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Loutraki, 30 March 2014 – The ŠKODA works drivers Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (FIN/FIN) have completed the 60th instalment of the Acropolis Rally in Greece in fourth place in their Fabia Super 2000. The two Finns were consequently the best-placed duo in a vehicle with an aspirated engine at the third event in the FIA European Rally Champion (ERC) season. Lappi/Ferm remain in second place in the overall ERC standings.

"I can be happy with my performance at this rally" said Lappi, who had to just concede victory on his debut in Greece to the teams racing in vehicles with turbo engines. "We gave it everything against the guys, but this weekend anything better than fourth place was simply not going to happen. Even my tyre damage during the eighth special stage didn't change anything. Our next outing in Northern Ireland poses a completely different kind of challenge: a purely asphalt rally, where the weather has often played a decisive role in years past. I'm looking forward to it."

Lappi's colleagues Sepp Wiegand and Frank Christian (D/D) from the ŠKODA AUTO Deutschland team also picked up championship points by finishing the day's classification in fifth on Sunday. The German duo were forced to retire on Saturday after skidding off whilst in fifth place and therefore had to open the special stages when the action started again on the final day of the Greek rally classic. "On Saturday I was completely on track until my slip-up. Finishing in the top five would certainly have been possible in spite of the tough competition," according to Wiegand. "Playing 'road sweeper' for all the subsequent cars on Sunday over the gravel course was definitely not ideal. But recording the third-fastest time on the final special stage was something of a conciliatory end for Frank and me."

In contrast to Saturday, when the rally was contested solely over asphalt roads, the competitors had to do battle with gravel stages, typical for Greece, on the final day.

The ERC is stopping off in Belfast, Northern Ireland for the Easter weekend (17–19 April), where the Circuit of Ireland Rally will be the fourth event of the season. ŠKODA will once again be competing with both its teams, Lappi/Ferm and Wiegand/Christian.

Meanwhile, work on the Fabia R 5, the successor to the successful Fabia Super 2000, is in full flow in Mladá Boleslav. The development of the new racing car, which is based on the future production model of the Fabia and equipped with a 1.6-litre turbo engine in line with FIA regulations, is of highest priority for ŠKODA Motorsport in the 2014 season.

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