MOTORSPORT
STONES, HOLES
AND JUMBO JUMPS
ŠKODA DRIVER KALLE ROVANPERÄ WINS THE WRC 2 PRO
AT RALLY DE PORTUGAL AND ALSO LEADS THE STANDINGS
Find five differences
From their position as spectators, rally fans will hardly be able tell the difference regarding
the technical changes the improved FABIA R5 evo brings. There is, however, a number
of visual differences that clearly distinguish the modified car from the original version.
New face – the modified special has smaller lamps with an LED strip at the bottom part
and with a horizontal bottom edge. The front grille is complemented with an extrasharp angle on the sides. The bumper edge is different, too; its sharp aerodynamic
rendition is placed further down. This element was put on top in the previous car.
WHEN
BLOOD BOILS
IN THE VEINS
DOUBLE VICTORY FOR ŠKODA
MOTORSPORT AT RALLY ITALIA
Carbon packet – the racing car has its rear wing, rear-view mirrors and roof vent
hood made of carbon.
15
ŠKODA FABIA R5
CARS
20
SPECIAL
STAGES
S
o f t , s a n d y g rav e l
that turns into deep
t ra c k s w i t h s t o ny
bedrock after the first special stages. The iconic Fafe stage, overrun by spectators,
which offers beautiful vistas, a fantastic atmosphere and drivers making big
jumps just before the finish.
This is, in brief, the Rally
de Portugal. And it is where
the new ŠKODA FABIA R5
evo secured a smooth victory in the WRC 2 Pro category at its world premiere.
During the seventh round
of the 2019 FIA World Rally Championship (30 May–
2 June), the new Czech racing special in the hands of
Kalle Rovanperä and navigator Jonne Halttunen (FIN/
FIN) was invincible. While his victory got Rovanperä
into the lead in the WRC 2
Pro overall rankings, Jan
Kopecký and Pavel Dresler
(CZE/CZE) secured ŠKODA
a double victory by taking
second place. Thanks to
French crew Pierre-Louis
Loubet and Vincent Landais
in their private FABIA R5,
the teams with ŠKODA cars
307
KILOMETRES DRIVEN
BY CONTESTANTS
grabbed the first three places in the R5 class among
a total of 32 racers. In temperatures exceeding 30°C and
with an extreme amount of
dust, the Czech racing cars
proved to be very durable
and reliable.
Stormy atmosphere
A few moments shuffled the
cards – at least for a while. Kopecký worked up quite
a sweat when he completed
the 11th stage with his view
obstructed because of a loose bonnet. Still, he did not
lose much; his time was even
six seconds better than in
the morning rush. A puncture on the fourth stage briefly delayed Rovanperä, who
otherwise would have won
the whole competition with
the style of start-to-finish.
He took the lead again after
four stages and maintained
it until the finish in Matosinhos near Porto. “The car performed really great; I enjoyed
the driving. The hardest
thing on the last day was not
to lose concentration and to
hold the lead”, Rovanperä
assessed the race. RED
MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT
www.skoda-motorsport.com
Rear bumpers and the exhaust pipe – the shape of the lower rear bumper is
characterised by a distinct recess between the painted and the black parts. The
exhaust tailpipe is in the middle and tilted down. The original ŠKODA FABIA R5
has it horizontally.
Brake calipers – the FABIA R5 evo uses brakes made by Alcon, with the
manufacturer’s white logo, which especially stands out when on the asphalt surface.
Door panels – the upgraded car has them in black; on the right side, next to the
textile door handle, you can find a safety element made of grey foam dampening
any side impacts.
T
his year’s World Rally Championship has entered its second half,
and the crews were to compete on
another gravel surface in Southern Europe – in Sardinia – with the extremely high
temperatures in the car reaching up to
60°C and with clouds of dust. Despite all
this, it was time for ŠKODA Motorsport
to celebrate on the podium finish in the
beautiful port of Alghero. Kalle Rovanperä
and Jonne Halttunen (FIN/FIN) and their
teammates Jan Kopecký and Pavel Dresler (CZE/CZE) achieved a double victory
in the eighth round of the FIA WRC 2 Pro
category with their FABIA R5 evo racers.
Both factory pilots demonstrated a tactically flawless performance during the last
four Sunday stages and secured a second
double victory for the Czech brand in this
season’s WRC 2 Pro category. Having
won in Chile and Portugal, Rovanperä hit
a hat trick in Sardinia.
But it was far from a cakewalk. On
the final day of the Italian Rally in Sardinia, two runs of two stages on the coast
north of the host city of Alghero were decided. Despite the breath-taking scenery of the Sardinian coastline, neither of
the ŠKODA factory crews had time to enjoy it. Although the drivers led the WRC 2
Pro category and had a head start before
the group of 37 R5 racers, their task was
to find the right tactics to be fast enough
and not lose concentration. Both factory
crews did just that. At the end of the competition, the first four places were there
for crews in ŠKODA cars. “It was one of
the toughest rallies I’ve ever done. We learned many useful bits about driving,
scheduling and our car. I have to thank
the whole team for a great job”, Rovanperä said at the finish of the final stage.
RED
JUNE 2019 ŠKODA MOBIL 13