MOTORSPORT

ŠKODA MOTORSPORT

WINS AT HOME AND ABROAD

WALLACHIA

RALLY

KOPECKÝ

CONTINUED

VICTORIOUS

SERIES

F

RALLY

MÉXICO

TIDEMAND

TAMES THE

MOUNTAINS

A

fter the third FIA World Championships

(WRC) rally event, the teams and crews

headed to Central America, where the Rally

México took place between 8 and 11 March.

The starting list also included two company

crews of ŠKODA Motorsport with FABIA R5

cars signed up for the WRC 2 championships. The whole race started in the picturesque city of Guanajuato, and part of the first

speed test ran through former mine shafts.

The race route soon began to climb to approximately 3,000 meters, where both the

crews and their car engines started to feel

the decrease in oxygen. After Sweden, where

the race took place on ice and snow, the race

in Mexico was on heated gravel with temperatures of around 30°C. As part of the ŠKODA

Motorsport team and only 17 years of age,

Kalle Rovanperä from Finland is considered

one of the biggest rally talents and appeared

at the starting line. He finished fifth in the

WRC 2 due to a driving mistake that occurred due to insufficient experience.

The second team crew, Pontus Tidemand

from Sweden and with his co-driver, Jonas

Andersson, already took leading position in

Rally México in the WRC 2 category after

the first speed test and managed to keep the

position throughout the whole race. Tidemand also added an amazing seventh position on the overall classification to his victory in the WRC 2 category.

ive-time Czech rally champion Pavel

Dresler won all 14 speed tests and arrived at the finish line with a lead of more

than a minute. Kopecký was undefeated

for the fourth time in the Wallachia Rally,

thanks to which he now shares the top spot

in the historical table of victors of the race

with a former ŠKODA brand driver, Ladislav

Křeček. Norwegian duo Ole Christian Veiby/Stig Rune Skjærmoen came to the Wallachia Rally to gain experience above all. As

they had little experience from asphalt races, their performance during this difficult

race was a big surprise. The crew stayed in

the top 3 until a small driving mistake that

fortunately ended only in a spin at the last

speed test endangered the position; however, the 21-year-old Veiby managed to defend

at least the third place in the end. Other two

FABIA R5 cars driven by the customers were

also successful. Jaromír Tarabus took sixth

place, and Filip Mareš, who participated in

the race for the first time in a car with fourwheel drive, finished eighth.

TOUR DE CORSE

FABIA R5 CARS IN FOUR OF

FIVE TOP POSITIONS

T

1. Tidemand/Andersson (SWE/SWE)

ŠKODA FABIA R5 4:04:32.7 hrs.

1. Kopecký/Dresler (CZE/CZE)

ŠKODA FABIA R5 1:29:39.9 hrs.

2. Greensmith/Parry (GBR/GBR)

Ford Fiesta R5 +6:44.6 min.

2. Pech/Uhel (CZE/CZE)

Ford Fiesta R5 +1:01.8 min.

3. Heller/Olmos (CHL/ARG)

Ford Fiesta R5 +13:53.4 min.

3. Veiby/Skjærmoen (NOR/NOR)

ŠKODA FABIA R5 +1:18.8 min.

4. Bulacia/Mussano (BOL/ARG)

Ford Fiesta R5 +22:45.9 min.

4. Dohnal/Ernst (CZE/CZE)

Ford Focus RS WRC ’06 +1:19.5 min.

5. Rovanperä/Halttunen (FIN/FIN)

ŠKODA FABIA R5 +1:02:54.1 hod.

5. Černý/Černohorský (CZE/CZE)

Ford Fiesta R5 +2:18.8 min.

he Tour de Corse rally confirmed

its reputation as an unpredictable

race. While the introductory drives on

a typically twisty trail were cold, and

it was raining hard at times, the race

itself took place in hot and dry conditions. “This race with its infinite

number of twisted asphalt roads represents a real test for the driver and

the car. I am happy that our improved

ŠKODA FABIA R5 was reliable and

fast, just like our drivers”, says Michal

Hrabánek, the manager of ŠKODA Motorsport. Jan Kopecký chose a very

sharp pace since the start, and after he

managed to get a head start, he safely

controlled his leadership for the rest of

the race and got into preliminary leadership of the world rally championship

in WRC 2 category. The second factory crew, Ole Christian Veiby and Stig

Rune Skjærmoen, fought long for the

top position. They were deprived of

the position due to a broken shift rod

at the end of the second day, and even

though they won the last two tests,

they were two seconds short to get to

the third place. Third place belonged

to our brand anyway, thanks to the excellent performance of Andolfi from Italy, who arrived third in the WRC 2

category in his FABIA R5 customer

car. RED

1. Kopecký/Dresler (CZE/CZE)

ŠKODA FABIA R5, 3:37:27.5 hrs.

2. Bonato/Boulloud (FRA/FRA)

Citroën C3 R5, +1:51.2 sec.

3. Andolfi/Scattolin (ITA/ITA)

ŠKODA FABIA R5, +3:08.5 min.

4. Veiby/Skjaermœn (NOR/NOR)

ŠKODA FABIA R5, +3:10.3 min.

5. Pieniążek/Mazur (POL/POL)

ŠKODA FABIA R5, +13:05.6 min.

APRIL 2018 ŠKODA MOBIL 13