ŠKODA Mobil

MOTORSPORT

THIRD DOUBLE

WIN OF THE

SEASON

KALLE ROVANPERÄ TRIUMPHS AT BRITISH

RALLY IN WALES IN START-FINISH STYLE

CLASSICS

SHINE IN CHINA

CHINESE CUSTOMERS APPRECIATE ŠKODA’S RICH HISTORY AND

TRADITION SETTING IT APART FROM COMPETITION

urrently, over 140 automotive

brands are operating in China,

and local manufacturers’ competitiveness is steadily growing. One of

the options to stand out in this dynamic market and set one brand apart from

others is to actively present the long

history and tradition that the carmaker

draws on when designing new models.

Opportunities to showcase the brand include the well-known classics rallies organised by local editorial teams of the

Auto Bild and Auto motor and sport

magazines in the autumn. Although the

import and export of classics is highly

restricted, even here you will find enthusiastic owners and fans of automotive

history. Visitor numbers at these events

are rising every year, and so too is media attention. So far, ŠKODA has been

represented at every single one of the

classics rallies and is planning to keep

up the trend.

Three awards for the ŠKODA brand

The traditional Great Wall & Yanqi Island Concours d’Elegance classics rally in Beijing is the most famous

ŠKODA MOBIL OCTOBER 2018

motorsports event in China. This year,

the carmaker competed against more

than 10 brands and 50 beautiful old-timers with the FELICIA (1960), ŠKODA

422 (1930) and OCTAVIA (1961). Excellent performances by their crews were

recognised with three awards: Best PreWar Classic Car, Best Swinging Sixties

Familiale and Kaizen Racing RT Challenge No.1.

Running from 25 to 29 September, the rally attracted crowds of fans.

It started on Yanqi Island, continued

through the picturesque countryside

along the Great Wall of China and finished on 29 September at the spectacular Reignwood holiday resort.

The key speaker at the press conference before the start of the rally was

Dr. Ralf Hanschen, President of ŠKODA

China. “ŠKODA AUTO is one of the

world’s oldest carmakers. We are very

proud of the brand’s inventive spirit and

history. This staple of an event presents

an excellent opportunity for us to share

a unique automobile culture and heritage with customers and motorsport

fans during the traditional mid-autumn

festival and showcase the strength of

the ŠKODA brand”, said Dr. Hanschen.

History revived

In September, ŠKODA cars also received accolades at the Top City Classic Rally in Shanghai. This time, two

classics, the FELICIA (1960) and the

OCTAVIA COMBI (1962), competed in

the old-timers’ race, which took place

between 14 and 16 September. Both cars

received well-deserved attention among

the 40 classics models of more than 10

brands. The classics set off from the

city of Wuzhen and headed towards the

Qiandao Lake in the Zhejiang province,

as excited fans were cheering on them

along the track. The Historical Revival

award was presented to the OCTAVIA

COMBI, which had its premiere in China. On this occasion, ŠKODA AUTO

presented to the press and prospective

customers not only the new OCTAVIA

COMBI, which was launched in the local market about a year ago, but also

the brand’s long-standing tradition of

producing practical and spacious family

cars. RED

alle Rovanperä, the junior pilot of the ŠKODA

team, celebrated his 18th birthday during the

Monday tests, and as soon as the Thursday he took

the lead in the first special section, holding on until

the finish in the village of Llandudno on the coast of

the Atlantic. He laid the groundwork for success on

Friday, when he beat teammate Pontus Tidemand

by more than a minute. The young Finn achieved

15 of the fastest times in 23 tests, and his lead was

not in question even for a moment. Unlike his first

win in the WRC 2 category, which he had last year

at the Australia Rally, he prevailed over all of his

strong competitors. On Sunday, the crews tackled five more speed tests of 55.64 km in length. On

the first, the 8-km “Great Orme Llandudno” along

the Atlantic Ocean, Rovanperä excelled with the

14th-fastest time of his career and started off the

new racing day in great style.

Giving a balanced performance, Tidemand held

on to second place in his category. The next SS saw

Rovanperä triumph again, while Tidemand’s car’s

right side was slightly damaged. For safety reasons, he and his co-pilot, Andersson, replaced the

suspension linkage of his rear right wheel. In the

three remaining speed tests, two of which were on

tarmac, Rovanperä and Halttunen topped off their

excellent performance, winning the WRC2 category by a 1.34,2 margin over their team colleagues

and reigning world champions Tidemand and

Andersson.

Following Rally Turkey, the ŠKODA brand prematurely secured a fourth consecutive championship title (subject to official confirmation by the

FIA).

Results

Rally of Great Britain (WRC 2)

ROVANPERÄ/HALTTUNEN (FIN/FIN)

ŠKODA FABIA R5, 3:15:27.2 H

TIDEMAND/ANDERSSON (SWE/SWE)

ŠKODA FABIA R5, +1:34.2 MIN

GREENSMITH/GELSOMINO (GBR/ITA)

FORD FIESTA R5, +2:13.6 MIN

HUTTUNEN/LINNAKETO (FIN/FIN)

HYUNDAI I20 R5, +2:56.8 MIN

LEFEBVRE/MOREAU (FRA/FRA)

CITROËN C3 R5, +4:35.4 MIN