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