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