara was forced to retire but his speed was impressive. And Arai finished the rally in second in the Production Cup class for the second time this season by displaying his skillful drive.

"From the technical point of view, it meant a lot for us that we could test the performance of the super soft compound in the real world circumstances. This is our second year since we had formally started the tire development in IRC but we have never had an opportunity to use our tarmac tires on the wet surfaces in this series. We wish we could test the soft as well and the medium on the dry too. But it was still very valuable experience because we could know the working range and true speed of the super soft. We are hoping to utilize this knowledge for the next opportunity to run on the tarmac."